Did you know….

Quite hilarious, I have to say…and don’t feel embarrassed if you read the first line and actually give it a try (I just did so because I thought that can’t be true, my elbow is right there….but it is true – I couldn’t reach it! :-) )

Did you know………

It is impossible to lick your elbow.

A crocodile can’t stick it’s tongue out.

A shrimp’s heart is in their head.

People say “Bless you” when you sneeze because when you sneeze, your heart stops for a milli-second.

In a study of 200,000 ostriches over a period of 80 years, no one reported a single case where an ostrich buried its head in the sand, or attempted to do so (apart from bones).

It is physically impossible for pigs to look up into the sky.

A pregnant goldfish is called a twit

Between 1937 and 1945 Heinz produced a version of Alphabetti Spaghetti especially for the German market that consisted solely of little pasta swastikas.

On average, a human being will have sex more than 3,000 times and spend two weeks kissing in their lifetime.

More than 50% of the people in the world have never made or received a telephone call.

Rats and horses can’t vomit.

The “sixth sick sheik’s sixth sheep’s sick” is said to be the toughest tongue twister in the English language.

If you sneeze too hard, you can fracture a rib.

If you try to suppress a sneeze, you can rupture a blood vessel in your head or neck and die.

If you keep your eyes open by force, they can pop out.

Rats multiply so quickly that in 18 months, two rats could have over a million descendants.

Wearing headphones for just an hour will increase the bacteria in your ear by 700 times.

If the U.S. government has no knowledge of aliens, then why does Title 14, Section 1211 of the Code of Federal Regulations, implemented on July 16, 1969, make it illegal for U.S. citizens to have any contact with extraterrestrials or their vehicles?

In every episode of Seinfeld there is a Superman somewhere.

The cigarette lighter was invented before the match.

Thirty-five percent of the people who use personal ads for dating are already married.

A duck’s quack doesn’t echo, and no one knows why.

23% of all photocopier faults worldwide are caused by people sitting on them and photocopying their buttocks.

In the course of an average lifetime you will, while sleeping, eat 70 assorted insects and 10 spiders.

Most lipstick contains fish scales.

Cat’s urine glows under a black-light. Like fingerprints,

everyone’s tongue print is different.

Over 75% of people who read this will try to lick their elbow.

The king of hearts is the only king without a mustache

A Boeing 747s wingspan is longer than the Wright brother’s first flight.
American Airlines saved $40,000 in 1987 by eliminating 1 olive from each salad served in first-class.
Venus is the only planet that rotates clockwise.
Apples, not caffeine, are more efficient at waking you up in the morning.
The plastic things on the end of shoelaces are called aglets.
Most dust particles in your house are made from dead skin.
The first owner of the Marlboro Company died of lung cancer.
Michael Jordan makes more money from Nike annually than all of the Nike factory workers in Malaysia combined.
All US Presidents have worn glasses. Some just didn’t like being seen wearing them in public.
Walt Disney was afraid of mice.
Pearls melt in vinegar.
The three most valuable brand names on earth Marlboro, Coca Cola, and Budweiser, in that order.
It is possible to lead a cow upstairs…but not downstairs.
Richard Millhouse Nixon was the first US president whose name contains all the letters from the word “criminal.” William Jefferson Clinton is the second..
And, the best for last…..Turtles can breathe through their butts.

  

Great book to recommend

The book ‘The Four Agreements’ (http://www.amazon.com/Four-Agreements-Practical-Personal-Freedom/dp/1878424505/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1314622333&sr=1-1) was recommended to me by a great psychologist/counsellor and I’d like to recommend this book to all of you who find that you’re sometimes beating yourself up or push yourself to limits, hoping for a change or turnaround of a given situation or person.

According to the book – which helped me to understand things better, too – some of our struggling to reach our own goals or accept and thrive for who we really are, is due to the fact that we’re driven by our assumptions (and one actually should never assume) and a certain cultural set or values we were raised in and brought up with. We tend to forget that 1) we can’t change people no matter how much we give and change ourselves in the hope that our change would induce change in someone else (while a painful experience and admittance, that unfortunately true…change is only happening when someone wants to change and NOT through anyone else), and 2) we need to know and live what we want for ourselves. If we give up dreams and goals and try to live the life that someone else believes in, we’ll suffer and won’t find happiness.

So, whilst I thought I better give up the dream (for the one who means the world to me) of having my own family someday soon before I hit the 40s and won’t have a good chance of being a mom anymore, in the hope that maybe things change if I give it all up, but yet found myself hurting and weeping deep inside, and my friends and family all getting worried about me and my state of mind and health, I decided to pick up those dreams that I left along the road and stick to them – it’s me who wants to have a family, who wants to be a mom and a partner for life. I used to be a career-focused woman, but I’ve lived that high-life and don’t find it anywhere near as rewarding as a smile, as a hug or a kiss, making a home, being with your loved ones. Nothing can replace what a relationship and family offers.

