It seems that, if you continue to add true value to people’s lives, you can deliver the same goods, services and information to the same and new audiences, customers and clients. All you need to do is adjust the means of delivery. Frankie Valli, like the rest of society, has moved on from the vinyl recordings that we knew and loved.

Refreshingly, the panel of judges, or “coaches”, are successful performers who know what they’re talking about. On the first show, Karise Eden, a 19-year-old Central Coast girl channelled Janis Joplin, with her own unique brilliance. On the second night, Rachael Leahcar, a legally blind, 18-year-old did a superb rendition of ‘La Vie En Rose’ and will be mentored by Delta Goodram.

Also, even when the contestant doesn’t make it through, there is constructive feedback and they still leave happy. I’m hooked.

Go to a tranquil place to sooth your wounds and get some well deserved rest after the encounters of last year.

Tastefulness, tactfulness and refinement will come to the fore, and people will recognize that influence is more effective than force. Diplomacy will reign. If you want to improve your chances of success, negotiate and co-operate rather than try to force your ideas and methods onto others. It’s also a time to kiss and make up, forgive and forget. Let’s all get along. Make love not war.

Ensure that we do not become too indulgent.

The influence of the Rabbit tends to support those who like comfort, and therefore weakens their value and sense of responsibility. They are too busy having fun, entertaining others or just relaxing. Self indulgence is a Rabbit theme. Go to the theatre, spend time at the spa and visit those great restaurants you love. On the other hand, be careful not to overdo it. The Rabbit will put many temptations in front of you.

Law and order will take a back seat; rules and regulations will not be firmly enforced.

The outlook is tranquil and serene. We will have a tendency to procrastinate regarding less appealing tasks. Although you might make clear cut plans, set a comfortable pace when it comes to the execution. Active people who are always on the go will be unhappy with the Rabbit’s leisurely pace. They can find themselves in trouble if they try to move faster than the prevailing energy.

In relationships, Tigers like to dominate, whereas the Rabbit approach is to negotiate, and if necessary, manipulate. So if, in the Tiger year, you were caught up in a tussle in your love life, let the Rabbit bring some calm and peace to your domestic situation.

Money can be made without too much effort. Our way of life will be relaxed and leisurely as we permit ourselves the luxuries that we haven’t allowed ourselves for the past couple of years. It will be a moderate year at an easygoing pace. It may actually seem possible for us to be untroubled and contented without too much aggravation.

Although we will be technically be out of recession, many countries will still be in debt and subject to high taxation. Unrest will grow and governments will place their domestic agendas above the demands of international co-operation.

Expect that individual countries will introduce protectionist measures by raising tariff barriers and will move to manipulate currencies to ensure competitive export prices.

Housing markets will fall back to their long term average, and a mood of realism amongst both buyers and sellers will lead to a propitious year for real estate agents as volumes increase. Interest in the art world will increase markedly.

To summarize, the Rabbit should give most of us an opportunity to pause and catch our breath after a hectic 2010. It’s the time for peacemakers to shine, but it will have a metallic edge to it. From time to time, aggressiveness will suddenly materialize and disrupt the peace. For those who revel in a slow pace, however, it promises to be a most enjoyable time.

Have an exceptional Year of The Rabbit.

The inevitable disclaimer:
The above is designed to be purely perceptive and should not in any way be considered to be advice.

This was the man who started the clown doctor movement to cheer up and help to cure seriously ill children around the world, and I had the honour of speaking on the same platform; my address this time was, “The Role of The Mind and The Spirit in The Process of Healing and Empowerment”.

Because I had given that talk numerous times before and it had been validated by audiences of surgeons, academics and other acknowledged experts in the field, my focus was more on the great man himself.

Would he be “on” all the time?
Would he be centred on and/or off the stage?
Would he be relaxed as a speaker?
Would he constantly be happy?
Would he be hyperactive?
Would he be tiring to be with?
Would he be inspiring?
Would he feel that it’s his mission to make sure people are happy all the time?
Off-stage, would he be the stereo-typical “sad clown” a la Tony Hancock?

Patch Adams is well over six feet tall, so a man with baggy, really loud clothing, a big moustache and a red nose, walking around a five-star hotel looks a little unusual.

The odd thing is, that off-stage he likes to avoid human contact; strange for a doctor.

On-stage, he came across as a ranting left-wing extremist who, without a hint of humour in his voice, demands that we do all we can to fight large global corporations.

Off-stage, he came across as an assertive, left-wing extremist who, without a hint of humour in his voice, demands that we do all we can to fight large global corporations.

He reminded me of a giant, American, left-wing, clown version of Ian Paisley who loudly asserts that we will go to hell if we don’t rebel against the establishment.

Shortly before the start of the seminar I introduced myself to him. He looked at me sternly and said, “Oh, a ninja!? Maybe you could go over and destroy those evil conglomerates that are ruining us!”

I witnessed someone going over to him and humbly asking to have a their photograph taken with him and I heard him say, “No, you can’t. If I let you have a photo taken with me, ALL of these other people will want one as well.” The person turned away looking a little sadder, disappointed and confused.

It was the balance coming into play.

Yes, Patch Adams does very beneficial work with ailing children, and the global phenomenon that he started continues to be of immense benefit to all that it touches, but I observed the man himself to be a serious, sometimes hateful, crusty old cynic (should I have spelt “crusty” with a “K”?) I imagined him yelling at a bunch of children, screaming, “Hey, you kids! Get off my lawn!”

Of course, whatever we project to the outside world, the opposite is happening in another part of our life.

Want more proof?

Think Catholic priests, politicians, televangelists and Krusty the Clown.

That’s right, I had to read the report twice to ensure that my eyes weren’t playing tricks.

The district attorney office in Albany, NY, produced the client list of Signature Pharmacy, an Internet trafficker of steroids and human growth hormone, and eleven wrestlers were immediately implicated.

The management of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) was possibly unaware of steroid use within its ranks, otherwise it might have done something about it.

In the book and DVD by Superstar Billy Graham, the former wrestler admitted that steroid abuse led to his hip 
replacement, ankle fusion and spinal collapse. He also mentioned that he had shrunk 4 
inches and had to have a liver transplant. That can’t be good.

Is looking like a stocking full of walnuts worth the long-term side-effects?

This comes hot on the heels of a related story in which, in two hours, I convinced a group of 25 senior executives of a large, Europe-based multinational corporation that professional wrestling is the only sport left that has any semblance of decency, integrity, honesty and ultimate credibility.