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SCMP Reporter

ONE, two, three, four, JUMP. You tumble head-first out of the helicopter 300 metres up and the earth rushes to meet you - fast. Time slows as your life flashes before you.

 Shapes on the ground loom horribly large as you dive towards them.

 You prepare to die.

 Then, miraculously, just three metres from the ground, a yank from the bungee cord gripping your ankles sends you soaring back up into the sky.

 Sounds like a nightmare and it certainly was for Jane Wishaw. She lived through the stunt for an Australian television show called Who Dares Wins, although it nearly went terribly wrong - she was not meant to go as close to the ground.

 The stunt put Ms Wishaw into the Guinness Book of Records for the world's highest bungee jump, and three years later she is still getting fan mail.

 Galvanised by her conquest of fear, Ms Wishaw has (literally) profited from the experience by becoming a motivational speaker, spreading the message to the business community that inner potential can be unlocked if you are prepared to take the plunge.

 She says now of her experience: 'It was the ultimate challenge of myself. It was terrifying.

 'My lungs got a good workout - screaming, screaming, screaming. They will never allow it again [because] it is so dangerous.'  Ms Wishaw said she had been able to provide an inspiration to business people at conferences around the world.

 'It is a very motivational presentation, it is very uplifting, it is very emotive. It does create a shift within people to realise that life is all about choices,' she said.

 'We take on this external belief of fear and make it our own. We talk about reviewing your sense of reality and how you are choosing to see life. You can see how this manifestation is inhibiting you from moving forward, even if it is the smallest step.'  Ms Wishaw, though, has definitely been moving forward in big steps. With her bungee jump as a mental springboard she was catapulted to take Telstra's Australian businesswoman of the year award in 1997, and promoted to sales manager at the sprawling Burswood Resort Casino in her native Perth.

 'Having achieved something like this [the jump] it has given me an incredible feeling of internal strength,' she said.

 'When you are going into that boardroom meeting or you are making that presentation you realise that you have achieved an ultimate challenge and everything else fits in underneath that.'  Just to make sure she's not losing her touch, Ms Wishaw has since taken a swim with 10-metre whale sharks and climbed a mountain in America's Yosemite national park bare-handed.

 One of her latest work challenges is how to attract more clients from the Middle East to go to stay at Burswood, the biggest hotel, convention and gambling complex in the southern hemisphere. She has already made a start, organising a special greeting for a visit by United Arab Emirates Economy and Commerce Minister Sheikh Fahim Al-Qasimi and 80 top UAR businessmen.

 'I thought how can I make this a memorable event if they are staying just one night?' she said. 'A lot of our camels are sold to the Middle East so I welcomed them with two camels standing each side of the hotel and a huge red carpet.'  With Emirates Airlines next year starting direct flights to Perth there is plenty of potential for the A$745 million (about HK$3.73 billion) Burswood complex, which this year has already catered to 2.35 million visitors.

 Not all Burswood's visitors are there to gamble. Some watch stars like Michael Jackson and Mariah Carey perform or the annual Hopman Cup tennis tournament, while others are there to enjoy Perth's temperate climate.

 'With the Middle Eastern market, they are particularly keen to have a reprieve from the summer heat,' Ms Wishaw said.

 Also on her agenda is the organisation and promotion of a new four-day Burswood 'Rest and Recreation' package for Hong Kongers.

 Among her many pursuits outside work, Ms Wishaw takes meditation seriously.

 'It gives me piece of mind and helps me focus on the day ahead,' she said.

Jon Ogden 



Business speaker's life-changing experience was a scream