Interrupted Conversations-Broken Pathways of Frank Sinatra, Barak Obama, Mary Queen of Scots and Jerry Seinfeld

Some of you may remember that when I "interviewed" these famous people a little earlier this year, I told each of them that our conversation would be continued. Well here I am in the interviewer's chair again and I've gathered them all together. In an experimental post I'm going to talk to all of them......a bit like a Michael Parkinson chat show. We'll be looking at just one or two 'Years of Broken Pathway' for each. The intent is to show how disparate these lives are, yet how unified they are by 'Life Cycles' theory. Now I want you to read this and say, that honestly all of us sometimes do things we regret later. These moments can be awkward to recall, but there is no doubt they do shape our lives. Trust me on this one; the famous are no different to you and I. So let's make things a little awkward for them, but as always we'll just use the facts,

Glad you could all be here. Now I'm going to interview you one at a time and I'll introduce my first guest for the evening:- Ol' Blue Eyes himself.....Mr. Frank Sinatra!
Thanks for dropping by Frank.
Didn't I tell security to throw you out last time.
Look I've even brought you a live audience this time. I'm sure they want to hear about your life.
Well OK then, but just stick to the facts. I've still got friends on the other side you know.
Yes we'll be looking at fateful turning points in your life that happened in your 'Year of Broken Pathways'. That's every 12 years starting at age 7. So that means 19 and 31 and 43 etc. I'll just pick out age 31 in your case. That would be Dec. 15th, 1946 to Dec. 15th, 1947.
Wait a minute I seem to remember something back then.
Yes a certain fateful attendance at a Mafia congress in Havana. You remember, you came with Al Capone's cousins, who had $2m in a suitcase for Lucky Luciano.
I hope you're not insinuating...
No, I'll just say this to you though. Since that time you began to see yourself as untouchable and could pick on whoever you wanted to. As you got more aggressive, your popularity waned and they called you 'Cranky Franky'. Just for good measure we see this trend of your career being linked to Mafia fortunes again at 43. This was when Castro took over Cuba and the Mafia came to Las Vegas. You remember, it led on to part-owning The Sands and the 'Rat Pack' era.Co-incidence that's all it was.....mere co-incidence. But I hate to admit it, these things did change my life..
Well yes, all our lives are changed in these important years. Thank you very much for that Frank. Now I'm going to talk with the current President, Barak Obama. Thank you for this opportunity Mr. President.
To be honest I'm not sure why I'm here, but my advisers said I need to build bridges after the mid-term results.
Now we're here to have a look at fateful events when you were aged 31. That is Aug. 4th, 1992 to Aug. 4th, 1993.
Let me see. Oh yes, among other things that's when I got married to my wonderful wife Michelle.
Yes you did, but don't you also remember that's when something else happened, that came back to haunt you? You initiated 'Project Vote' to get around 150,000 extra voters registered on the south side of Chicago. It helped turn the tide in the Bush/Clinton election, with the first ever African-American senator elected in Chicago and got you noticed. You said at the time you worked alongside the Socialist Group ACORN. Then you denied any links, particularly during the election campaign when John McCain accused you. The most we can say is that you were doing the same type of business at the same time. 'Project Vote', both good and ill did represent a Broken Pathway moment for you.
Yes 31 was a very important turning point in my life, no question. With that ACORN business, let's just say that if I had my time over again, I may have said some things differently. My intentions however were always honourable.
Yes I'm sure they were. But that is, in it's own way, what each and every one of us says at some point in our lives. Particularly however during the 'Year of Broken Pathways'. Thank very much Mr. President. Now my next guest had the worst of all fateful 'Years of Broken Pathway'. Please give a warm welcome to Mary, Queen of Scots.
What be ye doing here again disturbing the dead?
Well I'll be brief. You had plotted unsuccessfully for 18 years to get rid of Elizabeth and that Sir Francis Walsingham was onto you. He even had a double agent ratting you out. God knows why, but Elizabeth was reluctant to try you for treason. Anyway they had just passed a law saying you only had to have full knowledge and support for the conspirators. You were 43 when Babington unveiled his plot to you, remember?
Aye, and a good plot it was too. An English Catholic uprising.....kill Elizabeth and then I'm Queen of England! By my troth I should have been all along.
But you were careless weren't you? You said in writing that you support every bit of the plot. Didn't think they'd see it did you? Written in code; but they deciphered the code. That was where your Pathway got broken and you unfortunately lost your head soon after. Now for my final guest, the well-known comedian Jerry Seinfeld. Welcome Jerry, to my little show.
Yeah right, I just saw what you did to those other guests of yours. What have you got up your sleeve?
I thought you might guess. I'm going to ask about when you were 43. That is April, 29th, 1997 to April 29th, 1998.
You're not, are you, going to talk the final episode. It aired on May 14th. Got you there!
Yes, but the dye was cast quite a bit earlier. Don't you remember the rest of the main cast wanted $1m per episode. Didn't please you or the studio. Things got a bit techy all round. Then Larry goes and writes this ending with you as bad guys. Most of the 79 million viewers in the US didn't like it. You see this 'Year of Broken Pathways' often says some uncomfortable things, but if we search our hearts, we have to say they're true.
Hey, Larry King should have had you on his research team. But heck you know, you're right. Anyway who cares with such a little shindig like this.......Sorry about that. I get a little hot tempered sometimes. I guess I'm just the guest tonight.
Thanks Jerry, We're all in the same boat you know!

Is my theory just quaint? Just has relevance for these famous types, but certainly not you? Then I urge you to think again. I did half this research as I wrote it. It's that easy to find the evidence. Make sure you come back next month, because I'll feature the most incredible 'Broken Pathway' case history. Till then:- May the cycles always bring you good fortune.

