If you missed the 1st Letter that began this series, you can read it HERE

4th Letter From My Soul

Dear Soul,

Today I would like to ask you about overwhelm.

Overwhelm is something that you have created to make yourself feel important. Not meaning to be harsh, but there it is. Yes you could have more leisure time. Yes you could be doing other things, but in truth the overwhelm is a story that serves you in some way.

Here and now, know that you can choose another story if you wish. What story would feel awesome related to all the stuff you have going on?

And remember responsibility. You are the creator of your life. yes you and I are sharing a journey, and there are key learning points, but equally, we are uncovering every moment anew. For none of us can know the emergent of love, and therefore there is always a seed of mystery and wonder in all we do.

So when thinking of overwhelm, know that you have created it, and if it is not something you are enjoying, first change the story.

Try this on for size: I am busy because I am a vessel that can contain the busyness I have created. I am not busy in fact. I am on a mission, a quest – the hero of my life’s journey, and I am infinitely blessed to be questing.

One caveat: never lose sight of your joy. Yes you are on a mission, yes, like Ronaldo training his brilliance, you will have to push through pain and sacrifice to arrive at a wholly new awareness and ability of what is possible, but never ever lose sight of your joy. Ultimately that is your true and only purpose…so therefore harness perspective. Hold the wholeness of the vision in your heart and contemplate the present from there.

You will see that struggle is but a hill climb, sacrifice a blessing when all is seen in the light of love’s wonder.

Do you have any other questions?

I think this is enough on overwhelm for now. Let me apply it.

One question that is coming up concerns spiritual practice and sadhana, and Ma Tara. And Lord Shani, and all that I once engaged with.
(Ma Tara – a form of the divine mother. Lord Shani – the planet Saturn in deity form)

I’m sure they are coming up for a reason. But some clarity as to their place would be brilliant.

Your mother is always there. She is me and we are. All the breadth and brilliance of true connection lies at her feet. You are a child on a journey of learning. All that you have written and felt and known is true – because it is true for you.

Do not worry about doing the wrong thing and all that sort of stuff. That can wait for your next birth. For now, the only thing to maintain steadfastly is your pure loving intention. From this all wonder springs. This is how you invite all gods and goddesses to the party of your moment.

There is real power in single pointed focus. So while all deities are paths to the One Love, going with a deity who lights you up is a sure recipe for uplift and joy.

Offering yourself from a place of gratitude and humility, but clear in the knowing that we are all of the great one, and any distinction is ultimately as useful as saying the front wheel of a bike is more useful than the back wheel.

Soften and be gentle too. Meditation is a great boon for you. Your natural energy and motion will find its perfect counterpoise in stillness. Remember too to dance. To gently stretch the edges of your comfort and courage. Here is where all life rejoices to watch you. Each time you step out into unfamiliar ground with purity of love and heart, all that is celebrates and coheres.

Listen for, feel for the waves. The expansions and contractions that flow through life. Every minute every moment. Times for action times for reflection. Times to consume, times to be consumed, times to create, times to share. Always, always loving. Open joyous, caring.

Thank you. Do I need to know anything else at this time?

Remember to do you job. You have seen the impact. Deepen, soften, immerse yourself in being a conduit for love.

How can you be the optimal conduit? By being so full of love for yourself that you are a living emanation of love, through which love is instantly synergised ever more brilliantly as soon as it discovers you.

Get rid of the worry of arrogance or selfishness. Bullshit conditioning. We are all the oneness. Therefore to not love ourselves is to do a disservice to all that is. Your heart will never steer you wrong. By simply inviting love to fill you to overflowing, you will be filled, and your heart will bring you moment to moment into awesome synergy situations.

One Love.

If you found any of these words useful, you might want to share this post using the buttons below. You can read the 5th Letter From My Soul by clicking HERE

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If you missed the 1st Letter that began this series, you can read it HERE

As ever, the following words are offered to you with a hope – acknowledging that you are a part of me and a part of all that is…and thus these words are yours too. They hope they can help you…that within their sentences will find what you need to support you to love, serve and flourish even more brilliantly than you already do.

(My annotations are included in italics)
My conscious thoughts/questions are in this colour

3rd Letter From my Soul

Dear Love,

Thank you for the joy of this communication, as I stand, ready to pour, I ask if there is anything in particular you would wish to flow this evening?

