“You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honour.” Aristotle.

We are living in very challenging times at present given the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic that is affecting the world. Many people across the world are having to cope with a new way of being including adhering to lockdown measures and social distancing.

In this period, one man has been a beacon of light in these challenging times. Captain Tom Moore has been an inspiration and captured the hearts of many people across the world through his fund-raising efforts.

Some people climb Mount Everest to raise money for charity. Others run a marathon, jump out of a plane, swim the channel or do all four. They train for months and some make a huge fuss about it.

Captain Tom had a more low-key approach but the outcome was fantastic. He decided to do 100 laps of his garden at home before his 100th birthday on April 30. It was his way of saying thank you to the National Health Service for treating him when he broke his hip and had skin cancer.

His target was £1000 and the money donated would go NHS Charities Together. When his fund-raising page closed on his birthday, he had raised an amazing £32,796,395 from 1,519,388 donations.

Captain Tom Moore is quite an incredible man. The Second World War hero had served in the 145th Regiment Royal Armoured Corps during the war and was also a civil servant. He now lives with his daughter and her family in Bedfordshire.

Last Friday saw the UK celebrate the 75th anniversary of victory in Europe in the Second World War so it’s appropriate this week’s blog should feature a war hero from that time.

Captain Tom’s life changed quite dramatically in just a few weeks after he decided to do his bit to thank the NHS staff. There has been a lot of media interest from all around the world. Here are just a few things that happened after Captain Tom completed his goal:

  • He was asked to open the NHS Nightingale hospital in Harrogate virtually.
  • He was made an Honorary Colonel by his old regiment and an Honorary member of the England Cricket team.
  • Birthday tributes to him were displayed on the big screen in Piccadilly Circus. He received messages from the Queen, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall on his birthday, as well as a video message from Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
  • 140,000 birthday cards and gifts were sent to him from all over the world and displayed in a school hall. An army of volunteers were drafted in to open and sort the cards!
  • A train is to be named after him.
  • He recorded a record called “You’ll never walk alone” with Michael Ball and was number one in the UK singles charts on his birthday!
  • A Hurricane and Spitfire did a fly past of his garden to mark his birthday.

Thanking the public, he said, “People keep saying what I have done is remarkable. However, it’s actually what you have done for me which is remarkable. The past three weeks have put a spring back in my step.”

I have reflected on Captain Tom’s story and there are some lessons which I gleaned from his efforts which I detail below:

  • You are never too old to make a difference to the lives of others or complete a goal you have set.
  • Small simple ideas and actions have the potential to affect the lives of many other people and can have extraordinary results.
  • Acts of kindness create ripples which can be felt far and wide. Like Karma, your positive kind actions are returned to you.
  • You can be a source of light for others in challenging times.
  • Other people’s actions can bring us joy and make us feel good.
  • Kindness has no boundaries; this story touched the hearts of people across the globe.
  • You never know what positive impact your genuine intentions and actions will have on the lives of others.

In conclusion there are two other learnings that I took from this story.

Firstly, I was inspired by the motto of Captain Moore’s old regiment “Fortune favours the brave.”

Secondly, I believe we can all find hope and optimism in these challenging times from Captain Tom’s favourite saying “Tomorrow will be a good day.”

This week, why not take a few moments out to reflect. During this time, consider what you have learned from the actions of other people and whether you have applied the learnings to make a positive difference to your life and others.

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

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