Personal reflection

For those of you reading this who might not be aware, the UK is suffering from a terrible plague of knife and gun crime. People have been using these weapons the world over for many years in order to gain an advantage (or power) over other people. The shame we are now suffering here, though, is that the perpetrators of these crimes are getting younger. In some cases, children are carrying out the most heinous of crimes simply to gain status with their peers.

The latest of these atrocities happened recently in Liverpool when a young boy of eleven years old was shot through the back of his neck. He died shortly afterwards of his injuries. This young mans crime was that he chose to walk from his football training session to his home 500 metres away. One pundit in the media said that he was "just in the wrong place at the wrong time!" No he wasn't! He was where he needed to be when he needed to be there. I am sat on a train right now; if the train crashes would they say I was in the wrong place at the wrong time? Of course they wouldn't and neither was this young man. The other upsetting part of this particular crime is that, according to witnesses, police are looking for a young man between the ages of 13 and 15...in other words they are looking for a child suspected of murdering another child!

Earlier I used the expression 'the shame we are now suffering' and I meant that sentence literally. As adults in this country we should all hang our heads in sorrow and shame; sorrow that another child has lost his life senselessly and shame because the perpetrator is a product of the world that we, as adults, must take a great deal of responsibility for.

Now, I am not suggesting that any of us could have done anything to prevent this particular tragedy. Of course we couldn't; we don't know either of the victims (I will return to that remark) but are we doing enough to stop the rot that is overrunning our young people? Are we starting in our own front rooms, back yards, homes, schools and streets to do what we can to instil positive values and beliefs in the young people that we come into contact with? We can't do it all or with every young person, but we can all do our bit. A few moments ago I wrote 'we don't even know either of the victims' - that's right, ladies and gentlemen. I believe there are two victims in this particular crime. I believe that both the young man whose life has been ended and the young person who pulled the trigger are victims. If the killer is indeed a young man of 13 to 15 years of age, I honestly believe that he has been let down drastically by those responsible for instilling values, beliefs and an understanding of what is right and wrong into him at a much earlier age than he has reached now...and where does he go from here?

So what can we do? Well here is a theory for you to chew over (please remember these are my beliefs and not the truth). When you buy a new lap top you take home a machine with a hard drive that is pure and un-infected with any viruses or illegal programmes or the like. Once you take ownership of the machine you are responsible for what is loaded onto the machine's memory or hard drive. The lap top will do whatever the programmes or viruses you loaded (or downloaded) onto it tell it to do. If you make certain that anything you load is pure and within the law it will repay you by remaining so. If you choose to download illegal images or the like you will be rewarded when the values (programmes) that you have loaded onto the machine become public.

What if (and I can only say 'what if') the mind of a small child were the same as a hard drive? If it was your child, or a child that you have regular contact with, would you take great care to ensure that any programmes (values) or images were of a positive nature? Would you want to be rewarded with pride when the values and beliefs that you helped to programme into the 'neck top computer' of that child become public? Speaking purely for myself I will say a resounding yes. To that end I have committed to ensuring that every programme I have any responsibility for loading into the 'neck top' of a young person I am fortunate to meet or work with will be positive and empowering. I urge you to join me.

The sad fact is that we are now living in a world where many young people think that they can achieve a better life by becoming a worse person. As the programmers of a generation of 'neck top computers', we can each do our little bit to stop this rot from going further. Are you with me people?

I have much more to say on this subject but I will not take your time here. If you want to read more of my ramblings take a look at my blog.

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Achievements Inventory

I managed to drag myself of my ever increasing backside and get around the 3 Yorkshire peaks again. (See this month's adventure)

I replaced emotion with sense and put my house on the market.

I have accepted an invitation to speak in America in January 2008

I said 'no' to three (yes, three) other foreign speaking engagements this year.

I accepted that physically I might be invincible but emotionally I am not even close to it.

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Recommended reading, listening or watching

You have probably realised by now that I like nothing better than an evening at the cinema. I can get popcorn on tap and there is no remote control so I don't even have to change channel during the commercial breaks. There is no particular kind of movie that I prefer. I can sit through funny, scary, romantic and even c**p for a couple of hours without thinking about what I could be doing in the office or garden. An evening at the movies is a pleasant release.