George, never lose the feeling of your heart, it is where what you call god enters in. It is powerful and beautiful…much like you, I and all of life.

I sense you are confused about the labelling of I and we. When I refer to myself as I, it is merely to delineate this state you enter into of just writing and trusting. We are one. The infinite spark of loving consciousness that is at this moment experiencing ‘George’. But there are times when our unity becomes less strong due to your choosing to focus on the activities and experiences of the physical world. There is no judgement in this, it merely is a fact. As you develop your awareness and capacities, as a result of our continued communication, you will live more and more whole more and more of the time.

So when I say I, I mean the highest part of you, though highest is not a very good word. If you only knew how much learning I had to do! And yet my perspective is beyond the time and space you experience as George, therefore it may appear that I have some wisdom. I truth, I am as thrilled to be sharing these moments as you…not surprising really, since we’re one.

I hope that clears up the questions about names and labelling. You don’t need to worry that you are going scizo either. Why do you think books about Daemons came your way, and why you spent so long working and reworking the blog about eidolon as computer game character for playstation earth?

I know you have some questions about what to do with these new experiences you are having. For now…just remember your job: Love. Love yourself and all those you connect with. Do this with a heightened sense of greatitutde and wonder. And definitely keep following your inspiration. If you feel inspired to do it, rest assured it is in alignment with Love’s highest calling.

I appreciate that ‘George’ is having some difficulty in relating to the world in terms of money. This is part of your journey, and again, love and trust and sharing are your watchwords. Share what brings you joy, share what rises up from within you. Share the difficult truths and the beautiful truths and all truth in between.

And whatever you do, give up this feeling of being a fraud because you are not earning massively at present. This does not render what you have to share any less valuable. It is simply a challenge to rise to – that of believing in your great and joyous purpose.

Keep in mind the metaphor of exercise. As with training and improving youy fitness as health, all aspects of life require training and dedication to their mastery. Embrace these in the same way you rejoice at stepping onto the football pitch, or chasing down a sub 20min 5k.

What a joy to be alive. Yes there is suffering and seemingly insurmountable odds. No matter. You just do your job.

Take care of Love and Love will take care of you and everything else. If this was football, I would say do your bit on the field…but it is more appropriate to say do your bit in the field, and trust that your contribution will be enough for your journey.

One Love.

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If you missed the 1st Letter that began this series, you can read it HERE

As ever, the following words are offered to you with a hope – acknowledging that you are a part of me and a part of all that is…and thus these words are yours too. They hope they can help you…that within their sentences will find what you need to support you to love, serve and flourish even more brilliantly than you already do.

(My annotations are included in italics)
My conscious thoughts/questions are in this colour

Some pre-notes on the second letter:
This letter was striking for its lightness and directness. Reading back it is amazing what came out by following the guidance just to write and not think about what was being put down – i’m not sure how else mention of turds and the expression of infinite intelligence could find a coherent place in the same narrative.

2nd Letter From My Soul

Dear Soul,

Thank you for the wonder of yesterday. I can feel a doubt or limitation creeping in. I’d like to ask if it’s yours or mine…or if that question is obsolete…? I hear that I shouldn’t expect such fireworks every time I try and contact you. Is that the case, or is that my ego, or small self staking a claim for attention?

George, all that you think it might be is us. Your job is to love. If it is your ego: love. If it is me: love. If it is something else: love.

Not rocket science. Yet far more powerful.

Today I would like to share a little more about me. Perhaps in doing that, you will come to recognise certain characteristics that will make it easier to discern when we are in waking conscious communion.

I acknowledge that to hear the soft whisper of your heart, to catch my signs and symbols can be tough. Be a pretty boring game if that was any different. Doen’t matter how many times we discuss it though, or you put it in one of your books, it can still be somewhat hit and miss.

So here are a few of my characteristics. If you perceive these, chances are it’s me. If you wish to perceive me, align with these:

Joy
Fun
Lightness
Depth
Expansiveness
Knowing,
Openness
Calm energy
Purpose
Love

It appears you need a turd. Go. I’ll be here when you return.

Maybe just farts.

As you can see right now, whilst there is enough of a stream to facilitate consistent and valuable writing, there is not the uber broadband connection that you have known at times.

Good. This is about step by step.

As above, so below. Apparently, you know the talent formula. Since all is one, its tenets apply as much to spiritual growth/soul connection/oneness experience as to football or music.