Actions Speak Louder Than Words- Nelson Mandela and The Year Of Broken Pathways

In this month's post I'm featuring a true personality of the world stage:-Nelson Mandela. He's almost univesally known to people. He also happens to be a teaching example I have used in 'Life Cycles' and I am proud to be able to display almost every 'Year of Revolution' and every 'Year of Broken Pathways' for his long life. By linking his themes for these years I am able to demonstrate the most statistically valid result for a whole life, that would be impossible to have happened by chance. It took Nelson 27 years in prison and many more for his struggle for freedom to be achieved. It would be fitting if one day in the future 'Life Cycles' was also recognised on the world stage as not just another system of analysing life, but the one true system that is recognised by independent researchers, academics, sceptics and most of all by you.

Today we'll just be concentrating on his 43rd. 'Year of Broken Pathways' (18th, July 1961 to 18th, July 1962) and looking at what fateful events happened in this twelve month period, that would shape his life for quite a few years to come. Remember every post since April has been about the 'Year of Broken Pathways'. The name came from the simple fact that I observed in so many different lives, a challenging and defining year that occurs every 12 years. So at 7 and 19 and 31 and 43 and 55 and 67 and 79 it happens. I can demonstrate this with Nelson and I do just that in the 'Famous Lives' chapter in the book.

December 16th is known throughout South Afica as Heroes Day. This is because on this day in 1961 Umkhonto we Sizwe was formed by Nelson Mandela. This is otherwise known as 'The Spear of The Nation'. It's charter was to carry out planned attacks against Government installations particularly those concerned with the policy of apartheid and race discrimination (like pass offices, native magistrate courts etc.) . The intent was to damage by bombing without harming any people. To do this attacks were carried out usually at night. Many years of peaceful resistance and dialogue with white authorities had not gotten the ANC anywhere in terms of genuine reforms. The time seemed to come for a simple choice:- either submit or fight. As Nelson said:- "We shall not submit and we have no choice but to hit back by all means within our power in defence of our people, our future and our freedom."

This was obviously a fateful moment in his life, because it was going to bring him into conflict with white authorities. It was going to give the police and other law enforcement agencies an opportunity to pursue him for a criminal conviction of sabotage. So what happened after these attacks against installations were instigated? Well he went on the run for 17 months adopting a disguise. He was arrested after CIA intelligence located his whereabouts. On 25th. October, 1962 he was sentenced to five years goal beginning his famous 27 years behind bars. Two years later he was to stand trial at Rivonia along with other ANC leaders, facing charges of plotting a foreign invasion of South Africa (which Mandela denied). On June 12th, 1964 he was sentenced to life imprisonment and now the struggle for equality was to take a different form.

There is no doubt that these events taking place in the years that immediately followed his personal 43rd. 'Year of Broken Pathways' were challenging and meet all the criteria specified in 'Life Cycles' theory. Have a look at what happened to John Lennon in his battle with the US authorities and Robert The Bruce, who was on the run from the English and Anthony Prince, who had to learn to live in maximum security gaol and Diego Maradona, who had to fight his battles with drugs and booze and Michaelangelo, who had to paint the whole Sistine Chapel ceiling. There is an obvious similarity to these stories and the uphill struggle that follows the fateful events in their 'Year of Broken Pathways'.

I urge you to keep reading as my posts to come will fascinate you even more. I have also begun a second blog:- "The Story Behind Life Cycles' (lifecyclesstory-neil-killion.blogspot.com ) as I wish to show you that everything I do has a purpose and there is a symbolic meaning to all my posts. I also will mention some stories that didn't make the main blog but are gems in their own right. To all my blogging friends everywhere:- "May the cycles always bring you good fortune".

But I'm a Sculptor-Michaelangelo and The Year of Broken Pathways

Ah, Renaissance Italy! What a time to have lived:- Leonardo Da Vinci, Michaelangelo, the Medici's, Raphael, Florence, St. Peter's built. It was the age of grand projects and innovation, never before seen. Today we are going to examine one of those famous projects; the painting of the Sistine Chapel in St. Peter's. This will be from the perspective of Life Cycles 'Year of Broken Pathways'. This is also totally new and has never been done before, even though we have moved on some 500 years.

Michaelangelo was born March 6th, 1475 and it was in his age 24 first adult 'Year of Revolution' (March,1499 to March,1500), that he gained renown as a sculptor, when he completed the 'Pieta'; a depiction of the body of Jesus on the lap of his mother Mary after the crucifixion. One of his contemporary's said of the work:- "It is a miracle that a formless block of stone could ever be reduced to a perfection that nature is scarcely able to create in the flesh". His reputation from this led onto being selected to complete the statue of David in Florence.

Where to next at his turning point in his age 31 'Year of Broken Pathways'? Remember the essence of this year is that the path we have been travelling on since age 24 gets broken and we are handed a challenge or new direction, that will essentially take the rest of the 12 year Life Cycle to complete. This is a new concept and I illustrate by taking the lives of the famous or those mentioned in news stories. So 'Life Cycles' is based on biographical analysis, making it much more factual than any other esoteric theory. Though it isn't quite science, it's a lot closer to it than anything else. It's not a belief system:- there is no "trust me I'm a guru" element in this.

