Personal Reflection

We are at the time of year when some people see a new year as an opportunity to make some changes in their lives. They decide to start doing something, stop doing something, do more or less of something and probably to lose a bit of weight (we will come back to this one). In all honesty none of us really knows what is going to happen this year although there are always those who claim they do. Take the Met office for example. This time last year they were telling us to prepare for a barbeque summer and we were treated to some of the worst flooding in living memory. Likewise they told us to look forward to a mild winter and we spent the first ten days of the year digging ourselves out of our houses after some of the worst snow falls anyone can remember. And these are the guys who are also telling us what the weather will be in 100 year time by the way. If ever there was evidence AGAINST the argument for global warming those guys are it.

Frankly I am not sure whether anyone can have the power to see into the future although some claim to. For instance, if my 'horrorscope' for this year is to be believed I am going to win a bet, go on a trip and get laid during 2010. However I only gamble twice a week during the Super League season; my job is only an International professional speaker and, as we speak, I am in a relationship...so the chances of any of those happening are pretty low I guess, ey? Just for this year, though, I'm going to have a bit of fun and make some predictions as to what I think 'might' happen in 2010. Feel free to print them out and hold me accountable next January. Here goes...

• Someone really famous will die this year
• Someone really famous will be born this year although we may not know about it for a few years yet
• There will be a new government in the UK this year
• The BNP will gain several seats during the election of that new government not because there are more racists in the UK now but because people are genuinely sick of successive spineless governments
• Michael Schumacher will finish on the podium in several races
• Tiger Woods will win a Major just to shove it up those who are so ready to write him off
• I will pass a HUGE milestone in my business around September

This however is my most definite prediction for 2010 and perhaps the only one that I would put money on coming to fruition....

Hannah Waterman will grow from size eight to at least a size ten by Christmas 2010. Perhaps I have no right to say that. I don't know Hannah - I have never even met her - but she is following in the footsteps of many MANY people (mainly women) before her who have brought out miracle weight loss DVD's. These DVD's promise to turn you into the Goddess or Adonis that you have always dreamed of being simply by putting it in the DVD player and following everything she tells you to do. What they forget to tell you is that she, and others who have made these amazing products designed to help you lose pounds (for pounds read £££££) have the help of trainers who come round to their houses and drag them out of bed. They have personal dieticians on hand on a 24/7 basis and they are paid shit loads of money to lose weight with the promise of a bonus if they do it in record time.

I am no stranger to fitness DVD's although in my day it was Video's. When I started losing weight in 1986 it was recommended that if I wanted to lose weight quickly and safely I should buy and watch a Jane Fonda video. So I bought and watched 'On Golden Pond' every day for a month without losing a single pound in weight. Later on we were treated to Ann Diamond telling us that if you did what she did in her DVD you too could lose weight. She conveniently forgot to tell us that it also helps if you have a gastric band fitted as did another morning show presenter in 2008. And more recently Natalie Cassidy has treated us to a workout that, had she continued to follow it herself on a more regular basis (after the trainers had left her home and she had counted the money she made from it), her partner would probably have attempted a few more lifts on their Strictly appearances. In short these things never work permanently. They are produced to extort money from vulnerable people who are looking for the easiest and quickest way possible to lose weight.

Can I suggest that if you are thinking of using one of these DVD's, instead of buying it you rent it from your local Blockbusters every day for a month; that you walk from your home to said Blockbuster to collect it and walk back again to return it. This exercise alone will probably help you lose more weight than any fashionable DVD that has been produced in factory farming conditions (and whose star will probably pork right back out again as soon as the producers leave her alone) will ever do.

^ menu

Something for nothing

During October and November last year I held two complimentary days where we discussed starting and developing a speaking business. As the day evolved though lots of other topics came into the discussions ending up with a day so much more content filled that even I first imagined. As a result it was decided that it would be a great idea to hold regular 'Stuff' days. The idea is that I book a room in a hotel, the cost of which is split between however many people turn up. There is a loose agenda for the day but essentially the day will take whatever course it takes. It is not intended that (initially) there will be a guest speaker and no one will be thanked if they come along with a case full of their books or DVD's to inflict on the people attending. The theme of the day is information abundance whatever that means to you.

