Why so stingy? The Neuroscience of generosity

Generosity is an interesting beast. As an ex-charity CEO, I have seen it expressed in many different ways. The best kind of generosity comes with warmth and good old NSA – no strings attached. This kind of generosity is glorious to witness and is the backbone of charity work all over the world. The worst kind smacks you over the head with their husband’s cheque book.

How ordinary people achieve the extraordinary

We are all ordinary. Every single one of us is an ordinary person who has a set of talents, opportunities, challenges and experiences to work with. Whether we turbocharge those into greatness or lie on the couch is usually entirely up to us. But to start with, we are all ordinary to the core.

Why events must always host welcome to country

I attend a lot of events all over Australia as a professional speaker and I have noticed a trend. When events are hosted by government, they are always opened with a Welcome to Country from a local indigenous person. At the very least there’s an Acknowledgement of Country from one of us blow-ins. However, outside schools, government departments and council events, this basic sign of respect for the traditional custodians of the land is a bit hit and miss in the event industry.

Procrastination: how I punched it in the face

Procrastination: I usually bake cakes when I have something big and important looming that I know I need to knuckle down and get done. Procrasti-cakes I call them. Sometimes I even write Procrasti-blogs. When I am in the office I dive down the rabbit hole of the email inbox rather than do something I’ve been avoiding.

How to crack the speaker circuit

I am asked how to crack the speaker circuit by aspiring professional speakers at least twice a week, so to save you buying me a coffee, here are my top ten tips for how to get your story on the stage, paid.

Lucy’s top ten tips for self-publishing a bestseller

Saddle up for my hard-earned tips on self-publishing. My first book, Cheers to Childbirth was published in 2010 and while people keep breeding, that book keeps selling. I never recommend paying for a “self-publishing program” with a consultant. Honestly, if they were so ace at it, they’d be publishing books, not showing you how for cash. Do it yourself with these pearls of wisdom in your corner, and reap the rewards.

Lucy’s top tips for search engine optimisation

CALLING ALL WEBSITE OWNERS: Here are my top tips for improving your website’s ranking in search engine results. If you are a webmaster you need to handle your own SEO. Simple as that. It is an ongoing beast that needs regular tweaking but it’s not that tricky. When your site appears in the organic search results, that’s FREE traffic to your website. Smash the SEO on your website before you go paying for sponsored Google advertising. Here we go…

How to build a volunteer army

Volunteers are the backbone of the not-for-profit sector. What other industry can build a workforce on free, willing labour? So listen up charities, stop yer whinging about being poor and fist pump the air because you have access to the most cost effective and passionate army in the universe! Here are my tips for how to build the best volunteer team. I’ve learned the knack over 20 years of building teams and working with volunteers.