How to live 5 incredible live, all in one, according to the author.
A very good friend of mine recently said, “Oh, you don’t need to worry about Leighton. He will never die wondering.”
I think that he was implying that I was fortunate in that I had had many wonderful and exciting days in my past and also that I was still “living the life” and I mean doing it proud. He was well aware of my propensity to live the way you do when you know how to live 5 incredible lives in one.
Yes, he was right. I had lived life to the fullest and Steve was well aware of the extent of my adventures and fantastic life experiences. Heck I think he knew I was going to try my hand at writing and end up as Leighton Clark Author, telling the facts on how to live 5 incredible lives in one single life.
How to live 5 incredible lives – deep thoughts.
Well, I think he was right. Like everyone else I will die, but I will not die wondering what it would have been like to have done it differently.
I will not lie back on my death bed and think, “I wonder if I had done this, or that.” This is at least in part due to the fact that I have lived 5 incredible lives in my lifetime, thus far!
Therefore, as alleged by my very good friend, Steve, when comes the end of my life, I could not possibly, like some, despair that I never got to Machu Picchu?
Or “Damn it, I never learned to fly!”
Or …………
“Gee, I never had that happy feeling walking down the street with a wallet absolutely stuffed with cash?”
I guess that you are wondering how I ended up here. And remember that I had to hitchhike back to Darwin from Melbourne, just so I could get home for Xmas.
P.S. I went 1st Class on the Ghan for the price of a 3rd Class Ticket. True……….
HOW TO LIVE 5 INCREDIBLE LIVE – AUTHOR IDEAS.
Well actually, I have been an author, the Leighton Clark Author guy, that is, over quite a long period. Check out my novel “The Sixth Season, Gudjewg” or my crocodile website: The Crocodile Chronicles Australia.
The real question is:
“What is the essence of life?”
And the answer to that is, “Who knows?”
It varies dramatically from person to person.
In my case, it is very definitely a combination of variety and challenge. And interest. And passion. Why limit myself?
To me, life (OR MORE LIKELY LIVES) without the variety and the sharp, steep learning curve would pale. Leighton Clark Author will be another step towards the goal of achieving 6 incredible lives in one go.
So it goes that I can make a comment – a serious comment.
Author – an incredible 5 lives in 1.
That is the truth.
Yet, it has in some ways been a strange ride, ever changing, sometimes morphing surreptitiously, or erupting in fine cataclysmic style, and in doing so often producing a massive change to one’s carefully laid plans, and in the alternative sometimes changed anew by the fickle finger of fate.
In many cases my life was dramatically altered by my own design and my determination.
My working life began with hard work, heat, humidity, and sweat.
My first job after school saw me in the Stevedoring Union. Yes, mate, I was a bloody wharfie!
At the wharf in Darwin I carried bags of salt up a gangway onto a small ship. The bags of salt were heavy, the salt got into my badly-chafed skin, and the wooden plank welcomed me with a slight wobble, making the trip hazardous and every step precarious. That wasn’t enough for my boss.
He had another great idea and in the heat and humidity of the sub-tropical wet season he stuck me in a tall, tin shed. I discovered that my job was stacking bags of cement. Now it was 99 degrees Fahrenheit and 99 percent humidity and I was right in what I thought was my rightful place, at the top of the pile, but in this case it was right on top of the stacked bags of cement. My perch was high, just under the iron of the galvanised iron roof, and it was damned hot.
We started early at 7.00 A.M. and we often worked close up to midnight, and occasionally after midnight. I worked very long hours, got full adult pay, a lot of time-and-a-half, and sometimes even double-pay. Like we were crazy and worked all day Sunday. Yep, I was earning a fortune.
Author – not living the 5 incredible lives.
See, the cement gets into your nose and ears. It gets into your eyes, and worse; it penetrates your very skin. My day was long, and cement soaked. Get home, take a shower at midnight, paint your body in oil, wake early to a blackened sheet, and “oh shit!” Leave that to your mum. Back to work again in the hothouse.
Did I enjoy that?
Well, yes, sort of, because to me every experience has something of value in it. You just have to have the right attitude to see the thing of value.
I could write a lot about that!
Long years have passed, but in the meantime, directly following my “wharfie days”, the Australian Regular Army.
I was meant to go to O.C.S. (Office Cadet School) at Portsea. I joined at 17 years of age – too young for Portsea. You had to be 19 – so I had to do a year and a half in the ranks. I was going to be an officer and a gentleman. I didn’t achieve either. It was so sad – just one of life’s great disappointments.
I left the army once I became suitably disgruntled and I was a professional window cleaner for a while. I cleaned bricks, too. I cleaned up a few pots of cold beer too.
You might want to know more about this. Well, all of this is covered in my true story, “Living and Drinking in Fitzroy and Carlton in the Sixties.”
Nearly finished!
Back to my Army career. Why am I one of the few soldiers that corresponded with the Minister for the Army AND the Defence Minister?
What was life like at Central Army Records Office at Albert Park Barracks?