It is my intention to hold the first of these days on Saturday 20th February. If you are interested in attending could you let me know by dropping me an email to clive@clivegott.com just so that I can have an idea of numbers etc.

^ menu

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

Social network sites ARE a bona fide way of gaining business

You can buy a plug-in device that emits a sound that only rodents can hear that keeps mice away from your house...and they work

Envirophone is a great way to recycle your old mobiles and make a few bob

If you ask veeeeeery nicely you can get a top deck cabin for the price of a deck 7 cabin...yaaaaay

^ menu

Challenging your thinking

I was involved recently in a fantastic discussion on facebook about whether offence is something people do to us or something we choose to accept. About three years ago I was speaking at a conference in London. There were between 900 and 1000 people in the audience when I delivered my 'bread and butter' key note speech entitled 'Vapour Trails.? As usual several people approached me afterwards to pass an opinion on what they had just heard or to share their stories with me before I left. Most of the feedback was very positive along with the usual one or two who didn't agree with this or that. All of this is part and parcel of what I do for a living, I never claim that everything I say is THE truth, it is just MY truth and that is open to change if someone convinces me enough to do so.

A few days later I received an email from a lady expressing her opinion of me and my performance and of something specific that I had said. She referred to me as an "ignorant racist" which of course I am not but which was her absolute right to voice an opinion on. For the record I am still working with the client the lady in question represented. Of course as I have already said I am not a racist (I might be ignorant...but I'm not a racist) so I read the email and then placed it to one side and got on with my work. But it did raise the question why, in an audience of 1000 people, do some people find what I say amusing, some find it interesting, some find it uninteresting and some offensive? Surely if what I say is offensive then everyone would say it was. If what I say is truly funny then everyone would laugh at it. And then it hit me, it must be because we all have A CHOICE as to how we react or respond to something we see hear or feel.

In my bestselling book Believe You Can (It's my best seller purely because it has sold more than my other book so far) I talk about how our attitudes are formed. It is not what happens to us that pisses us off it is THE MEANING we give to what happens to us that does that. I describe it like this...

Something happens
V
You give it a meaning
V
You react to YOUR meaning
V
Your reaction becomes a habit
V
Your habits form your attitude

So if something happens, or is about to happen, to you that ,in the past, has wound you up try to give it a different meaning. I know this sound a bit off the wall to some of you but it really does work. For instance we have just endured some of the worst snow covering that I can recall. Personally I went through several emotions depending on what my plans were. As far as my weekly game of golf was concerned the snow was sent from hell just to make my life a misery. When I was out walking the dog it was an amazing opportunity to view the canvas that Mother Nature has chosen to paint this week. As far as work was concerned, for me it was inconvenient but not debilitating, for others it was a great opportunity to have a day off and spend valuable time with their kids.

The snow meant different things to different people so you see the weather cannot determine your attitude but the meaning you give to it can. How do you react in a traffic jam for example? My guess is that it all depends on where you are going. If you are being transported to the local jail for a few months holiday you probably don't care if you are stuck there for hours. However if you are on your way to the airport to catch a flight that will take you on holiday for two weeks my guess is that you will be tapping the steering wheel a little. Ok so they are extreme examples but they still make the point that it is not what happens to us that winds us up and it is not what someone says that offends us, it is the meaning we give to either that does (or doesn't) do the damage. Answers on a postcard please.

^ menu

Achievements Inventory

For almost a whole year I have slept soundly and woken with a purpose.

We want to work with you regularly because "you delivered what you promised and achieved the highest feedback score we have ever had for an external speaker."

^ menu

Feedback

As usual I can always rely on you to let me know what you are thinking. Feedback from my thoughts on being asked to be a God father and how I would have to say no because I couldn't agree to what the ceremony asked me to agree to was interesting. It fluctuated between get my head out of my arse to someone who told me that they had made the same promises and didn't realise that they would never be able to keep them. As it happens babies parents were happy to speak with the powers that be and explain my situation and all is now solved. It seems that I don't have to promise in the eyes of the Lord to do what I am perfectly capable of doing anyway. Now all I have to figure out is what an adult guardian does!

^ menu

A question for discussion.

Is it true that we teach people how to treat us? If so how are you teaching people to treat you?

