May 7
This entry is part 1 of 1 in the series Weight loss and Fitness

Do you want to make changes to the way you look? Are you fed up with being overweight and deep down inside worried about people really think about you? (Even though they may not be thinking anything but in your mind they are.) Are you fed up with getting to the top of the stairs and being exhausted? Are you tired of not feeling attractive to the opposite sex?

A while back I mentioned that I wanted to started posting a series based on weight loss, fitness training, exercise for overweight people who weren’t sure how to being the process of changing their physical state and for anyone else who wanted to begin a new chapter with their physical condition.

When I began my journey just over three years ago I was in terrible shape, and that is putting it mildly, however I know that there are people in much worse shape than I was. Starting a new regime is easy and sticking to it is only the beginning of the challenge. Initially the weight drop will be fast and easy but then that will slow and plateau. Then there will be motivation issues and other temptations to contend with.

Everyone once in a while feels the surge of energy to act and make changes but that doesn’t last long if preparations aren’t made to maintain the enthusiasm for undertaking a new personal project. There are ways to combat this and I’ll share more of those a little later on. Then there things that pop up out of the blue that will also hinder your progress such as injuries and they can at times be soul destroying as you’re making such good progress it is very often at those times that injuries occur, almost as a test to your resolve.

There are many methods of weight loss and I have friends who tried varied weight loss systems that involve eating bars and shakes for breakfast lunch and dinner. Some have had success and some have had temporary success and some have had no success because sticking to those programs involves enormous amounts of will power and resistance.

I’m going to be offering you my suggestions and principles that should hopefully make the slimming down fun, easy, and gradual. If you expect massive losses consistently you’re kidding yourself. This process can take months and sometimes even years however time will become irrelevant because you’ll be enjoying what you’re doing so it will become part of your overall lifestyle rather than just something you do for a few months and then eventually give up.

The keys here are variety, enjoyment sustainability and pleasure. If you incorporate these four keys slimming down does become a breeze; something that you don’t have to even think about and something that doesn’t make you feel guilty just because you happen to miss a day!

To begin with:

1) Most people would say start by creating a goal. I say forget that for now and just make a start. The more specific goal setting can come later but for now just make your goal to start exercising whilst having some fun!

2) Find something energetic that you ENJOY doing! It can be a sport, going to the gym, walking, swimming, running etc pretty much anything you like that you like! ;-) Start doing it on a regular basis!

3) However, here is something that is extremely important and it’s a mistake most people make when undertaking a new program like this. Many people exercise until they get tired and end up having that achy feeling for the next few days. When that happens they feel reluctant to continue exercising because they’ve anchored that feeling into their body. It doesn’t last but if that happens for the first few sessions it’s what beginners remember the most and it’s that feeling which then puts them off maintaining that program.

Here’s the key: Exercise to the point where you are enjoying the exercise and stop well before the point of feeling tired! Do this for the first few months! Yes, you heard me right, the first few months especially if right now you’re classed as being ‘overweight’. This has a few objectives: i) It Anchors the feeling of enjoying exercise. ii) It gives your body the time to get used to the exercise especially for your joints. iii) You won’t be put off the exercise because you won’t have the exhausted feeling that can come from vigorous exercise.

I can’t stress enough how important it is for you to find something you enjoy doing. Enjoyment is the best motivation tool there is. It doesn’t matter what else you try and use as leverage on yourself; whether that be money, becoming more desirable to the opposite sex, or just to look good, nothing will beat sheer enjoyment. Let me explain what I’m talking about. When it comes to exercise badminton is my passion. If my body could allow me to play more then I would probably play 24 hours a day 7 days a week. If I had the choice between a hot date and badminton, badminton would win hands down every time! :lol:

That brings me onto my final point. Plenty of people come up to me and tell me: “Amit, I need to lose weight for the summer so I’m going to join the gym!” At this point, I debate about whether to roll around on the floor laughing for the next 15 minutes or whether to explain to them direct. The former never goes down that well so let me go ahead and explain the latter.

As I mentioned earlier, the greatest motivational force is pure enjoyment. When you enjoy something you never have to even think about getting up to do it, you just, do it! Thinking that the fact that £50 is coming out of your bank account is going to be enough of a motivator to get you to go to the gym then you’re deluding yourself. Here’s the rub: Get into the habit of exercising now without a gym. If you can do that for 3 months, then fine, go ahead and join the gym and go use the variety of equipment and classes. Until that point though firmly establish your good habits first and then decide on longer term commitments later. If you absolutely feel the need to join the gym then ask them gym if they do a trial membership for a month or so before they tie you into long contracts which you later cannot get out of.

These are the first few steps to take. Make a start now and do what I said and you’ll find that you enjoy the process of exercising and losing weight rather than feeling like it is a chore of necessity.

Part two coming soon! ;-)

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Feb 13

Here’s a small idea for you especially if this is something that you have never done before.

Find a young person and offer to take them under your wing. Offer to become a mentor to them. There are plenty of organisations out there that run such schemes. All you have to do is step forward and offer your time.

It easy to put yourself forward and it only takes a hour or two of your time every week. I’ve seen first hand and been someone who’s made a difference, in a young persons life, just by taking an interest and offering them not only the time, but also just being someone that listens to them. You don’t have to offer experience, advice or guidance. Just being there is enough and if you feel confident enough, then you can offer more in the ways of wisdom and leadership.

I’ve always said and I continue to maintain that this world would be an extremely different and a much better place if we just offered our time to the younger generation. You may think that they’re not ready to listen but you’ll be surprised by how much you can enhance the quality of a teenagers life by working with them on a one to one basis.

I’ve also always said that every single child on this planet is my child and I have a responsibility to them. I can’t necessarily reach all of them but even if I reach a few, a handfull, it will make all the difference to them in the world and to the world.

Mentoring is a gift. It gives the person you’re mentoring a sense of belonging, of being respected and acknowledged. They want to be listened to and they appreciate the time that is given to them. Not only does it give them something but the amount you get back is immeasurable. You’ll also feel a deep sense of personal empowerment which you will then be able to carry to over to other areas of your life. You’ll need to make a plan though. When you meet your mentee for the first couple of times find out where is it exactly that they need personal expansion. Use lots of open questions that being with: How, what, who, where or when to get them to talk and fully express themselves.