OK, so we're looking at events when Michaelangelo was 31 (March,1506 to March,1507). The first evidence we have of Pope Julius requesting Michaelangelo to paint the Sistine Chapel ceiling was from a letter dated May 10th, 1506. Meanwhile Julius's chief architect Bramante discouraged this idea, saying Michaelangelo was not a painter but a sculptor and this would be technically difficult for him and he doubted his courage to do this giant work. Michaelangelo himself had doubts because he didn't concentrate on painting and regarded sculpting as the higher art form (famously arguing with Leonardo Da Vinci who replied:- "At least I don't spend my whole day covered in dirt and dust!").

When Michaelangelo returns to Rome in early 1506 out of funds for Julius's Tomb, he gets dismissed by the Pope and returns to Florence. Such is their fiery relationship, that Julius threatens to wage war on the whole of Florence unless Michaelangelo returns to Rome, which he does. Once Michaelangelo hears that Bramante doen't think he's up to the Sistine ceiling, he immediately drops other things and says he'd do it. These two then began a very famous and bitter feud that ran for years. You see it's all about ego for these very opinionated individual's.

There is no doubt that all this happened when he was 31. There is no doubt that it altered his direction in a very important way. There is no doubt that the sequence of events had a fateful character, seeming as if it were pointing Michaelangelo towards the Sistine Chapel ceiling. There is also no doubt that this was a huge challenge and led on to the rest of the years of this cycle (until his age 36 'Year of Revolution'-March,1511 to March,1512). It meets every criteria of 'Life Cycles'.

Michaelangelo began work on the Sistine ceiling in 1508 and hired five assistants. The work was done in fresco, which is an incredibly difficult and daunting process, involvong 336 assorted figures. Only the most confident and talented painter could do this, which was one of the greatest artistic feats of the Renaissance or indeed any period of time. He certainly proved Bramante wrong in a big way. He also had a very impatient Pope Julius, continually trying to hurry him up and demanding to see what he'd done. It would be an understatement to say that he had an uphill struggle to face.

How did this fascinating story end and why does it represent a triumph for 'Life Cycles' analysis? How is the Sistine Chapel ceiling related to the Pieta? What was so similar about events in 1499 and in 1511? Well the answer is that I'll tell you the full story in my next book:- "The Life Cycles Revolution" currently being written. You see 'Life Cycles' analysis is unnervingly accurate, sometimes down to the month as well as the year. Is your whole life written in code? Or does this only happen to the famous? You didn't paint the Sistine Chapel? No, but challenges and uphill struggles are the stuff of life. Anyone's life. Yours and mine. Until next month:- "May the cycles always bring you good fortune"

USSR/ Soviet National Anthem - Red Army Choir

USSR/ Soviet National Anthem - Red Army Choir

The Heir Apparent-Leon Trotsky and The Year of Broken Pathways

We are now going back to 1922; a critical time in the new Communist Party's history. You see the Revolution of 1917 had only just happened by a few short years, but Lenin's health had undoubtedly been affected by an assassination attempt in August, 1918 (when he was in his own 48th personal 'Year of Revolution'). He was hit by three bullets and left unconscious. This was later to become manifest in 1922/3, when he suffered a series of three strokes between May 1922 and March 1923.

There is no question that the leader of the Bolsheviks and head of the Soviet State, began to think about who would succeed him. Why should I analyse this? What has this to do with Life Cycles theory and in paricular the 'Year of Broken Pathways'? Well I'm not featuring Vladimir Lenin in this post, I'm featuring his second-in-command, Leon Trotsky. You see Trotsky was entering his 43rd 'Year of Broken Pathways' (in his case:- 7th November, 1922 to 7th November, 1923) at the time the future leadership was reaching a crossroads. Remember that we are looking for major direction change, that would take several years to fully resolve (at least until Trotsky's age 48 'Year of Revolution' in November, 1927). This is what the 'Year of Broken Pathways' means to us all. But what in particular did it mean to Trotsky?

There was no question that Trotsky should have been the natural successor, but he had a strong opponent in the ruthless and cunning Joseph Stalin. Stalin, who had been elevated to the position of Party General Secretary in early 1922, had distanced himself from Trotsky, by forming a troika (a triumvirate with Zinoviev and Kamemev) to keep Trotsky from power. They chose to exploit Trotsky's policy of seeking world communist rule, by appealing to an already revolution-weary populace, that they should just focus on running the Soviet State.

Trotsky wrote an autobiography and I will use this as my guide. Lenin was shocked when he learned of a plot to throw Trotsky out. He then spent much of his time devising a counter-plot to ensure Trotsky succeeded him. In December, 1922 he wrote a will suggesting Stalin be removed as Secretary General. He offered Trotsky an alliance against him. However his final stroke in March, 1923 left Lenin speechless till his death in 1924. Only weeks before Trotsky confirms a conversation with Lenin saying:- "Yes, he does not trust Stalin and wants to come out against him openly, before the entire Party. He is preparing a bomb".

From the moment of the final stroke it was a huge change for Trotsky. The would-be successor and the co-conspirator becomes the hunted. With Lenin sidelined, the Stalin faction moved to take control of the politcal process and cut Trotsky off from decision making. His faction became known as the Left Opposition. After Lenin's death worse was to come. Even though Lenin's Testament came to the surface at the Party's Congress it was defused by the troika and they criticised Trotsky's military leadership in the 1917 Revolution. He became sick and was unable to answer them and in late 1924, they forced him to resign as Red Army Chief.

In 1925 he became effectively unemployed. The troika broke up, with the other two former members gravitating to Trotsky and forming a United Opposition. In 1926 Stalin became increasingly extreme. He started using the Soviet secret police to infiltrate and discredit his opponents. Finally in November, 1927 Trotsky and Zinoviev were expelled from the Communist Party. This brings to an end the several years of uphill struggle that follows the 'Year of Broken Pathways'. It was so for John Lennon (sounds a bit like..) and for Robert the Bruce and Anthony Prince and Diego Maradonna. It will be so for you too.

