Project 366 / 213 - Selling, buying and deciding

I've been living in our house since 1997. In fact I moved in the weekend Princess Diana died - I had no TV or radio so didn't even know until I called my sister from the new house and she told me the shocking news.

It was my second house and I never intended buying it in the first place. I'd bought my first house after leaving home and realising that I couldn't even afford a car parking space in Dorking, let alone a house. I looked further an further afield until finding a terraced house in Worthing and settling there. I stayed there for about 5-6 years, only selling when just out of curiosity I thought I'd just see how much it was worth. I sold, bought and moved in a month.

At the time of house hunting I was working in East Grinstead and was fed up with commuting so had asked the estate agents to "only send me houses in and around East Grinstead". They were all shocking. Then I was sent the details of our current house. It was vacant, detached and big but was still in Worthing. Despite this I bought it whilst viewing it for the first time. My sacrifice was commuting.

The intention was to stay for 5-6 years and then move on. That's what my parents had done time and time again and had made some serious money in the process and I wanted in on the action. But one thing led to another and the years clocked by. We did try selling a few times but as close as we got sometimes, it just never happened.

Then we got married and started a family and the house really became a home. After 10 years we started growing into the house and now it's a glorious family home. But both my wife and I want to move, we want a bit of space around us, we want a bit of peace and quiet and we want change. The problem is the house that we own is perfect for the kids - we're 5 minutes walk from the station, the beach, the park, the town and their schools. If we move we'll be sacrificing their conveniences. If we don't move we'll be sacrificing our own wants, needs and dreams.

It's a tough choice. I know that you have to sacrifice something every time you move but this feels like a bigger decision than one less room, or off-street parking. This impacts us all in quite a major way so it's not a decision to take lightly.

I feel that if we're going to move then we have to do it in the next few years or not at all. I don't want to be dictated to by my kids but this is a family home and so we have to take all our needs into consideration. If we don't move soon then we'll stay here until the kids move out in 15-20 years time and then downsize. I can't imagine staying here for that long.

I read somewhere recently that if you've got a tough decision to make then you should toss a coin for it and then gauge your reaction to the decision. That should tell you a lot more about what you really want rather than the result itself.

Project 366 / 212 - Running; The bad and the good

Go running they said. It's easy they said. It's the cheapest form of exercise they said.

Oh really?

Easy huh? Well how about knee problems, archilles heel issues and shin splints? How about that first mile where everything creaks, cracks and hurts? And how about the chaffing? Yeah, didn't mention that now did you?

Cheap? What about the £100 running shoes, the sports physio, the reflexology and the nutrition?

I haven't even gotten on to the sacrifice of time, leisure and pleasure. Marathon training saps time, big time. Long weekend runs designed to get mileage under your belt take hours and then you're knackered from the exertion so too wiped out to do anything else. And this goes on for months...

Yes there are benefits. It feels good to conquer a particular distance. There is a rush, albeit small, of endorphins afterwards. There are the health benefits of running; you're burning calories and lots of them, plus you are exercising not only your muscles but your heart and lungs, which can only be a good thing.

Then there is the mental aspect. And that's not just saying that you need to be mental to even contemplate a marathon (because you do). But the mind games that you must play with yourself to just keep running take a different kind of strength. Plus running provides a rate opportunity to be on your own, without any distractions or interruptions (with the exception of cars, bicycles, pedestrians, dogs, pot holes, gravel, uneven ground, dog poop etc...). Running time allows you to process a lot of the thoughts, ideas, problems and issues that sit in the back of your mind. It can be quite a liberating and healthy process.

Running isn't easy, it's just a different kind of hard. And to think, some people do this every day, and for pleasure...

Project 366 / 211 - Billion, Bezos and Pledge

I noticed the other day that the European lottery had hit £30m so decided, quite spontaneously, to buy a couple of lucky dips, you know, just in case. I always think that if the urge to buy a lottery ticket comes to me then I should act upon it as it obviously means something, like it's a sixth sense or something.

It hasn't quote worked out that way yet though. Mind you if it does one day then I'll be sure to say "I just knew I was going to win, I could feel it". What a load of bollocks.

I then went back to work and told some of my colleagues what I'd done so they immediately went out and did the same thing as according to one "it's not worth it when the jackpot is only £5m". Oh yes, winning £5m is such a drag.

The conversation naturally moved on to the subject of "what you'd do" - one of them would "definitely carry on working, because I need structure". What with £30m in the bank? With that much money you could have whatever structure you want and wherever you'd want it. It's always a funny conversation and a comical quandary of what if's and just imagine's.

In a slightly different league, it was reported this morning that Jeff Bezos (the Amazon CEO) has now become the worlds third richest man, with a net worth of $66.5b. That's $66,500,000,000.00. It's difficult to quite comprehend this amount, but to put a billion into some kind of perspective;

• A billion seconds ago it was 1959
• A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive
• A billion hours ago our ancestors were living in the stone age
• If you sat down to count from one to a billion it would take you about 95 years

It's shocking to think that the wealth of the top 1% is equal to the other 99%. It's also been reported that the richest 62 people in the world have as much wealth as poorest half of the global population. Warren Buffet, the worlds fourth richest man, has said that he will give away 99% of his fortune over his lifetime. In 2010 he created the Giving Pledge with the worlds richest man, Microsoft founder Bill Gates. The pledge asks billionaires to commit to donating at least half of their wealth to charity - now that's what I'm talking about.

Interestingly though, Jeff Bezos, whilst having made some small charitable donations, has not signed up to the Giving Pledge.

If you want to see who has signed up to the Giving Pledge you can check it out here.

Project 366 / 210 - Virtual reality and the future

Is virtual reality (VR) really going to be the next big thing? In the last 20 years there have been a few big things - the internet, the smart phone and the app store to name but a few and many are saying that VR is destined to be next.

