Well that’s it for another decade. Does anyone else think that Millennium eve seems like a couple of years ago? How do you recall that amazing night when the excitement of a new Millennium was tainted by the fear of aeroplanes falling from the sky, bank machines going haywire and nuclear warfare made a reality when all of the computers in the world went tits up because of clocks and computers not recognising 00.00.00? Since then the world and those in it have changed a great deal, some for better and some for worse.
Mankind has tried its best to eradicate itself from the planet in more ways than one. 9/11 was only nine years ago. The day it happened I was working in London. I had woken up that morning to discover that for the second time in as many months my car had been broken into. I drove all the way home listening to the commentary and when I arrived I sat transfixed in front of the TV not quite believing what I was watching. Where were Arnie, Bruce or Rambo? When were they going to save the world?
As a result of this we were taken to war on what we now know was a false pretext of finding WMD. We were to spend the rest of this decade and goodness knows how much of the next fighting one war or another and we all know that there is not going to be a winner who ever waves the white flag first.
It was on 29th August 2005 when Mother Nature decided to vent her spleen and remind us that she and only she will decide when this planet is brought to its knees completely when on Boxing day 2004 she destroyed thousands of square miles and took 250,000 lives in the Asian Tsunami. She gave us a second reminder of her power on 29th August 2005 when she practically whipped New Orleans off the map by way of Hurricane Katrina. Here at home we have seen several examples of her power by way of flooding and adverse weather conditions. Surely this is just her reminder that no matter how powerful or clever the human race thinks it is she is still the mightiest power of all?
Climate change has been a major topic of the decade and the closer we get to destruction the further away we get from a reason for it. Perhaps it was Mother Nature who brought about the destruction of the dinosaurs (it certainly wasn’t me leaving my telly on standby was it?) and perhaps it will be her who decides that planet earth needs a reshuffle when she is ready to administer it?
Something that disappoints me personally that has become more prevalent over the last decade (or at least I have started to notice it more) is the lack of common decency and plain old good manners. Are please and thank you such very hard things to say? Perhaps this is best reflected by the sign outside my neighbours house that was put up for their young son at Christmas, it simply says “Santa stop Here” with no use of the word please on there. If we want our children to show good manners then perhaps we should become the change that we want to see. There appears to be an entire forgotten generation of young people who have been confined to the scrap heap during the noughties. A huge number of this generation seem to have a complete disregard for themselves or for other people and their property. Perhaps this could be because children are having children at an alarming rate with seemingly no form of support or responsibility for their offspring and it’s a crying shame. The answer (in my truth) is for us to go back to plain and simple family values including respect for self and others which of course includes the use of the expressions please and thank you. Given that we teach people how to treat us my belief is that the more often we show respect to others then the more often we will have respect shown to us. Why not join me in this one, let’s become the change we want to see and we can start by saying please and thank you at every opportunity.
Another subject that will define the ‘noughties’ for me will be the meteoric rise of the litigious society that we are now living in. A “where there is fault there is blame” mentality coupled with ambulance chasing lawyers and unscrupulous people who see litigation as a career path have made sure that a great deal of the fun I had as a child is now outlawed as contravening health and safety laws. Climbing trees, throwing stick at conkers even throwing snowballs are banned. Calling Christmas – Christmas is outlawed because it might offend other religions when they genuinely couldn’t give a toss what we call it or how we celebrate it. The list is endless. Some people are blaming overzealous politicians or local councils for instigating these rules whilst others blame the lawyers who pursue the claims. Personally neither would be successful if those of us who are more than willing to abdicate any responsibility for our actions and outcomes would look in the mirror and take some damn responsibility for our lives our actions and our outcomes. “I was walking in the corridor when I slipped on some water”...WELL LOOK WHERE YOU ARE GOING!!!!!!!
Personally the noughties has been a growing period for me. Things have happened and I have got over them. People have entered my life and stayed whilst others have entered and left. I went through a huge change after my divorce from Sara when I realised that every time something goes wrong in my life the only common denominator is me. For the most part though the changes have been positive, especially in 2009 (more later).