I was recently interviewing a young girl, she was only 15 and I was doing a mock interview with her as she was getting ready to go off and search for work experience. I didn’t know this beforehand but apparently this young lady had a phobia of school and yet she managed to draw the power from somewhere to turn up for that particular day. I interviewed her as if I was interviewing her for a real job. She did extremely well and at the end I gave her lots of encouragement but balanced with some useful constructive feedback. I only found out afterwards but apparently what I said to her really made an impact and she left the room beaming and went to her teachers elated as she felt like she’d done so well! All I did was spend five minutes at the end offering encouragment and advice and who knows how much of a difference those few short moments have made in that young girls life.

So what are you waiting for? Go now and find out if your local council runs an EBP (Education Business Partnership) or some other kind of mentoring scheme where you can give something back to others.

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Jan 22

This post was inspired through the recent work I’ve been doing on the radio and some of the articles I’ve been reading in the tabloids regarding certain celebrities. Now, I don’t always believe what I read, especially from the tabloids, but I do know that celebrities will face challenges, in a very different way, to you or I on a daily basis.

What separates them from us? In reality, nothing, but we’ve designed a culture where they’re treated so differently which often stems from one of two poor perceptual constructs: 1) The way they look. 2) How much money they have. What happens then is that a celebrity will often need to meet the high levels of expectations which are created for them. There are many other factors but these two, more often than not, shape our attitudes towards these unique individuals who are fulfilling their dreams and doing the thing that they love most!

They will often be judged in various ways but a common theme that I hear often is: “They have so much money, how can they have anything to be worried about or complain about anything or lack anything or not be happy?” That suggests to me that there are still people out there that believe that money will bring them all the happiness they desire when the reality is that money is only part of the equation; a very small part to boot! Only WITH the right mindset can money serve you as a tool for not only enhancing your life but enhancing the life of others.

Money and wealth are two totally separate things. Money is currency for exchanging goods and services but true wealth is an abundance in of everything in every area of your life. The thing that people often don’t realise about wealth is that you can be wealthy right now. The way to be wealthy is to firstly being grateful and secondly to share that energy with others. When you start to experience true wealth through gratitude money will follow naturally.

Some celebrities have an abundance of money but become lost in their way and then squander their money for things like: cosmetic surgery, alcohol and drugs; all the types of things that cause damage and destruction; rather than towards things that create, expand, grow and help others! Why does that happen? How can someone with the means to obtain or do anything they like choose to take that kind of path?

My best friend recently got back from India and was telling me about how far just a small sum like 7,000 rupees (or£80 approx) can go for an orphanage and yet for us it’s not uncommon to spend £80 just on a haircut which can go wrong and in turn we can feel sad, down, angry or depressed? Why?

A celebrity is someone who is, where they are, because they not only love what they do, but they also enjoy giving happiness to other people and they enjoy receiving that love and admiration back. They enter a world where they all eyes now focus upon them and for some people they can do no wrong but then suddenly, they might do something that, between everyday folk like us, is something perfectly normal, but because they’re in the limelight whatever it is they have done is completely taken out of context and then often the media come along and crucify them. How would that make you feel? To just make one small mistake and have that plastered across the newspapers the next day? In my mind it would take someone incredibly strong minded to overlook that kind of attention and only focus on the the good they do.

If we allow the countless number of voices on the outside and try and absorb the input it’s no surprise that we might end up getting dazed and overwhelmed! Have you ever been in a position where someone has said something about you that has set you off or got you angry or upset? Right, now multiply that a thousandfold If you were a celebrity, and a paper printed something about you that wasn’t necessarily true, or was taken way out of context? Most people read an article in a paper and they often within a week or two it’s forgotten about but for the celebrity the sting of it can potentially last a life time! Even just a few small bashings can permanently change their mindset if they listen to all those stories!

So what can the celebrity do to minimize or even totally negate the effects of the public humiliations, stories, or mistakes? Here are my suggestions and ideas so feel free to try them out, experient and remember these ideas aren’t just for celebrities, they apply to anyone and everyone no matter who you are and what you do!

1) Do more for others, especially children, maybe even anonymously! - It’s naturaly with your lifestyle that you’ll work hard and also play hard. In amongst all your activities set time aside every month for charitable work; something hands on and something you can personally get stuck into! Even just a few hours every month doing something that you enjoy and also helps others. Find something that you feel passionate about and do lots of that. There was one celebrity who recently go into looking after mis-treated horses and said that helped to turn her life around.

2) Make the voice inside stronger than all the voices on the outside - I remember recently reading an article about Kylie where she consults her inner voice before making any big decision. Some might say she’s crazy, I say she’s the smartest one of all! Everyone has an inner voice and you can choose to change that voice at will depending on what you need it for. If your inner voice is pounding your for making a silly mistake, turn it into a forgiving voice and then change it into a voice that helps you either change or turn it into something positive. There is also more you can do in terms of adjusting your mental imagery to enhance your performance too. Sports people do this all the time as they know that doing so will absolutely enhance their performance.

3) Become a mentor for upcoming celebrities. - If you spot talent offer to take them under your wing and share the experiences that you’ve gone through so it might better prepare them. They might get thrust into the limelight incredibly quickly and might not have had the time to adjust to the sudden change in their profile or status. Initially it will be exciting for them but after time the steam from the pressure can build and they can get to boiling point! Offer them your help and guidance which will be priceless to them; something that money cannot buy.

4) You can’t always do everything right and please everyone so don’t try! - If you do you’ll constantly be second guessing yourself and then you’ll start to feel even more lost. People will always think what they want to think and trying to shift their opinion of you and that is just going to exhaust you! The only thing you’ll ever have conscious control over is where you choose to focus your mental energy. If you always focus on the things that are bothering you then you’ll slowly but gradually start to experience inertia. If you focus on what you can do next and all the outcomes that you want to achieve you’ll begin to gain more momentum and start feeling more energised.

5) Take onboard my 5-a-day rule. - I’ve always said that to experience a more fulfilled and enjoyable existense there are 5 things that you need to incorporate into your routine every single day. These are things which are very simple and easy and including them takes very liittle time or effort. The five things are: i) Meditate, ii) Smile, iii) Laugh, iv) Give, v) Appreciate. So simple and yet so effective. Make time for these 5 things watch it transform your life for the better.

Related posts: 5-a-day

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Jan 14

Once again, last year, I decided to enter for the London Marathon through the ballot system but I found out in December that I didn’t get a place. I wanted to make sure I didn’t loose the momentum of challenging myself every year whilst making each challenge more difficult so, just last week, I decided to enter the Adidas half Marathon at Silverstone on the 9th of March.