But what exactly is VR? Well the reason that everyone is getting so excited is that it lends itself and can incorporate itself into so much more than just the gaming fraternity. For example, Microsoft have been developing virtual reality functionality to accommodate pre-touch sensing for mobile interaction. Basically your smart phone will sense what you are intending to do before you've actually done it, therefore enabling the phone to be even smarter.

Virtual reality has the potential to change parts of our daily life the same way that smart phones and social media has. There's a reason that Mark Zuckerberg spent $2billion acquiring Oculus - they've just released the Oculus app which allows people to connect through their smartphones on the Samsung Gear VR to chat to other users while watching films together in a 360 degree video atmosphere. Zucks is smart, he knows the way the technological future is going and is certain to be a part of it.

But the technology needs to be able to keep up. Historically technology has lacked the processing power to render a believable virtual reality and so has not captured the mass markets attention. Plus new technology is always cost prohibitive to the general public. But I think that's all about to change, maybe not by 2020 but certainly not far after.

The world awaits and it doesn't like waiting.

Project 366 / 209 - Hero to zero and back again

Whilst consistency is key the ebb and flow of business life continues, despite all efforts, to go in cycles. It's of continual amazement to me how you can go from zero to hero and back again in what seems to be a blink of an eye. There's never really seems to be a time for celebration as the fragility of success is, well fragile.

But I guess that that is just business. I was always told the one bad day doesn't make a bad week, one bad week doesn't make a bad month and one bad month doesn't make a bad year. It's not healthy to dwell on negativity, you just have to try and learn from it and use it as a tool for improvement.

One day you're drinking champagne, the next you're picking the grapes.

But it's hard to just always roll with the punches. If you're like me then you take it personally. I tend to ignore the positive feedback and dwell on the negative, no matter if it is not true, justified or just a troll. Could I do better, be better? In an ideal world yes, but this isn't an ideal world. Am I doing the very best I can do? 99% yes. Oh so there's room for improvement then?

I've spoken before about how important it is to make sure that you celebrate the small victories. This journey of life that we're on and the experiences that we have all along the way is life. We need to remind ourselves sometimes that it is about the journey, not the destination. And the small victories are what propels us forward, onwards and hopefully upwards.

I work on our business performance on a day-by-day basis, hell even a hour-by-hour, minute-by-minute basis. We, just like anybody are a work in progress. I just have to remind myself sometimes that I can't please everyone all the time. Some people live to complain, that's what they do, no matter the circumstances.

I guess that I should be just glad that I'm not one of them.

Project 366 / 208 - Blogging, formats and thoughts

My daily blog for 2016 is really just for me. I'm not really telling anyone about it and I'm not promoting it. If I think I've written an exceptionally good blog then I'll link it up on Twitter apart from that it's just a challenge that I set to write on a daily basis.

Whilst I'm enjoying the daily discipline (well in general I am, at the moment it feels like a bit of a chore as I'm so busy at work), what I think I'm looking forward to more is writing in a more general way, titled to attract a few more readers. But as I write that I'm wondering why I don't just start like that now. My post titles "Project 366 / 207 etc..." do nothing to generate readers but simply serve as a reference point to me as to where I am. I could quote easily drop that title and have that referenced by way of a footnote. But I can't help but think that I'd miss it, hence my reluctance to change.

Basically I've started so I'll finish.

My thoughts for today;

• Does anyone ever read any terms and conditions?
• Does anyone ever read instructions?
• Does anyone ever take responsibilities for their own actions? Or do they spend their days making excuses and blaming everyone else?
• Failures and dead ends are what maps the route to success. In other words we find our way by getting lost.
• Does the computer work for you or do you serve the computer?
• Why do people think that cheapest is always best?

That's all folks.

Project 366 / 207 - Masters, owners and getting there

I think the champions of the nation are literally the small business owners. If all the rest are anything like me then we literally are not a jack-of-all-trades but quite simply a master of them all.

Take today for example. I've been a fork-lift driver, an accounts person (bought ledger and credit control), a sales person, a social media guru, a videographer, a operations clerk, an IT department, I've fixed the photocopier, the alarm system and various formulas on spreadsheets, I've re-racked parts of the warehouse, managed and organised staff, I've been a driver, a meet-and-greeter, a manager and a sweeper, I've loaded and unloaded lorries, dealt with numerous walk in customers, quoted for multiple jobs, ordered various supplies and answered over 200 e-mails and all this whilst keeping my cool.

Whilst everyone else panics, stresses and then ultimately either goes on lunch or goes home I work through. Yes I know it is my own business but I had the same work ethic when I worked for someone else. I was in work this morning at 7.30am and left at 7pm tonight. Tomorrow will me much, if not more of the same.

I must admit that I am a tad jealous of a couple of people. My wife for one who gets to spend lots of time with the kids whilst having the time to do what she wants. But also I'm a bit jealous of my sales and marketing guy who has the job I'd love.

I asked my wife if she thought that I was getting there at work. I fully expected her to say "oh yes, definitely darling" but she didn't, instead she said "well maybe in some ways but I think you're a long way off in others". We are, of course, referring to me not having to work like a trojan every day. Not having to work until 7pm every day and perhaps relinquishing some of the monotonous responsibilities.

I am trying, it just takes time and confidence. But all the while I am having to cover other peoples mistakes and all the time I'm having to remind people of things that should come naturally to them the longer I'm going to be chained to the office.

I was once told that "you just have to let us make mistakes, after all that's the best way for us to learn". No way Jose. What, let you mess it all up and undo all the hard work that I've put in? Can't you just take clear instructions and learn?

Project 366 / 206 - Illusion, fooling and whinging

Imagination sang "It's Just An Illusion" way back in 1982 - I loved that song but realising it was 34 years ago makes me feel just a tad old.

But this illusion, this veil that people bring down around them to make you believe they are someone they're not, or that they are living this life when the reality is they're not, it really amazes me. It amazes me that people actually think that they are fooling anyone. I guess that in some way shape or form they are fooling someone somewhere but I'm erring on the side that the only people they are trying to convince is themselves.