What did we have for lunch?
Read my book!
5 Fantastic experiences – it all happened.
There was:
1. The big yacht project (this will be covered in “How to Build a 48 Foot Trimaran”,
2. An aquaculture venture with the family who sold their Channel 9 TV Station to Frank Packer,
3. My own real estate agency business, and
4. My own building business.
5. Not to mention 4 cattle properties and 4 times to Uni.
I may have been jostled about by the fickle finger, working in a variety of jobs and a host of places, but eventually after a stint in Darwin working at the Darwin Hospital, where I was not a resident surgeon, but in fact the Courier (and, courtesy of an old Darwin High School schoolmate Franz Schoolmeester, registered as the Yardman, because that role pays better than the courier job) and another go up in in Townsville working for Kern Bros, who became Kern Corporation, the biggest on the Eastern Seaboard, I got back into the real estate business in Melbourne as a proprietor.
I did well – very well.
REAL ESTATE AND CONSTRUCTION
At one point of time my real estate agency was selling some 50 new homes a month.
That is over 500 new homes a year, plus we sold established homes and land.
We sold lots of land, but almost all of the land sales were a part of a you-beaut, fantastic package deal, meaning that there was a house to go with the land.
And there was plenty of money. Back then, in the early 80s, I represented over 20 builders. They paid me well because I got results. I never failed them. My job was to set up the deals and make them work. The builders were extremely appreciative, or in the sad and sorry alternative, at least paid me what I asked of them.
One of them even paid me a consulting fee of $75,000 P.A. He’d give me a cheque for $1500 every week, and I would just bank it. That wasn’t a bad side-line back in the early 80s.
I have to admit I was making a quid. It was exciting and challenging.
Then, I started a construction business, simultaneously with the continuation of the real estate company. My own building company – a 30 year stint. Did well there for 30 years, too.
LEIGHTON CLARK, AUTHOR CRIES:
“But is this to be the sum of my life?
Is making money what it is all about?”
No, it is about how to live 5 incredible lives in one and that means more than money. It means getting the most out of joy of life.
This does mean things like exercise, and I will talk about this later. Of course it means a good family life, with children, and doting on them. I have done that. I reckoned that back in the eighties, I was the only real estate agent who took every weekend off………. I often picked my kids up after school and took’em to lessons, all kinds of lessons. And I spent my weekends with my young children. And their school holidays.
ACHIEVING IS THE GOAL.
To be honest, although I do like money, my objective was more in the line of “achieving.”
Money is good, and really it should come along by itself, as long as you do achieve. But what I loved most of all was the success itself.
I love the excitement and the pleasure of living life, business or private, to the fullest. Here I am talking about the life of achieving, of winning, of knowing that whatever you do, you just know that you are damn good at it.
Despite what some detractors might say, I am quite clear that money per se is not the quintessential me.
So why not focus on my other side? I did have my other side. I will be completely honest and admit that I had it all.
ACHIEVING – THE OTHER SIDE – NOT ABOUT MONEY.
But I was the guy who loved Shakespeare, particularly King Richard III?
If you wonder why, ponder then, on “Since I cannot prove a lover etc etc.”
And I was enthralled by a variety of poetry like, for example, Browning’s “The Bishop Orders his Tomb at Saint Praxed’s Church.”
Who can say it better, other than “mistresses with their great, smooth marbly limbs.” It just drips off the tongue doesn’t it.
Or the guy (ME) who wrote a novel about crocodiles? That alone might get me some credence as Leighton Clark Author. It is not well-known how much effort and time I put into that book. The truth is I spent hours and hours studying intense things like the physiology of the crocodile, the different seasons of Arnhem Land, which was a lot of work because there are six of them, etc. I used up hours and hours, learning all I could every detail of birds, animals, fish, reptiles, hunting, trapping, and Arnhem Land itself. It was a passion, but I stress that even with having lived in the territory, and having hunted and fished in its swamps and rivers, it is true that without the extensive formal study I could not have written a book which is truly so authentic. It is in every sense detailed because I added academic knowledge to my N.T. life experiences.
THE AUTHOR AND PEOPLE FORGET TO READ.
Are books going out of fashion? That would be a bad thing for Leighton Clark Author and other writers. Perhaps.
It is a shame that a lot of people have given up, or never took up, reading books.
ACTING?
What about the guy who enjoyed acting on the stage? I was once an Ogre. Another time, I was Nero killing his mother while Rome burned. Of course, I was the Ringo Kid in Frontier Psychiatrist.
I was in the very first play put on by Belgrave Players and went back years later. It was so long no-one knew me. I was the man who played the part of Colonel Markinson in a theatre production of “A Few Good Men?”
This acting helped me a great deal in life. For example, I remember a time when a hard-headed, tough Dutch couple refused to pay two thousand dollars more on a real estate deal. The salesman brought them up to my office hoping for a miracle. Well, he got one.
