- What? Are you nuts? - I don't have the time to do that. - I wouldn't even know where to start. These were some of the thoughts rattling around in my brain when the idea first came up. I have penned a blog about writing a book before but as my situation in this project is somewhat more advanced, I thought I would write about this again. So where am I now? Well, fourteen months later, I have written and self-published a series of three novels and am now working on a new book

Yes, that's exactly what I asked! The point came up in a conversation this week. I do remember when Podcasts first come out many years ago and the novelty factor drew me to them. I have also seen a few people marketing their podcasts on social media recently but haven't really been that interested. I mean, we have so many other platforms and other communications bombarding us with information! How are we supposed to find the time to listen to a podcast...and anyway, isn't eve

My 1st Published Novel - The Paintings of Rauma Have you ever thought of writing a book or starting a major project that you know is going to take a huge amount of time and commitment to make happen? I thought the achievement of one of my latest objectives might inspire you to do something new or finish something that is in progress. In June, I published my novel....Yes, around 60,000 words later, I managed to complete it, edit it, add a cover and get published on Amazon. So,

My Goal in this case is: 70,000 steps every week! Now, this is something that I am quite proud to have been achieving. I say "been achieving" because it is not a one-off but involves the same amount of effort every week (actually every day). My reasons for doing this? These are many and include: health, weight control, thinking time, relaxation and just enjoying nature. I have also been so involved in my new project, Webineyes, using a screen in the office, that I felt I just

Hello Again! As I was walking in the forest this morning, at the dawn of a new day, it struck me that it has been a while since I wrote on here. Why did it strike me this morning? Well, I adopted a new habit of walking 70,000 steps per week at the start of this year and as well as giving me lots of fresh air and exercise, it provides me with a lot of time to think. I am lucky that my walks mostly take place before work in locations just as you see above. Back to the reason fo

I am now in the process of setting up a new business! After much thought, last September, I decided to resign from the company I was employed in and do something different for a while. I provided six month's notice of resignation, which gave me plenty of time to ensure a smooth handover and I left in March of this year. This was a huge decision for me, having worked with the brand for 20 years, both owning franchises and working for the corporate side of the business, in var

Do you know that feeling when you look at a job and it seems like you may never be able to get to the end? Or you start something...and then wish you hadn't? Or when you are in the middle of something and you have just about had enough? Okay, so that is what these photos are all about. At the weekend, we had possible the biggest snowfall that I have ever seen. It came overnight and about an extra 20cm landed on top of the already thick white blanket covering the area. In addi

I recently learned a valuable lesson about how to think broader...we were spending time with some relatives and someone found this old game (pictured below). Someone tried it and couldn't do it, so of course we all took up the challenge to complete it...basically getting the small metal balls through the game without dropping through one of the holes along the way. We took it in turns to try and do it, none of us could do it! Just as we were about to give up, my 4 year old so

2019 has arrived and we have a whole new year to make the most of and achieve more of what we want in our lives. So, what are your goals for this year? and more importantly, why have you chosen them? or have you even thought about any goals for this year? Personally, I am always thinking about how I can do more of the things that make me happy...this is the way to achieve more in your life. Therefore, I always define goals for my new year. This is how I make progress with the

Need some advice on how to have an International Career? Recently, I have been asked, how have I worked in so many countries in my career? It is an exciting challenge with great experiences and opportunities to meet different cultures but is not for everyone, with long hours and arduous travel. Here are a few tips to get started for those considering this challenge: 1. Join a company with opportunities - International companies already present in other countries are the best

Making hard choices is sometimes really hard isn’t it? We can agonize for a lifetime on what to do and the consequences of that decision. Hard choices basically happen for simple reasons, for example, you have either conflict between the benefits of two choices, resulting in no clear choice to decide, or you are simply unclear on what it is exactly that you want in the first place, so neither choice is the solution. So how do you manage this situation? In reality, it is impos

So how do you get that project off the ground? How do you get over that barrier? How do you make it work? It is all very well when your coach helps you clear your vision, define and focus on your goal but maybe sometimes, your ideas are not enough to create a winning plan? What is one of the fastest ways to progress your idea? Want to add a caption to this image? Click the Settings icon. One way is to find someone who is good at it already, who has already overcome the challe

Routine is great for getting things done. I know you achieved a number of things today…for example you ate lunch or dinner and brushed your teeth. I know that you will do these things every day, but I also know that some of those maybe more life-changing things, will not be. Why is that? Were you too busy? I bet that you were not too busy to brush your teeth this morning? A great way of progressing something is through routine. You didn’t wake up one morning and decide to bru

I have worked with a number of great teams in different countries over the years . As you can probably guess, coaching is a daily occurrence in many roles. This may take the form of coaching store team members to increase service performance, virtual coaching drop-ins, line Manager coaching conversations or ad-hoc coaching with each other with particular issues that they may be facing. Over the years, I have arranged a number of external and internal training sessions for tea

The only thing I can promise you, is that if you don’t start your task or project, you will never achieve it! Sometimes, just taking that small step towards your goal and accepting that there may be a long journey ahead, can get you there, in a really good and perhaps easier way. Many times over the years, I have come across people that have a task ahead of them that feels almost insurmountable. It feels so big that they find it difficult to make any kind of a start. They see

I recently went to a great coaching course which had a long reading list that I wanted to get through. I duly purchased the first book on the list. Done! On my way! Unfortunately, with my current schedule, it ended up looking at me on the bedside table for a some weeks (although I have to admit that it does have a rather lovely cover). It basically wasn't happening, so I decided to look in the mirror (so to speak) and do some self-coaching. So with a blank piece of paper and

I wonder what you have learned from your Boss to enable you to achieve more? My guess is, quite a bit! I have seen a few posts recently around the subject of choosing a great Boss as a priority over finding a great company to work for. I completely agree and wish to write about some personal experience of this. Whether it be valuable knowledge, skills and behaviours that you can use to progress your own development, or perhaps the opposite when they are negative. All are usef

Different people call coaching different things. For me, coaching is all about helping people to open their eyes and take the best advantage of the opportunities available to them. There are many opportunities that appear in front of us all. Some of us will experience more of them and to different degrees, than others. The difference between us, as human beings and many other species, is that we have the ability to make a conscious decision to choose which opportunity is the