Don't imagine my quaint theory won't touch your life; it has already. As I begin to write my follow-up book:- "The Life Cycles Revolution" I am getting ready to provide such a weight of evidence that it will be impossible not to accept it. More is to come in the most unique blog ever written. Don't miss it and make sure you read all the posts, they are all linked. Until then:- "May the cycles always bring you good fortune".

Diego Maradona's Goal of the Century.

Flawed Genius-Diego Maradona and The Year Of Broken Pathways

Look at any ranking of "Best Soccer Player of All Time" and Diego Maradona is number 1 or very close to it. Physically short and stocky, he nonetheless grew into a giant on the field. At his height he took Argentina to the very zenith of the soccer world, virtually singlehandedly. He has also scored, in the infamous 'handball goal' match against England, what is recognised as the best goal ever scored. He passed through the entire English side and the ball never touched his right foot.

But that is on the field. Off the field he strikes a tragic figure and today we'll turn to his 43rd. 'Year of Broken Pathways' to see just how tragic. Remember all the years of 'Broken Pathway':- 19,31, and now 43 are featured in this blog. In every case we look at life altering moments, somewhat outside of the individual's control, that took several years to resolve (in Diego's case until his next 'Year of Revolution' at 48). I did this analysis blind at the request of a fellow blogger, so remember just how powerful 'Life Cycles' is as a predictive tool. I don't really know much about soccer either.

Throughout his career he has been known for his drug abuse (particularly cocaine) and his romantic indiscretions, which he owned up to in his autobiography. Since retiring in 1997 he had gained a lot of weight, spent time in a Cuban rehab centre and continued with a reckless lifestyle. When he was 43 he came to his lowest point. On 18th April, 2004 he suffered a major heart attack, following a cocaine overdose and was admitted to intensive care in a Buenos Aries hospital. During the 12 days he was there he said:- "I saw death up close". His ex-wife said, that committing him for psychiatric care in a local hospital against his wishes in May, was the only way to save his life. Interestingly it was in the same year that he and Claudia Villafane divorced. Apparently he did not take this well either with Claudia saying:- " He doesn't want to acknowledge it, he still keeps wearing the wedding ring". She also said he couldn't cope with fame:- "He always said he had been taken to the top of the mountain, but once there nobody told him what to do".

So he certainly had an uphill battle from there. You can't get much lower. His own family took an injunction against him leaving the country. He even met the Argentine President to discuss it. What happened over the next couple of years? Well he went on to become good friends with his ex-wife and they travelled together to Napoli in 2005 for a series of homages. He also went on Argentine TV in 2007 to say that he had not touched drugs for 2 1/2 years. With alcohol it took longer however. In March, 2007 he was admitted to a hospital in Buenos Aries and treated for hepatitis, brought on by alcohol abuse. After this he vowed publicly to quit drinking.

Has this story of tough love and even tougher redemption got a good ending? Yes, I'm pleased to say it has and just before his 48th birthday, he learned of his upcoming confirmation as coach of Argentina. Yes this was to happen in his 48th 'Year of Revolution', just as retirement had marked his 36th 'Year of Revolution'. His most devoted fans call themselves "the Church of Maradona" (now 120,000 members). They rang in the year DD 48 (or After Diego) carrying a "goalary":- an over-sized rosary with 34 beads, which is the number of goals he scored for Argentina.

'Life Cycles' is the only theory where you get this analysis. Nowhere else! You don't see 'the hand of God' at work in that controversial goal, but you may choose to see it in the extraordinary predictive power of 'Life Cycles'. So, till we meet again:- "May the cycles always bring you good fortune".

Dumb And Dumber-Anthony Prince and the Year of Broken Pathways

It's a good thing we Australians have a droll sense of humour. Otherwise why would I choose to feature the first post about one of my fellow countrymen, who achieved international notoriety by carrying out (along with one accomplice) what was termed:-"possibly the most inept bank robbery of all time". The stunt earned Anthony Prince and Luke Carroll the names 'Dumb and Dumber'. They were both holidaying in the glamorous ski resort town of Vail, Colarado and came from solid loving middle class families.

The reason I feature the life of Anthony Prince is that he (along with Luke Carroll) were both 19 at the time of the robbery and were thus in their first adult year of 'Broken Pathways'. Anthony chose to speak out about his life in a national TV Show called 'Australian Story' and he left an excellent psychological profile of just what it means to feel somewhat 'out of control' and suddenly have your direction altered and have to slowly accommodate to the changes over the remaining years of the cycle till his next 'Year of Revolution' at age 24.

He couldn't tell it any better than if I had access to an in-depth interview and asked just what I wanted. This material is similar to the 'Wolf of Wall Street' biography because it is detailed, exact and describes 'Life Cycles' as if they knew about it. Remember I do all my work second hand.

Their own defence lawyer described this crime as "absurd". Carroll and Prince robbed the Weststar bank in Vail, a place where they were regular customers and well known to the tellers. Their Australian accents made easy picking even though they wore ski masks. They also wore name tags from the sports store they worked at. Their getaway was to board a chair lift about a quarter mile away and snow-board down the opposite side of the mountain and go home. They took photos with the cash in a McDonald's toilet and tried to buy one-way tickets to Mexico the next day. Told they couldn't, they opted for a round trip. The FBI already had mugshots, because they were arrested in January that year, for shooting out windows with a paintball gun. A police officer recognised them from the FBI flyer and their accents and arrested them as they tried to pass through airport security. More could be said about what they did with the money, including trying to flush $800 down the holding cell toilet, but I think by now you've got the picture.

