Today, internally, I had a seriously challenging day, I really did. Part of me is ashamed to admit that I allowed it to show more than I normally would – and that kind of hurts me to admit because I like to think that I am as authentic and honest as I can be these days in my life. I woke up this morning feeling somewhat off course and I mentally prepared myself to deal with this – something that I have learnt to deal with in the past and something I have been working on intensely.Taking care not to be hard on myself this time around, I began my day with an extra dose of gratitude for breakfast, something that always has amazing power in lifting the feelings, and thankfully I feast on this regularly because it helped.

Just over 2 months has passed since I had one of those issues that I have learnt to live with, and for some of my life, I actually physically denied that I had a problem with bipolar depression, having been told that it is based on decisions and thoughts and patterns and so on, so accepting this has also challenged me, as some of you who follow this blog may be aware of. It hurts me so much when people say that being bipolar is allowing yourself to be labelled, or that something is wrong with your thought and belief process. Yes, I agree that there is definately an element of this involved, because we can allow ourselves to become victims to everything. But sometimes, when you have had some awesome times, when you have put your head down on the pillow with every great intention to have an awesome day tomorrow and when you have claimed back your own power, it can be very trying and frustrating to wake up feeling this way. And over and above that, it is rather tiring because every action you take becomes a very real and life-saving effort. That is probably the easiest way for me to describe it – imagine not having slept for a week, not having eaten properly and then being asked to run a marthon, however, you have been resting and taking care of yourself, you have been training and you have been doing what you should be doing. It frustrates the fuck out of me to be blunt.

I know that I have the power to turn this around but more importantly, I know that I have the power and the strength and conviction to live with this and be an example to others who don’t know how to do it. So yes, when it showed today, for a few moments, I chose to feel hurt that I had let it out. It also made me choose to feel hurt when someone I deeply care about challenged my thoughts and decisions even when they knew, to an extent, how this happens without me asking. And I allowed myself to put walls up again – something I don’t like to do but I guess you could say, the usual defence mechanism kicked in and that is what happens – this little army of builder’s frantically run around putting up the heavy walls so that it all stays inside.Maybe it showed, maybe it didn’t but it reminded me why I do what I do with my life and it kept me going because of what I know I am going to do one day.

And over and above that I still made sure that I fed myself properly today, I still made sure that I put my heart into my work even though the mind was just going through the motions, and as difficult as it was, I allowed myself to feel every single emotion, as raw and painful as it was.

This isn’t something I decided one day to have in my life. This is not something that I would ask for my worst enemy to go through and this isn’t something that I like. One of my favourite books of all time is the Bible. I personally believe that it is an amazing story with some of the most powerful messages ever written in it. It has kept me going during dark days, when all I have wanted to do is run away, and it has given me some amazing inspiration for who I am today and who I strive to be in my life. There is a quote that always comes to my own mind when I go through dark patches like today and I would like to share it with you: -

“To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a THORN IN MY FLESH, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”
2 Corinthians 12:7-10

And in my own words, if this is the challenge that I have been given in my life, then whoever is out there looking after me knows that I am strong enough to deal with this. He knows that we have what it takes to get through anything, and in doing so, he knows that we have what it takes to make a difference to other’s who may have a similar thorn but do not know how to deal with it.

Fuck me mate, I used to struggle with this – working and working and working on things for hours on end, ensuring that I had every single little piece of information in the correct place,  neatly laid out and just right. I found that I was always “up against it” despite receiving great results once the work had been submitted and in my head, I was telling myself how things could have been different or better. I always wanted things to be so correct that it go to the point where I knew I had to do something about it.

I slowly began working on it all, and came up with what saved me from hours of agony, and at the same time, gave me so much more free time it was pretty cool. I therefore thought that I would share them with you to share with people who you know could benefit from following these simple steps if they choose to !

1. Acknowledge where you already are

In striving for perfection in everything that you do, acknowledge that you are already in the top percentage of the world who set out to do things. Your basic planning on a small event would be the same as everyone else planning and strategizing for months on end. Be aware of what you already do and know that it is more than what most people set out to do.