The half Marathon equates to 21km or 13miles approximately. That’s more than twice the distance I’ve ever run before! Last year I did the BUPA 10K run and I managed to finish that in 79 minutes but since then I had not kept up the running.

Yesterday I wanted to make sure that I began my program of running in preparation for the half Marathon so I decided to stretch myself early on and to see if I could run 5K even though I hadn’t done any running since last July. I’m quite happy to say that I managed to complete it very comfortably in 40 minutes and I felt like I could’ve easily have gone on to do 7 - 8K.

Now for those of you who are new to my blog you might think that’s nothing special. It’s true, it’s probably not but just so you’re aware, I’m 19 stone in weight or nearly 270lbs. 3 years ago I used to be 22stone and I could barely walk up one flight of stairs without being in incredible pain and out of breath! I even had trouble walking down stairs because my knees would hurt too much! :lol:

After the run I had tons of energy and even though I was a bit achy, I wasn’t feeling tired; if anything I was more energised! I was a little surprised that I managed the 5K so easily and I wondered how I’d managed to maintain my fitness even though I hadn’t done any running. I do play badminton regularly (at least 3 times a week) but that’s not really a sport that increases stamina. Badminton is a great fat burner and helps you to accelerate your reaction times, especially if you play doubles, but other than that it doesn’t do much in terms of fitness.

I realised that one small lifestyle change I had made recently has been making a huge difference to my fitness overall. It’s something very small and very easy and something that anybody can do; it just requires a firm commitment to yourself. Last August I made a solid choice that I would stop using the lifts at work and that I would only use the stairs; unless I was carrying heavy equipment. Since then I can say that I’ve only used the lift 3 times, for transporting heavy equipment only, other than that, it’s been the stairs all the way. I only work on the second floor of my building but I usually enter from a back door which is in the basement to in reality I’m climbing 3 floors and I do that usually 3 - 4 times a day.

This little change has made all the difference in assisting me in maintaining my levels of fitness, and in addition to that, what it has done is also strengthen my knees and developed and conditioned all the muscles in my legs.

The simple lesson is this: For you to make large inroads into whatever changes you wish to make to your life all you need employ is a very simple strategy; one that is easy to maintain. As with my example, I didn’t need to go join an expensive gym or totally overhaul my diet, all I needed to do was to commit to using the stairs.

I’ll be updating you on my progress and following up this article with some motivational and training tips for people who are overweight and want to take up a new challenge for 2008.

Related Articles:

SOS (Simple Obvious Strategies)

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Nov 1

How to tell a friend you love them…How to ease your heartbreak.

For many Love = Friendship. So being in love with a very close friend leads to the next logical step of forming an intimate relationship.

I would love to be able to address this article at everyone but I think given the nature of the topic I think it would be difficult to do so although that doesn’t mean that not everyone can learn something from it. This is probably one of the most challenging and long articles I’ve ever decided to write simply because of the nature of the topic and the undefined way in which situations like this can be handled.

So firstly guys, my question to you: Have you ever been in love with or fallen in love with a friend only for them to turn around and reject you? Their answers might range from, “I see you just as a friend” or “I don’t feel that way about you.”

For many young men events like this can be both heartbreaking and soul destroying. I have been in that situation many times and even recently was in that same situation. I’ve heard so many stories where one party loves the other but the feelings weren’t returned. The truth is that situations like that are common and the first challenge is whether or not to act on your feelings. That in itself is a big challenge! For most guys, at the best of times, the decision of whether or not to go ahead and speak to a girl about their feelings is tough enough as it is. Firstly, you’re friends with this woman and it’s something you might value deeply. With that in mind you become faced with difficult choice: 1) Tell her and it could go either way. She will either feel the same about your or not and in which case the decision to tell her may permanently harm the friendship. 2) Don’t tell her and never find out how she felt about you. The element of regret can leave a lasting sting.

As I said earlier I can’t really speak from the perspective of what it must be like on the flip side for the woman in both ways, i.e. being on the receiving end but also being in the same situation and being in love with a friend! I’ve been in that situation more than once and a number of people have said to me that I fall in love to easily, it’s probably true, but I have a very loving nature towards all my closest friends and I do get attached quite easily. But in response to that attraction is such a natural thing and should never be frowned upon. I’m fortunate to have many close female friends who are have amazingly loving and good natured personalities as well as being beautiful. So naturally if I feel that the girl and I have a great friendship and in addition to that I find her attractive it seems like only natural to me that the next step would be to be honest with her and find out how she feels too. I know, I know, I make it sound easy I know but it’s where the rocky road begins.

Before I go any further guys, I don’t have all the answers, my sole intention with this article it to make that challenge just that little bit easier to handle. There is no dichotomy of a right or wrong way to handle this. You do however have to make a choice while taking into the consideration the feelings of the person you wish to tell and be understanding towards them. I’ve seen some guys totally undermine the womans feelings because they allowed their own hurt to saturate them and become totally oblivious to the females needs and end up leaving them hurt, lost, and a feeling that they’ve been abandoned by a friend.

So lets begin…

1) First and foremost, it’s time for me to be a bit brutal! Guys, don’t be such babies! This woman who you’re in love with isn’t the only woman you’re ever gonna love and if she doesn’t love you back it truly isn’t the end of the world! I know I’ve started off harshly but you have to accept this fact if you’re to stand a chance in making this thing work. React aggressively or childishly to her or her answer and you will end up blowing it for good! So first and foremost, before you do anything, give yourself a pep talk, if you’re too distracted get a friend you can confide in, tell them the situation and get them to give you a pep talk! Keep on telling yourself that no matter how this ends up, the most important thing is her, be understanding and compassionate towards her!

2) Make sure you plan a time and place to tell her properley! A time when you’re both alone, absolutely no distractions, just you and her, somewhere quiet where you can talk in your normal voice and can have good eye contact! Avoid doing it in a restaurant, at a club or anything like that, do it if you’re having a quiet meal at home and or watching a movie. Turn off the movie, finish your food and begin. Make sure you have nothing in your teeth though! :lol: For heavens sake, don’t do this over email, phone or text messages! If you do any slight misunderstanding could screw things up for good! It’s vitally important that she sees your body language and that you see hers!

3) When you get to that stage when you’re ready to tell her, don’t blurt out what you want to say, it might be a good idea to reassure her how much she means to you; that you will always be there for her and that you value your friendship highly! Once you’ve reassured her and made her feel at ease, it’s time tell her! Be honest and straight forward. Don’t try and tell her in a way which is indirect, it doesn’t serve you and you may not end up getting a straight answer which might leave you more confused then when you initially began down this path!