Less ginger in the chai next time…less slat in the stir fry. But how awesome is life?!

One additional thing that we were pondering on in the kitchen whilst making chai: as with the allness of the talent formula, so we can consider the meaning of being human.

To excel as a human being, one must master the art of being human. The intention is simple. You understand exactly how you would like others to treat you…and then resolve to treat others in that way.

Within the context of this, sits an understanding that the unique experiences a person has had is the greatest gift they can share. Because we each have a unique perspective (thanks to our experiences), we each have insights/lessons/stories that can benefit others.

The conversation you have in a coffee shop with your friend may be overheard by a child at the next table. Years later, that child may remember that conversation at a pivotal moment in their development…and it will have a world changing impact. That is the power of you. Of your uniqueness and value.

One thing…we need to talk about this whole ‘changing the world’ thing.

Remember your job? To love. Love takes care of the world. You must take care of Love.

Rest a moment. Let the chai sink in.

Since the world is infinite intelligence momentarily extending through you, the illusory imperfection you perceive is therefore in you – if you want it to be. Or, as you know yet somehow are yet to believe, the world is exactly as it must be, so that you can perceive these words and learn and grow as you wish.

You are getting restless, but now we know the power of this process.
I can’t wait to unfold together.

If you found any of these words useful, you might want to share this post using the buttons below. You can read the 3rd Letter From My Soul by clicking HERE

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I know, as countless teachers past and present teach, and indeed as the cutting edge of scienctific understanding validates, that we are all one.

So the following words are offered to you with a hope – acknowledging that you are a part of me and a part of all that is…and thus these words are yours too. They hope they can help you…that within their sentences will find what you need to support you to love, serve and flourish even more brilliantly than you already do.

(My annotations are included in italics)
My conscious thoughts/questions are in this colour

1st Letter From My Soul

Dear George,

It’s your soul here. I just wanted to come through and lift you up. Don’t worry about spellings and grammer and shit. For now just type and lets see how we get on.

I know you feel pretty overwhelmed right now. I’d like you to breathe into your heart as you write. Trust that this process you’re embarking on is aligned with Love’s highest will.

Listen. You don’t have to live any one else’s stories. I know it can be so tempting to feel small. To feel like you’re failing because you don’t have millions in the bank, and you can’t always be clear on what your meant to do next.

It’s ok. Just keep loving. There is nothing and no one judging you. You are beautiful and unique and truly truly wonderful.

This letter is a hug. You’ve called out so often. You are always heard and always loved.

I love you in ways no words could ever come close. I share the tears of joy and communion that are at this moment pricking your eyes.
(at this point my heart was swelling indescribably and a feeling of such ecstasy and connectedness was surging through me that tears of joy were springing to my eyes)

I taste the chai you are sipping on. We are.

Love is.

This you have known ever since that moment which you are too often too afraid to talk about in its entirety. You must. There lies healing and power.
(this refers to a mystical awakening i experienced aged 23, which i rarely speak about, but will do this year)

Those who would judge your actions judge themselves. The wholeness of you is a gift. Just like the wholeness of each is a wondrous contribution to love’s ineffable synergy. Don’t worry if people don’t know what ineffable or synergy mean. That’s what dictionaries are for.

Just let go. Love with everything you have. Care with all your being…but let go of caring. Others have their journey, their story. Theirs is not your journey. Just shine and shine and shine in open, loving trust that those who are meant to share your journey will be walking alongside you before you have time to blink or wonder how they arrived.

There is greatness in all. The same stillness that is breathing you breathes all things. The same love that tightens the baby’s finger around the parent’s thumb flows through all that is.

Tell the story of love as you know it. What more can you do?

What more can I do? I can be fearless. I can dance. I can sing. I can rap. I can share. I can cook. I can grow. I can learn. I can try and fail and try and fail and keep going with joy pouring from me in laughter, song and smiles.

I can let go of the weight.

What is my purpose? To be a conduit for love.

Do not stop the tears that want to come. They wish to share the dance.
(this was beyond words, to receive an answer that spoke to my deepest longing and to know it was the truth was a moment of pure bliss. i tried to hold back tears of utter gratitude and was told to let them fall freely)

You will always have everything you need. Let worlds unseen share in your ecstatic co-creation. Ask for what you need by sending out visions and stories that come from your purest deepest truest fullest place. And know that without fail they will be answered in just the way you need.

