Wake up and smell the roses! An old expression and one in which every word has a meaning. Most importantly are the first two words: unless you have taken deliberate steps already today to be purposefully focused in the moment, you are asleep. But, even if you have, the possibility always exists that you will doze off again. On the basis that most people around you are dozing through their day, this is a real and present danger for you. So, take a few moments, now. Take a few deep breaths, fill your nostrils with the aromas of the moment. Wake up.

Sometimes the mindlessness that you encounter when you travel is actually deliberate - people deliberately behave badly because they think they can get away with it... and normally do.

A couple of months back, Swiss Rail stopped selling tickets on the train - you have to buy your ticket before you board. This new dictum has been applied to the letter and, as a result, has caused uproar among the normally placid Swiss.

A commuter arrived with a couple of minutes to spare for his train, only to find that the vending machine in the station was out of order... not very Swiss! So, he went on the Swiss Rail app and purchased his ticket, by credit card, online. Perfect, you might think. And he could have been for thinking that too.

But, a week later, he received notification for a fine of CHF350-. He boarded the train at 07h30. His credit card payment, made on the platform, was processed at 07h37... he boarded the train before he purchased the ticket!

And he is far from unique. In fact, it is quite normal to receive that kind of notification in the post. But, then again, isn't normal crazy?

Somebody has picked me up on last week's Quick Tip! Excellent... somebody out there is reading this!!! I mentioned that, all too often, one's day does not go according to plan. Should we get up in the morning with the aim of our day going according to plan? How best should we plan? Or, the comment I got back (from a client) "I thought you said before that planning is a waste of time!" Fair point - that is, more or less, what I had previously said.

The problem with planning is that, normally, it is our normal mind that does the planning and that planning will have been carried out with reference to our goals. Or, at least you could be forgivin for thinking that!

There are three big problems with planning. First of all, normal goals are constrained goals - if they are constructed by a normal mind, they will adhere to the norms by which we look forward. For example, in business, a "challenging target" for the future, means "more" than we're doing now... even if now is abysmal. For the individual, we set targets on the basis of what's "reasonable", even though this "reasonable" is constructed within thinking norms. Normally, we live down to our expectations.

The second problem is we think we know best how to achieve our "challenging" goal. Ask yourself this: did the life-changing things that you have experienced happened through planning or by apparent chance? The normal mind could not know how best to achieve anything because, armed with a normal perspective, our vision is compromised. You cannot see what's ahead of you if you cannot see the reality of the present moment.

The third - and biggest problem - is that, in the normal cut and thrust of everyday life, our brain is not able to match our actions to our goals - even the normal goals. The part of our brain that is supposed to to this, the Central Executive, is rarely engaged in the normal adult brain.

So, what can we do? What should we do? How can we set appropriate goals? And how can we ensure that our actions are in line with those goals? Should we have no goals? How can we ensure that our minds are open to opportunities beyond our normal field of vision - beyond our normal perspective, beyond our normal goals? How can we set out mind to achieve the extaordinary?

Well, over the next few editions of this Ezine, I will attempt to answer those questions!