Hey everyone, I’m in Adelaide. So I’ve just snuck in by the hair of my chinny-chin-chin into today. So happy Thursday because there’s that half hour time difference, remember, if you’re in Adelaide. Went and saw a fringe show tonight, absolutely fantastic. If you can get down to Adelaide Fringe, it is so worth it. The vibe, the people, the shows that are on. There’s just this incredible atmosphere. So wherever you are in Australia, I encourage you, again, get out and see something live, it’s so, so, so, so important.
Just a quick one tonight because I am running towards the end of the night and can’t be late. So I’m going to do one of the Samantha Leith manifesto tips, and it’s kind of relevant in what’s going on at the moment in the world. So in the world at the moment, countries are shutting their borders. Regardless of what you think, coronavirus is going to impact everybody, it is. Whether it’s economically, physically, it will impact you. It might be your working life, it might be something. But there’s a lot of hype, and there’s a lot of negativity, and there’s a lot of over-the-top hysteria about some things. Now, I’m not saying some of that’s not really, really founded, but when you look at the science of it, yeah, like it’s not good. And it’s not that everybody that gets it’s going to die, it’s that the people that pass it on… I’m not going to get into the science of it.
But for all of those people that I have been having conversations with or have been saying things online, and some of them really triggered me. I actually had to unfollow someone today who was just like, “Well, if you think you’re going to get a virus, you’re going to get a virus. There’s no such thing as catching a virus, you give it to yourself.” I disagree with that. There are bugs, okay? That’s just scientific, there are bugs. But it does lead me to one… because I found some of the stuff today that I saw triggering, whether it be the news or on social, we all are reacting to it in the way the were going to react to it. And I don’t believe it’s our right to say anybody’s reaction is right or wrong because we all just do these things differently. But one of my Samantha Leith Manifesto tips is, and I’ll quote myself here, “Turn off from the world every so often.” And I reckon now’s a pretty bloody good time to do it.
Now, I don’t mean go and hide yourself away in a cave and forget the world exists. What I mean is get really picky and choosy about the stuff that are consuming in the world at the moment because yes, you’ll be impacted. Without a shadow of a doubt in some way, shape, or form, you’ll be impacted. Whether it’s your school, your business, your health, there’ll be something that affects you more than just the rush for toilet paper at ALDI.
So be really careful with the media you are consuming. We know that big media, they get to rule what we see. So be picky and choosy about what you consume. Turn off, keep in touch with friends, keep in touch with loved ones. Look at government sites or the World Health Organization site to kind of find out really what’s going on. Not all the hypey, maniacy stuff that’s on social and in some of the news sites, and be more connected, pick up the phone and talk to somebody that you care about. Pick up the phone and talk to a customer because that’s the kind of relationships we really, really need to work on, not is Meghan Markle really upset about her last couple of days in Buckingham Palace?
So yeah, disconnect yourself from all the crap, and stay safe and look after yourself. And, honestly, your reaction to this is only going to be your reaction to this. So pay no attention… No, not true. You are going to pay attention, but don’t let other people’s reactions either bring you down or hype you up. Do what you feel’s right for you and your family and your business. If you think you need to send all your staff home to work, send them home to work even if it hasn’t been dictated to by the government as yet. So yes, look after yourself in these times, it’s not all doom and gloom. We will get out of it. And it’s times like these where some things thrive. They do. I don’t know how, but they do.
They really, really, really do. So stay positive guys, and I will see you all tomorrow for my first day at the Professional Speakers Association of Australia Conference. I’m so excited. So I will be up bright and early to get there. Bye. Have a great night.