From the Facebook "best parents" who in reality are anything but who they portray themselves to be to the family members who ham it up for the crowd. I find the same at work - other company owners who pretend that everything is great when I know for a fact that it's not. Why do these people do it? Why can't people just be honest.

That's something I'm pretty happy about with my wife and I. We'll tell it how it is. If work is shit and we're going through a tough time we'll tell you. If the kids are being a pain in the arse then we'll tell you. If I'm pissing my wife off she's bound to tell you. It's life, shit happens just as much as good stuff happens. Pretending that it doesn't is just plain pathetic. It's this bad stuff that makes you appreciate the good stuff more.

Of course no one likes a winger, no one likes a complainer but it's all about measure. If all you do is complain then it'll turn people off very quickly. And there are a tonne of complainers. I like to moan about people moaning because there are so many of them. The sooner you understand that the root of all your complaint is yourself the sooner you'll be happier.

Not happy at work?
It's your life, change it or do something about it.

Not happy in your relationship or lack of relationship?
It's your life, change it or do something about it.

Not happy with your current situation?
It's your life, change it or do something about it.

Yes this is your life, you get to make the decisions, no one else. So if you're not in the place you want to be then in reality only you can do something about it.

Project 366 / 205 - Indulging, our plan and the end game

There is a plan and we like a plan. After a tomorrow and what has been a long weekend of over-indulging (both food and drink), relaxing and shopping it's back to the grind of training. We've got a marathon training plan and we've got a diet plan - it all starts Monday.

Are we excited? Are we relishing the challenge? We we fired up to conquer the Amsterdam marathon - 26.2 miles of pounding the streets?

Absolutely not. In fact at this precise moment in time we are dreading it. We're dreading the commitment, the hurt and the pain of training but it's a necessary evil to be able to complete such a quest.

The end game is of course to be in the best shape for our trip to Las Vegas in November. It'll be our 10 year wedding anniversary and we've booked to go to the city of sin for a sinful 4 days. We'll re-do our vows in an Elvis chapel, we'll take in a show, we'll get drunk, we'll spend an evening or 2 in a strip club and we'll shop shop and shop.

But in order to look our best we (ok to be honest it's more me) have to diet and train, diet and train. It's just 12 weeks - what's the worst that can happen?

Project 366 / 204 - Motivation, eating healthy and fast food

I'm in denial. We're booked to do the Amsterdam marathon in October and I just can't get motivated for it at the moment. I've promised myself a good period of training to be ready but I'm already running out of time (no pun intended).

I know that training and nutrition is all about consistency. You can't just hit the gym once, no matter how hard you train, and expect results. You won't just eat one salad and see a change. No, all these things take time, they take dedication and they take consistency.

But it doesn't take long. When my wife started dieting for her recent Miss Fitness bodybuilding competition she noticed a substantial change within 8 weeks. When we both dieted a year or so ago it only took about the same amount of time.

8 weeks, in the greater scheme of things, is nothing. That's more or less the kids summer school holidays. That means that in a couple of months you could be able to see noticeable differences in your body. Yes it's strict, no you can't cheat and yes it does get hard - but wouldn't it be worth it?

My only gripe is the cost of eating fresh food. Our food bill over my wife's 18 week competition diet went through the roof. We're all told to avoid fatty processed foods, we're told to cut out the sugar and to limit fast food but

1. It tastes so good
2. It's so convenient, and
3. It's so much cheaper than fresh healthy food

If the health food experts and the government officials are serious about getting us fit and healthy then why don't they do something about levelling the playing field? Yes there's been a recent tax on sugary soft drinks but it needs to go so much further than that. How about making fresh food more affordable?

But it extends so much further than that. A couple of years ago we went to Paultons Park and the only available food was some of the most disgusting fast food outlets I've ever seen. With no option we were forced to consume some fat-drenched, heart-attack-in-a-bag style shit dippers and chips made solely of lard. There was no healthy option and it was similar when we went to Euro-Disney a while back too.

Whilst restaurants are slowing beginning to cater for and accommodate the healthy eater, we've still such a long way to go. Everyone is always trying to be good - it's just when you're surrounded by so much temptation and so little option that you can find that it's hard to resist.

Project 366 / 203 - Money, units and getting a life

People have a very strange approach, relationship and attitude to money. We all want more, need more and expect to have more and it's this expectation and fact that we think that we're automatically entitled to more that is driving us all slowly insane. It'a also what's driving the global debt crisis.

Only a small percentage of people actually have any money. The rest are borrowing, or at least have been borrowing, way beyond their means. I'm in a good position but even I am incredibly tempted to buy a £1.5m house and somehow try and keep up the repayments.

And for what? When I close my eyes to go to sleep at night I could be anywhere, in any mansion, house, flat or even caravan, it really doesn't make any difference. But that drive to constantly strive for more and for better is all-consuming.

A few years ago at work I was talking to my staff about an idea. A "dream". The idea was that I was thinking that if I could somehow afford it, that I would buy our next door warehouse. It was a bit of a pipe dream but business had been pretty good and we were slowly expanding. The slight obstacle was the £310k price tag.

Everyone said "wow" and agreed that it'd be amazing. One of the staff members was noticeably quiet though and it wasn't until a few days later that he asked to talk to me.

"I've been thinking about what you said the other day about buying the next door warehouse"

"Oh right, and what were your thoughts"

"Yeah well I've thought about it and think, yes you definitely need to"

As casually as that he'd spent £310k. I found this strange as no-one had shown any thought into just how I would buy it, more that they needed it.

I bought the unit, swore that enough was enough and haven't looked back.

Fast-forward 2-3 years and we are pretty much at full capacity. Today one of my staff members pulled me to one side to offer me some advice.

"You know you really should think about buying another warehouse"

"Excuse me?"