2. Prioritise

Establish what your priorities are and get clear about what they are to you. Making lists helps to see what needs to be done first, but will also help you to see that there are not enough hours in the day to do the things you may think you can. There is that quote that goes something like “we often over-estimate what we can do in a day but totally under-estimate what we can do in a life time”

3. Be Realistic

Set yourself realistic expectations as to what you want to achieve. Know that there are many other obligations that you currently have in your life such as spending time with family and friends, basic health requirements and most importantly, rest and relaxation. If you have a large project in mind, break it down into bite sized chunks, and this can also be covered under prioritizing things as well.

4. Learn

What better way to learn than to allow yourself to make mistakes. If we never make mistakes, how the hell are we ever going to learn because as you know, mistakes are nothing more than lessons and learnings. The only way to get anything “perfect” is to make the mistakes that we need to make – once you have done them once, you know not to do them again in the future. This for me was possibly one of the most challenging things I needed to get through to my head as a perfectionist, but once I realised how important it was, things became a lot easier to work on and handle.

5. Celebrate

Every single time you complete a task without spending ages double and triple checking it. Every single time you successfully complete a project on time and hand it over without questioning yourself. But most importantly, every single time you make mistakes and create new learnings for yourself.

6. Allow room for growth

Realise that in our striving for perfection in all that we do, how will we ever improve when we achieve that perceived perfection? Instead, focus on how tomorrow can be better than the amazing day we had today, regardless of what happened.

7. Nobody expects you to be perfect except yourself

Recognize that no one ever expects you to be perfect all of the time, and most of the time whilst we waste time striving for that, people are already extremely happy with us the way that we are. Another significant point to remember is that no matter what we do, other people’s perception of us will always be changing. And finally, there is no way that we will ever be able to please everyone, so we do what we do to the best of our ability, allowing room for growth and learning, and that is that !

8. Plan ahead

Schedule time to correct “learnings” before you hit your deadlines. What can be done, can be un-done or re-done, given enough time.

9. Value your work

Value quality of work on time vs. perfect work late. Sometimes our mediocre work is really much better than we think it is, only because we know what we can do, given the extra time. Stick to your time limits and look at what you did do as good and don’t get caught up thinking about what you could have done.

10. Ask for help

Learn to ask for help from those around you – there is nothing wrong with reaching out to other people and this, in fact, is a strength and trait that many people are too afraid to own. Until recently, I always thought that I had to do everything on my own (yup, pretty crazy I know) but I learnt that it takes a team to make a dream and that is what I had to do.

It’s been a while since I wrote something and to be honest, there is no excuse for it really – I  guess you could say that I was keeping myself inside of my comfort zone. Work has been really busy with some awesome events taking place, and I had the chance to work with an amazing team at the last one – they really showed me what it meant to be a part of something that has a huge impact on the lives of people.

Throughout that weekend, I personally had a few rather large breakthroughs in terms of what I want to do with my life, and that has always been something that I have generally kept to myself. My “dream” of changing the world has never left my heart as the years have gone by and it has been with me for some time. If anything, it is what has kept me working so damn fucking hard on myself. Yet there has always been that part of me that has been truly scared to openly share it with people and I often asked myself why this was. If I am so passionate about it, then why do I not share it with people.

In the past, I used to set rather large goals for myself, knowing that I would not be able to achieve them, which then gave me all sorts of excuses to keep me inside of my comfort zone. It kept me safe and it protected me, yet at the same time, it hurt me a lot. As the years went by, and as the results of my studying and learning and growing began to show in my life, all of a sudden I found that some of these goals were now being achieved. At first it was rather frightening if I am to be honest, so I stopped doing it, just in case !!!

I never believed that I would be able to radically change careers, so that was also an excuse that held me back, until one day, fed up with being fed up, the universe or God or whatever you call it, stepped in and helped me out, and today I can proudly say that I have left behind that old career and now, every day, I get to work on stuff that does not even feel like work. And you know what, that inspired me to start speaking out slowly but surely about my big dream.