I can’t tell you what to tell her, that’s got to come from your own heart and soul, all I can do is put you in a better mental state in preparation for this big event!

4) Once you told her reassure her again! This is vitally important! Explain to her how much she means to you and that nomatter what she says that you will be there for her. If she feels the same way, then you need not read further! :-D If however she does not feel the same way about you it’s time to offer her some time. At this point, make you sure you gather yourself, this is a time where you might waffle something you didn’t mean to. Take a moment! Ask her if she would prefer it if you were to give her some room for a set period of time, e.g. a couple of weeks. Listen to her, acknowledge what she says, and respect her wishes!

5) Don’t run away because you’re upset!! Let the evening come to a close naturally and when it’s your time to go make sure you leave with a smile, again reassuring her! Once you’ve left, the heartache will really kick in! That being the case it would be worth having your pep talk friend on standby! Get them to accompany you somewhere! Go for some drinks, make sure you have someone there you can talk too! Despite what any macho guys might be thinking right about now, nope, strip joints and lap dancers aren’t going to ease your pain! Feel free to go do it if you want but it really won’t help or change the way you feel!

6) As tough as it might be for you to be around her, stick with her! If it gets to the point where your health is suffering then be honest with her. Don’t blame her, but do tell her honestly that you’re finding it tough. She will more than likely be understanding and compassionate towards you. Maybe explain to her that you need a bit of time away again reassuring her how much her friendship means to you! Take your time out but keep in touch with her, let her know that you’re thinking about her and are not just wrapped up in your own feelings. Do whatever you need to do during that time, but keep yourself occupied, don’t close yourself off from people, it’s people who will help you get through this challenging time!

Trust me guys, I’ve been there before, many a times! It’s even been a case where me and a friend have been in love with the same woman, in which case I’ve always yielded and in fact, I will do whatever I can to make help and support them getting together. It’s not easy but it’s because their friendship and my love for them has and will always be of paramount importance to me! If I had the choice of my happiness over my friend then my friend would win everytime hands down!

If you don’t have someone to talk to, you have me! You can get in touch with me if you wish. Whatever happens don’t bottle it up and even though times like this can be scary and painful there are other people out there who’ve been through it too and can help you. I hope in some way I’ve been of help in giving you chance in telling the person you love how you feel, whilst at the same time, keeping a close friend!

I wish you success with your friend, your potential future lover, I sincerely hope it goes well! :-)

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Oct 1

My heart is sensitive and romantic and I believe that everyone in this world has that one special soul who they connect with. However recently, life has illuminated the reality of love, and essentially compartmentalised it into a ‘black and white’ order. I have been granted a brief look into the eyes of others around me, who see love as the manifestation of hormones, lust and desire. Where love has nothing to do with your heart or higher self’s purpose, but more of an indication of what other parts of the body are pulling you to do. The stark realisation of this fact aggrieves me; even though I have known it for years and am no stranger to its concept, I never the less find it a difficult and painful awareness to accept.

Have we as humans become so disconnected that even love has lost its mysterious potency? It has been handed over to our bodies and we are but slaves to its satisfaction.

The more I cling onto the thought that love is a beautiful, transformative, uplifting journey for your soul, the more I am forced to witness its corrupt expression.

However being a firm believer in the teachings of Abraham, I know that my thoughts are the powerful engines which shape my reality, therefore I understand that this moment in time serves me well to uphold my firm beliefs in love and what I REALLY want from the love of another.

Why should I bow down to an unnatural concept when my heart craves to experience the power of my creator through the love of another soul. Do I compromise my hearts calling for the sake of conforming to a lifestyle that is accepted by everyone else around me?

As I transmit my intention of love to others I am consistently made to feel guilty for asking for a love that is innocent and sweet, looked upon as though I have a warped, archaic perception of love. Have I always been the human dreaming of being the butterfly, who is now lost in the psychosis?

As you can see, my internal battle and quest to eliminate this loneliness brings pain, doubt and fear. However even though the world around me adopts such a view, I wish to live in my fantasy and hold on to my concept that this person who I fall in love with, will also have the view that love is a soul connection, and not just the result of chemicals and hormones surging around the body.

If this view is indeed a result of years of misconstrued understanding where the barrier between the dream world and real world has been breached, then I wish to allow this to grow within me. It gives me ‘hope’ and paints a picture of a world I ‘choose’ to live in, albeit a reverie.

So with this in mind, I allow the tears in my heart to dry and hold firm my views in the face of harsh truth and with god’s grace breathe in life and wait for the day when my fairy tale romance becomes my reality. I wish to be saturated in its magic, to bathe in its sweet aroma and to taste its intoxicating essence upon my lips!

Follow your dreams in the face of adversity – no matter what the cost!

Peace and Blessings – From a slightly broken heart, but i know i will heal! Kavi xxx

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Sep 10

Woooohooooo! :-D

The 100 day mark has arrived. For me this is a true milestone. When I first began this “100 days…” project it just started out as a little idea to keep me blogging regularly. Now I can see that it has the potential to go much further, who knows what else I can achieve with this idea. It’s just the beginning and I know it will go much further. Very shortly I will be begin a new “100 days…” project and it will have a slightly different theme. One thing is for sure, I’d like to make it more challenging for myself.

Throughout this wonderful journey, I’ve leanred many new and exciting things. Each day has brought with it a new adventure and a new understanding in how to live a more purposeful, spiritual life. Spirituality is everything that we do and if you can do it with a spiritual mindset, you will love every moment of life, no matter how challenging it maybe!

Always keep the relativity paradox in mind, you cannot know happiness without sorrow, you cannot know love without fear, you cannot know light without darkness. These things were created to so that we might know what it means to be loved and what it means to recieve it. We enjoy that feeling because we know it’s counterpart!

There are 10 things I want to share that will ehance the quality of your life, remember and use these 10 things and I promise that you will life will be more happy, enjoyable and fulfilled!!

1) Have fun with life! Don’t let your first response to people be about how stressed out or how depressed you are or about how busy you are. Always start you interactions on a positive note. If during your interaction you need to talk about your challenges then do so, then finish where you started, on a happy and light note, sharing what you’ve learned through that encounter, or just share a joke!

