Personal reflection

Brace yourselves - I'm going on a rant about personal responsibility! The subjects of my personal responsibility rant are two things that have been in the forefront of a lot of minds recently and certainly plastered all over the media right now - namely OBESITY and DEBT.

Before I begin, let me acknowledge my own responsibility. At present I am over my ideal weight (I have gained more than 14 pounds since I returned from Argentina in March) and, in the past, I have had crippling debts - in fact I still have a small debt now. However, I acknowledge that, to gain the extra weight I am carrying, I ate far too much and exercised far too little (for far too little read nothing at all!) and I acknowledge that, when I ran up my huge debts, I did so because I spent money that I didn't have. Granted, some of that was to start myself off in business but I still spent money I didn't have.

OBESITY
I have read and heard just about every excuse there is from people who are overweight. Heck, when I was twenty stones in 1986, I used some of them myself but the best one I have ever heard has to be the new one flying around. Great news all you fatties - scientists have identified a fat gene! Now we can all eat anything and everything that we want because if we gain weight, it's not our fault. Let's consider the possibility that there IS a fat gene because I'm not a scientist am I? Surely this means the poor souls who are afflicted with this gene should learn to eat within its restrictions shouldn't they? After all you don't find many people with nut allergies playing Russian Roulette with a bag of revels do you? NO! People with nut allergies don't eat nuts. It's a harsh reality of life but one some people have to deal with or they could die. For the same reason, if you DO have a fat gene, stop feeding it so much! My truth says most of us know what the problem really is, don't we? As I said, I'm not a scientist but I don't believe I have to be to work out that eating a balanced diet (with the occasional burn out) coupled with regular exercise is going to do you a lot more good than stuffing your face and sitting on you're a**e all day, isn't it?

Wouldn't you hate to be a weight conscious teenager today? One minute they are being told, usually by the media, that the stick insects who pass for role models on the catwalk are just too thin (I happen to agree with this one) and the next minute they are told that obesity could kill them (which I also happen to agree with). Then, just to add to their confusion, a morbidly obese female daytime TV presenter and another morbidly obese female comedienne are held up as role models because they are 'comfortable with their size'.

No one is suggesting we all to go out and run the length of the Sahara desert or climb every mountain (that has a ring to it doesn't it?) but wouldn't it make sense to acknowledge that we are overweight because we eat too much and exercise too little and then make a few changes in our lifestyles?

DEBT
Now the debt thing - this rant is a little shorter than the last one. Last year, someone close to me took out a loan using their house as security. That person now lives in rented accommodation having sold their house to pay off their creditors. They fully admitted that their actions were foolish but then promptly acknowledged full responsibility for those actions and took steps to pay off the ever increasing debt which, by the way, had grown by more than eight thousand pounds in a year because of missed payments.

When they watch their TV they are now being told by the very same company, along with countless others, that 'You can borrow shed loads of money using your house as security, consolidate all of your other debts into one easy monthly payment because (this is the best bit) a little known piece of government legislation means that you can write off up to SEVENTY FIVE PERCENT of your debts - so you will still have enough left to go on that holiday.' NO YOU WON'T BECAUSE IT'S NOT YOUR MONEY! What they also tell you, although it is in print so small that you can only read it with the help of equipment from Jodrell Bank, is that the interest rate is huge and that you will be paying for the rest of your natural life...and then some (a loan of £25,000 over 25 years will cost in excess of £37,000). My truth is that money will never solve someones money problems!

The similarity between my two rants is obvious. Whether you are over weight or in debt, the chances are it is a result of your own actions - and before people start throwing the weakest arguments at me I know there are exceptions to every rule. Taking personal responsibility for where we are right now will ensure a quicker and more positive outcome.

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Achievements Inventory

I entered my next adventure. I will be competing in the Yukon Ultra Marathon in the Arctic in February 2008. This will also contribute to me achieving another goal - visiting one of the ice continents.

I crossed 'smash a golf club in frustration' off my 'TO DO' list of life. I highly recommend it just once in a lifetime! 

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Recommended reading, listening or watching

I go to the cinema two or three times a month. Sometimes it is to watch a 'no brainer' because I want a laugh and a bucket of popcorn. For this I highly recommend Wild Hogs starring John Travolta (predictable but funny) or Blades of Glory starring...I haven't a clue (laugh out loud 'STOP! My tummy hurts!' funny).

For a more disturbing reflection on life, though, I recommend This is England. It is a British film with no recognisable stars that made me squirm in my seat. This is England is a documentary style film reflecting life from a lonely, easily influenced, 12 year old boys point of view during the mid 80's in England. There is no sex to speak of but be prepared to look beyond the bad language to find the message. Our 'hero' loses his father in the Falklands war and becomes very bitter about life in general. He is taken under the wing of a local skinhead gang who, despite being a bit crazy at times, are essentially harmless until a negative influence returns to the gang after a spell in prison. The violence and National Front incited racism displayed in the film are not just the usual gratuitous stuff you see in Hollywood; they are an essential part of the films message. After watching This is England I found myself wondering, with the Iraq war still in full flow and the BNP coming to prominence again, is this really fiction?

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What do I know now that I didn't know a month ago?

If it says 'Don't use on sensitive skin' it means DON'T USE ON SENSITIVE SKIN!!!

In a battle between a 3 Iron and a Solid Object the solid object will win every time...!