I noticed that I was meeting different people and having totally different conversations. I was acting more like the person I was born to be, and it felt fucking great to be honest – scary, but great nonetheless. And then one day the topic turned to what I would most like to do, and it was then that I thought “you know what, fuck what anyone thinks because this is my dream and if it is that important to me, then it is up to me and only me to speak about it” and I mentioned it. The result shocked me really, because upon sharing it, I saw the person’s eyes light up – it turns out that part of their big dream was very very similar to mine and that was pretty cool.

Today, I had the opportunity to physically sit down and speak about what I want to do. My heart was pounding like you have no idea, my mouth was going dry and my hands were sweating, but it was OK. In fact, it was more than OK. It was frikkin liberating mate. I had shared a part of my “baby” with someone and unlike in the past when I was told that I was a little crazy to think like that, someone else was excited about it and excited about getting involved. For the first time, I let someone walk away with a piece of my dream, to add their stuff to it and to begin to make it a reality. And then I did what I always do – I went to the toilet and cried.

It felt so good to know that something special has been born. Even as I write now, my heart beats faster in anticipation, looking forward to “changing the world” in some cool way. I know there is much hard work ahead, but to actually see things now in motion that have been buried for so many years is well worth it.

My advice to you, and my advice to myself more importantly is to step out of that comfort zone. Say what you want to say about what you want to do, and who cares what other people think or say. It’s yours and only you have the right to decide whether or not you can make it a reality. There is someone closer than you think who is going to help you achieve that, and in the last few weeks, I have totally seen that and accepted it.

You know, of late I have been receiving a few comments and emails about the things that I write and the things that I say and I do. And to be totally honest with you, they sometimes come as a bit of a shock because I still fight with having that self-belief in my work – may sound strange but like I always say to you, I am not gonna bullshit you here or anything so this is the truth from my heart. I used to think that my words were just waffle, but I am now beginning to see that they make sense to people so thank you for helping me to see what you already see – it is pretty cool.

Yesterday, I received 2 extremely personal emails that truly touched my heart – one from a colleague that I have worked closely with in Dublin, that I have seen grow and break though so many barriers in courses we have done together and some I consider a very special person in my life who I would even jump out of a box naked for. The other is an amazing young lady that I met whilst working for charity at a festival last year – we had an immeadiate and amazing connection, and even though I have not kept in physcial contact, that bond was pretty strong and I often wondered why – until I read her message last night that touched me again, very deeply. There are so many others that have come my way, but these latest 2 have made me reflect on some stuff and made me understand why “M” in My Coach Guy is so amazing powerful.

Why do you do what you do ? These are my Top 5 Reason why I do what I do : -

1) For years, I did a job that was not my passion at all. Yes, I was good at it and yes, there was a lot of enjoyment out of it as well. I got to work on some amazing construction projects back home, as well as over here when I came to live here and it has given me some valuable tools to apply for life. But every single day, I lied to myself because my heart was not in my work. Today, I get to work in an industry that inspires me and pushes me all the time, and I know that what I do impacts a lot of people, therefore, work is  no longer work. Work is a pleasure and something I look forward to most of the time.

2) I am constantly learning, and that is very important to me. I get to learn new things every day, new ways to do stuff, new events to prepare for, new people to meet, new challenges to take on. I like learning so it is pretty cool that I get to do this.

3) I have met some pretty frikkin amazing people and people that I never thought I would be friends with as well if I am honest – again, boils down to that self-belief shit I guess. Last week, after 2 events, I had the opportunity to sit at the dinner table with 2 of the trainer’s we work with, speaking purely about nonsense. For me, it was kind of surreal to be in this situation because it “only happened to everyone else” in my life and here it was happening to me. These 2 guys have been instrumental in my development so far, and to be able to call them friends is wicked.

