Month: April 2022 Page 1 of 2

“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” C.S Lewis.

Captain Sir Tom Moore inspired people throughout the UK (and indeed the world) with his fundraising efforts for the NHS in 2020. Sadly, he died of Coronavirus in March 2021 aged 100. Captain Sir Tom would have been 102 on April 30 (this coming Saturday).

The Second world war veteran won praise for his positive thoughts in the early stages of the pandemic in 2020 as well as for the funds he generated through his efforts. He captured the heart of the nation and remarkably raised more than £32 million for the NHS.

It’s fair to say that when Captain Sir Tom set out to do 100 laps of his garden to celebrate his 100^th birthday he became a beacon of light in challenging times.

It’s always wonderful to see people start a new chapter in their life and enjoy a renaissance in their later years. The advances in medicine mean that people are living longer. Therefore, it’s possible to experience and do things in our old age that wouldn’t have seemed to be possible 40 or 50 years ago. There are many possibilities for people to explore.

Over the years, I’ve heard many people talk about a dream they had when they were younger or talk with a touch of regret about something that they’ve always wanted or would like to do but haven’t yet accomplished. Only to say “but I am too old now.”

Someone else who achieved something outstanding against all the odds was Cliff Young.  His story counters the limiting belief “I am too old now.”

Cliff Young, was an Australian potato farmer and athlete, best known for his unexpected win of the Sydney to Melbourne ultra-marathon (543 miles) in 1983 at 61 years of age.

What makes this feat even more incredible is the way that Cliff went about winning the race. It’s normally only attempted by world class athletes, who train specially for the event and are typically less than 30 years of age. In fact, it was the first race that Cliff had entered!

When he showed up at the start of the race in 1983, Cliff was wearing overalls and work boots! Everyone watching was shocked to discover Cliff wasn’t a spectator when he picked up his race number and joined the other runners.

He was told that he was crazy and there was no way he would finish the race. To which he replied “Yes I can. See, I grew up on a farm where we couldn’t afford horses or tractors, and the whole time I was growing up, whenever the storms would roll in, I’d have to go out and round up the sheep. We had 2,000 sheep on 2,000 acres. Sometimes I would have to run those sheep for two or three days. It took a long time, but I’d always catch them. I believe I can run this race.”

Once the race was underway, Cliff didn’t even run properly; he appeared to shuffle. Many people feared for the farmer’s safety. The professional athletes knew that it took about 5 days to finish the race. In order to compete, they ran about 18 hours a day and slept for the remaining 6 hours.

Cliff wasn’t constrained by conventional wisdom. He was unaware of this approach to the race. Whilst the top athletes slept, he kept on running! To everybody’s disbelief, Cliff ran the whole five days without any sleep and secured an amazing victory!

Today, the “Young-shuffle” has been adopted by ultra-marathon runners because it is considered more energy-efficient.

One of the things that the coronavirus pandemic has shown us is that life is uncertain and none of us know what is around the corner. Life is fragile and we must seize opportunities when we have the chance. It’s important that we live in the here and now and if we have dreams or desires, we must listen to our hearts and make every effort to fulfil them.

As part of the process, we may have to get clear on any obstacles or limiting beliefs that could prevent us from fulfilling our goals. If we identify something it’s important that we figure out solutions and devise an action plan to overcome them.

We have it in our power to take action to attempt to make our desires a reality. Life is short and none of should allow the possibility to look back on our life with regret at the chances we didn’t seize or the action we didn’t take.

This week, why not take a few moments to reflect and consider if there is something that you dream of doing but haven’t yet accomplished or experienced. Think about if you’re able to take some action to make it happen. If so, what will be your first step?

To arrange a free no obligation consultation, please contact Stephen Pauley via the contact form or by e mail: Stephen@befirstclass.co.uk

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” Leonardo da Vinci.

The clocks went forward recently in the UK and we’re now in the spring. This annual event always signals to me that it’s time for me to reflect and consider if there is a need for me to let go of anything, to declutter and simplify my life. I feel that clearing clutter helps to create some space for growth, new projects and adventures.

Completing a decluttering exercise always provides me with a sense of completion and accomplishment and it energises me. It sharpens my focus, provides clarity on my key priorities moving forward and somehow makes me feel lighter.

Clutter is defined in the dictionary as a “crowded and untidy collection of things”. That is true but it is only part of the story and describes clutter on a physical level.

A more complete definition would be:

• Items that you no longer need, want or love.
• Things that are untidy and disorganized.
• Too many things in a small space.
• An overloaded busy mind, with too many priorities to focus on.
• Anything unfinished. This can be projects or emotions.