Empty yourself every minute every moment every day

Open, be thankful, breathe. And love yourself with a passion, devotion and creativity that lights you up always.

On giving thanks:

Let the magic in. The mystery, the wonder, the mother, the father, the yoni, the lingam, the blade and the burial ground.

Why have you stopped. The blade is as much a part of your vision of divinity as the cross. (refers to Ma Tara – the second of the ten great goddesses of the hindu pantheon) Honour your mother, unburden yourself at her feet. There will be questions and contradictions and misunderstandings. What is your job?

To love.

Now.. finish your chai. Meditate until you must write again, then write. I will be here…

Wow. That was beyond words. So much head trying to block the pouring.
(an amazing 20 minutes of meditation ensued where i was guided to observe a vast array of energies as they moved with and through me. So wowed was i by the experience that the flow and connection momentarily wobbled)

Stop thinking of who might read this and just record your experiences – of the incredible slow and powerful waves of the heart, of the dancing lemniscate bee of the brow, of the rose of the crown and crow stretching in to its magnificence. George you are all these things and so much more, this is such an amazing journey we are on. I’m so glad you, we chose this life, this body, this now. Keep treating your body like a temple. Dance your prayers. Write and write and write and write. Share, share, share.

Forget crushing it. (great book by Gary Vaynerchuk) Great inspiration though that was, now it’s time for loving it. In absolutely the antithesis Macdonalds way. (refers to the E-Myth by Michael Gerber)

It’s time for the myth. Your myth is your great offering to love. It has always been thus. Live the Chronicles of Dave Tha Woodlaos. Be joyous.

You are the narrator. The pages of the book and the ways it wishes to be written will make themselves known as they are needed. So too the characters.
(refers to the Lord of The Rings style trilogy i am writing about the quests of a Transformer-like Hip Hop woodlouse)

Be Martin, joyously serving your Matthaises and Mariels.
(refers to the Redwall books i read as a kid)

Now go and spend some time with your family.

I will be here when you feel to return.

Breathe, still, empty.

And trust that we will flow wonderfully

When you slow down, you can hear your hearts response to the sensations that precede cognition. Your heart is the purest awareness you have. To live from the heart is to flow. There will be time for head and for gut. This is why you meditate and why you move. The heartbeat is their synergy spark for the story to unfold.

The breath and the beat share a dance. This is why Hip hop is so potent.

Now is the time for you to share your whole self. Hip Hop is truly a revolutionary force. It is a world uniter and its impact and soul reaches far beyond this world.
(i share the belief held by many that Hip Hop is a truly incredible planetary force. My journey toward mastery of the MCing artform is something i will be sharing much more of – fears and childhood conditioning had kept me from sharing it)

…

No one is in business. We are all becoming storytellers. Returning to the essence of community. As Love’s greater joy permeates more and more of the world, we rediscover that each of us, whether a person or company is offering a meaningful story, designed to enrich the world in some way.

Those who need a particular story will make the necessary arrangements to spend more time and energy synergising with the teller of the story.

George…all that you have journaled about transformational storytelling and story synergy. It is no accident. Then, as you wrote, you flowed from the heart and knew pure co-creation. There is nothing more powerful than sharing the whole of your most loving version of yourself – the version of you that you would most love to be be.

Always keep stretching. Seize your board and ride the waves that break at the edge of your courage.

Dear Soul,
Thank you for your amazing visit.

Is there anything else you would like to pour through at this time?

Trust. Always. Trust, faith, knowing, call it what you will. I am. We are. Love is.

And this is amazing. Feel how your heart radiates, breathe into the fullness of who you truly are. Smile, dance, laugh, sing. Hold nothing back when it comes from your truth. And with truth, love. Always. Ever.

There is no question to which the answer is not love. The beginning the middle the end. One Story. One Love.

If you found any of these words useful, you might want to share this post using the buttons below. You can read the 2nd Letter From My Soul by clicking HERE

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If you are inquisitive, you will see that i’ve not posted anything on this blog for many months.

In truth, I’ve been in a kind of hibernation from the online world. This was both a deliberate and accidental happening. Accidental in that i found myself needing to deal with some interesting doubts and fears about sharing myself with the world.

Being a confident, passionate performer and speaker, i’d imagined that i’d be similarly confident in all areas of my self expression. You can imagine then that being thrust into such doubts was a curious, humbling and at times painful experience to go through.