Hollywood could not do better if they tried. What were they thinking? This was the brain snap to end all brain snaps. Now Anthony Prince was interviewed about all this. Just how did it happen? He tells how he was overawed by Vail:- "everywhere you look, flashy cars, money, houses....this was the Mecca". "We were two Aussie larrikins out for a good time....up early, in bed late, trying to get into clubs with fake ID's etc," They were amazed they could buy paintball guns in Walmart, so that's what they did.

Shooting out window panes with the guns got them arrested, but unfortunately it didn't slow them down. "We felt like we could get away with anything....and we were like how crazy would it be to take these BB guns into that bank and rob it? It was a small bank, two female employees, no security whatsoever. You'd be stupid not to try it".

"So it began as a joke and then just slowly, subconsciously moved into something which was real and we'd talked ourselves into it". This is exactly the sense of not being fully in control of events that marks the 'Year of Broken Pathways'. Not as dramatically for most of us as these two poor kids, but it does in so many different ways for everyone one of us. It did for John Lennon when he thought nothing of donating money to the Black Panther movement, and Robert the Bruce when he thought nothing of telling the Red Comyn he wasn't going to be the first King of Scotland in private. Events seem unreal at the moment they occur.

Now what was the outcome of Anthony Prince's life over the remaining years of that cycle? What uphill struggle did he continue to face? Well the first thing was getting used to the inside of a US maximum security prison. "I've been slashed with blades. I've been beat down, hit with padlocks.....it was a scary environment".

He cried openly at his trial and begged forgiveness of the teller he had pointed a gun at. He only got 4 1/2 years, not the possible 25. He thought that he had to make it up to the his long-suffering parents, so he got correspondence material through his mother to study at an Australian university.

He spent a lot of time with immigration detainees whose English was bad so he sat down and helped them write letters to their loved ones. "I had a bit of a knack for it so I became known as this.....the love letter writer in there". Then in the final year of the cycle, just before his 24th birthday, he was released and came home to Byron Bay, an idyllic holiday spot on the NSW coast. "Coming home was amazing. I wish everyone could feel what I felt. The first plate of bacon and eggs...."

Yes it took him all of the remaining years of the cycle to finish this modern morality tale, complete with forgiveness from Jessica Cole Gunther the bank teller. It wasn't until the end that she looked him up on Facebook and showed him her letter written years ago. "It really did blow me away" he said.

Keep with me because I'm asking you to tell me who I'll be featuring next. He has been billed as 'the world's greatest footballer'...and that is of the round ball game I don't know much about. OK you couldn't get Robert the Bruce and you've never heard of Anthony Prince, but this guy you know! So leave me a comment and tell me. Oh, and for the big prize I want to know which year I'm featuring and why? Till then, may the cycles always bring you good fortune.

Robert the Bruce's Year of Broken Pathways

Yes we're going to murky, murderous olde Scotland as I adapt this darkest of morality tales from the BBC series 'History of Scotland'. But of course I'm doing this in order to show again how the 'Year of Broken Pathways' works. Same as for Lennon, it will be the Bruce's 31st year from July 11th, 1305 to July 11th, 1306 we will be looking at. We are looking for fateful moments, that would have long term consequences and would take several years to resolve, at least until the next 'Revolution Year' (at age 36 - 1310/1311).

After the resignation of William Wallace in 1299, both Robert the Bruce and John Comyn (the Red Comyn) were made guardians of Scotland. It would be fair to say they really didn't like each other. A fight broke out in the same year at a council in Peebles and Comyn grabbed Bruce by the throat and almost killed him. It would be seven years till they met again.

In 1305 Bishop Lamberton had gone to the Pope to get a ruling that Scotland was independent and should have a King. At a meeting between the Bishop and Robert the Bruce, it was agreed he should take the crown, but the price for his silence was put at 10,000 pounds (a fantastic sum in those days). But the Bruce was not a prudent man. He organised a fateful meeting with the Red Comyn at Greyfriars Kirk in Dumfries, on Feb 10th, 1306. This was to discuss the future of the crown. Both had left their swords outside and met before the high altar. Robert would have told Comyn (in spite of his agreement to keep silent) that he is to be made King and this would not be taken well. Scholars will dispute what happened next. Did the Bruce always plan to murder him or did Comyn draw his dagger first? But for whatever reason a fight broke out and he stabbed Comyn, who was practically dead as a result. After the Bruce had left he received news Comyn was not dead. He sent an aide back to finish him off.

His hot temper had really got him into trouble big time. He had committed murder in a church and faced ex-communication. He fled to Glasgow Cathedral, where his co-conspiritor Bishop Wishart absolved him of blood guilt, because he had no choice. They were all in this up to their necks. He then figured his best bet was to have himself crowned King and he fled to Scone and did this on March 25th, 1306. Could there have been anything more fateful than this sorry tale of hot temper and ambition gone wrong? His sworn enemy Edward 1st of England hunted him down and with little Scottish support, he was forced to retreat to Dunaverty, on the very tip of the Mull of Kintyre. Then he put to sea and disappeared. His wife and child were captured and taken to a convent. It would be eight years before he saw them again.

What happened next became the subject of myth, with Sir Walter Scott basing his character on the hero of the novel Ivanhoe and writing a poem about him being in a cave with a spider, called 'Lord of The Isles'. But what happened after this was that in Feb 1307, he went to South West Scotland with a few hundred Irish/Hebridians, to learn how to fight the English. He didn't want Wallace's early death. In April he surprised 1500 English troops and forced them to flee and in May using trenches and better tactics, he beat 3000 English troops at Louden Hill. Edward 1st then died and the Bruce had no major opposition in Scotland for the next three years.