This month I laughed out loud so much so that I was holding my tummy in places saying "Please stop - it hurts!" John Travolta has to be one of the most versatile actors of his generation so it comes as no surprise that he makes an excellent job of playing a woman in his latest offering "Hairspray". If you feel like a good old belly laugh and a dance around the cinema floor take a look - it's a scream. Hairspray is one of those no-brain movies that makes you want to break out in applause at the end. Of course, this is only my opinion...and I do have a strange sense of humour.

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

Sometimes it isn't a choice. (This was a HUGE lesson for me!)

My next door neighbour has a business doing ironing for other people - YAAAAAAY!

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Actionstep

I'm in an interesting place in my life right now; a place that allows me, nay, demands of me that I check some of my references and beliefs; I am ready for the next step. The interesting and uncomfortable thing about that is that I am not altogether certain what the next step is. The exciting thing, though, is that it can be anything I choose it to be. I listened to a man whom I regard as THE most inspirational speaker I have ever seen last year. His name is W Mitchell. Mitchell ended his key note speech with a quote that has been on my office wall ever since and only now am I starting to realise the significance of it.

"Where we are is only temporary and we can choose where we go next."

The one thing I am almost certain of is that, for now, I am on the right path so far. My challenge is whether to take a fork in the road that has presented itself to me or to continue where I am heading. I am often asked by people how to start a new journey and my answer is usually the same. Before you can decide how to get where you are going you absolutely must know from where it is you are starting. In other words "where are you now?" Another metaphor I could use for this would be to take you back up 7000 metres to the top of Mount Aconcagua where I was on 25th February this year. Once at the top I was exhausted and elated all at the same time. I knew I had worked harder than ever before. However I didn't realise just how hard I had worked until I started to go back down. Only then did the magnitude of my efforts sink in. I knew then that I had become someone very different from the person who left England almost 3 weeks earlier. I was stronger, wiser and more aware of my capabilities and limitations than I had ever been before. And I was immensely proud of the man that I had become.

So I am about to ask you to do something that might make you feel a little uncomfortable but, once you have done it, will help you to understand just who you are. I am going to ask you to answer this question:

Who do you think you are?

When you answer this question remember what I asked. I asked "Who do YOU think you are?" and not "Who do you think other people think you are?" I will start the ball rolling...

So who am I then? Well here is a rough outline as to who I think I am as we speak:

Physically:
As we speak I could be described as carrying a few extra pounds. On the whole though physically I am ok. The word I would use to describe myself physically is tenacious. I have a belief that I am, physically at least, invincible. That belief has allowed me to achieve some amazing things so far. I have an ability to push myself beyond the point where I feel exhausted. Strangely enough though I would also describe myself as physically lazy. If I have nothing to aim for I tend to do...nothing! Aesthetically I am who I am. I would never be mistaken for Brad Pitt but never fell out of an ugly tree either. I guess 'rugged' would best describe my face or 'lived in'! My best attribute physically are my legs. Frankly they are gorgeous.

Financially:
I am learning to become more responsible financially. I do tend to be a little flippant where money is concerned in that as long as bills are paid and investments are up to date the rest is dispensable. I can also be a little too generous at times. On the other hand I have also worked hard with Sara to ensure that we will both be well looked after later in life.

Career:
Here again I could be described as lazy. I work hard when I feel like it. My carer is doing ok and I am very proud of who I am and what I have achieved. I am also aware that I could earn a lot more and be further forward if I could be bothered to. My career and financial self are combined. So if I do want more money then I work harder but again if the bills are paid and investments made why not hit some golf balls or walk my dog.

Mental / personal development:
I work hard here. I was never the brightest button at school but that was probably because most of my teachers were boring or bullies. Give me something I am interested in and I will study till the cows come home. I have an extensive library in my office of 100's of books and I have even read some of them. I am, though, an avid listener and choose to use a lot of my travelling time to keep up with my personal development learning. I know enough to hold my own but not so much that I disappear up my own orifice.

Spiritual / Emotional:
Discovering my spiritual self is a very exciting part of my life. I am just starting to learn about who I really am spiritually. I don't believe in God as an all powerful being up there looking down on us although I do believe that we are all guided by something more powerful than we realise and I choose to refer to this as 'the universe'. Some choose to refer to it as God and others as luck. Some even refer to it as Russell Grant but that's their challenge. I do believe that 'if we don't stand for something we will fall for anything'. Emotionally I have been exposed recently and I am no-where near as strong in that area as some people think I am - in fact at times I am very vulnerable. I cried at the cartoon "Brother Bear" for goodness sake! I'm working on it though.