I took one look at them. They were more than ready for my glib talk. So I dropped to my knees and begged them to pay the extra money. They couldn’t handle that! Yes, I was inspired and my salesman most impressed.
Perhaps Leighton Clark Author should write a book about the benefits of becoming an actor and strutting the stage?
There was a passion for outback travel, camping on the dirt by the fire with a piece of canvas, the hunting, the exploring, and the sense of absolute freedom.
Glory to Jack Absalom, mentor and friend through the pages of his own life. He taught me much. Ideas tested in the tough mettle of real life in the outback. Authors should formally acknowledge Jack’s great contribution.
Glory be to Gus Mercurio RIP. He once told me he loved me, and he urged me, “not to sweat the small things.” Bloody good advice – great bloke.
I was a serious business man, respectable, and prudent. But there was also that wild colonial boy side of me that drove me to buy and run my cattle stations in the outback.
And there was the scholar side of me that sent me to University to do an Applied Science Degree. Yes, me, the guy who failed Leaving Maths 2.
I have to be honest. I almost gave up the first day in the Engineering Lab where the blackboard rolled around and around, and the lecturer asked questions that had no answers for me, or from me. But part of living the life is not giving up.
And so I graduated six years later. And I went back for more. Yes, four times I visited the great wells of knowledge, and yes, I did learn a lot.
But I spent even more time learning by the self-help method. I was a student of life, a reader and a thinker, indeed.
AUTHOR – FAMILY MAN.
I was a real family man. When my children were very young, I took every weekend AND all the school holidays off. I didn’t go to the office; I spent time with my kids. Likely, I was unique amongst real estate agents at that time.
Also, each work day, I picked the kids up from school, and I took them to lessons, everything from basket ball and swimming to horse-riding, table tennis, and tennis. And piano and much more.
I reckon I was the only real estate agent in Melbourne who didn’t work on Saturdays or Sundays. That is fair dinkum. I gave it a miss and relied on my five sales managers and twenty-odd salespeople.
But I had a good time.
Throughout my so far reasonably long and rather eventful life, I guess I did what I wanted at the time. Regardless.
Some might say that I was selfish. Let them!
But before throwing the word into the air, define it, and be sure to define what would be the opposite of “selfish.”
I joined various groups – a few examples:
1. Lilydale District Horse and Pony Club.
Committee, Vice President, President, and Treasurer.
Actually, this was not really my choice, as it was rather like a life sentence, as my daughter stayed for 17 years, and I, too, was committed for 17 years!
2. Bendigo Bank. This was a relatively short period of community engagement. Interesting.
3. Rotary Club. I reckon I was the most active NON-MEMBER.
BUT MANY INTERESTS ONE WAY OR THE OTHER.
There were many more organizations and entities. I involved myself in all kinds of social and political areas.
4. The Liberal Party. I believe in the nice sort of capitalism. I lean toward the Liberal philosophy, AND I played my part.
5. The Belgrave Players – a theatre group. I returned to the group after a long absence, did a few plays, and retired again. Too much to do.
6. Gruyere Land Care Group. As the President I was responsible for planting gum trees and saving rare species.
7. Swinburne University. I was a student twice, served on a committee, was a guest speaker at Swinburne Expo (following the illustrious Bob Hawke) and a mentor to International Students.
6. And much more.
For myself?
Some of the above. Plus I hunted, I fished, I rode motor-bikes, I learned to fly, I scuba-dived, I snorkeled, and I spearfished. I socialised quite a bit.
I learned to speak a little of the Mandarin language. and read a little. I also bought a grand piano and learned to play it. Badly, of course, but still I have some ability to read music and play a piano – an unimaginable possibility in the past.
On my stations I learned a lot about machinery and mechanics. I became quite expert with my Volvo L70 articulated loader.
I became quite proficient as a cattleman and station owner. I enjoyed my experiences on the land.
I kept up both an informal self-help education and as I said went to Uni four times.
I travelled a lot. A hell of a lot.
What else?
I sailed, I built a boat.
I started and ran several business operations, and much more than that. This is long before I became Leighton Clark Author.
I helped a lot of people. I admit my own life was the main focal point but nevertheless I helped a lot people. More later.
Yes, I read a lot. I read more intently on academic material when I grooved through some formal education, too. My Botany, my Animal Science, and my Microbiology all helped with my crocodiles adventure and also my cattle stations business operations. Helped me too, as Leighton Clark, the author.
If you want to know about crocodiles then look up Crocbite……………………http://www.crocodile-attack.info/
or check out my crocodile site. http://www.thecrocodilechroniclesaustralia.com
It all helps.
In my mind, all of these life experiences have helped me to become the man that I became: Leighton Clark Author.
Then, I say to you that all of that knowledge and experience qualifies me to write on a range of subjects. I may be opinionated but I will listen.
At the end of that, I do know something of life. And, while I am not in any sense retired – I intend to put a bit of time into writing.
Why? Why does Leighton Clark Author bother to do it?
Because it is life. Because I like it!
Regards, Leighton Clark Author.