2) Challenges don’t disappear, they change form. Notice I say challenges and not problems. Problems are barriers, challenges are hurdles, hurdles can be leapt, it takes a leap of faith. Barries need to be broken down and take much more energy! It may appear to you that other people don’t face challenges, or that their challenges are not as challenging as the ones you face. That’s your own mind creating a story to hold you back from being where it is you want to be. Running away will not take away your challenges, changing jobs because you have a horrible boss won’t take your challenges away, they will change form. When challenges arise, face them head on!

3) Whatever your religious or spiritual beliefs, don’t hold so tightly to them so to you nothing else is true. Keep and open mind and listen to others when they share. Everyone’s point is valid and there is truth in every way of thinking as it all comes down to perception! There’s no need to challenge anyone else’s beliefs either, respect them, appreciate them, and share yours with spiritual pride. Views are not there to be converted, they’re there to be enjoyed and appreciated.

4) Our childrens education is not just dependent on the teachers. I consider every single child on this planet as my children and I make it my responsibility to educate them. Education doesn’t necessarily have to be of an academic nature, in fact, most often that’s not real education. Real education comes from what children see us do and then, in turn, emulate. Whether we like it or not, we have a responsibility to them as they will always follow our actions. They will adopt our attitudes and they will look to our actions to shed light where for them, there is none. Make it your responsibility to educate every child on this planet. The more we educate them, they more they will be prepared to deal with the challenges they will inevitably face.

5) Learn NLP! NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) has some pretty impressive, no nonsense, tools that you can use for improving your life. It will be one the best investments of your time and money that you can make. You don’t have to become an expert, even learning the basics from any “off the shelf book” and acquiring a basic understanding will improve the quality of your life and your relationships. It will enhance your skills no matter what profession you’re in, whether you’re a house husband, a lawyer, a high powered business woman, it will benefit you!

6) Even if your life is going amazingly well, get a Life Coach! I’m not being biased in this because I am one! :P In fact, when you’re life is going amazing is the best time to get one because they will be able work with you to enhance your performance! If your life isn’t going so great, get one and you’ll be amazed at the results. They don’t perform magic, they just know how to ellicit the best from people!

7) I’ve said it before many times and I’ll say it again! Follow the 5 a day rule! Make sure that you incorporate these 5 things into your day, every day! 1) Meditate, 2) Smile, 3) Laugh, 4) Give, 5) Appreciate! They don’t have to follow any particular order but if I were to say one was mandatory, it would number 5, to appreciate and have gratitude for everything in your life! If you can do that one consistently and regularly then the other 4 will pretty much come naturally!

8 ) If you’re not sure what to do with your life the sure fire way of getting out of that rut is to put yourself out there and try different things. Watching Eastenders, even at the best of times, isn’t going to improve the quality of your life. What will is being social, interactive and experimenting with various activities like a sport or doing some charity work! Activities like that will enhance your focus and give you some clearer purpose and direction. The rule of thumb is to do something that completely takes you away from what you would normally do. If you’re normally on a computer or games console, then get out there and try a new sport or go speed dating! Anything that challenges who you are is worth trying once!

9) So often these days the first thing a person will tell me about is how tired they are! I’m no doc but one of the main reasons why people get so tired is because we’re so used to cars and junk food and living a lazy lifestyle it’s no surprise that lethargy sets in. We’re no longer use to physical exertion! When you feel tired is the precise moment you should get up and do some physical activity, push your body beyond what it’s used to and soon you’ll start feeling less tired! Another reason it lack of “good quality” sleep. Even if you’re consuming small amounts of caffeine, your sleep will be affected. Cut out as much caffeine as possible and was your quality of sleep jump from 3/10 to a 8/10 and you’ll feel more fresh and rejuvenated. You’ll actually wake up feeling like you’ve had enough sleep and be ready for your day!

10) Last but not least, tip 10 is read my blog and make it part of your daily spiritual digest! :lol: Ok that was a joke! You are valuable and important, make sure you make time for yourself on a regular basis. Whether that be 20 minutes a day to have some quiet time or whether you take 1 whole day a month and dedicate it to yourself is up to you but make it a regular ritual! We dedicate so much time to everyone else and unless we take the time to look after ourselves and nuture our well being that any pleasures in life will be short lived. The more you make time for yourself and take a step out of your life and become a spectator with an attitude of gratitude the more you will feel naturally happy and the more you will enjoy life.

There we have it folks, my top 10 tips and learnings from the 100 days of wisdom! Thank you so much to all of you who have left me messages, comments, sent me emails of blessing and well wishes! I truly hope this has been something you’ve not only enjoyed but something that you’ve got use out of too! Stay tuned for the next 100 days series! :-D

With love,

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Aug 15

From guilt to gratitude!

Why be even more tough on yourself if you’re having a genuinely bad day? Being tough on yourself is the worst way to overcome that feeling as you’ll just dig yourself deeper and deeper into it and then you’ll just end up feeling even worse! When you punish yourself with guilt and frustration you doom yourself to repeating the same cycle over and over. The next time you have a bad day, instead of cursing yourself and trying to make yourself feel guilty, try this approach. Say to yourself; “I’m having a bad day and on this day, because I feel bad I will do whatever it is I feel like doing! Whether that doing a movie marathon or eating all the foods you know are bad for me! I’m thankful for this time, as it makes me appreciate even more the good days that I have!”

When you no longer punish yourself and you turn your guilt into gratitude, you will find that automatically you will start to feel much better faster and before you even know it your bad will be over and it’ll end up being a great and productive day! I had one such day recently and automatically without even realising it I was cursing myself and in turn that was making me feel even more like shit! When I realised what I was doing, I turned it around, I accepted the bad day for what it was and just did the things I loved doing like I watched a few movies back to back and I ate tonnes of food! Instead of feeling guilty about any of those actions I changed my inner dialogue to one of gratitude and made the conscious choice that I was going to enjoy the “bad” day and lowen behold, before I had even realised, it had turned into a good day!

The next time you catch yourself cursing or making yourself feel guilty, turn on the gratitude switch instead and I gaurantee that the guilt and cursing will extinguish rapidly!

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Aug 15

StuHis passion is music (although he would argue it is chocolate!). His voice, so deliberate yet strategically subtle, gentle teasing you into submission for the message he brings. A winning combination to the lyrics, which are layered like a rich tapestry of life experience, higher learning, faith, goals and love. It’s like the poetic murmurings of a beautifully sung prayer – it touch’s your heart and leaves light in your soul!

Read the following in depth interview to uncover why this inspiring new artist is promoting the one thought “the human solution is a divine evolution” and why he has decided to donate his profits to a charity close to his heart.

So Stu, when and why did you start playing guitar, and when did you discover you had the talent to sing?