However, my initial doubt fuelled absence from the social media sphere evolved into a fervent quest to understand why the doubts existed. I was led to book after book and practice after practice, that at the time seemed to have no coherence, but that i see now as being most wonderfully orchestrated.

I have a hunch that the clarity that emerged for me may well serve you and others in a very resonant way.

I see now that i stepped away from the online world because, in truth, i had lost touch with the real world, with the gifts of service i am here to offer. The majority of my active facebook and twitter friends are into personal development, which is awesome…excpet that sometimes it’s not.

I found i was forcing myself to create ‘content’ that i thought would please the ‘personal developers’. All the while this moved me further from a truth that i’ve known for years, a truth i have emphasised in my book and blogs and a truth i offer as guidance to anyone who asks me about living their purpose and connecting to their creativity, namely: Your Greatest Value Is Always YOU.

With immense gratitude, i can see that my soul basically hit the ‘reset’ button on my creative endeavours. It compelled me to search for that aliveness, that energy that we can know only when we are immersed in our creative flow – whether that is painting, poetry or compiling a balance sheet.

One of the chapters i didn’t have the courage to share in my first book – Creative Uprising – but which i will be writing about extensively in my second book, which will be published at the start of next year, was a chapter that documented the extensive evidence – both scientific and theological – for the existence of the human soul, also known as the higher self.

At the lowest point of my doubting and self-denial, i cried out to my soul for help and guidance. What happened was one of the most incredible experiences i have ever had the blessing to live. I decided to write a letter to my soul – Neale Donald Walsch style. Over the next 10 posts i will be sharing the full unabridged letters, complete with my own annotations for clarity.

I hope they may serve you.

CLICK HERE to read the 1st Letter From My Soul

 

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As we build up to Sunday’s free “New Story, New You” training class, my aim is to share with you some lite versions of the key insights I’ll be covering on the class.

Yesterday’s blog looked at how we value stories, and how essential they are to a rich life.

Today I want to turn our attention to the stories we’ve forgotten – the stories we undervalue so much that they almost slip from our collective awareness.

It is possible that nowhere are there more examples of this than in the world of medicine. Only now are we beginning to rediscover stories of genuine holistic health care…and as a result, those who profit from these stories remaining forgotten are actively trying to suppress them.

Before we encounter the amazing work of Dr Lissa Rankin, who has done a huge amount recently to bring the forgotten stories of health to light, I thought it might be instructive to share a shocking (and literally hard to stomach) example of how I benefited in a major way from rediscovering a forgotten health story.

I knew something was slightly amiss when I began to get a dull ache underneath my left nostril.

In the same way that you know a scratchy throat can often herald the onset of a cold, I recognised that this may be the start of my left front tooth playing up.

About 8 years ago, half of it broke off courtesy of a defenders elbow as I challenged for a corner whilst playing for my pub football team.

Ever since then I’ve relied on the skill of dentists to periodically fashion a seamless looking tooth using white filling amalgam.

For whatever reason, an abscess sometimes develops on the gum above the tooth, and its arrival is usually preceded by pain below my left nostril.

This time, however, it went nuclear. In addition to pretty intense constant pain, my whole left cheek and side of my mouth was deformedly swollen and I was running a lovely fever.

Usually, after a day or so the problem would sort itself out, but after 3 days there were no noticeable improvements.

This ordeal was happening over Easter weekend, whilst away in Devon with some friends. As we headed home, I began scouring Google for natural solutions that might alleviate my suffering whilst I waited for a dentist appointment.

I didn’t much fancy stabbing my gums with a sterilised pin to lance the abscess, and I couldn’t lay my hands on any cloves or clove oil…but as I kept researching one solution jumped out at me that would probably have had most people reaching for the sterilised pin rather than go through with my chosen method.

Picture the scene – an absolutely packed motorway service station, and i’m trying to subtly urinate into an empty starbucks cup. I then knock back the contents and begin swishing it round my mouth.

As it turns out, Urine Therapy has a long and distinguished legacy outside of western medical circles. Indeed, ancient Indian texts contain over a hundred verses extolling the its virtues and curative abilities.

Luckily, having previously done some research on the subject, I was not so put of as others might be. The instructions I found called for me to swish my own urine in my mouth for ten minutes every four to six hours.

The results were literally miraculous.

