Life's little knock-backs It's interesting to look back and recall with extraordinary clarity so many of the times in life I've experienced rejection. And from such a broad spectrum of arenas, too, from not being selected for sports teams, University rejections, and being turned down by prospective girlfriends (especially cringeworthy),… full article

New horizons When I was 13 my parents told me we'd be moving house to another part of the country - my Dad's job was in probation and corrective services and he had to relocate for work - and this would mean a change of school for me, possibly to… full article

Matching Johnny do-it-all Many of us can recount envy of people for whom everything in life appeared to come all too easily, as epitomised by the charmed life of schoolboy character David Watts in the Kinks song of the same name. On the other hand, I know of people who… full article

Fussy suitors Imagine for a moment you're about to evaluate a line-up of prospective secretaries for a position, to be interviewed in a random order with a yes/no decision to be made about each applicant immediately after you've seen them. You'd likely mentally rank each applicant in order as you… full article

Leading by example During my career in professional practice I didn't always enjoy managing people, & with the valuable benefit of hindsight I can now see why. My approach worked well at the senior analyst level where mostly I could lead by example, but as I moved into senior management… full article

Shark attack It's always entertaining to regale European friends with tales of Australia's deadliest flora & fauna, from giant stinging trees, brown snakes, and the lethal irukandji jellyfish, to salties, funnel-webs, and - if you're feeling particularly vindictive - the vicious drop bears. Shark bites are a favourite scare topic, but… full article

'Get confident, stupid!' It can be truly amazing to trundle around central Brisbane and listen to all the tooting of horns and hollering of friendly advice between motorists. It's almost as if everyone up here was born with an inherently consummate driving skill, and apparently nobody has navigational ability below… full article

Logically fallacious The New Year has long since been & gone and I'm pleased to report that lifestyles are now improving again here after the usual silly-season hiccups. Through that time of year it's all too common to use phrases like 'I might as well...' (as in 'I might as… full article

Thinking things through I'll always be grateful that I trained as a Chartered Accountant, because the qualification rewards you with an invaluable skill set, including the ability to think about problems logically. Consider, for example, the conundrum of what might comprise a good investment if inflation ever takes off again.… full article

Nobody's perfect (all of the time) I tend to be sceptical of those 'my typical day' articles you read online or in lifestyle pieces. In the Instagram era, almost anyone's life can be made to look like a highlights reel, and in reality everyone has days that are less inspired… full article