I asked for a guitar on my 16th birthday, as soon as I knew a few chords I started writing my own songs. A few months later I made my own studio by lashing together my ghetto blaster to my girlfriend’s dad’s stereo.
I knew I could sing as a child because I could imitate all the songs I liked, but I was v shy.

What are your fondest musical memories?

Playing my old Walt Disney record, yes vinyl! My favourite “I wanna be like you” over & over. Still know it word for word & every monkey noise.
Then my next favourite memory is when I was 17 & went to Dingwalls Jazz club on a Sunday afternoon. Giles Peterson was playing frenetic but musical 60’s bebop & two guys (I think maybe “brothers in Jazz”) were dancing, the floor just cleared for them. I can’t describe in words how I felt, the sound & the sight just moved me to tears as I stared, it was a v deep experience. They had such style, grace & physicality, the rhythm, joy & energy was shinning from them, the sound … it was a high that no drugs could come close too.
That experience got me into dancing, so I went every week to these Sunday afternoon jazz clubs, even on my own, it was so cool. Never packed & always full of interesting souls struttin n stepping, expressing their thing. You can see a person s soul through the eyes & how they move to rhythm.

So who are your influences?

The person who is the single biggest influence on me musically is my music teacher, Professor TV Gopalakrishnan, a master of Classical Indian music.

Who are your favorite musicians? Groups?

Musicians & influence is such an enormous question for me; so here goes. My musical training came from listening, first to the radio, with whatever caught my ear. As a young teenager I loved rock n roll, especially Little Richard, but the radio is so diverse & so my taste has always been diverse, but generally its Black music in its many forms. Growing older I could afford records: I loved the songs Prince did, up until about 90’s, loved hip hop beats, conscious lyrics of KRS1 & Chuck D, but the best flow was Big Daddy Kane. At that time you were either an indie kid or hip hop, I was the odd ball, I did like both, though I could only dance to hip hop. Indie songs, bands I appreciated. The breaks in hip hop got me into funk, JB being the obvious, but then the breaks began to get more obscure, jazz influenced & soon my record collection was well over 10,000; gospel, jazz, funk, soul etc.
No one name really stands out, but sooo many songs & artists have influenced me.

So how do you handle mistakes during a performance and do you ever get nervous before a performance?

Mistakes, if u don’t make a big deal of it, other people won’t either. When buskin on the underground I would actually be trying things out, writing, working ideas. True performance art ! the energy & vibe of all those people would become part of the creation. Busker’s do 2 hour slots, its all v official, sometimes for those 2 hours I’d work on 1 song, but people only hear 10 seconds of it so it cool. Any way if I didn’t make “mistakes” I wouldn’t get ideas. Of course I got nervous. The mind is such a trickster. Some days u listen to its crap more than others.

Do you work with other artists, If so who? and why?

Yeah, I got into doing my own stuff by working with others. My first single “Money” by Coco & the Bean, I did the rap for it. These guys did hip hop in their bedroom so this inspired me to do likewise. Currently I’m working with Sali, a Carnatic (south Indian classical) singer on an innovative dance track, also an RnB singer called Kavita, she’s great but keeps burping like Barney (Simpson’s) after a great vocal take.

Ha ha, very funny – I’ll get you back for that!
So, tell us about the REAL Stu?

Big question eh? I’m special, there’s no one quite like me. Then we are all unique & special so I guess I’m ordinarily special. I’m very blessed, I’ve had the opportunity to experience a “western” & “eastern” family life. I’m v healthy. Funny, well I laugh at myself. V positive, love life, especially people, but I think our potential is nowhere near reached. I’m also blessed with many talents, musical creations being the primary. But the more I witness people struggling with themselves, religion, God etc the more I realize that my most treasured blessing is having a direct communication with the divine. I always feel truly at ease with my personal faith & this actually also makes me feel at ease with any religious faith. Religious texts are words but the wisdom is woven between the words, interpretation depends on the heart & mind of the reader. The essence of love is universal, humanity is corrupted by ego. Music transcends all this political egotistical crap because its feeling comes not from words but the movement of notes. Like love it has its universal law. I study Carnatic music because the “laws” that define this music have evolved over thousands of years & its focus is more internal, it has more culture, not to say its better, but it has a different emphasis. It will be many more years before I will master this art but its influence will permeate into my creations.

Why do you want to record and release your own music?

I make one big assumption in life: if I like something, other people will also like it, not everyone, but then not everyone likes Thai red curry, but I do.
“I admit, this rhyme is not mine, it’s inspired, divine….” That’s a quote from “Beats n Love” but it reflects my music. I feel that my music will inspire other people, whether it’s a social or political comment or whether its lust or love, my tunes are varied, but whatever the message & emotion that combination of notes conveys, other people will share & appreciate hearing it.
I feel I have a “product” which is not eclectic, cliquey but has a wide appeal. I want to get “mass” appeal, that will mean more influence, power & of course money. With those ingredients I stand a chance of creating a school for deprived kids.

How do you describe your music to people?

It depends who I’m talking to. Music is a science, its full of maths, symmetry, structure, its incredibly beautiful. Its nature & nature is not as crazy & abstract as many people think. If you are not aware of the fundamentals of it, then how can it be discussed? If u wanna chat like a critic then its all about your perspective, your interpretation & feeling. Many people may share that feeling but not everyone so its not really a discussion.
My music is natural, so without trying it has a structure, symmetry, flow etc. its natural because its inspired: by the millions of songs, rhythms & nature, by life, energy & love.

Out of the songs that you have written so far, which one is your favorite and why?

“On my way” seems to be a big favorite, I like it cos its catchy & has a great positive message. Its not my personal favorite. My favorites are some of my earlier tracks which wont be released till I’m in a position of having a great studio & engineer to do them justice. The sound scape of them is amazing, I would spend sometimes up to 4 months on one track. Now I spend about 4 weeks.
What challenges have you had to face in order to pursue music?
Time has been the biggest challenge. I’ve needed a lot of time to be ready for this release. Physically, spiritually, mentally as well as musically. I’ve practiced yoga for 15 years, studied martial arts, Sufiism, Carnatic music, ayervedic medicine, dance, all to get a balance in my life. I trained to become a school teacher, its all part of the BIG plan, its starting to come together. My drive has pushed me through some v tough times, fate has continually pulled me along. I’m ready now.

Why have you decided to donate your profits to charity and why have you chosen this charity?