4) I have big dreams that involve changing the world basically, and to be somewhere that I know is taking me in that direction rocks. I never used to dream, I never used to wish and there was a time that all I wanted to do was die because I felt like all I was doing was hurting the people I loved the most. To be alive today and to have the chance to share those dreams with them is sometimes very challenging, but at the same time, because I share honestly with them about what I want to do, it inspires me to keep going. My family (Bean, Da, Sav, Mom and Ke) are part of the reason I do what I do because despite what I have put these 5 people through, they still love me for who I am and for that I thank them by doing this – they don’t expect me to do it, I know that, but they believe that I could do if I really wanted to, so therefore I do.

5) And the final reason I do what I do is for me. It has taught me to love myself and look after myself. It has been my way of speaking when I am a bit nervous to speak to people. It has shown me that is Ok to be honest about everything, which is very important to me. It has shown me my own personal growth and development. It is a tribute of thanks to some amazing people, you included. It basically is me, and for once in my life, I want to do things for me.

I spent yesterday working at some events, listening to 2 people who inspire me a lot to be who I am today. It is truly a blessing to be able to call these 2 guys friends of mine, and years ago, the thought of having people like this as a very big part of my life was something that eluded my imagination – wait, that is a load of bullshit ! I never believed that I deserved to have friends like this, succesful people doing what they love every day !

I lived my life in the closed up world, limited by so many undeserving beliefs and decisions that held me back until I woke up and told myself to wake the fuck up and open my mind just a little bit each and every day. Small things were followed by bigger things and this weekend made me see some more of the world.

What follows is not my original words at all, but I have added my personal slant on it !

“A new idea cannot be grafted onto a closed mind… Open-mindedness leads us to the very insights that have eluded us during our lives.”

We arrived at that place where we decided that enough was enough, you know that point, that really low point in our lives. We’d just about run out of ideas. What we needed most when we got here were new ideas, new ways of living, shared from the experience of people who’d seen those ideas work. Yet our closed minds prevented us from taking in the very ideas we needed to live.

Denial keeps us from appreciating just how badly we really need new ideas and new direction. By admitting our powerlessness and recognizing how truly unmanageable our lives have become, we allow ourselves to see how much we need what some other people right in front of us now have to offer.

Self-dependence and self-will can keep us from admitting even the possibility of the existence of a Power greater than ourselves. However, when we admit the sorry state self-will has gotten us into, we open our eyes and our minds to new possibilities. When others tell us of a Power that has brought sanity to their lives, we begin to believe that such a Power may do the same for us. It does not matter what that Power is – the mere fact that we see other people doing things in their own lives with totally different results to anything we may have experienced before makes us realise that they could possibly be that Power greater than ourselves.

A tree stripped of its branches will die unless new branches can be grafted onto its trunk. In the same way, our closed minds stripped us of whatever direction we had. To grow or even to survive, we must open our minds and allow new ideas to be grafted onto our lives.

Just for today: I will open my mind to the new ideas of what lies before me now, a new way of life that I can experience when I choose to.

So as you know, or at least if you have been following this you will, health has been pretty important in my life this year – in fact, it has probably been the highest of importance than it has ever been. In true I tell you what mate style, I have probably dived into the deep end and have radically changed a lot of things. There have been times when I felt like giving up and there are now times when I truly enjoy my new way of life, so right now, the challenges are pretty worthwhile.

At the start of the year, I embarked upon the physical challenge of training for the London Marathon, and despite the frikkin shit cold weather, I really began to enjoy my runs. Aside from this, I have also been going to the gym (something I have probably found the most challenging of all) pretty regularly and my healthy way of life had become a routine. Combined with this, I have also been working a bit hard – no wait, let me rephrase that – I have been working my butt off !! All in all, it has been a pretty immense first three months of the year and I was really enjoying it !

