Help someone else write their story…

In telling my story over the last couple of years, I’ve managed to reach nearly a million people, through my writing.
Never one for being overly PC, telling it how it really is, I love saying the things that others don’t, because they fear people perception of them rather than focusing on truth… But in doing so I find that the pleasure in taking someone to task, does not outweigh the pleasure of motivating someone to change, or discover themselves…

It’s not so pleasing to right a wrong, as it is to stand in front of you and project my energy, harness my energy for every one of you…
Energy, that within me running so fast is a curse sent to cripple me as I’m overburdened by it…
But if controlled and directed… shared, it might do some good and may even change the way that you perceive the world, the way you perceive people, or the way you perceive yourself…

Everything starts with one’s self…
A decorated Navy Admiral – William McRaven said:
If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed.
If you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day.
It will give you a small sense of pride, and it will encourage you to do another task, and another, and another.
And by the end of the day, that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed.
Making your bed will also reinforce the fact that the little things in life matter.
If you can’t do the little things right, you’ll never be able to do the big things right.
And, if by chance you have a miserable day, you will come home to a bed that is made.
That you made.
And a made bed gives you encouragement that tomorrow will be better.

I believe, that if we want to change the world, we should start looking deep within ourselves and ask ourselves who we really are…

Inside all of us there are two voices – one voice that wants to uplift, a voice that wants us to expand, one voice that wants us to grow.
And then there’s the other voice – The voice that holds us back. That makes us lazy… makes us complacent. The voice that restricts us from our potential.
We all know what voice we should be following… but we don’t!

All we’re really fighting for is time…
Many of us lose the people most important to us, because we don’t value their time as much as our own.
And often, we don’t recognise how important someone is to us until they’re gone.
But the world doesn’t have to be like that, it’s a journey of discovery; it’s about evolution…

It’s not about money, houses, or cars, the capitalist dream turned nightmare, as we slave and sweat anxiety, for someone far away, sunning themselves…
It’s in our taking of time…
It’s in measuring a person by what’s inside their heart…
Each of us has our own destiny…
Defining ourselves by what we are not, is the first step that leads us to really knowing who we really are…
So, who are you?

When I have a dark day, when I lose who I am and I feel like I can’t push myself forward, I remember this…
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do. It’s not just in some of us; It’s in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people, permission to do the same.
As we’re liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
This mindset can shift my whole world in an instant…

I decided to focus today on motivations and discovery, because I’d recently been inspired by a speech from Tim Minchin with his 9 life lessons…
So, I felt that in reverence of Tim and my symbiotic spirit, I would share with you what I like to call an amalgamation of minds, in the hope that when you leave here today, your mind might be re-directed in the spirit of change, a shift in your motivation as a human being…

Just over 10 years ago I was stood on a train track waiting to take my own life this was on a large railway intersection near Guildford station…
But, when you stop putting pressure on yourself, when you stop judging yourself, when you stop measuring yourself against how a prescribed society defines you, then you free yourself…

When we’re born, they would have you learn, that as you grow, you must at first be taught, this happens when you first attend school and they train you how to form an opinion, but not necessarily that you have one…
We are taught how to pass our exams, what logic is right, as prescribed by our maths book…

And then onto university, where they give you a loan you’ll spend your life paying off, however rudimental the course may be…
Then you’re thrust into the world of work, fighting to clear the debt so that you can find a mate, buy a house, subsequently gaining more debt, so you must work further until you are tired and depressed and then eventually you have kids…
And when the kids come along, hoping better for them and you want to see them do things you wish you’d have done with your time if you had your chance again…
And then you grow old and you die… defined by vocation, or wealth… just before all that you’ve earned is stripped of a %, before it’s handed on…

And so it goes around, this meaning of life… until the cycle is broken by the activist within us.

We’re taught how to pout and take selfies… how to feel insignificant if we don’t achieve the right level of ‘likes’…
We’re told what foods we should eat, as long as we purchase from the leading brand…
Luckily, they teach us what to wear as well, what’s in Vogue… as they chastise us for pushing boundaries, because of our accent or our tattoos…
But this doesn’t have to be you…
I believe in the power of hope. The power of one person. A Lennon, a Dylan…
One person can change the world by giving people hope.

So, if you want to change the world, start each day with a task completed. Know that life is not fair and that you will fail often. But never, ever give up…
Through my time in the mental health space, I’ve changed more nimbly and readily, because I’ve seen others change in their own way, absorbing and thriving through their evolution…
I’ve helped people to remedy issues in themselves that resonate within me, which in turn has made me reflect on how I approach the world…
Make someone else happy and you might find you get some positive energy back in return.

Rocky Balboa said: “Let me tell you something you already know…
The world’s not all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it.
Nobody, not you or me or anybody, is going to hit as hard as life. But it’s not about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward.
Now if you know what you’re worth then go out and get what you’re worth. But you have got to be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you’re not where you want to be because of him, or her, or anybody! You’re better than that!”
So when you wake up tomorrow, make your bed…

Exercise, a healthy body leads to a healthy mind…
Be a teacher, pass on what you learn and inspire others…

Define yourself by what you love, not what you don’t like about the world you find yourself in…

Respect those with less power than yourself; not because you don’t know what status they may serve for you in the future, but because it’s the right thing to do, to honour everyone that crosses your path, without judgement, or preconception…

And Don’t rush. You don’t already need to know what you might do with the rest of your life.

Don’t panic.

Life is best filled by learning as much as you can about as much as you can, taking pride in whatever you’re doing, having compassion, sharing ideas, exercise, being enthusiastic…

And then there’s love and travel and wine and sex and art and kids and giving and motorbikes and mountain climbing.

And while this may just seem like another pretentious arsehole, telling you what to do, or how to think, remember, I never said I was there… I never said that I’d made it…

You are the only author of the book of your life.

All I’m saying is… if you get a chance along the way… perhaps help somebody else write theirs…