^ menu

Personal Reflection

We are at the time of year when some people see a new year as an opportunity to make some changes in their lives. They decide to start doing something, stop doing something, do more or less of something and probably to lose a bit of weight (we will come back to this one). In all honesty none of us really knows what is going to happen this year although there are always those who claim they do. Take the Met office for example. This time last year they were telling us to prepare for a barbeque summer and we were treated to some of the worst flooding in living memory. Likewise they told us to look forward to a mild winter and we spent the first ten days of the year digging ourselves out of our houses after some of the worst snow falls anyone can remember. And these are the guys who are also telling us what the weather will be in 100 year time by the way. If ever there was evidence AGAINST the argument for global warming those guys are it.

Frankly I am not sure whether anyone can have the power to see into the future although some claim to. For instance, if my 'horrorscope' for this year is to be believed I am going to win a bet, go on a trip and get laid during 2010. However I only gamble twice a week during the Super League season; my job is only an International professional speaker and, as we speak, I am in a relationship...so the chances of any of those happening are pretty low I guess, ey? Just for this year, though, I'm going to have a bit of fun and make some predictions as to what I think 'might' happen in 2010. Feel free to print them out and hold me accountable next January. Here goes...

• Someone really famous will die this year
• Someone really famous will be born this year although we may not know about it for a few years yet
• There will be a new government in the UK this year
• The BNP will gain several seats during the election of that new government not because there are more racists in the UK now but because people are genuinely sick of successive spineless governments
• Michael Schumacher will finish on the podium in several races
• Tiger Woods will win a Major just to shove it up those who are so ready to write him off
• I will pass a HUGE milestone in my business around September

This however is my most definite prediction for 2010 and perhaps the only one that I would put money on coming to fruition....

Hannah Waterman will grow from size eight to at least a size ten by Christmas 2010. Perhaps I have no right to say that. I don't know Hannah - I have never even met her - but she is following in the footsteps of many MANY people (mainly women) before her who have brought out miracle weight loss DVD's. These DVD's promise to turn you into the Goddess or Adonis that you have always dreamed of being simply by putting it in the DVD player and following everything she tells you to do. What they forget to tell you is that she, and others who have made these amazing products designed to help you lose pounds (for pounds read £££££) have the help of trainers who come round to their houses and drag them out of bed. They have personal dieticians on hand on a 24/7 basis and they are paid shit loads of money to lose weight with the promise of a bonus if they do it in record time.

I am no stranger to fitness DVD's although in my day it was Video's. When I started losing weight in 1986 it was recommended that if I wanted to lose weight quickly and safely I should buy and watch a Jane Fonda video. So I bought and watched 'On Golden Pond' every day for a month without losing a single pound in weight. Later on we were treated to Ann Diamond telling us that if you did what she did in her DVD you too could lose weight. She conveniently forgot to tell us that it also helps if you have a gastric band fitted as did another morning show presenter in 2008. And more recently Natalie Cassidy has treated us to a workout that, had she continued to follow it herself on a more regular basis (after the trainers had left her home and she had counted the money she made from it), her partner would probably have attempted a few more lifts on their Strictly appearances. In short these things never work permanently. They are produced to extort money from vulnerable people who are looking for the easiest and quickest way possible to lose weight.

Can I suggest that if you are thinking of using one of these DVD's, instead of buying it you rent it from your local Blockbusters every day for a month; that you walk from your home to said Blockbuster to collect it and walk back again to return it. This exercise alone will probably help you lose more weight than any fashionable DVD that has been produced in factory farming conditions (and whose star will probably pork right back out again as soon as the producers leave her alone) will ever do.

^ menu

Something for nothing

During October and November last year I held two complimentary days where we discussed starting and developing a speaking business. As the day evolved though lots of other topics came into the discussions ending up with a day so much more content filled that even I first imagined. As a result it was decided that it would be a great idea to hold regular 'Stuff' days. The idea is that I book a room in a hotel, the cost of which is split between however many people turn up. There is a loose agenda for the day but essentially the day will take whatever course it takes. It is not intended that (initially) there will be a guest speaker and no one will be thanked if they come along with a case full of their books or DVD's to inflict on the people attending. The theme of the day is information abundance whatever that means to you.