As the marathon began to get closer, I found that my fitness routine was stepping up somewhat and looking back now, I think I can honestly say that it was to the detriment of some other areas or aspects of my life. Yes, I know, I should listen to what I say sometimes and I found that I was focusing solely on my health and work, and forgetting a few of the simpler things in life, like probably taking time out for myself. Now if you know me at all, you will know that that is a pretty bitter pill to swallow for me and sadly, the universe, despite throwing the odd stone at me now and then as a reminder, decided that enough was enough and rather than just lay me up in bed like it did at the start of the year, this time, my God was going to take matters into His own hands.

Last week at the gym in an episode that in itself, could form a whole other story, I stubbed my big toe pretty damn hard into one of the benches. Not wanting to yelp like a baby and hop around like a fool, I carried on as if nothing had happened meanwhile inside, some pretty intense vocabulary was being used. I tried to continue as if nothing had happened until it was a bit too sore to continue and then went about “finishing up” for the day. A hot shower helped ease the pain a bit and I already noticed a decent amount of swelling but still, that did not stop me from going about my day as I normally would. I proceeded to get to the office, where as the day went on, the pain got worse and then, walking up the stairs, I went on to smash my toe head on into the step thanks to a slight limp.

A brief toilet visit followed in order to silently scream again, and the day went on. By now, the pain was a bit much to handle and I still had an event to attend to that evening, during which, yes ! You guessed it. Foot straight into a stair again, head on with the rather painful toe. This time, I was unable to keep the volume internal and the words came out. After a 12 hour working day, I proceeded to make my way home where I decided that it was time to look at this toe of mine and the sight was not great. Just a bad bump I told myself and a very painful, sleepless night ensued.

The next day was pure agony, and after swallowing my pride and being forced to go to A&E, it was established that I had fractured my toe, and in the process, had forced my big toe nail up into my toe, hence the swelling and great colouration ! It is still too swollen to be strapped or lanced and I am just forcing it into the largest and loosest shoe that I have.

It has made me realise how fast I go about my life. It has physically forced me to slow down and just get to wherever I am going without too much thought as to how I am going to get there – I know where I need to be and I know that in order to get there, I (literally) have to take small and evenly paced steps. I know now that I cannot force things, no matter how hard I try because it is just too much to take on and I know that now I need to listen if my health (or anything else for that fact) is going to matter in my life.

I can’t run the marathon this year, as during marathon’s, it is known that people lose toe nails (this I have done before) and with a raw nail bed, it woud not be great. I would also run the risk of turning the fracture into a break, and that will hold me up even more. I cannot train right now because even walking is very painful, so yeah, I am pretty much fucked !

So what happens now ?

I listen for once. I take the time out to just take some small steps, knowing that just because what I want to happen does not happen now, it does not mean that it will never happen.

And I support the people who are still taking up the challenge because the show still goes on. There is something that I am very passionate about, and I ask that you take a look at this and support myself and one of my closest friends. Some people have mentioned that this could possibly be the new Ant & Dec- you never know really, stranger things have happened !

So yeah, what happens when you get thrown a curve ball ? Do you look for the lesson and listen for once, or do you just wait and carry on doing that which you have always done ! It sucks ! I am pissed off but this time I am listening !

I came across this today, something that I have read in the past and that has inspired me to make every effort to do this on a daily basis. Thought it was too good to keep to myself so decided to share it with you !

In a dream I saw myself as a great and colorful butterfly; now I am not sure if I am Chuang-Tsu dreaming I was a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming I am Chuang-Tsu. -Chuang-Tsu, Chinese Patriarch

Over the past decade, the word real has come into vogue. Coca­Cola insists that it is “the real thing.” Our friends tell us to “get real.” Before entering into business ventures, we do a “reality check.” We can’t help avoiding the questions, “What is real?” and “Who is the real me?”

At the completion of nearly every one of my retreat programs, some­one wistfully notes, “Too bad we have to go back to the real world now.” I always respond by saying, “This is the real world. The world of loving, honest communication and genuine caring reflects our true identity much more than the world we usually call ‘real.’”

