It was September 11th 2002, one year on from the Twin Towers attack . I was in my London office and had to drive to a meeting across town on the other side of the River Thames. Saying the traffic was bad would be an understatement. It’s usually difficult getting around on the roads in the centre of London at the best of times, but this was something else.

To make things worse, my usual route, which takes me past St Paul’s Cathedral, was blocked off by the police. There was to be a big remembrance service there later in the day so I was diverted along an unfamiliar route.

Having finally reached my destination a little late and got my meeting over with, I then had to get back. I tried three different routes never managing to get within even one mile of Shoreditch and my office. The roads were grid locked and I wasn’t getting anywhere. I was also low on petrol and  was concerned about my tank reaching empty while I was still in the jam.

In normal circumstances, I suppose I’d have reacted like most other drivers, cursing my predicament and every brainless idiot trying to jump the queue of traffic, slowly boiling away inside trying to set a new blood pressure record. But I didn’t, surprisingly I stayed reasonably calm and rational. I concluded that I was wasting my time trying to get to my office any time soon, so changed my plan. I headed off for an early lunch and the nearest petrol station.

So what was different this time?

Well on this occasion, I couldn’t help thinking about what was causing the situation, the many remembrance events around the city to mark what had happened 12 months before. Pondering those events really didn’t make my predicament seem that important in the scheme of things.

Why is it that sometimes a normally annoying situation can be calmly accepted, or more simply an apparent negative situation can be regarded as positive?

It all depends on your perspective on a particular situation! And of course, your perspective is determined by your attitude.

Attitude a little thing that makes a big difference!

Your attitude is just as important in determining the success of your business endeavours as it is the more trivial personal situations you find yourself in, such as the one I describe above.

The single most fundamental thing you can do to almost guarantee success in anything you choose to do or be is to have the right attitude. Good attitude is about being positive, confident and having self-belief.

There is no big secret or magic formula that will ensure your success. There is only you! You are the single most important factor in the equation.

The only way you will succeed in anything is through your own hard work and persistence. But to drive you on through any adversity day after day, you need the right mental attitude.

With the right attitude you simply can have or be anything you really want.

Be successful!

Technorati Tags: attitude, self-belief

I had a long drive ahead of me…

I set off at the crack of dawn to avoid the rush hour traffic and get to my destination as early as possible. There were very few cars on the local roads at that time in the morning and no pedestrians that I noticed. The road I was on seemed almost deserted, except for when I reached a straight section of tree-lined avenue not far from home.

There in the centre of the road ahead sat a little grey squirrel.

I suspect that the little chap was quite surprised to see my car. He jumped up in surprise and began rapidly looking this way and that. Then he began what could have been mistaken for a little dance. A few steps to the left, a few steps to the right, and repeat. He really couldn’t make his mind up which way to run to escape. Should he go left or should he go right?

In fact, he was moving back and forth so much, I had to swerve several times before I managed to hit him!

OK, cheap laugh! Well, it made me laugh anyway. I’m sorry, I just couldn’t resist the temptation. Must be my warped sense of humour.

I promise you, I never ran him down I slowed down enough to let him safely escape. The last time I saw him he was fit and well, and running up a tree. Honest your honour!

The little critter knew he had to do something to survive, he just couldn’t decide which direction to go.

I heard a news report on the radio a few days later. Apparently far fewer hedgehogs are being killed on our roads. They’ve learnt that when a car is coming it’s foolhardy to roll into a ball. Instead, the instinct to just run for it as fast as they can is now being passed through the generations. Hedgehogs are learning through evolution that standing still is not good for their future.

Enough already, what has this got to do with me?

Well if you haven’t worked it out yet, it’s all about having some direction in your life. You’ve got to have something to aim for right? Without direction you’ll just be running in circles, or back and forth like our little squirrel friend. You simply must have some direction if you want to move your life forward, get it?

OK clever whatsit, how do I create direction?

The easiest way is by setting yourself some goals. I won’t go into detail here about the finer points of goal setting, that’s for another article. I just want you to make the decision to set yourself at least one. Make sure it’s achievable, write it down, read and visualise it regularly using all of your senses so it becomes real to you.