And finally...
Relationships:
When it comes to business or social relationships I'm doing ok. I have friends whom I can rely on and trust I also have acquaintances who I can call on for advice or a beer. I am a blooming genius at networking and if I don't have it I know someone who does - but here again, I can also be guilty of being lazy.

As far as long term relationships or 'life partner' goes, well, here I could 'do better' and I should really put some work into getting a social life although where the time will come from I don't know. If there is one area of my life that I should work on it is probably this one.

So there you have it. Now that I have written it down I have a starting point for my journey from where I am to where I want to be. All I have to do now is get off my lazy backside and do something about it. So...what's your story?

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Feedback

I had some amazing feedback from last month's feedback section when I told you that I had been accused of being a racist. All of it was supportive to the point where I felt very humble reading it. A massive thank you to all of you who took the time to write and express your opinions especially Scott for reminding me of something that I had forgotten about myself and Peter for (as always) keeping my feet on the ground. A particularly big thank you to the lovely lady who decided that she didn't have green hair either and finally took control of a situation in her life.

As I have said many times the views and opinions expressed in this newsletter are not the truth they are simply my truth. I can always rely on you people to let me know what you think and how you see it. Long may that continue...because my truth might just be wrong.

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This months Adventure

Sometimes it's an adventure to share in someone else's adventure. This month I shared an adventure with Chris. Chris decided some time ago that she would like to do something for the Marie Curie charity in memory of her friend so she and several other brave souls decided that they would tackle the 3 Yorkshire peaks.

For those who are not familiar with this challenge it involves walking around 24 miles and climbing the 3 peaks of Pen Y Gwent, Wearnside and Ingleborough along the way. Due to the atrocious weather we have experienced this year the original day for the adventure, when the whole group would have completed the walk together, was postponed. Undeterred Chris decided that she would take time off from work and complete the walk as soon as conditions allowed. Having done the route several times before and so knowing the way, I agreed to go with her.

Our first challenge came shortly into the walk when Chris discovered something that most athletes are familiar with, namely 'bonking out'. This is not some sort of nocturnal game! 'Bonking out' is a serious condition brought on by lack of nutrition on the build up to or, as in this case, throughout an endurance event. 'Bonking out' is a very uncomfortable condition that leaves you with absolutely no energy whatsoever and a feeling that you would sell your children in return for a Mars bar. Fortunately, we were both carrying ample supplies of energy giving food (not chocolate) and her condition was short lived. We made it to the top of our first peak a little behind schedule but ok.

To cut a long story short we completed the walk in a little over twelve hours and Chris's adventure was completed almost without a hitch. To add to the achievement Chris collected close to £1000 in sponsorship for Marie Curie and crossed the 3 Yorkshire Peaks off her 'life's to-do list'!

Why not let me know what your adventure would be? Perhaps we can sort it our together.

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Speaking dates

Details of current and upcoming events.

Workshops & Seminars

OCTOBER & NOVEMBER
WAKE UP to who you are and what you deserve
(Open programme)

October 10th 2007 : Hartlepool
October 11th 2007 : Leeds
November 6th 2007 : Bedford
November 7th 2007 : Cambridge
November 8th 2007 : Liverpool

PDF download of event details

October 25th 2007
ISMM Workshop
Swindon

November 3rd 2007
Vapor Trails
closing key note at the Professional Speakers Association European conference in London.
For information go to www.professionalspeakers.org

December 1st 2007
Junior Chamber International National Conference
Doncaster

Other Events

October 8th 2007
West Yorkshire Junior Chamber business lecture
Cedar Court Hotel, J39 M1 motorway.

December 5th 2007
North East Professional Speakers Association Christmas Special
Jarvis Hotel, Wetherby, West Yorkshire.
PDF download of event details

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 on the day you were born you had been given a watch counting down to the end of your life what would you do differently or right now?

Q2. IF you could give a short piece of advice to a 16 year old just starting their adventure of life what would you tell them?
(Please write this on a 6"x5" card, date and sign it and then contact me at clive@clivegott.com - I will tell you what to do with it)

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