What world is real to you? The world that most people consider real is fraught with illusions. Money, fame, power, sex, and material security do not offer true reward and substance; they dissolve as soon as the tini­est light is shed on them. While the “real world” tells us that these com­modities are worth living and dying for, those who have them are often desperate for love, relationships, communication, community, and peace of mind.

The real world is the world of kindness, caring, vision, and service. All of these qualities are attributes of our divine nature. As children of God, we can be only what God is, and that is everything that is good. We are born of light, and we return to the light. To live in light is to live in the real world.

Show me the real world.

Let me not forget my nature and my origin.

I live in the real world of love.

This morning, I was “wandering” around on the old Facebook and came across a video posting that reminded me of  something I wrote a while ago so I thought I would share it with you today – yup, it is kind of long but hey, the people that need to read it will take the time out to read it and that’s what counts ! Enjoy !

I woke up in the middle of the night last night, for some strange reason at the time, thinking about a theme park. At first I was a little confused by this chain of thought, wondering what significance this had. As I lay there, my thinking continued and I began looking at it in the aspect of where I have been and where I have headed. The fair ground was full of people, all caught up in their own agendas – there was music in the air, sounds coming from all the rides, loads of lights and the feeling in the air was electric. Screams sometimes drowned the sound of the music and bustle, but most importantly was the fact that everyone there, for this day in particular, only had one ticket in their hand. It was the New Year Theme Park, and people young and old were being given the chance to choose their rides for the year that lay ahead of them, and it suddenly dawned on me why I had been having this dream. For the last 2 weeks or so, I have been reflecting on the year gone by, the things that have gone on, but more importantly reflecting on the year ahead of me and what I wanted to achieve. And as January 1st draws closer, my subconscious mind has obviously brought me to this Fair Ground of choice, handing me my ticket and giving me the chance to choose my ride. What ride was I going to choose for the year ahead ?

Some people, I noticed, were aimlessly wondering around, looking at their ticket, standing about looking at all the rides. They watched the people in the queues, saw the mixture of emotions as people stepped up to board their chosen journey, noticed how some people seemed apprehensive and decided to move on to the next one. Every now and then, they paused and stared in longing at something, you could see it in their eyes how much they wanted to board, yet something held them back from taking that step. As they walked away, you could feel the pain in their soul as they walked away from a choice, to afraid to make the commitment, yet this was how they carried on, ride after ride after ride – too afraid to break through that fear that was holding them back. And by the time the fair ground closed, they stood there holding their ticket in their hand, filled with thoughts of what could have been if they had made a choice. Could this be where I am, or you are, right now ? Being given a chance to board the ride of your choice, yet afraid to take that first step until you realise that the chance has passed ?

I then saw other people, and at first I was confused as to what they were doing, because I could not really keep sight of them for that long. These guys were all over the place, chatting to people, laughing and smiling, waving to friends from times gone by and conversing with new ones they had just met. “Why are you going on this one?” they asked, or “what do you think of that one?” they asked other people. I gathered a sense of desperation from some of them – a sense that they had to get on a ride, but they just were not sure which one they should board. When it looked like they may be beside one they were interested in, it was like their friends said something that made them think about another one or passed a comment that put them off their chosen one – “No, this one is boring, you should try that one” or “That one is way to frightening, come with us on another one.” And this was how they carried on, until, now running out of friends and acquaintances to chat to as they had all taken their rides, they were being ushered out of the fair ground, too late to use their chance to board a ride. Again I asked myself, am I (or you) like this, too busy worrying about what other people think I should do ?

As I was walking around, I noticed that I was next to the entrance gate and outside, there was quite a large crowd, just aimlessly milling around, not taking a ticket that they were freely welcome to, yet staring inside the fair ground with a longing in their eyes. In fact, some people walked right past the gate, oblivious to the fact that there even was a fair ground with all these things available to them. Yet others were being dragged in, forced to take a ticket and marched over to whatever ride they were led to, again oblivious to the fact that there was a vast array of choice for them to make on their own. And it made me think back to a time when I did not think I had the choice to have a ride. Am I (or you) there right now, unaware of all the possibilities I have to board a ride of a life time ?