A defining moment for me thought was in 2007 when the Universe had listened to my arrogance about mental illness, namely depression, for long enough. You see my head was so far up my own arse that I used to say that depression was a decision, that those who were claiming to suffer from it should just ‘get a grip’ and shake themselves out of it. That was until four years of physical an emotional challenges took their toll and I had a breakdown. I was diagnosed with chemical depression brought on by physical exhaustion. I’m ok now but that was an amazing learning experience for me in more ways than I can ever explain in one blog entry. The physical achievements that had a great deal to do with that exhaustion will stay with me forever though. Climbing Kilimanjaro in 2004 and Aconcagua in 2007, completing the Marathon Des Sables in 2006 the Paris, London and New York marathons between 2001 and 2004 all added to the physical battering I was inflicting upon myself. I would not change one thing if I had to do it all again though because it is these achievements and my many others that have made me who I am and the achievement that I am most proud of as I sit here is that I genuinely like who I have become as we enter a new decade.
It would be remiss of me to leave the last decade without mentioning the mighty Rhinos who at the beginning of the century had not won the championship since the mid 70’s and who, as we speak, have now claimed the championship four, yes four, times including every year for the last three years. Excuse my indulgence here but it is often said that no one remembers who came second well we do...
2007 Saint Helens
2008 Saint Helens
2009 Saint Helens
Ok indulgence over.
And so to the year just passed. What a year 2009 has been. Some of you will no doubt be glad to see the back of it and others (me included) will be happy if 2010 picks up exactly where 2009 left off. Whatever the last twelve months and indeed the last decade have given you it is worth remembering that it is now resigned to the history books and those telly programmes that will come out in 20 years time to remind us what went on in the ‘golden year’ of 2009.
Personally 2009 is a year I will remember with affection. It was a year of growth for me (physically as well as emotionally.) I found my purpose and committed it to paper. I walked away from a physical challenge, not because I couldn’t finish it but because I couldn’t find a reason to finish it. That was a particularly powerful growing experience for me. My business has gone from strength to strength over the last five years and 2009 was no different. Of course I struggled more than in other years. However the work is still out there, it is just a buyer’s market right now. This doesn’t mean that I was prepared to accept anything just to get a gig, I wasn’t. I now know what I am outstanding at and I focus on that and leave the other stuff to people who are outstanding at it. What kept me going and my business growing was the fact that I was prepared to be flexible and also that I have been meticulous in previous years at forging relationships and creating a reputation that has held me in good stead.
I celebrated another chance to extract my head from my behind when I was invited to speak with some homeless guys a few months ago. To that point I believed for the most part that homelessness was self-inflicted and that these guys (as with the depressed guys a few years ago) should get a grip and sort themselves out. What I actually found was a group of people who have found themselves on hard times and who would dearly like to ‘get a grip and sort themselves out’ but who don’t know where to start or who find the institutionalisation of hostels and prisons preferable to taking personal control of their lives. Of course most of them suffer from some self-inflicted addiction like drugs or alcohol but each one has their own story and each one just wants to be listened to and helped a little. These are not losers who dropped out of school and society. There are some very VERY clever and well educated people in the groups I now work with who just need a leg up. I truly hope that the universe continues to give me opportunities to grow as it has done up to now.
If the media is to be believed I guess 2009 is best forgotten as quickly as possible. Wars still rage, superstars still pass away in questionable circumstances, and some politicians still see their position as one that entitles them to treat the rest of us like shit on their shoe. If there is one negative thing that I will remember from 2009 it is the fact that not one politician as yet has ended up in a court of law for their underhand and (in one case at least) darn right illegal expenses claims. Let’s hope that the next twelve months brings some positive chances and an influx of integrity to those who govern us. The chances are though that we will still be involved in at least one war, justifiably or not. We will still being taxed to the hilt to pay for a fictitious climate battle that mother nature has already decided we are not going to win whether I leave my telly on standby or not and drivers will still be abandoning their cars because the 4 inches of snow that fell last night took everyone by surprise.