"Yes we're getting pretty full so I think you need to buy another one"

When I explained the cost implications his jaw dropped. Just how much do people think that these commercial units cost?

But I watch as everyone around me literally lives for a handful of days in the year. They're living for Friday, they're living for pay day, they're living for their holiday. What a sad way to live. Surely if this is all you are living for then you should take a good hard look in the mirror. If you're not earning enough then either change job or get a second job. If all you've got to look forward to is Friday night then get a hobby. If all you're looking forward to is your 2 week holiday then go and get a life.

Project 366 / 202 - SMM (again), content and persistence

Social media marketing is hard. Well the actual creating of content isn't that hard, nor the posting of it, but trying to gain some kind of traction is hard, or maybe I should say frustrating...

We've been creating lots of types of content over the last 7 months; from text posts to photo posts, from graphic heavy newsletters to written word blogs and from short form video to longer form video. We've tried a variety of styles, from creative photography to educational, and from scientific to humorous. And what's worked? Not a great deal.

But I guess it comes down to your definition of "working". If working means raising brand awareness then we've definitely succeeded. If working means a return on investment then so far we've failed. But the number one bit of advice when it comes to social media that you hear time and time again is that you must be patient.

Over the last 7 months I have converted just one person from social media marketing to a client. Fortunately it just so happens that they are a sizeable client so it makes the time and effort begin to feel worthwhile. But what return should one or can one expect and how long do you have to wait until you begin to see it begin to pay off? If I'm employing a full time member of staff to help me constantly create content and it takes 18 months to get a return then I'm likely to be forever chasing my tail.

But it's the attention span that I find the hardest to grab and I'm struggling to understand it. We can produce a great bit of content and get it in front of a few thousand people but the drop off rate is so high. We've created some quick, eye catching and entertaining video but people are tuning out within 20 seconds. We've added subtitles because we know that the majority (95%) of viewers are watching our content with the sound off. But no matter what we’ve tried so far we can’t seem to hold the viewers attention.

I'm now trying to watch my own actions and understand how I consume content and then, armed with this knowledge replicate my actions. It's a lot of trial and error, but I guess that's where the patience comes in.

Project 366 / 201 - Milestones, blogging and comments

So here we are at post 201. That's 201 blog posts in 201 days - not bad for someone who only ever wrote a handful of blog posts in the past. The process of writing that volume of content day in day out has shown me a few things;

1. When I set my mind to something I really can deliver.
2. That no matter what sort of day I've had there's always something to write about.
3. I can actually write, maybe not in a viral way, but I can still write.
4. That lists are a good way of filling a page.

But seriously, some days it's been easy and others it's been pretty hard. Some days I wake up knowing what I'm gong to write about, or I'll hear something by 9am that gives me the seed of an idea. Other days I'm only just sitting down at something like 11.45pm with literally no ideas but still scratching out 300 words by the midnight deadline.

Deadlines are a great way of focusing the mind though. The words will come, you just have to let them. Sometimes when I don't know what I'm going to write about just the simple act of writing something, anything, is enough to get the words flowing. A lot of the time I'll delete the first paragraph, other times I set out with one idea but the post evolves into something quite different.

I think the difference with my blog posts as opposed to a lot of others is that they are primarily written in one 20 minute sitting. I don't write a post in draft and re-work it over and over until i'm happy with it. Once I've finished it's published and I kind of like it that way.

I am proud with a good percentage of my posts but am sad that some of my best work never gets read. I publish these posts on Medium but my stats are lame at best. But a lot of that is my own fault, I don't really get the time to read other peoples posts and then comment and interact so I don't get found myself. If you want your stuff to be read you really need to put in the time to build a community and I just don't have the time.

Amazingly after 200 posts I haven't yet received 1 comment from the various people who have read it, so I guess that it's lucky that comments aren't my oxygen huh.

Project 366 / 200 - Happiness, understanding and cracks

What is happiness?

In short I believe that it has to be a sense of satisfaction in whatever you're doing. Then that would explain how and why we're all different. Why some strive whilst others are content. Why some are materialistic whilst others are minimalists.

Maybe being able to support your family is a lifetime honour, maybe just having a job is a dream, maybe being independent is your end goal or maybe buying your own home is what it's all about. But whatever it is, it's different for all of us.

You have to be proud of yourself first. Proud of the person you are, for the morals you live by and how you treat others. If you can wake up every morning and go to bed every night satisfied with who you were for at least that day then you should be able to find some happiness in that.

It's human nature to want more - the majority of people fall into this category. It's not a weakness, it's just how society has brought us up, especially in the western developed world. We're all striving to earn more, to buy more, to have more. We're thinking that these disposable items bring happiness, and at some level they do. We're jealous of our neighbour, envious of our friends and resentful of our colleagues and all because we think that they've got more than us.

But if you are satisfied with what you are doing, where you're living and where you're working then you're happy. If you're not then you should be happy that you've recognised your situation and are able to do something about it. You have to remember that discontent is the most amazing catalyst for something new.

As Leonard Cohen said, "There is a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in". Recognise that a for every problem there is an opportunity and for every moment of discontent there is a chance for change.

Project 366 / 199 - Showtime, bikinis and memories

After something like 18 months of training and near on 20 weeks of extremely strict dieting my wife finally reached competition day today. To say that this is an achievement is somewhat of an understatement.

When Gem and I first got together back in 2001 she was a choc-o-holic. I was the one with an extremely strict diet, training 4 days a week, something like 13 stone and 9% body fat with "one of the best backs" that my wife had ever seen (her words not mine). She'd get annoyed at my training regime as it interrupted "our" time and would get frustrated every time I wanted to train one extra day here and there. My training partner knew our training days were numbered the day I fell in love.

Whilst Gem exercised every now and then she wasn't by any means that into her training. She was lucky, she just had a phenomenal body with an amazing metabolism that allowed her to somehow get away with her unbelievably sloppy diet. We'd train together every now and then but she'd screech in agony every time I pushed myself, worried that I'd pop.