I turned back into the fair ground, and noticed an extremely long queue, full of people who, at first, appeared to be rather excited at the prospect of boarding their chosen ride. They were “communicating” in some form, amongst themselves, although there was a lack of excitement in their voices. I continued to walk along the queue, and as I got closer to the front, I noticed that the people were “robotic” in many ways. The laughed and appeared to be having fun, yet it was like they had done this so many times before – they knew what was coming, they knew what they had to do – and then I found the front of the queue and I saw the ride for what seemed to be the longest queue in the fair ground. There it was, seemingly bright and cheerful, full of wonderful lights and a huge choice of seats to sit on. Music was blaring and drowned out all sounds of the people that were boarding the ride, and as they boarded and the ride continued, there went the carousel (or round-a-bout as some people may say) that slight up-and-down lilt of the different “seats” to sit on, going round and round, merrily on it’s way – it knew exactly where it was going and the same lights and music played over and over again. Why was this queue so long I asked myself, and how many times have I (or you) stood in that very same queue, choosing the safer option of what lay ahead, just going through the motions of using up my ticket ?

It was then that I noticed 2 other types of people, who, at first, appeared to be much the same. These people stood proudly, held their heads up high and marched straight towards where they knew they wanted to go. However, as I watched closer, I noticed a slight difference between these 2 types of people – one of them would walk over to exactly where they wanted to go, join their respective queue and board their ride with a minimal amount of fuss. At times, they offered encouragement to those that stopped to ask questions, and to those that appeared to be afraid by their choice of ride, they offered support and motivation. Even though some of these people may have boarded rides that others did not agree with, they knew what they wanted to use their ticket for and were not afraid to either defend or support their choice, as well of those that they had made friends with in the queue. And that determination was clear to see – these people knew what they were boarding, and were prepared for whatever lay ahead. Now the other people who (at first) appeared to be determined, seem to have some form of ulterior motivation. They would march up with that appearance of grim determination to their respective rides, and when they saw the queue ahead of them, all of a sudden seemed to be rather impatient, so they began conversing with those in front of them, passing snide remarks and comments, challenging people, and sometimes, even picking the tickets out of other peoples back pockets. These people appeared to get to the front of the queue very quickly and hurriedly boarded their ride without any consideration of those around them, not looking back at the disappointment of those who had had their chances of their ride of a life time crushed by these supposedly kind people, interested only in boarding their own ride – determination of another sort really. Have I (or you) been motivated in the past, sometimes to the detriment of those around me, also determined to enjoy their ride, or have I (and you) been excited for my choice, offering advice and support to those who needed it, yet at the same time, still focused on where I would like to be ?

Now, as I was walking around, seeing all that was going on and taking in everything, I kept passing by a particular ride. This one was not as brightly lit as the others, yet there was an unusual exciting soundtrack coming from it, one that I could not quite put my finger on, yet one which really made me stand and wonder. I also noticed a signpost at the entrance, and every time I walked past it, I saw others that I had not seen before. “Under Construction” one said, and “Not for the faint hearted” another mentioned. And as I walked around, my mind kept going back to that ride, the one that nobody seemed to really notice because it seemed to frightening, because the queue was very short, in fact, I had only noticed a handful of people entering this one, hand in hand with their tool belts, ready to do what was required. It was at that same time that I noticed yet another familiar thing. All this time, I had been walking around the fair ground, so absorbed in my own little world of amazement, taking in so many sights and sounds that I had never before been aware of, that I had failed to notice something that had been in front of my eyes. I began to see people that I knew, people that I had met recently and we began to walk around together. Some of us had been on similar rides already this year, rides that had very familiar signs at the entrance. And during these rides, we had all learnt to much about each other – we knew we each had this ticket for an amazing journey, and we knew we each had different strengths that could construct the ride of a life time, one filled with fun and adventure, courage and determination and one that required inner strength and compassion to get to the other side. As the group grew, we stood there and faced each other and decided that this was the ride we were going to use our tickets on. We each had a similar idea as to how we wanted the ride to be and we each knew that we had our own amazing tools to build it with. We knew that this ride was going to change the lives of people who chose to ride it in the future and we each wondered why we had never done this before. So as we joined hand, stood tall and stepped forward, the ride all of a sudden took on a whole new look – the lights now seemed brighter and the music appeared stronger, what appeared to be so frightening when I walked passed on my own now had taken on a whole new look. Yes, the ride ahead looked challenging, but we all knew that this was the ride for us. And for the first time in many, many years at this very same annual fair ground, I knew where I was going, and despite not knowing exactly how I was going to get there, I knew that we were in it together and that it was going to be the best ride I had ever been on. And with that, I took my seat, strapped myself in, looked around me at my fellow adventurers, some of whom I had never actually physically me before yet knew we were on the same path, took in a deep breath and whooped out in delight at the choice I had made.