The Parry Charitable foundation is a small independent charity that provides a loving home for handicapped children. It’s standard of care is high & there is a big waiting list. Every penny from donation goes into helping the kids NOT on administration. ALL the workers are volunteer, most charities 70% of your donation goes into paying their admin costs.
I know this charity & sometimes work there myself, for these reasons I donate to them.
In the long term I want to set up my own school for deprived children. I’m a qualified school teacher, yoga teacher & scientist as well as many other “life” skills. From a young age I would talk to God. When I was 12 years old I received instructions to help deprived children. This goal is my purpose, music is the vehicle to propel me there.

OK, finally what does “the human solution is a divine evolution” really mean?

It’s from the track ‘On my way’….
Ok this small phrase has a big meaning, & rather like a sutra in yoga text, a surah in the Holy Qur’an or verse from the Holy bible its open to interpretation. Unlike those wonderful books of wisdom the writer is fortunately for me still around. So here’s the intended meaning: evolution; this word is kicking up a big fuss lately, in America some schools are refuting the scientific evidence & claiming the “literal” bible version of evolution. Well books of ancient wisdom such as the Old Testament were written with hidden meaning & depth that belies a superficial surface. The true value of the words lie in studying those hidden meanings. The Darwin theory of evolution & the scientific evidence is compatible with religion in fact it’s magnitude & beauty reinforces a divinity & creation. However this is not the platform for this debate & as I said before, interpretation is dependant on perspective. What’s important is that evolution is not HISTORICAL its continuous. We are still evolving & compared to the history of the world we have just climbed down from the trees. If you look at how we behave we are still as ruthless as we ever were as beasts. Capitalism is the law of the jungle but applied to the City. “Only the strong survive. “ Fortunately this is not the whole story. All over the world people are silently working, giving unconditional love to those who are in need or weaker. I believe that right now, historically, we are at a cross roads of evolution. Technology is changing our lives & the global communication phenomena can & is spreading a message of love. It’s mixed up with violence & sex but Its harder to get any more violent than we are, its impossible to take off any more clothes, but the message of love is limitless & individuals & groups everywhere are able to contribute & unify in a way even the hippies never dreamed off. I read in a Sufi book once (can’t remember which one, sorry). “When we act like animals we are worse than the animals but when we act like angels we are better than the angels.”
Its just a case of time. When will we choose the path of love?

Thank you to Stu for sharing his work with us and giving us the time for this interview, and thank YOU for reading the article.

Peace and Love

If you would like to know more about this artist, then please check out his website WWW.STUSOUNDS.COM

Special thanks to the designer of the website: Pj (www.websitedesignz.net) and Phil (www.macpips.com)

Article written by: Kavita Sohanta - I DO NOT burp in between songs! :)

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Jun 5

Presence!

Have you ever been at a party or function of some kind and you notice that there is always one person who has an amazing charisma that manages to be the centre of attention without even trying? They even do it humbly! Everyone has the potential to exhibit that kind of vibe and I will tell you six things that kind of person does without fail!

1) As they greet each person, they treat them as if they are the most important person in the room! Not only that, they also take the time to introduce strangers to one another!

2) They smile!

3) They use their body to it’s full potential, i.e. they gesticulate a lot, they laugh loudly and when they dance, they dance with a purpose! Even when they walk, they walk with rhythm!

4) They emanate a cool aura of confidence that comes from genuine inner belief rather than arrogance that they are better than anyone in that room.

5) They don’t try and steal the room, but through practise they’ve become experts in naturally taking over the room!

6) The treat everyone equally!

Want to be the attention grabber? Try employing some of these factors the next time you go to a party and watch everyone stand back and wonder at you; how does s/he do it?

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May 18

I just wanted to let you all know that i’ve started a new project called Good Will Coaching. To explain further, here’s a brief explanation I put up onto a community bulletin board:

I wanted to take this opportunity to start a new form of Life Coaching called good will coaching for people who are coming to the end of their studies and are not sure what direction in life they wish to take. The idea is that I’ll give you some Life Coaching sessions, primarily over email, chat or phone.

If in the future the Life Coaching you receive is a defining moment for you and assists you in getting to a place where you end up doing what you love, then, if you choose to, you can then compensate me to whatever amount you choose. If it does not, you owe me nothing. Either way it’s a win win situation for you.

I do ask for one thing though and that is a testimonial for my website. :)

Obviously I am only one person undertaking this project and I will take on as many clients as I am able to deal with at any one time. If I cannot start your coaching straight away, bear with me and I will begin it as soon as is possible.

The coaching will consist of 3 sessions either by phone, email, or gmail chat. If it’s on the phone I do ask that the call is made by you.

That’s it for now, so if you yourself would like to get Life Coaching or know of anyone that could do with some, you now know where to send them! :)

Wishing you all the best,

Amit

So there we have it, although in the message above, I mention only students, if you’re truly struggling and don’t know where to turn and need some assistance, then tell me about your situation and I will then decide, dependent on my level of resources at the time, if I can take you on as a client.

Someone asked me the question: “What is a Life Coach?” Here is how I would define it:

What I do, as a Life Coach, is to be your assistant to success! I work with people and taylor my program based on what their needs are. Everyone is different and has something different s/he wants to achieve/do/be! My goal, through the coaching process will be to get you to excel beyond your preconceived idea of what you thought was possible for yourself.

I look forward to hearing from you! :)

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Mar 29

In my last articled titled Confidence Vs Experience I briefly touched on some aspects about confidence and I thought I would take that avenue and explore it further, to give you some methods of creating bags of confidence, that you can carry with you wherever you go and use for whatever you wish.

I’m not an expert in this area, but I do have some ideas on how I feel titanium like confidence can be forged so I will be putting these into practise for myself. I’ll be explaining some of the EDTA’s (Essential Daily Thoughts & Actions) that I will also be employing on a day to day basis to make me more confident in all area’s of my life. It’s important to remember that confidence and arrogance are two totally separate traits. They cannot be exhibited at the same time. Arrogance is not confidence and confidence is not arrogance.

So why does it seem like some people are born with confidence and others are as timid as kittens?

Let me use the example of a guy who I see as having all the confidence in the world when it comes to approaching women and talking to them. Lets call this person guy A. Then there’s the other type of guy who gets sweaty palms, they start stammering and totally turn the whole thing into a dogs dinner! We’ll call this guy B.

