Month: January 2026 Page 1 of 2

“If we did all the things that we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves.” Thomas Edison.

Last Monday (January 19th) was the anniversary of the first electric lighting system employing overhead wires going into service. This was in 1883 in Roselle, New Jersey, USA. The system was built by Thomas Edison as part of an experiment to prove that an entire community could be lit by electricity from a shared, central generating station.

A steam-driven generator sent the energy through the wires strung overhead to a store, the town’s railway depot, 40 or so houses and 150 streetlights. The First Presbyterian Church of Roselle made electrical and ecclesiastical history three months later when it installed a 30-bulb “electrolier” and became the world’s first church to be lit by electricity.

Thomas Edison is regarded as one of the most successful inventors of all time. He was voted man of the millennium by life magazine in 1997. He holds patents for an astonishing 1093 things including the phonograph (early version of a record player), motion picture camera and the incandescent light bulb. Whether Edison was the actual inventor of everything he patented remains debatable, in fact doubtful, but there’s no denying that the man knew what he was doing.

It’s reported that it took him 10,000 attempts to create the lightbulb. Thomas Edison didn’t see his numerous attempts to invent the light bulb as failures, he saw them as discoveries of ways that didn’t work and moved him closer to a solution.

Edison is featured in a book, “People who changed the world.” His achievements are even more remarkable given that he had little formal education; he was expelled from school because his teachers thought he had learning difficulties. In fact, he suffered from hearing problems throughout his life. Edison’s enormous achievements were entirely due to years of hard work and his natural intelligence. It’s interesting how he didn’t allow his teacher’s judgements to hold him back.

Whilst his work with electricity was amazing, historians suggest that his best invention was the phonograph (also known as the gramophone). Without Edison we would not have been able to listen to The Beatles, U2, Taylor Swift or Ed Sheeran. What makes the particular device so extraordinary was not the technological breakthrough or what it would come to mean to the world but that it had been invented by a man who had impaired hearing.

Edison developed the phonograph by biting on the sounding horn and listening through the resulting vibrations in his jaw bone. In fact, he claimed that his hearing problems were actually an advantage because by using his biting technique, he could pick up sound qualities that were virtually undetectable to the human ear.

We all face adversity, challenges, obstacles, frustrations and set-backs at times in our lives. When in the middle of periods of misfortune or challenge it’s easy to lose perspective, become downhearted and wonder if things will ever improve. It can have a detrimental effect on our levels of confidence and belief. Sometimes we have to experience difficulty and tough times so that we can develop a greater appreciation of the good times and be grateful for the periods of pleasure.

When you set out to achieve a goal or a dream, whether it is starting a business, pursuing a new career, beginning a new hobby, looking to lose weight or commencing a fitness regime, it’s easy at the first sign of a setback to give up and settle for what’s known and stay in your comfort zone.  It’s important in such circumstances that you persevere and not give up. You will need to be resilient and remind yourself why it’s important for you to pursue the goal.

Experiencing adversity can be a lesson. It can re-awaken us to the things that are far more important than money and material possessions; our health, our family and our friends. For instance, an illness teaches us to be humble, to see every day as a gift, to live more in the moment and motivate us to lead a healthy life. A sudden loss in the family brings into sharp focus the cycle of birth, life and death.

Adversity can come to our lives to suggest that it’s time for us to change direction and do something new. For instance, job loss can be a scary place and create uncertainty but it can be the springboard for something new and exciting and the start of a whole new adventure.

This week why not take a moment to reflect and consider what lessons your challenges and adversity have taught you.

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

“What the mind can conceive and believe it can achieve.” Napoleon Hill.

Boxing legend Muhammad Ali would have been 84 last Saturday (January 17th). He died on June 3rd 2016, aged 74 and he is considered to be one of the greatest sporting figures the world has ever known. Born Cassius Clay, he first tasted success in boxing by winning a gold medal at the 1960 Olympics. He went on to become the world heavyweight champion, winning 56 of his 61 fights. He retired from boxing in 1981.

He was crowned “Sportsman of the Century” by Sports Illustrated and “Sports Personality of the Century” by the BBC. He was renowned for his pre- and post-fight talk and bold fight predictions just as much as his boxing skills inside the ring. I remember as a child watching him being interviewed by Michael Parkinson and being inspired by his oratory. He said that “he floated like a butterfly and stung like a bee.” He also had the greatest affirmation of all, “I am the greatest” (before he was).

I remember smiling at his declaration that he was the greatest. He truly believed it and many people have described him that way subsequently. Perhaps this provides some evidence and validation of the importance of self-belief and how affirmations like this combined with practical action can help dreams to become reality.

One of the reasons for Ali’s success as a boxer was that he was a big exponent of visualisation. He called this “future history.” It’s a mental process that we can all use to programme our minds for success.

Ali used to mentally rehearse every fight he had in his mind many times before stepping into the ring. He would see himself at the end of a fight with his arms aloft with the referee declaring him the winner and the champion. He would imagine hearing the crowd chanting his name and celebrating his victory.

He paid much attention to detail with his visualisation and used to back this up with predictions pre fight. He would tell his opponent when he was going to win the fight and predict which round, he would be declared the winner. He was extremely well prepared when he stepped into the ring both physically and mentally. In his mind he had already won the fight and he would direct all his focus and energy on making this a reality. He would give his sub conscious mind an instruction to find ways to help him to make his visions come true.

Muhammad Ali not only lived his life with a strong sense of vision but also with intention and this led to his success in his career. It may be that you could use the power of visualisation to picture yourself achieving a goal such as realising a successful outcome for a project you are involved with. You might imagine increasing your income, generating higher sales results, losing weight or improving your score at golf. Alternatively, you may like to see yourself running further and faster or improving your performance in a sport or hobby that you are involved with.

If you would like to give future history a go here are a few tips on the steps to take:

• Consider/think about a goal or outcome that you would like to achieve.
• Visualise achieving it and have total belief in this happening.
• Notice in your imagination the sounds you can hear, what you can feel and see around you.
• Repeat the above as many times as you like. You can make the image brighter, the sounds louder and with more intense feeling.

Once you have concluded your visualisation, you can switch the vision from your imagination and take practical action steps to make it a reality with clear intention and focus.

This week why not take a few moments to think and reflect on how visualisation could help you to create a picture of positive outcomes for a goal you are pursuing or a project that you are involved with.

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

“Live life to the fullest and focus on the positive.” Matt Cameron.

In last week’s blog, I gave some tips on setting and achieving personal goals. Below is a story about frogs which includes a suggestion to follow when you are pursuing your goals and dreams.

The Frog Story.

There was once a bunch of tiny frogs, who arranged a running competition. The goal was to reach the top of a very high tower. A big crowd gathered around the tower to see the race and cheer on the contestants. The race began.

No one in the crowd really believed that the tiny frogs would reach the top of the tower. They shouted, “Oh, way too difficult! They will NEVER make it to the top” and “Not a chance. The tower is too high.”

The tiny frogs began collapsing, one by one except for those who, in a fresh tempo, were climbing higher and higher….

The crowd continued to yell, “It’s too difficult! No one will make it!”

More tiny frogs got tired and gave up… But one continued higher and higher. This one wouldn’t give up! And he reached the top.

Everyone wanted to know how this one frog managed such a great feat.  What was his secret?

This little frog was deaf!

The lesson to be drawn from this story is to ignore the pessimism of others who say that you can’t achieve your goals and dreams. Listening to them can take your dreams from you. Stay positive.

This week, why not pause for a few moments to reflect and consider what or who helps you to stay positive in the pursuit of your goals and dreams.

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