Do you imagine that he went about a peaceful existence or negotiated with rival families? No, this hot-headed man had unfinished buisness with the Comyn's and the Bailiol's. He simply couldn't rest until he had got rid of every last vestige of opposition. He went on a terrible rampage through Scotland, laying waste to one castle after another, along with the people and then he burnt their fields. In short he was a bloodthirsty tyrant. Then he got ill with a nameless mysterious complaint, which no medicine or doctor could cure, so he went to the highlands. Just when others thought him dead, he recovered and continued the slaughter. Can you see how this period of years of struggle in its own very different way, parallels Lennon's dragged out fight against deportation, including the 18th month 'lost weekend'.

It would not be until 1309, that he had crushed resistence everywhere and then the Pope lifted his ban of ex-communication and King Robert called his first parliament. He was not yet a hero to his people however and it would take more years, until his victory at Bannockburn, for this to happen. Is it any wonder that in his later life he did so many public acts of charity and building works for the church. Just like McBeth, he had blood on his hands and a desperate need to absolve his conscience. In the end they actually called him Good King Robert, but that is another story and I'll have to tell it another day.

So I hear you say:- "All well and good, but that is in the grisly middle ages. It's got nothing to do with me." 'Life Cycles' would say otherwise, but it's way too soon to get you to agree. You see it's all about the fateful moment in the 'Year of Broken Pathways', that then has implications for quite a few years to follow of uphill struggle. I'll be back next month with a tale from my own Australia. A tale of two 19 year olds, who made world headlines in the US in the area of crime. Who were they and why do I tell just one of their stories? Any correct answer will be published and lauded. Till then may the cycles always bring you good fortune.

John Lennon's 'Year Of Broken Pathways'

Hello again! As promised we are going to examine the life of John Lennon in just one 'Year of Broken Pathways'. This was the year when he was 31 years old, which was from 9th October, 1971 to 9th October, 1972. We are going to be looking for major direction change, that included fateful events and being somewhat 'out of control'. Matters would also take several years to resolve. This is the essence of the 'Year of Broken Pathways' and if it's a famous life, then the events can often be well known. In Lennon's case they actually made a documentary about it. Did you happen to see "The US vs. John Lennon"? If you did then you know exactly where I'm going.

In Sept. 1971 Lennon and Yoko arrive in New York. As Yoko says:- "John was in love with New York". It was regarded at the time as the centre of the creative world. John did not care what people thought about him, as long as he could get on the front page with the word 'peace'. However the problems that ensued with the government began when they befriended the anti-war activists Jerry Rubin and Abby Hoffman. He and Yoko saw them as fellow artists, but of course they weren't. They in turn saw Lennon as someone whose public profile would enhance their own cause. He became a pawn in their game. Things heated up when he offered to donate money to Bobby Seale, who was Chairman of the Black Panther Party. As a former FBI agent said:- "if you become his friend like this, you become the enemy of every law enforcement official/cop in the country". The authorities were terrified of him, he had so much sway:- "he had some intellectual force unlike types like Mick Jagger and others".

He then went ahead and demonstrated this power. Lennon sang a newly written song "John Sinclair", at the "Free John Sinclair" concert before 20,000 people and three days later the State of Michigan released him. Sinclair was co-founder of the White Panther Party, a prominent activist and was serving ten years for drug related offences. Do you think any of this government paranoia was known to Lennon at the time? Surely not, because this was all great fun for a natural rebel like him. He liked to be provocative. However his pathway was about to be changed forever. How could he have known that in July of the following year, 18 to 21 year olds were going to get the vote and his influence could imperil the Nixon administration.

His activist buddies hatched a plan to follow the Republican Re-Election rallies around the country and the next day hold a rally to preach against them, with of course Lennon up on stage to help draw a crowd. This would culminate at the Republican Convention in San Diego. When news of this leaked out Lennon became a political target. He realised his phone was being tapped and he was followed in his car. He became worried and frightened. Yoko said they knew it would have been very dangerous to appear in the rallies and they backed out.

In Feb. 1972 Senator Storm Thurmond suggested to Nixon that:-" deportation would be a strategic counter-measure" against Lennon and soon after notice was served to him. Because they were afraid of a big show trial, they used a former drug conviction in UK as the reason. Lennon knew why they wanted him gone, but he wanted to embarrass them over the reason:- "other pop stars have the same conviction, but come and go as they please.....because they don't speak out". Of course he simply could have left but he said :- "I like the place, this is where I want to be".

He hired an immigration lawyer, who kept on getting his stay extended, in what became a very complex case. With Nixon's re-election Lennon was marginalised and the FBI closed their file on him. However Immigration kept the case going for another two years. Lennon said:-" It keeps the conservatives happy something is being done and it keeps the liberals happy that I haven't been thrown out". His life became 'on-hold' and this coincided with the well-known 18 month 'lost weekend' with May Pang, Harry Nilsson and others in Los Angeles.....but that is another story and I'll tell it to you another time.

Nixon resigned over Watergate and was replaced by Gerald Ford in August 1974. Ford had little interest in continuing the battle against Lennon and his deportation order was overturned in 1975,  at the same time as his 35th birthday and the birth of his son Sean. He called this the happiest day of his life.

This example meets every criteria of  the 'Year of Broken Pathways' and its consequences, which take almost all of the rest of his 12 year cycle to resolve. It's fateful, it's important and it's life changing. It's happened to me and it's happened to you. But heck, John Lennon was just one guy I hear you say. And you know what, you're right! One swallow does not a summer make. I'll be back next month with another great story from murky, murderous old Scotland. Until then :- "may the cycles always bring you good fortune".