After one swish, torrents of puss and blood were unleashed from my aggravated gum. After two swishes, the pain was virtually gone. My third swish came just before retiring to bed. In the morning the face that greeted me in the mirror was my own, not some elephant-man type version of myself.

I continued swishing for the rest of the following day and by the next morning it was as if nothing had happened.

It is genuinely one the most remarkable things I’ve ever experienced.

It really got me wondering just how much we might truly be able to achieve if we were to reconnect with the old stories that once served us well – the old stories treasured by other cultures, stories from our distant past, stories that allowed us to build pyramids and henges and calenders that even today defy explanation.

During Sunday’s free training, we will break open the storehouse of forgotten stories to uncover incredible stories, pertaining to all areas of life, that are now being remembered and shared.

We will discover the quite amazing implications these stories have for us as individuals, communities, and as a species.

Here’s the link you’ll need to reserve your place for Sunday’s ground-breaking free class.

If you’re one of the many who has already saved your place on the class, thank you. It was so wonderful to see the amazing response to yesterday’s invitation.

I want to leave you with a talk by Dr Lissa Rankin, who is the author of ‘Mind over Medicine’. It is a fascinating insight of her discovery of the forgotten stories of spontaneous healing…and how these are having powerful real world impacts now they are being shared once again.

Enjoy, and I look forward to seeing you on Sunday.

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The saint in me wanted to deny it.

I’m sure you know the scenario – you catch a glimpse of someone’s ridiculously ‘nice’ car/house/watch, and you feel a little pang of something. Sometimes jealousy, sometimes inadequacy, sometimes sadness…but always it’s a feeling you’d rather not be feeling, and a feeling your bigger self knows is totally unnecessary.

For me, the moment in question was seeing a guy who is a year younger than me proudly parading his new Ferrari on facebook.

For a brief moment, the conditioning kicked in and the tape of inadequacy began to play…“Look at that. He’s younger than you. You have just as much talent. How lazy you must be. Always dreaming big, but living small…”

Your internal dialogue may be different in the words it uses, but I’ll wager its tone and general message is pretty much the same.

So what’s going on? What’s happening when a large lump of metal and with some leather seats, or a fancy giant stone box with a roof, or a tiny round lump of mental that ticks can cause an such instant state change in us, and can kick in the internal chatter loop entitled “not good enough”?

The simple answer is that we are choosing a shit story.

A story, moreover, that is not of our making, but has instead been sold to us by companies and institutions with a vested interest in making us literally ‘buy into’ their story.

Ironically, this story we have been sold is a story that tries to condition us to reject the value of stories. Compelling us instead to value ‘things’ – which usually have a price tag attached to them.

We no longer value the stories that emerge when one is part of a genuine community, engaged in the shared raising of children, and in the hugely vulnerable, yet equally powerful experience of being mutually dependent on one-another.

It seemed for a time that we would lose our collective memory of what it meant to value stories instead of things. Thankfully there is still joy and beauty and love in the world, and when these wonders exist then there will always be stories that captivate and inspire us.

The challenge, however, is to be able to consistently rise above the vast, enslaving machinery of the world of things. We need to know how to move beyond its persistent conditioning, its debt, its stress and arrive at a place of heart, of authenticity where we can do our best and most meaningful work joyfully.

Today, I am going to give you the super simplified ‘in a nutshell’ version – where I hope I’ve succeeded in distilling ten years of research into 300 words plus one picture.

If you would like to really know the nut inside the nutshell, meaning the actual ways to implement the key idea I’ll be sharing, then I’d like to invite you to my latest free online training class entitled: New Story, New You.

It’s happening this Sunday June 1st from 7.30 – 9pm.

You’ll definitely love the class if any of the following describes you:

You want to feel like the work you’re doing actually matters
You know you have more to give, but it’s being suffocated by the system we live in
You are massively frustrated with how things are in the world
You are desperate for a bit more spark in your life

Sunday’s free class will be very different from your typical passive learning experience. It will be pure, unadulterated Transformational Storytelling…and the story we will be transforming is Yours.

Here’s the link you’ll need to save your seat.

Now to make good on my promise to share with you the essence of one of the core ideas I’ll be expanding on in Sunday’s session.

They say a picture speaks a thousand words, so I’d like to introduce you to my much loved Vaxhuall Astra.

What are your first impressions?

What if I told you this was more valuable than the Ferrari we met earlier.