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Things to do

MIND YOUR LANGUAGE! Have you noticed just how much 'catastrophic' language we use and how, in some quarters, negative occurrences are just not enough so they have to be escalated into catastrophes or almost catastrophes? And who is the worst culprit for this? The media - of course - and here is a wonderful example of this technique at work...

In the 31 years I have been driving, I have experienced a few 'blow-outs' (3 that I can recall) so I know they are no laughing matter. However, they are nowhere near as spectacular as portrayed in the movies. It is highly unlikely that, as a result of a 'blow-out', your vehicle will take off in the direction of the nearest gas storage tower and wipe out the entire population of a quiet village with the ensuing explosion. So, when I read the following article in the local newspaper I almost cried with laughter.

According to the report, a local woman suffered a 'blow-out' whilst travelling at 60 miles per hour and brought her car to a halt on the outside lane of a quiet dual carriage way. The blame was put squarely on the shoulders of the people who had apparently 'tampered with the tyre' - have you noticed how there always has to be someone to bla-me? This is what woman had to say:

"What would they (the tyre tamperers) have done if I hadn't been able to control my car when the tyre blew up at 60 miles an hour? If it had been a little later than it was and the traffic had been heavier and there had been a car behind me in the offside lane, which I had to swerve into to gain control, I would no doubt be dead now!"

...and no doubt if she had been driving down the centre isle in a supermarket and someone had spilled oil on the floor which she then skidded on and she had just collected the children of the eleven families who live on her estate and someone had built a giant wall of concrete at the end of the supermarket isle that she smashed into - there would have been carnage and bodies all over the place...but she wasn't...and they didn't!

Why do we have to make everything ten times worse by using catastrophic language to describe it?

Take notice of your language today. How catastrophic do you make it? How many times do you say 'I'm starving!' or 'I'm dying!' or even 'I'm so tired I could go to sleep right here!' when the truth is that you need a bite to eat or you have a slight headache or, for the last one, all you need is a short rest to generate a little more energy. You can have some fun with this one!

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Actionstep

YOU CANNOT BECOME UNSTOPPABLE UNTIL YOU START MOVING! I may be stating the obvious here but some people, including myself in the past, haven't quite grasped the concept.

If you are anything like I used to be, you have started to move towards becoming unstoppable...and then turned back. You probably didn't turn back through exhaustion - you probably turned back because where you were going was unknown and a little scary whilst the place you had come from, despite not being everything you ever wanted, was comfortable and familiar. Unfortunately, comfortable and familiar is not as safe a place to be as it feels. It is a place that supports our inadequacies, it holds us back and it is protected by tolerance - which is sometimes our worst enemy. I wonder what you are tolerating in your life right now? I have already mentioned what I believe are the two main things many people are prepared to tolerate in their lives - debt and weight. No-one truly wants either but to get rid of them means changing attitudes, beliefs and lifestyles and the changes required could potentially be huge.

There are other things we tolerate as well. I was recently told, by three different people, 'I envy you for having a job that you love to do.' The average person is expected to work for around a third of their life - a long time to tolerate something that they don't enjoy doing. Others tolerate people they would prefer not to spend time with, or be in a relationship with, but doing so is easier than breaking the relationship - and I'm not just talking about marriage...I include family and friendship in this one, too.

Some people tolerate bullying in some form or another; some tolerate illness; some tolerate negative habits like smoking - 'I would stop if I could!'; some tolerate other situations that, if they really wanted to, they could change.

My action step for you this month is to make a list of everything and/or everyone, in your life, you are tolerating. Once you have made your list, select one you are not prepared to tolerate anymore and take some action to change it. It will be hard but, when you've dont it, you really will be on your way to becoming UNSTOPPABLE in life...

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This months adventure

This months adventure took me, once again overseas, to one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited. I have said that before, I know - it's just that I am growing up and starting to see things differently. In April I went to Oman for the first time. As it is literally next door to Dubai, I expected much the same - sand, tall buildings, more sand and beautiful people. I met the beautiful people...but the landscape blew me away. I was fortunate enough to be taken for an evening drive by a friend who took me along the coast and into the mountains. Oman is one place I will certainly be visiting again - and next time I will take my walking boots and a rucksack. Whether you prefer adventure or simply lazing on the beach, I can highly recommend Oman.

This picture is my lasting memory of Oman - taken from my seat in the café I visited every night...

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Speaking dates

Details of current and upcoming events.

May 17th 2007
Hartlepool Business Awards

May 31st 2007
"When the Flag Drops"
WIRE (Women in rural enterprise) Telford.
Contact Sarah Franklin on 01952 815460

June 26th 2007
Institute of Customer Services Forum
Newcastle

June 29th 2007
Business Leaders Breakfast
Hope University, Liverpool

July 7th 2007
Riverside Business Club
The Riverside Club, Northwood

October 25th 2007
ISMM Workshop
Swindon

November 3rd 2007
VAPOUR TRAILS
Closing key note at the Professional Speakers Association European conference in London.
For information, visit www.professionalspeakers.org

December 1st 2007
Junior Chamber International National Conference
Doncaster

December 2nd 2007
Charity Goal Setting Day
(Venue to be announced)

For further details for any of the events mentioned above, please contact:
clive@clivegott.com

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If...

Questions to stimulate conversation either in the office or over dinner...

Q1. IF you took complete responsibility for who you are and where you are, what would you not have blamed on someone or something else?

Q2. IF you could ban something from TV what would it be? (I would ban adverts fooling people into believing that their money challenges can be wiped out with one phone call!)

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