After having both the kids via cesarean section Gem honestly thought her bikini days were behind her. No matter how much I praised and complimented her she swore she'd never wear one again, ever.

But when she did train she showed an uncanny ability to build muscle. She'd tell this to her numerous PT's but literally no-one but me believed her. Then one day about 2 years ago her PT saw it an thought WOW. He said to her that she should compete and that one conversation has led to today.

Seeing Gem up there on stage filled me with immense pride. Here was a woman who carried 10lb babies. Here was a woman who'd never wear a bikini again. Here was a woman who had never shown any will power. Here stood a woman in the best shape of her life.

No she didn't win but that was never the goal. But she stood up, was counted and was level pegging with them all. Demons have been banished. Bucket lists have been ticked and a memory made that will last forever.

10/10

Project 366 / 198 - Opportunities, BNBF and my wife

Life has a funny way of passing us by far too quickly. It creeps up on us, vehemently eating up the years without any kind of notice, and spitting them out as distant memories in what feels like the blink of an eye.

For so may years I was too young. Too young to be a pop star, too young to be taken seriously, too young to be noticed. Then life and responsibilities kicked in and then... too old to be a pop star, too old to be doing this, too old to be doing that. Yes maturity has it's tremendous benefits; you begin doing what you want to do rather than what other people expect of you, your give-a-shit-o-meter barely registers any more and your tolerance for inefficiency and disrespect falls by the wayside. But youth, wow youth, now that's definitely wasted on the young.

Maturity also highlights the pockets of opportunity that have a shelf life. For example my fledgling music career that could/should have happened but I missed the boat. The opportunity to explore and to travel - these are all things that I should have taken more advantage of when I had the chance. Don't get me wrong, I'm over the moon how my life has turned out but I acknowledge that there have been sacrifices and missed opportunities along the way.

18 months or so ago my wife came home from a PT session down the gym saying that her trainer had told her that she should compete. She asked me what I thought and I said "if you can, you should, after all you're a long time old". My thinking being that it would be an excellent example for the kids (healthy eating, dedication, determination etc..) and something that you can look back on when you're 70 and say "that was me".

Somehow she agreed and tomorrow is her competition and she's in the best shape of her life. But, she's got to stand up on the stage in front of 500 people in the smallest bikini the world has ever seen in the Miss Fitness category of a BNBF (British Natural Bodybuilding Federation) Southern Qualifiers competition. Gem's going to be 36 next week and she's going up against some 20-25 year olds who haven't had kids let alone 2 cesareans. But my point is this - it's only now that she's truly realising that she could actually have had a career as a model or a fitness competitor. But reality states that is a decision that she needed to have made when she was 20. The problem is she didn't know it then, she didn't have the maturity to understand or focus or support to see it through. She too, just like the rest of us, has had those offers and opportunities which she has missed.

But every choice that you make like this can potentially change the direction of your life. If I'd done this then I wouldn't have done that, I wouldn't have met my wife, I wouldn't have had my kids and so on.

Yes life takes you on strange journeys. There isn't really any wrong or right - your path is, well your path. All you can do is give it your all, whatever may come your way. As Yoda said, "do or do not, there is no try".

Project 366 / 197 - PM, politics and Churchill

So the UK now has a new prime minister. It feels strange though as the majority of us had never even heard of Theresa May only a week or so ago. Hearing her as the PM and talking from this position of authority just feels strange and strangely wrong, after all it's not someone that the nation has chosen, rather she's been forced upon us.

But I guess that is what is fundamentally wrong with elections anyway. We choose a personality rather than a party so no matter how outstandingly impressive a parties policies may be, if their leader isn't strong, or someone we either warm to or trust then the majority of people won't vote their way.

Look no further than Ed Miliband. I hate to judge a book by its cover but this little upstart scared the nation shitless between 2010-2015 by even pretending that he could lead the country. I felt sure at the time that if you said "boo" he's pee his pants and go running to him mummy. I could be wrong, he could have been an outstanding and visionary leader but something tells me we would have been bullied by every other leader had he been at our helm.

I can't help but think that David Cameron has taken a massive sigh of relief now his command has been relinquished. Apart from his mistimed EU referendum I think he's done a good job considering the state of the country and economy when he took over in 2010. It can't be easy when you take the reigns when the country is in the depths of recession. Conservative actions are never going to be popular because we all love the good times.

And that's the difference between the Labour party and the Conservative party. Labour spend spend spend and we all feel great but the truth is that we're all living way beyond our means. The Conservatives then regain control and have to reign in the spending to try and get back out of debt. They save save save until we get so sick of saving that we call in the fun brigade and so the cycle goes round.

After Winston Churchill had commanded and won the second world war he was a nations hero and was revered and loved throughout the land. But the country wanted to move on, it wanted a change and at the general election, which was the first for 10 years (elections had been suspended during the war) Winston Churchill lost, and lost by a landslide to his Labour opponent Clement Attlee.

The lesson? Approach has to change. The parties have to realise that the nation will only accept austerity for so long. History has told us that the good times or bad times don't last forever. The party who can offer a sensible mixture or cycle of both surely has the opportunity of sustained political influence.

Project 366 / 196 - SMM, merchandising and banning results

We met up with an owner of a marketing and merchandising company earlier in the week. The purpose of the meeting for us was to find a new branded item that we could give away that would capture the imagination and keep the momentum going that we've built up.

The secondary purpose of the meeting was actually just to have a bit of fun with the company coming to see us as their website, which clearly states their excellence, was littered with spelling errors, grammatical errors and alignment issues. These things, for anyone who knows me (and now my esteemed marketing colleague) drives me nuts. The other area we found strange was their lack of social media presence, and this coming from a marketing company.

The majority of our clients who set up a business Facebook page or Twitter profile start with great intentions. There is almost a fanfare and ticker tape parade as the first handful of posts dated 2012 tease with "This is it - we've arrived!! Look out for regular updates!!" only to never, or very sporadically be updated again.