It is my intention to hold the first of these days on Saturday 20th February. If you are interested in attending could you let me know by dropping me an email to clive@clivegott.com just so that I can have an idea of numbers etc.

^ menu

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

Social network sites ARE a bona fide way of gaining business

You can buy a plug-in device that emits a sound that only rodents can hear that keeps mice away from your house...and they work

Envirophone is a great way to recycle your old mobiles and make a few bob

If you ask veeeeeery nicely you can get a top deck cabin for the price of a deck 7 cabin...yaaaaay

^ menu

Challenging your thinking

I was involved recently in a fantastic discussion on facebook about whether offence is something people do to us or something we choose to accept. About three years ago I was speaking at a conference in London. There were between 900 and 1000 people in the audience when I delivered my 'bread and butter' key note speech entitled 'Vapour Trails.? As usual several people approached me afterwards to pass an opinion on what they had just heard or to share their stories with me before I left. Most of the feedback was very positive along with the usual one or two who didn't agree with this or that. All of this is part and parcel of what I do for a living, I never claim that everything I say is THE truth, it is just MY truth and that is open to change if someone convinces me enough to do so.

A few days later I received an email from a lady expressing her opinion of me and my performance and of something specific that I had said. She referred to me as an "ignorant racist" which of course I am not but which was her absolute right to voice an opinion on. For the record I am still working with the client the lady in question represented. Of course as I have already said I am not a racist (I might be ignorant...but I'm not a racist) so I read the email and then placed it to one side and got on with my work. But it did raise the question why, in an audience of 1000 people, do some people find what I say amusing, some find it interesting, some find it uninteresting and some offensive? Surely if what I say is offensive then everyone would say it was. If what I say is truly funny then everyone would laugh at it. And then it hit me, it must be because we all have A CHOICE as to how we react or respond to something we see hear or feel.

In my bestselling book Believe You Can (It's my best seller purely because it has sold more than my other book so far) I talk about how our attitudes are formed. It is not what happens to us that pisses us off it is THE MEANING we give to what happens to us that does that. I describe it like this...

Something happens
V
You give it a meaning
V
You react to YOUR meaning
V
Your reaction becomes a habit
V
Your habits form your attitude

So if something happens, or is about to happen, to you that ,in the past, has wound you up try to give it a different meaning. I know this sound a bit off the wall to some of you but it really does work. For instance we have just endured some of the worst snow covering that I can recall. Personally I went through several emotions depending on what my plans were. As far as my weekly game of golf was concerned the snow was sent from hell just to make my life a misery. When I was out walking the dog it was an amazing opportunity to view the canvas that Mother Nature has chosen to paint this week. As far as work was concerned, for me it was inconvenient but not debilitating, for others it was a great opportunity to have a day off and spend valuable time with their kids.

The snow meant different things to different people so you see the weather cannot determine your attitude but the meaning you give to it can. How do you react in a traffic jam for example? My guess is that it all depends on where you are going. If you are being transported to the local jail for a few months holiday you probably don't care if you are stuck there for hours. However if you are on your way to the airport to catch a flight that will take you on holiday for two weeks my guess is that you will be tapping the steering wheel a little. Ok so they are extreme examples but they still make the point that it is not what happens to us that winds us up and it is not what someone says that offends us, it is the meaning we give to either that does (or doesn't) do the damage. Answers on a postcard please.

^ menu

Achievements Inventory

For almost a whole year I have slept soundly and woken with a purpose.

We want to work with you regularly because "you delivered what you promised and achieved the highest feedback score we have ever had for an external speaker."

^ menu

Feedback

As usual I can always rely on you to let me know what you are thinking. Feedback from my thoughts on being asked to be a God father and how I would have to say no because I couldn't agree to what the ceremony asked me to agree to was interesting. It fluctuated between get my head out of my arse to someone who told me that they had made the same promises and didn't realise that they would never be able to keep them. As it happens babies parents were happy to speak with the powers that be and explain my situation and all is now solved. It seems that I don't have to promise in the eyes of the Lord to do what I am perfectly capable of doing anyway. Now all I have to figure out is what an adult guardian does!

^ menu

A question for discussion.

Is it true that we teach people how to treat us? If so how are you teaching people to treat you?

^ menu