Introducing "The Year Of Broken Pathways"

                                               
                                                    
                               THAT'S  LIFE


            "That's life, that's what all the people say,
             You're riding high in April, shot down in May....."


If you read too many motivation gurus and attend their high-priced seminars you'd believe perfection was easily within your grasp. You know:- "all your dreams can be realised, it's just up to you....(once you follow my system that is)" etc,etc. But we all know that isn't how life goes. It's not all a bed of roses. Honestly you should save your money and just buy a Frank Sinatra CD.

No, a good analogy for how life goes is a game of poker. Now I reckon I'm a pretty good local venue player and I've got a track record to prove it. Eight times end of season winner in 3 different poker leagues. I read the books, I watch it on TV. You'd think all I had to do was turn up and win. But that's not how it goes at all! I get long periods of no good cards. I get frustrated and then I explode internally when some lesser player outdraws my better hand. Oh the bad beats! They all hurt. Sometimes I swear I'm never going to play this stupid game again. Poker players can't remember their wins, but they can tell you all their bad luck stories.

Well I'm afraid that's life in general. Some wonderful highs and long periods of average and then a few moments we'd rather forget. A few meltdowns, a few run-ins, a few set-backs. We've all been there and it doesn't matter how stellar your overall performance may look. Now I want to take you back in time to when I sat across the desk and talked to people about their careers and lives. Thousands of people for almost 20 years when I ran my own management consulting practice. That's where 'Life Cycles' comes from. It's from real-life case history evidence. I didn't go to India to become enlightened or receive a special spiritual message. I can't tell you why 'Life Cycles' is so accurate. I can only tell you that it is. And my terminology isn't that mystical either. You know the 'Year of Revolution'  is so-called because that's exactly what I observed happens to people. It's a revolution in their lives once every 12 years. That's the first lesson.

OK, so now I'm ready to introduce the second major term used in 'Life Cycles' analysis. You see when I thought about all the observations I made on the 12 year upheaval, I also began to look closely at whether there was any other year that correlated with important change. What I observed was that one year stood out in many people's lives and that was the year seven years after the 'Year of Revolution'. This time I observed a major change in direction that represented a challenge in people's lives. No, this was not merely 'having a bad day or a bad run' or a one-out drama. This was more fundamental and usually required a lengthy response over the next several years to accomodate. Once again the feeling was that:- "we are not fully in control".

The theme for this was challenge (and that can be equally for good or ill) and a change of direction. I termed this year  the 'Year of Broken Pathways'. Once again it's not such a mystical notion, it says exactly what it is. OK, so the same applies to this year as to the 'Year of Revolution' :- "show us the evidence!" That is exactly what I aim to do in a series of articles, beginning with the life of John Lennon.

Lastly, I know you're all wondering what this year equates to in age (unless you're good at maths). It equates to the ages of 7 and 19 and 31 and 43 and 55 etc. It represents the second major plank of 'Life Cycles' theory. Don't worry you're going to get familiar with it. Until we meet again :- "may the cycles always bring you good fortune".

Life Cycles-The First Lesson

This is a different post. I'm not featuring any famous or well-publicised people as teaching devices. No, this is a time for reflection on my previous eleven posts. Oh and of course it is a time to tell an unknown story.....my own! You know the vast majority of Revolution Year events happen in seemingly less significant ways. But that's only because our lives aren't written about much. It doesn't mean that my life isn't interesting as is yours. All lives are interesting! All Revolutions touch the person concerned in a fundamental way.

OK, so what happened to me when I was 36? Was I a bit like Napoleon? You don't think so? Read on. Leading up to this birthday I had been a management consultant employed by an international firm with a well-known pedigree. I had started to take a real interest in the largely unknown field of outplacement. Unknown at the time in Australia that is. Back then there were only two providers one in each of our two biggest cities. I put forward a business plan for our firm to get into it, including pinching a dissatisfied member of the rival firm's team. But I had a major problem in organisation life. I was too much of a 'one-outer', not a good 'brown noser' and my director told me "no" and said:- "that's like retreading old tyres". Then to my horror I saw a newly arrived older consultant, lunching this same director and announcing:- "I'm going to set up outplacement complete with an overseas study tour and a budget".

Well I was furious and discussed it at home. My wife said:- "Why don't you just go into business yourself". And very soon after with little preparation I did. I felt pretty let down by the whole thing. It was my "Trafalgar" moment. There I was doing bits and pieces of work when a colleague from another firm, who had gone into business at the same time told me of a colleague of his, in executive search, who was a friend of the principal of the leading UK outplacement company. Talk about six degrees of separation! I was put in contact with this person, who it turned out wanted to establish an Australian franchise. Well I had to dig deep and put my house on the line, but guess what I did and the rest as they say is history.

It was to be the start of my major career as I built the business from nothing to be a major player in this emerging market. And yes bigger than my old employer's operation. Such a moment has not happened before or since in my life. I answered the call and I won my own personal "Battle of Austerlitz". When I was in the middle of it, it didn't feel comfortable and it was definitely fateful. I wasn't in control. Now don't tell me any other theory can adequately explain this. It simply can't.

So what is the first lesson? Think about it carefully. It's in twelve parts (one for each post). Not a wasted word. In fact the whole blog symbolises the theory. Don't worry I'll teach you how later.

