I love it when serendipity happens. It’s a reminder to me that we’re in a big universe that is unfolding in its own way, with many connected things I can’t see.

A few years ago I was giving a talk in Dublin and afterwards I was approached by a very shy man.

He told me that he dreamed of being a successful speaker but didn’t know how to overcome his fear of public speaking.

Slight issue there indeed…. 🙂

The comedian Jerry Seinfeld once said that most people would rather be in the coffin than deliver the eulogy – this is because the majority of people fear public speaking more than death!

I shared with the man that I used to be terrified of public speaking.

I don’t know about you but this year, for me January seemed to go on forever, yet February disappeared in the blink of an eye!

The experience of time whilst this pandemic is going on has certainly been different…

Yet today is the 1st of March and certainly where I live, there is a feeling of Spring in the air.

The days are getting brighter and with every week that passes we are getting closer to being on the other side of this unique global situation.

With nature bursting forth, it seems like a good time to look in the direction of positive change, of positive growth. To re-think our approaches, to raise our intentions and ask new questions of ourselves.

“Dear Life, When I said “Can this day get any worse?”
It was a rhetorical question not a challenge!”

I think most people have experienced a version of that quote above.

I remember a big turning point in my life was when I realised the power of language. Not just in it’s impact on others but more so on my performance in any field.

I’m not referring just to the spoken word but to the power of the language of my thinking, because behind every action is a thought.

A friend of mine uses the phrase ‘pity party’ whenever he’s feeling sorry for himself.

And who hasn’t had a moment like that over the last year? 🙂

But he also makes a point of laughing at himself when he ‘catches’ himself feeling that way.

I’ve been running many webinars for leaders and their organisations over the past few weeks and I’ve closed most of them out with the line above.

As I’m writing this, I’m sitting in my car beside a very stormy, cold Irish sea in Wicklow Harbour.

The sun is rising, even though you wouldn’t know it with all of the heavy grey cloud…

Waves are crashing over the normally accessible pier and landing heavily onto the stoney beach

But in the midst of it all, there are many seagulls flying through the strong wind to sit on the topsy turvy ocean close to shore. Clearly there is something of interest to them – perhaps some form of food.

There’s always a positive to be found in difficult circumstances.

One of the positives I’ve observed from the pandemic, is seeing people try new things because they felt that had no choice.

And I include myself in that observation.

Necessity is indeed the mother of invention after all and there’s nothing like a global crisis to force experimentation…:)

“Common sense is like deodorant.

The people who need it most never use it.”

A couple of weeks ago I shared a concept in my Strive webinar which resonated with quite a few people.

The concept I talked about was ‘Inner Pollution’.

Most people have a concern over the level of climate pollution but they rarely think about inner pollution – which I believe is a much bigger issue because of the damage it causes.

January can be a funny month for people, and that’s in normal times.

Throw in what’s going on in the world in 2021 and… well… I don’t need to say any more do I?

January seems to be the month of riots. Not only did Washington have unbelievable scenes recently but last Monday, we had a riot in our home.

Our two kids, Jane (13) and Sam (11) decided that they were not happy about the police home-school state that was being implemented and proceeded to let their feelings be known…by having a few tantrums.

At one point I thought I saw my son putting on face paint and a hat with horns… but I think it was just my imagination.

Last week I wrote about hopefulness. How it’s vital to progress, resilience and indeed high performance.

I remember back when I was going through a very dark time in my mid-20s, I had no hope whatsoever. I’m sure you’ve also had your moments.

But an important point in my journey of recovery was when I was introduced to a counsellor who seemed to have some answers.

My first question to him was this:

“Can you make the pain stop?”

He replied “No, but I’ll help you make the pain stop.”

That didn’t make complete sense at the time but all I heard was that it was possible to make the pain go away. And that brought hope back into my life. And that changed everything because then I was committed to putting the work in, and taking action.

“Hope is not a strategy.”

This is a phrase you hear often in the business world and I don’t agree with it completely.

If strategy was everything people think it’s cracked up to be less organisations would fail. There’s no doubt it’s important but so too is hope – or at least feeling hopeful.

In my experience, feeling hopeful is vital to progress.