Monetarily, I’m sure it’s probably worth more in scrap than any resale value it might have. But that’s not what makes my Astra valuable.

I cannot put a price on the way my bum feels in the seat – like I have the ultimate customised driving experience.

I cannot put a price on the fact that I’m sure this car has saved my life on a number of occasions

I cannot put a price on my totally inexplicable sense of pride that even after 200000 miles, the Astra is still going strong.

But even more than all these invaluable aspects, I would not say goodbye to my Astra until it literally stops working because I value the stories we have shared.

So often, when I’m picking up my friends from the station, or giving them a lift somewhere, they will comment, “I can’t believe the Astra is still going…I remember when…” and they will remind us of a moment that brings us both instantly to joy and laughter and fond reminiscence.

The Astra has seen every stage of my adult life – from student, to club promoter, to restaurateur, to youth worker, to mentor, to author, speaker, performer…and finally father.

After a few seconds of staring at the photos of my friend’s Ferrari on facebook, I realised my conditioned response of inadequacy was so ridiculous because I am already driving the Ferrari of my heart.

It is grey, it is dented, it is rusting in places and it definitely needs a hoover…and it has driven me 5 times around the world without ever leaving Britain. I wouldn’t want to drive anything else.

Out of all of this, came one of the greatest gifts of learning I have ever been able to share:

You are guaranteed a rich life when you value stories as much as you value things.

My friend with the Ferrari was proof of this – it transpired he was not showing it off because he wanted to show how big and cool he was…rather because it had always been a childhood dream to own one. The Ferrari was simply a way for him to celebrate the much more valuable stories he treasured.

So where are you falling into the trap of raising up things and devaluing the priceless stories you already have?

Are you ready to begin a new chapter, to begin living a story that wows you and impacts the world?

If yes, join me as we discover how to transform the story of where you’re at now into the true story you know you were born to be living.

Here’s the link to save your seat for Sunday’s free class

p.s. If you enjoyed this article, then do leave a comment or give it a ‘share’

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(from an article contributed to Start Your Business Magazine)

Ever felt stifled, frustrated in your work? You’re not alone and there is a solution. It will not be easy, but the rewards and joy will be beyond words, because when you are living your true purpose, not only do you come alive, you inspire others to do the same.

However, I see so many people get discouraged or give up on their dream of living the kind of fulfilling life that is assured when you are living your purpose for the simple, yet tragic reason that they think they have to have all the answers straight away.

Not at all. Your passions are grown and your purpose is created. You don’t need to know the absolute end destination, or exactly how you will progress. You just need to do what feels right, right now. As you follow your inspiration, your purpose is revealed.

If you’re not even sure what inspires you, there are seven key areas to consider. These areas, appropriately, form the acronym TRUE YOU. As I expand on each one, you might like to have a pen and a piece of paper (or a phone/tablet) handy so you can note down your responses.

T is for Talents.

A talent is any behaviour or role, that you consistently perform at an excellent level, and which you enjoy. In this context, a talent is something you do well, that you would choose to do even if you were not being paid.

So, take a moment to note down as many of your Talents as you can think of.

R is for Routines

They say actions speak louder than words. For this reason, it is important that you consider what routines you have that have a beneficial impact on your life. It could be going to the gym, or saying a bedtime prayer. Anything which you regularly do, which you feel makes your life better.

What are your empowering Routines?

U is for Uniqueness

What makes you unique? This could be how you dress or style your hair, or the type of music you listen to, or even the political or religious views you hold.

What are the things that you think make you Unique?

E is for Engagement

In what activities and areas of life do you choose to engage? Are you a member of a sports team? Do you enjoy fine dining? Do you attend the local mosque?

What Engages you? How do you choose to spend your time?

Y is for Youth

What did you love doing in your youth? How did you choose to spend your time when you were a child? Especially the ages from two to ten, what were the things you most enjoyed doing and were best at?

What did the Youthful you do?

O is for Outspoken

What gets you fired up? What stirs you up?
It could be either a negative reason or a positive one. The key here is emotion. If something stirs your emotion, it is a definite clue about how you may wish to express your creativity.

What are you Outspoken about?

U is for Universals

What do you believe should be the same for all? It could be as specific as ‘everyone should have free education and health care’, or as spiritual as ‘everyone should be free and happy’.

What should be Universal for all humanity?