Believe me, setting goals works! All successful people have been setting goals for themselves for years. So if you want to emulate them and achieve success for yourself, in whatever sphere, you must set yourself some goals.

So how d’you square up?

Are you a squirrel who has no direction in life, or are you a hedgehog who gets his head down and goes for it?

Be successful!

Fun stuff. Yes I probably could have made a whole lot more money spending my free time in front of my computer. But in my defence a couple of quotes come to mind. I don’t want to be “the richest man in the graveyard” and nobody said before they died -  “I wish I’d spent more time at work!”

Let’s be clear about why we aspire to have a successful business. In my case it’s about family and freedom. And that’s reflected in the fun stuff I mentioned at the start.

The weather has improved that much in the London area that I’ve been able to get the winter covers off my aircraft and take it for my first flight of the year. I was a little apprehensive not having flown for some months, but it was great being up in the clouds again.

I’ve also been preparing my race car for the coming season. My first race of the year will be at Snetterton race circuit in Norfolk, UK on 5th April. I finally managed to get the battered near side front wing replaced so the car looks a little more respectable. Hopefully it will last a few races before that one gets bashed and dented like the last.

But most importantly of all I’ve welcomed a new member to the family with the birth of my second grand child. My youngest daughter Nicola made me a very proud grandfather when she gave birth to baby Lucy. She was just over 8 pounds birth weight and 12 days overdue. Not in any hurry to enter the world; clearly takes after her mother.

Me playing the proud grandfather with baby Lucy a couple of hours after her birth

OK, so I’m going round the houses a bit. But what I’m on about is the work-life balance. And the picture above is the best example of why it’s important to get it right; having time to enjoy your family, having time for the really important things in life and having time to have fun.

I count my ‘riches’ based upon my life experiences and not on the balance in my bank account.

Be successful.

Technorati Tags: doing fun stuff, family time, life's riches

What a start to the week in good old blighty. London awoke on Monday morning to a six inch dousing of snow. Apparently the worst to hit the capital for 18 years. And the result was utter chaos. This being the same city that survived the blitz. I guess that’s where the Gerries had it wrong, they should’ve dropped snow and not bombs.

reflectionsAll the buses were taken off the roads and a lot of the trains weren’t running – the wrong kind of snow on the tracks (sorry a London joke that one!). The schools were mostly closed prompting even more people to stay at home. And stay at home they did; both on Monday and Tuesday. Businesses says they lost billions whilst families built snowmen.

I just happened to have both days off as I’m working next weekend. So I got to watch the snow fall from my study window. And here’s the view I enjoyed.

I heard today that the London Borough of Camden had shut their parks both days for health & safety reasons. Yes things really were mad! But it was back to work today when overnight the Tuesday slush had turned to ice. And as Janet my wife reflected this evening, conditions today were far more treacherous underfoot than on the two days of powder.

More snow is forecast for Friday, which probably has the kids hoping for another day off school and the parents already mourning the Christmas holiday hoping for another excuse to wag off work.

One thing is certain – come rain, shine, snow or high water I guess nothing’s going to excuse me from work in front of this PC. Here’s to success and as always…

Be successful.

Technorati Tags: idle reflections, London snow, snow days

A small agricultural community was suffering from a severe drought. If the rains didn’t come soon the crops would be ruined and the farmers and their families would most likely starve. The people turned to their preacher for a solution.

The preacher told them all to “come to church on Sunday”, when they would all join together and pray for rain.

Sunday came and the whole community turned out for the church service. There was hushed quiet as the preacher climbed up to the pulpit to speak.

He looked around the expectant faces of the congregation and studied them pensively. Finally, he opened his mouth to speak: “I suggest that you all go home” he said “there will be no rain today.”

The congregation were aghast. “But you promised us rain” they cried.

The preacher turned to address them again and said: “I see that not one of you has brought an umbrella or a raincoat with you today. How can you hope to pray for rain, if in your hearts you have no faith that it will come?”

Think about that message for a moment. How can you hope to achieve anything, if in your heart you have no faith that you’ll actually achieve it?

