When it comes to life and business there are countless ways that we can do things. In business there are methodologies for everything from improving staff performance to increasing the bottom line results.

One thing that I have noticed in life is that if I observe I learn! Most of what I have learnt in my own life has been free because I've simply observed. One day I was on Sentosa beach in Singapore and I learnt one of the most valuable lessons in my whole life simply by observing.

I was enjoying a great day out with my two children, Myra and Kai. Children as they do, show us so much. Today they were demonstrating the power of connection. Within minutes they had 'sneaked' their way into another family's beach fun and were helping them to build their sandcastle in the hot beach sand.

Watching the family build their sandcastle was like watching Pro's playing golf - each family member performing their well executed magic. They had all the right tools - plastic walls - special spades - sandcastle tower buckets - the lot. There was nothing that they did not have. Each family member focused on their part of the castle. The father did the walls which you could see he loved doing because they were so straight and each of the castle's turrets stood square against each other -everything was square - aligned and correct. Their whole operation was like watching a master building company at work - foundations - check - walls - check - turrets - check- inner castle - check. Everything evolved in perfect orchestrated harmony.

All of a sudden my son Kai - all three raging three years of cheeky fun and naughtiness - poised at the edge of the immaculately created castle - leg poised ready to strike his first blow! When I saw Kai poised ready to deal a 'death blow' to the master piece in creation, my heart leapt out. The family had worked together for at least an hour to create their perfection in the sand only to have a super-grinning three-year-old strike away their hard work and focus in a single blow.

I sat on the sand a few metres away feeling powerless to stop Kai delivering his fatal death blow to the magnificent castle palace under construction. I looked at the father's face expecting to see looks of deep anguish and instead I saw a divine smile. I was totally shocked. They had been SO focused at creating their castle and had put so much energy into building it from nothing into perfection YET here they were faced with total destruction and they were so accepting and happy.

I wish I could have captured the look on my face for prosperity because I was so shocked and they were so happy.

As it turned out Kai responded to my loud and bellowing cries of 'stop' just in time before his mischievous and 'uncontrollable' destructive foot struck its death blow. All was not lost - the sandcastle was destined to be destroyed by the incoming tide and not Kai!

I learnt that day about the joy of creation, the joy of acceptance and the joy of impermanence. When they created the castle in the sand they knew it would not last for ever -they knew in fact that it may not last for more than a few hours - yet that did not stop them as a family creating magic. And in the creation they expressed their joy - together and in harmony.

That day the 'sandcastle guide to life' was created in my mind. The only rule was to have fun. And the end result was zero but the sandcastle builders smile lines would last for the rest of their lives.

My heart opened that day to enjoying the flow of life and seeing the joy and magic in everything and not being attached to temporal results but enjoying the journey with joy.