What is the difference between these two types of guys? Did A inherit his super confidence from his parents? Did he go on a course? Was he blessed with this talent from God? Was he born with it? Is it part of his genes? Did guy B miss out on the confidence gene? Was it because of a bad past experience? Was it because his parents were unconfident and he learned from them? I’m sure that all of these factors have had an impact although to a minisucle degree! But it’s very simple, it’s their psychology!! It’s what they’re thinking in the moments before they actually take action and approach the beautiful lady across the room that makes the difference between A and B going home with that girl or going home alone.

I guarantee that guy A tries and fails a hundred times more than guy B but the way that guy A and B interpret the information from those failures is completely different. Guy A will take that failure, figure out what worked and what didn’t work and use those learnings for the next time. Whereas guy B, the perfectionist who expects way too much of himself, wasn’t successful, feels that he is a failure in that area of life and decides that he’s no good at approaching women and decides feels that any future attempts will be futile.

Confidence is inner belief manifested through action. You may have already noticed that whatever you are thinking when undertaking any task it going to have a huge impact on the outcome of a task. For example: When I play badminton, I’ve often noticed that if I’m winning a game, I have trouble in converting those points into an actual win and closing out the match. Why? Because near the end of the game I start worrying about what mistakes I might make. It is me, thinking about all the mistakes I could possibly make and then doing exactly that.

Before I go any further, let me ask you, are you truly commited to changing your old ways and converting it into the confidence of a stallion? You must understand it takes work, it takes commitment but the changes and rewards will be well worth it if you choose to put in the time.

From here on out I’m assuming that you are 100% commited to being more confident and will follow these steps to go through the process of change

Step 1 - Be honest!

In my example earlier I talked about some of the challenges guys face when approaching women. That’s one of many examples but the principles to apply are exactly the same. So firstly what areas of your life would you like to gain greater confidence in? I’m going to be completely honest here and tell you my three….i always pretend to be more confident than I am but here are my three:

1) I want to be more confident in approaching women
2) I want to be more confident in my skills, more specifically, badminton, but in one or two additional areas
3) I want to be more confident in my skills and abilities to produce results as a Life Coach

So go on, what are your 3?

Step 2 - Notice the patterns

As with every shift in mindset you must first start to notice the patterns of your own thinking. Remember that your habitual way of thinking is unconsciously determining the outcome of many aspects of your life. Take one of your three above and look closely at the way you think. If you cannot see where your thinking is letting you down perhaps get a close friend to look at this with you. Write down the dialougue of your thought pattern. What words are you saying to yourself, what pictures are you seeing? What sounds are you hearing? What are you feeling? Take special care not to pollute this what you would like to have in your mind or be feeling. We’ll get to that part later, for now, as honestly as possible, make notes on those points.

Step 3 - Interrupt the patterns

Once you become aware of your patterns the next step becomes easy! Lets say for example, that you’re not very confident around other people and that you often put yourself down. You now have a much clearer understanding of what it is that’s causing your behaviour. You have it right in front of you the patterns of destruction that you’ve been doing so often that have led you to think that you’re not worthy or don’t have as much as everyone else to offer. Now that you know, it’s time to change it. As soon as you notice yourself doing it, you’re going to change it. You’re going to change it not by fighting it and trying to install a new pattern of thinking. You’re going to Interrupt it by thinking of something that makes you feel good. In my case, I’m going to think of the James Brown Song: “I Feel Good.” I’m litereally gonna sing that song in my head and imagine myself doing some James Brown style funky moves! I’m going to keep doing this enough until I’ve interrupted the old pattern enough that I just can do that pattern of thinking anymore, I automatically begin to think of James Brown instead.

Step 4 - Install the new pattern

This is where it can vary slightly from situation to situation but again the underlying principle is the same. Just a few minutes a day is all this takes and this step will transform your results for the rest of your life. Create some time to sit and visualise the perfect scenario. Wipe clean that slate of images of failure that you may have created in the past and start making the internal visual rehersals of the ideal outcome that you want for any given situation. Imagine yourself making all the right moves, say all the right things, have the perfect body language, oozing with confidence at every step. When you do this on a regular basis you’ll find you’ll automatically begin to do these things when the situation arises. These rehersals will automatically repattern you into doing the things that you feel represent the ideal outcomes and results for any given situation.

If in the past you used to create small faded images of having a drink thrown over you by a woman, then instead create large bright images of the woman being completely interested in what you’re saying and laughing at your jokes! Your imagination is the limit!

Step 5 - Do your homework!

Whatever area you want to boost your confidence in, do your homework! Research those who are the masters of their trade! If you want to become more funny and be more confident in telling your jokes, then study the master comedians and have some material always in your mind that you can draw from to make people laugh! :lol:

—

I will be putting this actions into practise myself and so I will be working with you on this all the way. If you want any help with this, feel free to leave me a comment or just email me on amit@unlimitedchoice.org and I’ll assist you with in anyway that I can. ;)

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Mar 22

ConfidenceIn a world where experience is valued so highly and confidence is given a bit of a bad rap in comparison, I aim to examine this mindset and find the answer to the question about which is more valuabe to you. That’s not to say that either has more power than the other, but when you know where each comes from and the value that it has you can then utilise that to maximum effect. Anyone who’s ever been for a job interview for example, will know that you are a hundred times out of a hundred going to be asked the question: “What experience do you have?” While I personally do value experience highly, I believe it in many ways to be a lesser tool in creating the life you ideally want to choose.

Since I do Life Coaching, lets take this as an example. If you wanted to find a Life Coach that was perfectly suited to your needs, what would be the first thing you would search for in your Life Coach? What qualities would you search for? I’m guessing that you would probably scour the net and search for one with a great website that grabs your attention! Marketing aside, when actually making your final selection what would you be looking for? Experience? Qualifications? Confidence? Recommendations? Testimonials? What would be the deciding factor for you? When I picked my Life Coach, it had nothing to do with her experience, and everything to do with her confidence. We met completely by accident on the internet and she isn’t even a trained Life Coach by profession. But I saw straight away that she had amazing confidence and that grabbed me the most and I decided that I wanted her and no one else as my Life Coach.

How highly do you value your own experience in whatever it is that you do and do you feel that it’s been the most important factor in you getting to where you are, or are wanting to be? The danger with constantly looking at our own experience is that we can restrict or deny ourselves from persuing our dreams just because: “I don’t have enough experience!” I can’t think of a worse way to live life because if it wasn’t for my confidence and persuit of my dream 8 years ago, I would never have gotten my first I.T. Job for the one of the worlds largest investment banks with no qualifications, no degree and barely any experience!

Experience can often hold you back from doing the things you’re capable of