The Oxford English Dictionary gives the following definitions for the word ‘faith’:

– trust, things believed, loyalty, fidelity, confidence.

Well these cover all the angles!

To succeed with anything you first need to trust in your own ability to succeed and be loyal to that trust. By that I mean don’t go changing your mind every five minutes. You know the drill ” Yes I know I can achieve that!” one minute and then “Well now I’m not so sure!” the next.

Stepping on from this you also need the confidence and self belief to see the thing through to its completion.

Let me paint another image of faith for you, again involving the rain.

You’ve probably heard stories of the legendary ‘rain dance’ carried out by the American Indians. Apparently they could dance to make it rain.

“But!” I hear you cry, “They just danced until it began to rain. There’s nothing mystical about that!”

No my friend you’re right. But they had the faith to continue dancing, knowing that if they danced long enough the rain would come.

Take a look in the mirror. Do you have enough faith to continue ‘dancing’ until you achieve the dreams you desire?

Do you have enough faith to ‘carry your umbrella’ even though your associates may have fallen by the wayside. Certain in the knowledge that good fortune will rain down upon you?

If you don’t have faith in yourself and your ability to succeed, then you’re sunk even before you launch your boat. Faith is a very powerful emotion that can conjure up all sorts of amazing phenomena. Remember, that faith requires trust, self-belief, loyalty to yourself and above all confidence in your own abilities. If you’re ‘packing’ all those weapons then you’re really a force to be reckoned with.

Be successful.

Technorati Tags: confidence, faith, loyalty, self-belief, trust

One of my favourite soul singers called Beverly Knight recorded a great song a couple of years back. It was called “Would’a, Could’a, Should’a” and was played a lot on the radio at the time.

The last line of the chorus goes something like…

“Would’a, could’a, should’a are the last words of a fool!”

That’s a sentiment I agree with entirely! I promised myself a long time ago that when I get to the point of having one foot in the grave with the other following swiftly, I wouldn’t regret not having tried or achieved anything specific in my life.

Would I have succeeded at ……?

Could I have been good at ……?

Should I have tried my hand at ……?

Trust me, these are three questions I won’t be asking myself in my dying breath.

Why? Because if I ever get an inkling or a desire to try something new, I get up and go for it! The more radical it is the more motivated I become.

If I were to sit down and write down everything I’ve done this far in my life that Mr. Average most probably hasn’t, it would be a very long list. I’m telling you this not to try and impress you, but to make the point that you don’t know what you can achieve until you try.

Some of the things I’ve tried have provoked incredulous responses from others. Some people think I’m just plain crazy. But hey, I wouldn’t swap my life experiences with theirs in a million years. When I look back upon my life I know I’ll have lived every second of it. “Life ain’t no rehearsal” as they say.

I recently caught the end of an interview with Anthony Robbins on TV. The interviewer was asking Tony how he made decisions on what path to take in his own life. He referred to a test he uses, which he called “The Rocking Chair Test”. He apparently applies this test whenever he needs to make a “Yes” or “No” decision about a new opportunity that presents itself to him.

To apply the test, he imagines himself in his eighties sitting in a rocking-chair and looking back over his life. He then considers whether he’d regret saying “No” rather than “Yes” to a particular opportunity.

At the end of the interview Tony emphasised an important point – You don’t receive or achieve much in your life whenever you say “No!”

So stop saying “No” and start saying “Yes!”

Do you have a burning desire to try something new? If you do, then go right out and do it!

Won’t it be great? Trust me, it will be better than you can imagine!

If you follow this approach you’ll truly surprise yourself every day. You’ll learn so much more about yourself. Why? Because you’ll be provoking reactions, thoughts and feelings that you never would have had otherwise.

There are some amazing things waiting to be discovered only by you, but only if you go looking for them. Remember, “life ain’t no rehearsal!” So make the most of the precious time you have on this earth. You owe it to yourself!

Don’t be the fool whose last words are “would’a, could’a, should’a!”

Be successful!

Technorati Tags: achievement, adventure, fear, living life, procrastination, say yes