Read the book and you’ll understand (at least parts of) what I am saying.

Balou’s first show

Couldn’t have been a more perfect weekend in August in Southern Austria - the sun shining bright across the blue lakes of Carinthia, at about 90F really hot few days, a few showers in the evening to cool down, but nothing major (until a hail&thunder storm really hit hard Friday night…). It was the weekend of Balou’s first dressage show – he had to get used to the show scene sooner than later, and we felt it was about time to make him ‘grow up’.

We decided to take him to the showgrounds the night before his first test – which turned out to be a good idea as he didn’t want to load immediately. He was just being stubborn and silly, standing there with his four feet stuck to the ground and hardly any movement, no matter what tricks we tried. 2 hours later, with LOTS of patiences and a brave team of helpers, we managed to board and get us to Reifnitz.

My mom - tempted to go for a swim rather than watch a few horses...

Upon arrival, we took him for a first ride in the warm-up arena and were impressed how quickly he settled into the new environment.

Next day – early start – get Balou groomed and ready for a first test. He looked just stunning and behaved so well compared to some of the other- more experienced horses.
It was close to noon when he finished and it looked like he was exhausted from all the different impressions and unique surrounding he’s not used to. He didn’t look at his most favorite muesli, and according to the barn groom, also didn’t look at his dinner at all. Poor baby had a hard time to cope with what was going on. I was glad though that we organised a proper box rather than a place in the tent that they put up for all the other 90 horses… it would have been very uncomfortable for him there.

With my best friend, Christina, and Balou

Day 2 came and he was even more tired than the day before – due to a heavy storm during the night that upped the stress levels again and due to the heavy-duty footing he had to work through in the arena – it was really deep, muddy and wet.

Warm-up arena on Saturday


We made it through a 2nd test though, and while it was a slow performance with Balou not being in good shape and the warm up being short cut due to some many riders riding all over the place in the warm up arena, he did well.

I’m proud of the little boy – he’s given the best he could under the new circumstances and his wonderful character showed again that no matter what one confronts him with, he just deals with it and keeps his riders safe.

Here’s to Balou – a rising star!
Videos to follow….

What a gorgeous man….

Well, if there’s truth around the saying that ‘a ‘special’ frog might turn into a prince when kissed’ and love at first sight exists, then Balou is proof of both….

I remember how I fell in love with him just by looking at his picture and 2-min video online, how I just had to go see him in person; driving several hours up north into Germany’s ‘outback’ and being stunned by his moves and lovely face when I met him.
And 1.5 years later, he’s this stunning beauty,

Dressage Talent ?- you bet....

…an absolutely adorable horse with more potential than I have ever thought he’d have. And whilst I can’t seem him not anywhere near as often as I’d love to, he still greets me from far when I walk down the aisle towards his stall, he turns his head immediately towards me when I call him, and he walks next to me like a little boy would walk next to his mom or best friend. He is sensitive to any of my slightest shifts of weight in the saddle, reacts to what’s on my mind and perfectly interprets my body language.

Balou's inner and outer beauty

Awww. what a guy… !!

Unconscious Decisions?

I was wondering for a long time whether our unconscious inner self, spirits and beliefs drive us and our decisions are based and guided by those factors and always came to the conclusion – at least in the business world – that while business decisions (or 99% of those) are based on facts, numbers and figures, most of those are driven by A human being who has been influenced one way or another (in the past or the present) and therefore makes a decision one or another way (that’s the bias we always deny…but I am certain it is there).

In my own actions I have also seen similar traits that – sometimes more consicously than others – my decisions are driven by my inner self, by strong beliefs and values. And in most cases, it’s way past the actual decision-making that I realize what was the driving factor.

What’s a really stunning example – and I just noticed that this afternoon – is my choice of house, my 2nd home so to speak…. Everyone who knows me well knows that I call Northern California (especially Sonoma and Napa Valley) my home and a place on this planet that I fell in love with about 15 years ago. When I had to move back to Europe due to the (high-tech) bubble burst in 2000/2001, I was looking for a place to call ‘home’ around Central Europe – mostly around Austria, as that’s where most of my family lived. I chose to buy a house in the Southern part, mostly because (I thought then) of the mediterranean climate, warmer temperatures, more sunshine than in other parts of the country.
Well, I just realized today, though, when taking my dogs to the river not far from my house, that the countryside around here actually is looking just like parts of Sonoma County (Russian River). If you take off the higher mountains, you can picture yourself around Guerneville while actually being in Ferlach at the Drau river….