OK. The Year of Revolution is something you get every twelve years. It starts with birth (the greatest revolution of all) and happens again at 12,24,36,48.60 etc. Often the important mid-life age of 36 features strongly and sometimes 24 and 48, but and listen closely:- " all Revolutions are equal". They all involve important change ushered in through upheaval. At this time fateful events occur and we are not fully in control. They are symbolically equivalent to re-birth. You do not have to die to come to the next incarnation. You get a version of it when you're alive.

I know this is new and different and that people generally like the stories but are not sure of the whole theory. Well I didn't come across this to hide it under a bushel. No I came to share it with you all. This is not "the wisdom of the ancients". You are receiving it right now in your lifetime, from one of your peers.

My next post commences the next cycle, which will be full of interesting stories and lives of celebrities in meltdown and of course your next icon. Stay tuned and until then:- "may the cycles always bring you good fortune".

Napoleon-The Ultimate Revolution

We're going back in time and I want you to experience the whole thing. Put on an overcoat, line up some toy soldiers, put your hand inside your shirt, play some military music and turn your baseball cap sideways. Now look at yourself in the mirror. Yes, you are Napoleon! I want you to feel what he felt. He is the embodiment of Life Cycles. Once you know his story you will forever know the theory.

It's 1805 and Napoleon turned 36 on 15th August. So we're concerned with events taking place from then till 15th August 1806. Now who knows their history? If I was to have talked with Napoleon on 20th October 1805 he would have told me of his grand plan to break the British naval blockade and then to mount a huge invasion across the English Channel and so capture the island nation and rule the seas. He was in fact so confident of victory he had commemorative medallions struck beforehand. His combined French and Spanish fleet under Admiral Pierre Villeneuve was numerically superior. It would take a bold move by the British to put it under pressure.

But this is no ordinary year for him. No, he is in his major mid-life year of Revolution and upheavals and surprises are the order of the day. What happened next was extraordinary. At 11.00am on 21st October Admiral Nelson ordered his ships drawn up in two parallel columns, which was an unorthodox manoeuvre. Outnumbered and outgunned 30,000 men to 17,000 and with six less ships, they produced the greatest British naval victory ever at the Battle of Trafalgar. The French-Spanish fleet lost 22 ships without a single British ship lost.

Napoleon would never rule Britannia or the seas. He wasn't aware however that his enemies Russia and Austria were preparing an assault on France, if he had taken his army across the Channel. This defeat now left him the chance to adjust his strategy and turn on Britain's allies instead. A lesser man would have been crushed, but Napoleon was a military genius.

Can you not see how 'out of control' of events he was even though he quickly saw an opportunity. This is the Revolutionary upheaval par excellence. What happened next was even more extraordinary than Trafalgar.

Now we flash forward to Dec. 2nd 1805, and Napoleon and his grand armee are facing the combined forces of the Austrian and Russian Emperors at Austerlitz in modern day Czech Republic. Days before he had given the impression his army was weak and that he desired a negotiated peace. He deliberately weakened his right flank to encourage an attack. Meanwhile he ordered troops march 110 kms (70 miles) from Vienna in 48hrs. for support, which proved crucial. The Allies marched right into his trap. As soon as they left the Pratzen Heights, Napoleon ordered his troops waiting in the valley below under cover of a thick fog to advance. As he passed by, his troops waved their hats at the ends of their bayonets and their shouts of "Vive L'Empereur" gave the signal for the battle to begin. Suddenly the sun burst through the fog at 8.00 am to reveal Napoleon's troops on top of the enemy. This was the famous "Sun of Austerlitz". Books have been written just about this. Check it out some time.

It was to be Napoleon's greatest moment. What followed next was something very rare in military history :- a complete and total defeat of one army by another in one day. It would scare many a foe from ever taking the field against him. It effectively handed control of Europe over to him with the surrender of the Austrian Emperor and the flight of the Russian Emperor. Never a more career-defining moment than this!

Now consider this. With Life Cycles I don't require you to believe in what I'm saying. It's a well-established fact. It all happened at age 36 in his important year of Revolution. I have the theory based on other case histories, but I substantiate it against well proven historical and sometimes recent facts.

Why do I write of Napoleon? "What has this got to do with me?" I hear you ask. "Nothing - that's what! I didn't conquer Europe, I wasn't defeated by Admiral Nelson! I live in the real world for God's sake." Well I'm here to tell you're wrong! You better believe it. Every life has a 'Sun of Austerlitz' and a 'Trafalgar' moment in it. We all triumph from the ashes in our own way. I wouldn't say it if I couldn't find supporting evidence from a confidential survey of my friends and associates given in Chapter Ten. Their stories are your stories if you know what I mean. I'll share my story with you next month. Yes true as you are reading this I say that you will be "swept away" twice in a symbolic sense in your Year of Revolution. I say it clearly:- "You are Napoleon and he is you!"

And this wasn't because Napoleon was a bombastic Leo with this and that angle in the heavens. It wasn't because he had a life path number of 1 or because he manifested the outcome in a 'Law of Attraction' manner. They all require you to accept the unprovable. Do constellations affect our personality? Are numbers really magic? Can you simply wish it or will it so? You'll never get any proof!

I am a voice from the wilderness. I am new and I am different. I only exist because I offer you proof. OK, so if we examined Napoleon's previous year of Revolution at age 24 would we find evidence of a related kind:- namely a superior strategic military victory? You bet I can! And not only was it similar but it happened around the same time in that year as it did in his 36th year. If you ask me I'll do a separate blog on this.

No-one and I repeat no-one has ever analysed life this way before. Keep tuned in to the blog that will one day change the course of history. Next month I'm going to draw this together and may even talk about myself a bit. Until then:- "May the cycles always bring you good fortune."