The marketing and merchandising company who came to see us were exactly the same. A flurry of posts in 2013 and then nothing since. To me that's fine for most companies - I understand, we're all busy and don't have the time or resources to dedicate to social media, but for a marketing company?

I challenged this, and the response?

"We don't believe in social media. We think that it is a waste of time. Your money and time could be much better spent".

Wow, that’s quite a statement. Then why have a profile at all? I know quite a few companies that put all their marketing budget into social media and are doing very well thank you. I told him this and he just shrugged his shoulders.

I then highlighted some of the spelling errors on his website;

"we blend behavioural psychology with sales and marketing experience and a creative flair to produce designs, content, and ideas to illicit results"

Illicit results, really? Illicit as in forbid.... uh, ok.

A few examples later and he sat in silence. I don't think he took too kindly to our observations.

Now don't get me wrong, this guy knew a lot of stuff and had a great depth of knowledge on certain marketing aspects. Plus we're dead keen to learn so we're all ears. It was just a very interesting meeting which left us with a bit more self-belief that we're actually doing ok and are holding our own against the majority of the "competition".

Project 366 / 195 - TV, time and allocation

The TV used to be marvelled and referred to as a window to the world. The advances in technology and connectivity has allowed us to see and hear of events from every corner of the developed world making the world a smaller and smaller place.

Indeed it does feel like a smaller place. I am always amazed when, for example, I can wake up in Hong Kong and go to bed later the same day at home in my own bed in the UK. The speed and efficiency of travel has made everywhere so accessible so quickly. Whenever I get back from being abroad it reminds me how quick and easy it all is and I promise myself to travel more.

But the television is a double edged sword. Just like YouTube you can find yourself spending hours mindlessly watching box sets, glued to reality TV and transfixed by all the various films, game shows and entertainment there is to offer. Yes we all need our wind down time, we all need time away from work and we all need to relax but I believe that there is far too much time being wasted.

When you're trying to lose weight any nutritionist worth their weight will tell you to make a food diary. It'll show you what you're eating and when and will provide you with an interesting insight into your eating habits. Well why not do the same with your time? We all say we haven't got enough time, well maybe now is the time to prove it. If you are honest with yourself you may be surprised with the results.

I heard Chase Jarvis recently say that watching too much TV is like "burning your dreams in front of a screen". Wow, what a great analogy. But it is so true. If we all put our phones down and switched off the TV we'd find that we do have the time and probably a lot more than we thought.

I moaned yesterday about interruptions but today I'm realising that it's not about delegation nor scheduling it's about allocation. Let me explain; a friend of mine struggles to get down the gym. He's a small business owner and so is flat out from 6am to 10pm. He's realised that if he tells himself that he'll go to the gym after work he'll never go. So what he's done instead is to allocate a part of his day to the gym and treat it as if it is a meeting or an appointment and this, for him, is working.

We've all got the same amount of time per day, it's just that some are more productive than others. I'd guess that it's because they manage and allocate their time better without being tempted by the numerous distractions that are all around us. Take a leaf and try it.

Project 366 / 194 - Interruptions, issues and staff

I'm wondering how I ever get anything done. Such is the stream of literally constant interruptions from dawn to dusk and beyond and it is driving me insane.

They say that you should schedule your day, only read e-mails at 11am and 4pm and only take phone calls between 10-11am and 3-4pm. Hello? What world are you living in? If I did that I would go out of business, no question. So how am I meant to schedule that then?

The more I recruit and delegate the more questions I get and the more staffing issues I get. Today was a prime example. One of my office staff said that they'd done all their work and what would I like them to do, so I suggested he go and help out in the warehouse as they were swamped with work. 30 minutes later he walks back in the office saying "well that didn't work". When I asked him why he said that the warehouse staff had been irritated that I'd send someone to help them as they felt it undermined their capability.

I stormed downstairs to the warehouse and sorted that out straight away. I mean how can that become an issue? How can one of the office guys offering to help the warehouse become a problem?

I now have a 2nd office, one where I am meant to be able to retreat to for primarily creative purposes. The problem is that literally everyone; staff, customers, delivery drivers and literally any passing person pops in to see me. Why can't they just leave me alone? The office has 2 entrances and the other day 3 people walked in at the same time, 2 in one door and 1 on the other.

No one has the initiative and no one has make a decision on their own. And it's not like I've not given the authority to do so. It's like having another set of children.

One of the reasons I took my home office to work was because I found it literally impossible to do anything at home. The second I sat in my creative room I'd be interrupted, either by the kids or my wife. I thought I'd get some peace at work. How wrong was I.

Project 366 / 193 - The park, teenagers and trouble

Because I'm back walking a dog again I'm once again witnessing the joys of the park. This means other dog walkers who, just because they've got a dog, think that they can stop and talk to you. Now believe me, I'm not antisocial, far from it. After all I spend my whole working life just talking to staff, customers and general public. But when it comes to dog walking I just want to be left alone.

The other joy of the park is the 10-20 brigade. That's the youth of today to you. These are the future leaders of our country (well hopefully not these particular ones). I always come home shaking my head at what I see. If they're not in the middle of the park smoking weed (like we can't smell it from a mile) then they are leaving leaving an absolute mess in their path. Now that winds me up.

For fear of sounding like an old man... There are fucking bins right there - USE THEM!!

A few years ago I was walking through town with my wife when I saw some teenager chuck his McDonalds rubbish on the pavement. Incensed I stormed up to him and yelled at him to use the bin that he was actually standing next to. Despite being with his mates he backed down, apologised, picked up his rubbish and put it in the bin.

See, was that so difficult?