Take a look at those pictures…who could tell the difference if it wasn’t about the difference in temperatures and soil? ;-)

Creek leading towards the Drau


The Drau, running across Carinthia (Southern Austria)


Russian River, Sonoma County (Northern California, US)


My two boys playing along the river...Northern Cal or Austria? ;-)

Unconscious choice of location driven by the strong desire and everlasting dream to be somewhere that’s as Californian as it can get? ;-)

The Eternal City

Last weekend, Rome presented itself with one of its best manners…stunning spring weather, lots of sunshine and amazingly warm temperatures, clean streets, and as safe and friendly as can be.
We celebrated my Dad’s 60th birthday with a city trip, as he loves exploring and short trips to some of the most spectacular and beautiful cities of the ‘old world’. And whilst some can’t imagine to travel with their parents, I thoroughly enjoyed the 2+days with them.

Mom, Dad & I in front of the Colosseum


It was great to be on a short vacation with loved ones instead of travelling as a single.
We used a hop-on hop-off bus tour to get around and walked a fair bit throughout the narrow streets and were amazed by all those hidden squares that opened up once you got through a few really narrow alleys…those squares either presented beautifully crafted fountains and/or one of the hundreds of churches and a local farmers market where you could buy all sorts of ingredients for typical Italian dishes and gorgeous fresh flowers with amazing natural scents.
To the suprise of all of us, and contrary to all prejudices, Rome was clean and safe. Police was omnipresent and with the many tourists around, I didn’t feel threatened or in an odd spot once. And hey, to the surprise of most of my friends..my handbag and all its belongings are still with me :-) ).

...well how do you like that 'ancient' look .. :-) ..


We stayed at the Hotel Savoy, just around the corner from the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps, and definitely a hotel to recommend for those who want to stay in a quiet street, but not far off the touristic places. The hotel also featured a great restaurant and roof-top terrace, with some piano music that one could actually dance to (with some imagination, but for a bit of night-time romance, definitely providing a suitable ambiance).

My Dad indulging Italian Gelato...and as you can see, there's no portion control in Rome (yet) :-) )


In summary – a great city break with my parents and boyfriend, seeing my parents still cherishing their relationship while growing old together, soaking up lots of sunshine and mediterranean flair, practicing some of my Italian language skills again ;-) , enjoying good Italian wine and delicious olives (freshly green, just like picked from the trees…) in various bars and outdoor cafes… a treat for the soul in tough times.

Transformation – Lessons taught by horses

I guess it’s not without reason that I have chosen to promote leadership training with horses….I’ve set on my horse today and it is truly amazing what these animals teach you in such a subtle way and one can actually map that immediately (understanding, willingness to learn, respect, listening skills permitted) to the business world.
My gelding is only 4 years old, thus in a very fragile and sensitive phase of constant growth, on and off in discomfort due to temperature/climate changes and his body transformation, and just like with children, constantly distracted by a million things around the barn/arena and anxious to learn about and try out anything and everything. Luckily I have two amazing trainers who got to know me well as a rider and a person, and who understand horses’ personalities and nature inside-out.
Now, who would have thought that I could move a horse with a small finger or a shift of a few pounds of my body weight from one leg to another, or with a slight tightening up of my spine in the saddle … my horse (and horses in general) is so intelligent, so subtle and so sensitive that any slight mistake I make, he either takes advantage of (to just try something else or be a little fool) or gets angry with me by twisting and shaking his head or tightening up his back (which makes it very uncomfortable to sit on). And guess what – the more sensitive I became, the more I listened to him and dove deep into his movements to become as subtle as possible, the more beautifully and freely he moved. He was the most gorgeous, lightweight horse with a wonderful self-carriage I’ve ever seen/ridden.

Why am I writing about it? Because in business it’s just the same, but people tend to not listen or just execute whatever plan is on the table, whether it’s subtle signs they see or fairly heavy-duty ones that they just ignore or try to overrule with another [poorly thought-through] action. You wouldn’t be able to move a 900lbs horse if you overruled or tried to push it…not a chance. But in organizational hierarchies some people have the power to rule and just run with their beliefs and goals no matter what. And whilst they are presented with the ‘final bill’ later on (instead of being thrown off the horse or kicked by one of its hoofs and experiencing that physical pain of ‘not listening’ or being too hard on the bit), most of these managers just get away with their (poor) leadership skills and move on to the next opportunity to …yes … just do the same all over again.

So…..anyone with suggestions on how to train those ‘leaders’ to lead transformation with the necessary listening skills and sensitivity to the environment and interaction with other beings (other than putting each and everyone through horse leadership training programs)?