Clutter can affect us on a physical level and have a negative impact on our energy levels. It can lead us to feel tired and lethargic and make us feel stressed and overwhelmed. Valuable time can also be wasted as we search for things such as looking for a document in a pile of papers.

It can weigh us down, make us put things off, procrastinate and keep us stuck in the past. As a result, we may not be able to “see the wood for the trees” and there may be no room for anything new to come into our lives.

Disposing of clutter is an important part of the change process and aligns with the Socrates quote “The secret of change is to focus all your energy not on fighting the old but on building the new.”

Pause for a moment and consider how much of your life, home and workspace is taken up with clutter.

Clutter prevents us from focusing on what’s really important and valuable to us, our key priorities and the people closest to us.  Everything we have has a call on our attention and therefore the more clutter we have means that more of our energy is tied up in mundane matters.

When we clear out the clutter, it allows us to focus and put the important things in our life into perspective rather than being bogged down in the details of day-to-day maintenance.

The process of clearing clutter is all about learning to let go.  It isn’t just about letting go of the belongings but the feelings and fear that keep us holding onto an excess of stuff. Life is constantly changing, so when something comes into your life, enjoy it, use it well and when it is time be prepared to let it go so that you can experience new things.

As well as physical clutter, our minds can become overloaded and we can suffer from mental clutter. This is a bi-product of the modern world and our access to many forms of technology and distraction. It’s said that our conscious brain can hold just 7 bits of information. Is it any wonder then that we can sometimes feel overloaded mentally given that we’re exposed to millions of bits of information every day?

This week, why not pause for a moment to reflect and consider if you need to let go of anything.

To arrange a free no obligation consultation, please contact Stephen Pauley via the contact form or by e mail: Stephen@befirstclass.co.uk

“Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.” Sir Winston Churchill.

We have just endured two years of the Covid pandemic and seen significant disruption to our daily lives. Sometimes the news stories have been sad and challenging to watch.

Understandably news bulletins and newspaper stories are dominated by the awful events unfolding in Ukraine following the Russian invasion and constant shelling of Ukrainian cities. The images of people fleeing for their lives and the devastation created by Russian aggression is hard to watch sometimes. It leaves you feeling helpless, sad and can create a negative impact on your mood and energy levels.

It is understandable that there is much fear, anxiety and uncertainty around presently. When we face adversity of this nature and we feel anxious and stressed I feel that it’s important we constantly remind ourselves “that this too will pass.”

When I sat down to write this piece, I thought about positivity and the very constructive effect it can have on our mood and mental well-being. I’m going to share the story of Thomas Edison with you this week and how he coped with some adversity that affected him.

Thomas Edison was named as Life Magazines Number One Man of the Last Millennium. They commented that he was a person who brought more value to the human race than any other, literally giving us our modern world and standards of living. It’s claimed that his four great inventions were recorded sound, motion pictures, the electric light bulb and utility industry, and corporate R&D labs.

He patented an astounding 1,093 inventions in his lifetime. He attempted thousands of times to find the right material for his version of the incandescent light bulb; he didn’t see any of the attempts as failures.  With every single attempt he just saw it as getting one step closer to a solution.  He never doubted he would succeed.

“Genius”, he declared “is 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration” but there was a third factor to his success. This was his positive attitude.

Edison was an optimist who saw the best in everything.  He once said; “If we did all the things, we are capable of doing we would literally astound ourselves.” His belief could be summarised by his statement, “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realise how close they were to success when they gave up.”

Probably the most notable display of Edison’s positive attitude can be seen in the way he approached a tragedy that occurred in his late sixties.  The lab he had built, a fourteen-building complex, which was greater in size than three football pitches, caught fire.

Now he loved this place.  It was the base of his operations, it was where he and his staff conceived inventions, developed prototypes, manufactured products and shipped them to customers.  It had become a model for modern research and manufacturing.  He spent every minute he could there.  He often slept there on one of the lab tables.

But on that day in December, when it caught fire, he was reported as saying as he stood outside and watched it burn, “Quick kids go and get your mother, she’ll never see another fire like this one”.

Most people would have been crushed, but not Edison, he said, “I’m 67, but not too old to make a fresh start.  I’ve been through a lot of things like this.” He rebuilt the lab, and he kept working for another 17 years.

This week, why not pause for a few moments and consider how you can make a difference to your and/or someone else’s life with some positivity.

To arrange a free no obligation consultation, please contact Stephen Pauley via the contact form or by e mail: Stephen@befirstclass.co.uk