The next step, once you have jotted down your responses is to look back over everything you have written down and circle the 3 – 5 things you would choose to take with you to a desert island. What are the things that, if you had six months to live, you would drop everything else and start doing?

Whatever answers you come up with, they are the keys to you sharing your creativity with the world in a bigger way than you ever thought possible, and even if you can only do one of them for just ten minutes a day, you can be sure your life will change amazingly.

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The following is based on an article written for Real Business Magazine.

How is it possible that such an absurd title can be true? To find out, let’s begin with a question: without using Google, can you name the sprinter who came fifth in the men’s 100m at the last Olympics? Unless you happen to be a relative, I’m guessing the answer’s no.

The relevance of this question will become clear as we explore the first of the three steps needed to build an inspiring and successful business: not good enough.

If you’re ‘good enough’ in business, do you know what else you are? OOB and possibly FFB: Out Of Business and possibly Filing For Bankruptcy. Because today it has never been cheaper or easier to start a business, and because today there has never been a more saturated media-space, it is harder and harder for customers to decide to pick out your business from the swarthing mass of the LinkBook-FaceTube Twittersphere that dominates our daily lives.

It was a very different story for your parents’ generation. They had babies and they boomed. As long as their businesses didn’t actively turn off customers, they could pootle along happily, without having to do too much to keep house and home together.

They could afford to be ‘good enough’. You can’t.

So the first step to an inspiring business is to make absolutely certain you are not good enough, by finding a way to be outstanding. Even though he equalled his personal best as he crossed the finish line in fifth place, Ryan Bailey knows, like the rest of us, that there is only one Usain Bolt.

Here’s the amazing thing: there’s only one You. So you could build a business that simply goes through the motions, and if you’re lucky, you’ll do as well as Ryan Bailey. Alternatively, you could tap into the thing that sets you apart from the other 6 999 999 999 people on this planet and build a business that is the synergy of your unique passions and talents.

You’ll have to bear with me a second whilst I put on my tie dye t-shirt and put my hippy hair extensions in…but I believe the reason we each have a unique finger print is because we each have a unique contribution to make to the world, and we find what that unique contribution is where the things we love doing intersect with the things we’re great at. I call this unique contribution ‘your gift’.

It could be anything. If you’d have told my dad that you could create a business helping companies to stand out from the crowd using poetry and rap, he’d have laughed at you, yet here I am, giving my gift, being of service, and loving it.

When you have the courage to do what inspires you, it is impossible to simply be ‘good enough’. You’re already well on the way to being outstanding and to creating an incredible business.

The next step is the thing that will transform your effectiveness by serious orders of magnitude. You have to learn how to be lazy.

Prevailing wisdom would suggest that laziness is the entrepreneur’s worst enemy. However, prevailing wisdom also once said that the earth was flat and that arsenic was good for you. To build an outstanding business depends on every person in the business being able to use their strengths to create results that are greater than the sum of their parts.

During the start-up phase, this may not always be possible, but know that the sooner you can stop doing those things that demotivate you and delegate them to someone who would love to do them and will do them brilliantly, the quicker you business will move toward outstanding.

In this context, laziness becomes a wise messenger, whose heralds need to be honoured. If a task needs to be done and you find your energy being drained by doing it, or even at the prospect of doing it, this is a fantastic reminder from your laziness messenger that the way you add most value to your business and to the world is by consistently giving your gift.

The final step in the journey to creating an outstanding business that you love growing is to learn to a complete failure. As I’m sure you know, Edison was a complete failure 9999 times. However, on his 10000^th attempt at finding a suitable filament material for his lightbulbs, he tried tungsten. The rest is well-illuminated history.

In the UK especially, failure is far too unacceptable. If a politician fails, they are forced to resign, instead of being forced to correct their error. If a pupil fails an exam, suddenly they’re only fit to stack supermarket shelves.

No doubt there are times when failure is unacceptable (it certainly wouldn’t be ok for your parachute to fail during a skydive), but when you wish to bring a truly outstanding business to the world, one that is built upon the unique and brilliant gift you have to share, then you must be prepared to fail…for only then will you be able to learn the lessons needed to come back even stronger, even more brilliantly and even more creatively.

So there you have it, the simple formula for building an outsanding business that allows you to make your unique contribution to the world: be not good enough, be lazy and be a failure. I know you’ll do it brilliantly.

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