Yes folks 2009 is gone in fact to coin a timeless phrase “it is no more, bereft of life it rests in peace...its f*****g snuffed it” and we can all look forward to 2010. You can make a choice right now that 2010 will be a great year or it will just be a case of “same shit just different year” it’s your call. You see whatever you believe about the next twelve months is a lie, everything you believe about the future is a lie until you make it the truth. If you say on New-Year’s eve that you aren’t looking forward to next year because it’s going to be tough, business is going to continue to be a struggle in fact you are not even certain that you will make it through the next twelve months then you are telling a lie. At least you are telling a lie until you make it true. Likewise if you join me and say that 2010 is a year to grow even more, that the business is out there I just have to keep coming up with more honest and authentic ways to attract it, that this time next year I will be looking back on a year of growth and achievement then you are also telling a lie at least you are until you make it true. So if whatever you say about the future is a lie until it becomes the truth then which lie is it going to be more beneficial for us to believe? For me it’s a no-brainer. I intend to have an amazing 2010. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not exactly sure how I am going to have an amazing 2010, I just know that I am and I am happy for you to join me.
Remember that a year is 365 days long so you don’t have to achieve everything all at once. Once you know what you are planning to achieve in the next twelve month decide what small thing you can do RIGHT NOW that if you did it consistently will bring about the vision that you set yourself for the end of the year.
If you want to lose weight 2.2 ounces a day will lose you one pound a week. That will make you 52 pounds or 3 stones and 10 pounds lighter this time next year.
If you want more money for Christmas next year £2.50 a week (the equivalent of a latte at Starbucks) will give you £120 to spend a week before Christmas.
If you want to grow your business then one extra phone call per day will give you 240 calls per working year, you do the maths on the business that could generate.
Writing a page per day will give you a 365 page novel or other book ready to publish by the end of the year.
I could go on but I think you get the picture. Almost anything that you want to achieve in 2010 can be broken down into 365 bites sized pieces that you can tackle on a daily basis. So my challenge to you is to decide what it is that you would like to celebrate achieving in the last twelve months on 31st December 2010 and then set about achieving it one 365th at a time. And write this question on your office wall or use it as a screen saver...
“What is the smallest thing I can do on a consistent basis that will have the greatest positive effect on my goal?” And then set about doing just that.
I would like to close this message by sharing just a few of the lessons that I have been fortunate enough to learn (sometimes the hard way) over the last ten years and that I will continue to observe in the future.
1. I have learned that having a purpose in life gives me a reason to do whatever it is that I am doing. It is at the very core of who I am.
2. I have learned that to know your personal values, the rules by which you live your life, you can live your purpose to the best of your ability.
3. I have learned the meaning of abundance that my rewards in life will be in direct proportion to my contributions. I have learned to give without remembering and to receive without forgetting.
4. I have learned that it is the things that I let go of from my past that will help me move forward to my future.
5. I have learned the true meaning of authenticity “entitled to acceptance of established credibility.” I realise that it matters not what I tell you that I do with and in my life, it is what I ACTUALLY do when I am my only witness that creates my integrity. Try this one on the golf course!
6. I have learned that my character, what I actually think of me, is more important than my reputation which is what other people think of me.
7. I have learned the true meaning of the law of association which states that “you either are, or will become, a reflection of the people or the environment that you surround yourself with.” If your life is in a mess take a look around you!
8. I believe that as long as I am facing in the right direction if I just keep putting one foot in front of the other I have to get there in the end.
9. I do NOT believe that there is such a thing as self made. I cannot survive without the love and support of others.
10. I believe in cause and effect, that whatever happens to me in my life (the effect) will in some way be as a result of my own actions (the cause). When you believe in cause and effect you need never be surprised at your own success.
And finally
11. I believe that certain people will read this and spend the next twelve months trying to prove my last ten statements... simply because that is what they do.
I wish each and every one of you an amazing year and I truly hope that 2010 brings you everything that you wish for yourselves.
