Category: Daily Prompt
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The Hinge
Describe your most ideal day from beginning to end I’m a person with simple tastes. I don’t need much to have a good day. My ideal day is made of a handful of small scenes that, put together, feel like enough. I’m up at 4:30 or 5:00am. The house is quiet. I feed the animals…
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What Each Decade Taught Me
How do significant life events or the passage of timeinfluence your perspective on life? When I was 17, I thought focus was a virtue. Cut out distractions, study hard, give yourself to the things you valued. I did that. I achieved. But I also felt empty. In my twenties I worked at a major bank.…
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The Paperwork That Didn’t Matter
Something on your “to-do list” that never gets done Every day I tell myself I’m going to clean up the piles of paper on my desk. Most mornings start with the same small act of optimism: I write out a to-do list and work through what I can. Then the next day arrives and that…
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BLD
What’s your favourite thing to cook? My favourite thing to cook comes from a recipe by Luke Mangan in his book BLD: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner. It’s about 25 years old now, so it’s become a bit of a collector’s item. I first heard him interviewed on the radio and liked the sound of the book.…
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Late to the Party
Write about your first computer. I was late to the party, at least compared to the people around me. In 1981 I worked for a major bank as a computer programmer. Even in a small team, I was the odd one out. Everyone else seemed fixated on coding. They talked about it at lunch, took…
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A Measured No
What’s the thing you’re most scared to do?What would it take to get you to do it? Every now and then someone says they went skydiving on the weekend like it’s a normal weekend activity. They’ll say it casually—like it’s on the same level as trying a new café. I’m always interested and usually ask…
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My Complaint
What do you complain about the most? I complain about people who are caught up in themselves — people consumed by their own wants, always receiving, always wanting to know what’s in it for them. It feels self-indulgent, and it makes life harder than it needs to be. If I’m honest, I think I complain…
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Football Moments
What are your favourite sports to watch and play? I have loved football all my life. I remember as a small boy, falling in love with a game without knowing quite why. Or the strip of colours catching my eye when I’m seven, and the strange logic of childhood doing the rest. Supporting Aston Villa,…
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Amplifying What’s Already True
What would you do if you won the lottery? Well, I’d be shocked for a start, because I’ve never bought a lottery ticket. I’ve just never been drawn to it. Even with a ticket, there’s more chance I’ll be killed by a vending machine than I’ll win a major lottery jackpot. When I was a…
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My Virtual To-Read List
What books do you want to read? I’ve got a to-read list that, if I’m honest, looks like I’ve been downloading books the way some people buy grocery items: on the assumption they’ll be useful later. But when I line the titles up, it’s not random. It’s a self-portrait. There’s a part of me that’s…
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Australia Day
Write about a few of your favourite family traditions. As I write this, it’s 26 January—Australia Day. It’s the official national day of Australia, marking the 1788 landing of the First Fleet and the raising of the Union Flag of Great Britain at Sydney Cove. It’s also a contentious day which divides people. I personally…
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Two Kinds of Leisure
What do you enjoy doing most in your leisure time? I’ve realised I don’t really have one kind of leisure. I have two—quiet rest and active rest—and I seem to need both. Quiet rest is where my mind gets room to breathe. That’s mostly writing. Not writing to impress anyone, or to prove something, or…
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Valley of the Waters
Name an attraction or town close to home that youstill haven’t got around to visiting. I visit the Blue Mountains once or twice every year, but for reasons I can’t quite explain, I’ve never done the Valley of the Waters Walk at Wentworth Falls. I drive past the sign at the turn-off, think that would…
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Five Kinds of Fun
List five things you do for fun. Body fun: I’m an active person. Sport is fun for me, especially football — not just the contest, but the camaraderie of being part of a cohesive team. The best moments are when everything just clicks and you start playing attractive football without forcing it. Mind fun: I…
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Friday Night Makeover
If you could make your pet understand one thing, what would it be? You look beautiful when you let us brush you. Some households do Friday night footy. We do Friday night brush the dog (I know — we live on the edge). Our dog has a beautiful coat — dark on top, but with…
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Petros
Write about your first name: its meaning, significance, etymology, etc. The name Peter comes from the Greek Πέτρος (Petros), meaning “rock” or “stone.” It’s one of those names with an instant personality attached to it: steady, solid, dependable. It also how the ancient city of Petra got its name — same Greek word, different purpose.…
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A Curator of Life Stories
What is your dream job? If money didn’t exist, I’d love to be a curator of life stories. I’d want to sit with an elderly person who can no longer write their story for themselves, and help them shape it. Not by putting words in their mouth, but by listening closely—reflecting back not only what…
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What Makes a Good Leader?
Leadership isn’t something a person owns. It’s something a community recognises. People decide whether they will follow you, and they keep testing that decision over time. Character matters because leaders lead people and shape communities. Skill and strategy help, but without integrity they don’t last. Here are three tests that sit underneath most leadership assessments.…
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Remembered Well
Can you share a positive example of where you’ve felt loved? I’ve learned that being loved isn’t always a warm feeling. Sometimes it comes as a question. “Are you going to stay on?” When people ask that, they’re not only asking about a contract. They’re saying: we’ve grown used to you. We trust you. We’d…
The Afterword 