Suggestions
Simon Curran
Co-Founder of Bastion Shine, All Blacks Performance Labs Executive Coach, High Performance Coach @ Rokt
Simon Curran is a passionate New Zealander with over 25 years of experience in marketing and innovation globally. He is the co-founder and CEO of Bastion Shine, a creative consultancy in Auckland. Simon has a strong focus on strategic marketing, story-telling, and business transformation. His expertise lies in fostering high-performing teams and mentoring next-generation leaders. Simon is also involved with Silicon Valley's Propel Performance Group, partnering with New Zealand Rugby's All Blacks Performance Labs.
Highlights
What a way to start a week.
I was honoured to join our Prime Minister Christopher Luxon in Tokyo this Monday for an All Blacks Performance Labs event, marking the beginning of his week-long trade delegation to Japan.
We delved into the unique synergy between sports and international diplomacy, celebrating the strong ties between New Zealand and Japan through Rugby.
My panel partners were All Black legends Sir John Kirwan and Conrad Smith. Our discussion was on the eve of upcoming matches between the Maori All Blacks vs Japan in July, and the All Blacks vs Japan in October, adding depth to our conversations.
Together, we explored the commonalities of high-performance in sports and business, focusing on: 🌏 Soul-stirring goals (purpose) 🌎 Shared standards (accountability) 🌏 Reset structures (performance rituals)
Central to our discussion was the power of Legacy. Every All Black and Black Fern joins that environment knowing their role is to ‘leave the jersey in a better place’. Playing for Legacy helps these teams manage the tension between delivering short term objectives (like winning on Saturday) with the longer term responsibility to innovate and cultivate new talent.
Our conclusion: High-performing teams, regardless of their terrain, share more similarities than differences. Their playbooks transcend borders, cultures, and industries. There's a wealth of knowledge to exchange and lessons to be learned.
Special thanks to Trade Commissioner Kylie Archer, our Master of Ceremonies Catherine O’Connell, Prime Minister Rt Hon Christoper Luxon, Craig Fenton, Yarnie Guthrie, New Zealand Rugby, Conrad and JK and the All Blacks Performance Labs for an incredible event.
I'm excited to share a new book by my good friend James R. Doty, M.D. It's called Mind Magic.
James (Jim) is the New York Times bestselling author of Into the Magic Shop – a book that profoundly impacted me. After reading it, I was so moved that I wrote him a lengthy email suggesting I fly to San Francisco to take him and his wife Masha to dinner. He agreed, and within hours, my wife Nerolie Curran and I were on our way to San Francisco. This led to a lasting friendship filled with many discussions about the power of #compassion.
The talented Kevin Denholm and many of the amazing team at Bastion Shine have been intimately part of this journey.
Jim’s latest book explores the intersection of neuroscience, manifesting, and visualization—topics that may seem "woo-woo" to some but are daily practices for many of the world's top performers. Why is that?
In his direct style (he opens with line "The Universe doesn't give a fuck about you"), Jim explains the neuroscience of what happens to our brains and thought structures when we use these transformative tools.
Jim writes, "[the power of the mind] is the real magic. I say this to you as a neurosurgeon who has studied and operated on the brain, as a neuroscientist who has spent decades investigating the human mind, as a practitioner of spiritual techniques who has collaborated with the Dalai Lama and other spiritual leaders to teach compassion to thousands, and as a human being who has learned it all the hard way."
If you haven't read Into the Magic Shop, please do – you will love it. And if you're curious about the untapped power of our minds, this new book is a must-read. Congrats, Jim!
#mindmagic #intothemagicshop
Thanks to Andy McLeish, Rich Maddocks, Annabelle Pitkin, Melissa Hill H, Andy Schick, Danny Carlsen, Oli Green, Karina Walton, Ben Anderson, Air New Zealand, Spark New Zealand, Genesis, Sarah Williams, Jeremy O'Brien and Tracey Hickman for being part of this journey.