And then there is the vandalism. The council has just spent a tonne of probably council tax money, (i.e. my money) to extend the skateboard park. It looks great and it is a fantastic place for them to use. But the new turf that has been laid has already been ripped up and the place is beginning to be trashed before it's even finished. In a couple of weeks it's school summer holidays so we'll have the fire brigade in the park 3-4 times a week putting out the fires in the park that the kids light. Last year I had to stop a group of kids setting light to the undergrowth next to the children nursery. If that had gone up the God knows what would have happened.

The problem is that you're running a risk if you get involved but I can't help it. Someone has to say something and if I see it then I have to say something. Of course I always used to have a big dog with me but now I've got a small dog with little man syndrome. It's going to be an interesting summer...

Project 366 / 192 - Hormones, children and Grace Jones

When Gem fell pregnant the only thing she would ever worry about was being mum to a teenager. She'd say that she didn't know how she would cope handling and dealing with a teenager. My response was that you don't just get a teenager dumped in your lap, rather growing up and becoming a teenager happens over time.

Logically and in theory this is true, it can't be denied. But the reality of life, as always, is different.

We all know how fast time goes. Way back at blog post number 5 I wrote about the concept of time, how it appears to accelerate as we get older. But as busy as we are, and as much as we try and cram into every day, week, month and year they seem to pass under the radar, sneakily stealing our lives from under our noses.

Reece turned 9 earlier this month. Anyone with children will know just how quickly that goes. Literally minutes ago we were changing nappies and now we're having to deal with the emotion and temper of an opinionated and stubborn young man. Gem is naturally hormonal so it will only follow that the kids share some of her traits but it's hard. Hard to understand how and why this is happening and worrying when we realise that this is just the beginning.

But is it? Or is it just another stage of pushing boundaries? From the terrible two's onwards there have been episodes where the kids, like any other, test you to see just how far they can push you. Even our new puppy is pushing his boundaries. So is this just another stage like that? Are we being tested?

I remember seeing Grace Jones being interviewed where she admitted never saying no to her son. Instead she would explain the consequences of his actions if he did what he said he wanted to do. she believed that this empowered him to make the right choices otherwise suffer those consequences of his own decisions.

I wouldn't say I necessarily agree with this extreme but my approach is certainly different to that of my wife. Whilst she prefers to holler from one end of the house to the other, I prefer to talk face to face, and calmly. We both have our own measured success as really there is no right nor wrong way. In fact the combination of our two different approaches can work very well indeed. From my point of view Reece is like me; he doesn't respond well to being spoken to bad, no matter the circumstances.

Parenting - it's the hardest and yet most rewarding job in the world. One where there is literally no manual, you just have to do what you feel is best at the particular moment in time that you find yourself in. So don't beat yourself up, just do the best you can do - that's all that can be asked.

Project 366 / 191 - Up-selling, cinemas and McDonalds

After the karma payback that I experienced yesterday it got me thinking - what constitutes sales? If you were employed as solely a sales person what would you expect your role to entail? Probably canvassing, cold calls and up-selling.

Now up-selling is probably the most effective profit generating tool in your arsenal. One of our clients has been selling just one product to a regular customer base. Over time they haven't necessarily plateaued but growth has slowed as they have built up their customer base. Now what they've done is introduce just one more product into their business introducing this to their existing customer base. They have a good reputation with a quality product so what's happened? Exponential growth.

What happens when you go to buy a pair of shoes, especially trainers? When you get to the check-out the member of staff serving you will try and sell you that spray protector. When you buy an electrical item they'll try and sell you insurance. When you buy a new car they'll try and sell you about 5 different types of additional cover - for wheel, for paintwork, for upholstery, for breakdown for pretty much everything. And when you decline all these people give you that "oooh, you're making a mistake" look.

But that is where these companies make BIG money. Did you know that the multiplex cinema's aren't in the entertainment business, they're in the concessions business. They don't make any money showing films but they make BIG money selling ice cream, popcorn, hot-dogs, coca-cola and sweets. And that is just one example. McDonalds is synonymous with burgers but that's not how it makes it's money. McDonalds is, in fact, a real estate company.

As a franchise business McDonalds doesn't make money by selling supplies to franchisees or demanding huge royalties, instead the McDonalds corporation became the landlord to it's franchisees. They bought the properties and the leased them out at large markups. In addition to that regular income the corporation takes a percentage of the shops sales.

When you begin to understand how these businesses really make their money then try and look at your own business and work out where you could double down. Is there something that you could do to increase sales without increasing overheads? Is there something that you could do within your current capacity to persuade your customers to spend just a little bit more?

Project 366 / 190 - Payback, video and celebration

There's always an end goal. There's always a bigger picture. There's always a top of a mountain. But whilst you strive to reach these destinations it's so important to enjoy the journey and to celebrate the minor victories along the way.

Today was a good day at work. Various plans that I put in motion over the last few days, weeks and months all seemed to come together in one day. More importantly karma paid me back. It's times like these that reassure me that some of the actions that I take, which appear to be frowned upon by most, are the right moves to make. That just by being nice, by helping others and by working with people rather than for them sometimes, just sometimes pays back.

I've been burnt so many times. Its inbred in people to let you down, to renegade on promises, to take take take and to take advantage. Yet every time that this happens I dust myself down and move on to help the next person, holding faith in humanity and the sense of community.

So yes, today it paid off when I was award a sizeable contract just for helping someone a year ago. Plus our current marketing project came to an incredible crescendo today, accumulating in an unbridled and unmatched comical video featuring a little local celebrity which is now doing the rounds, albeit locally.

And then there was our new industrial unit which I finally arranged to re-fit and that happened today too. It was a sizeable project that was taking a fair chunk of cash but I've timed it in perfectly. So that was 3 major things in one day. I think that deserves a wine or two.

Yes celebrate the minor victories, celebrate the journey otherwise seriously, what's it all for?

Project 366 / 189 - Quitting, instinct and dreams

What is quitting? It is laziness or is it realising that what you are doing is actually not for you?

No matter where you are in life, no matter what stage you are at, it's never too late to turn back. Don't ever be fooled into thinking that just because you've gone so far down a path that you have to continue. You've got to stop. You have to take the true path.