And now the choice is yours really. In your hands, you have a ticket, one ticket, to board the ride of a life time for the year ahead of you.

Are you going to let fear hold you back from boarding that ride which you so desperately want to get on ? Don’t forget that all rides come with safety belts, are tried and tested and there is really nothing to be afraid of except that first step. There are always people there to check that you are safely and correctly seated, and there will be people on the same ride as you, willing and ready to help you out when you need it. Fear stops so many people from choosing their respective rides, and in a fair ground with so many choice available and so many people taking rides, there is always someone there to help you out.

Or do you worry about what everyone else thinks of your chosen ride and let them put you off your choice because another one seems more exciting, or maybe safe and not as exciting ? Remember that your ride really is only your ride, and only you can get on your ride, nobody else. You could go where they want you to go, only to find out that it was nothing like what you expected. And besides, just because they may be put off by where you want to go, they don’t have to go with you – you can always meet new riders on that which you choose to go on.

Maybe you did not realise that you had the chance to enter the fair ground, or that you had the chance to choose whichever ride you so wish. The choice is always there for you, that choice is always yours. This fair ground is open to anyone who takes a ticket, they do not discriminate against anyone, no matter where they come from. And they do not force you to take a ride which you do not wish to take. This is your ticket and you have every right to it, don’t let anyone take that choice away from you because it is yours.

Could it be that you would rather take the safe ride which you have always taken, maybe this time just choose a different seat ? You know where it is going, and you know where you will end up. You know that there will be ups and downs, but most of all, you know that it is going to be safe. When would now be a good time to step off the carousel and try something new ?

You could know exactly what ride you are going to use your ticket on. You have done you research, you know where you want to go, and you are prepared to stand firm to your choice, ready to support and encourage those that have chosen the same path as you and at the same time, ready to defend your choice of ride because you know that that is where you would like to go. Or are you the type that is prepared to do whatever it takes to get on your ride as quickly as possible with no thought for those around you except yourself ?

Or are you ready to follow your heart and take that ride which you have been putting off getting on for so long now ? Are you ready to take the ride less ridden because you have felt that you are on your own, or because nobody else seems to be getting on it ? Have you taken a look around you and seen the amazing fair-ground-goers standing beside you, ready to get on that ride with you, knowing that it is going to be full of excitement and hard work, challenges and rewards, creating a ride that people in the future would love to take, knowing that it will change their lives forever ?

Of course, this was only a dream at the end of the day, and we don’t only have one ticket to board the ride of a life time for the year ahead. We don’t have the choice, or do we ? Which ride are you going to board, and how excited are you now for what lies ahead ? Who are you going to take your ride with and who are you going to leave behind ? So sit back, close your eyes and look around at the all the choices in front of you, take a deep breath in hearing all the sounds of excitement that you hear, seeing all the adventurers at your side, and know that right now is the time for you – for you to stand up tall and hand in your ticket for your ride of a life time.