We have to start listening to ourselves. We have to listen to our instincts but here lies a problem - balance. Balance between what you want to do and what you can afford to do. We've all got financial responsibilities, be it a mortgage, a car, debts, a family or more. Giving up a stable job in the pursuit of a dream or a desire is a big risk and success isn't guaranteed and doesn't just happen overnight.

It's easy for the people who have made it, who have been successful to turn around to you and tell you to go all in on your dream because it's worked out for them. But for every success story there are thousands who didn't make it, who had to quit and return to their mundane job after losing everything. 90% of start-ups fail.

Entrepreneurship is hard, it's lonely and it comes with enormous pressure. A pressure to not just provide but to continuously provide and innovate. It's not for everyone; some are excellent number 2's, 3'd or 4's and will excel without the pressure of expectation at the top.

Start small, start part-time and start with a subsidised income. When the downside risk is outweighed by the upside gain then it's time to roll the dice.

Project 366 / 188 - Insurance, brokers and LV

Wales are playing Portugal for a place in the final of European championships and Andy Murray is playing against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga for a place in the semi-finals of Wimbledon. So what do I want to talk about tonight?

Insurance.

It's one of the biggest irritations that I have, especially at work. I'm struggling to understand what the point of my fleet insurance is after years of being penalised. If it isn't the broker, or to be more accurate my broker either completely abandoning me or just not communicating, it's the actual underwriter themselves.

London Victoria (or LV as they are more commonly known) have stitched me up on not 1 but now 2 major occasions. The first, about 5 years ago started when a woman, cruising around a roundabout in the wrong lane, cut my driver up and crashed into the side of my van. Getting out she was profusely apologetic and her son, who was the passenger in her car echoed much of the same. We reported the accident to our brokers and thought nothing much more.

Nothing much more that is until some months later when I received a phone call asking to go over the details as the woman had put in a personal injury claim against us to the sum of £14k. Before I knew it and before so much as a consultation with me LV had agreed to pay the money. I went mad but it was too late.

When the policy came up for renewal the premium had gone up from something like £4k per year up to £12k per year. The reason? "Because of your claims history".

Hold on a minute, this woman crashed into us, you've paid out without contesting and I still have a damaged van?

The broker advised us to "have a claim free year, I'm sure if you do then the premium will come down by at least 30%". As if I set out the year not to have a claim free year. But we didn't claim all year so on renewal I had high hopes. But the premium was again the same. The reason was "because no one else will insure you because of your claims history but LV are legally obliged to".

Another year passed without a claim. And then another but still no reduction in premium.

And then bam! a bus crashed into the back corner of our van whilst we were stationery. The bus driver didn't realise so my driver got out and ran down the road to stop her. She was clueless. Details were exchanged and we reported it to our broker. Their response? "Oh, we've never won a case against a bus company". What a response. I went mad and told them under no uncertain terms to claim against them.

LV contacted me to say that the bus company were claiming against my driver but the CCTV evidence clearly showed that my driver was in the right and the bus driver was in the wrong. Yet LV felt they should offer a 50-50 deal. What? I said no way but they insisted that because my driver was no longer in my employment and so couldn't attend court to defend the case that this was my best bet. Again I said no way, if we had CCTV evidence to put us in the clear then we should defend it 100%.

I had a phone call this morning from some liquidators telling me that I had a CCJ and could they be of any help if we were in financial difficulties. What? I've spent the last 7 years working my butt off, paying everyone either early or on time, I've been careful, I've made decent money and leveraged my company into a strong financial position but somehow I've now got a CCJ?

I got the details of the court who had set the judgement and found that the prosecuting party was the bus company. I was physically shaking with anger when I phoned LV. The credit rating that I had worked so hard to establish was on the line. LV, as ever, were clueless. They had no idea how this could have happened.

LV paid the £1500 that we'd been defending and are now working to have the CCJ set aside, but the damage is well and truly done.

No doubt I'll have to now look forward to seeing my premium increasing on renewal and have to spend the next few months fighting and arguing with the ombudsman to try and get him on my side.

Project 366 / 187 - Medicine, therapies and Lincoln

There's a lot to be said for alternative medicine. I've tried acupuncture, massage, hot stones and last night I had my first session of reflexology. These practices have gone on for centuries (apparently there are drawings inside the pyramids of people having reflexology so yes, it goes back a bit) so they shouldn't be dismissed. In fact when I was having knee problems during my last marathon training the only treatment that actually worked was acupuncture.

Modern medicine is good but it just can't stand the test of time. Why do I say that? Well bugs, germs and viruses evolve just like we do, but quicker. They become tolerant and then immune to our antibiotics rendering them useless. The skeptics and conspiracy theorists among us believe that the pharmaceutical companies create and release the viruses just so we have to buy their vaccines. It's how they make their billions. A quick google search will reveal some shocking stories to this effect.

But if these alternative therapies are to be believed then why aren't they taken more seriously? Is it a placebo effect? Are you simply willing yourself better by believing the the treatment will work?

I believe. After all they have worked for me, my wife and especially when Lincoln was a baby. When he was young he was very unwell - thankfully nothing ever that serious but constantly things like bronchiolitis, ear infections, asthma, eczema and cold after cold after cold. On top of that he was a reflux baby so what with his ailments and the reflux he wouldn't keep any food down and so would projectile vomit on a daily basis, sometimes at every feed. As a result his immune system never got a chance to really develop as a baby and so his growth suffered. It was only for 4-5 months in the summer that he got well and was able to grow before again hibernating for the long, cold, wet 7-8 month winter.

We took him to our acupuncturist who massaged him in her own unique way for 20 minutes. She said that despite his ailments he was actually physically very strong (he was walking at 10 months) but we should be aware that her treatment would bring out the virus. The massage worked, if only too well. Within days he was very ill with a high temperature but when he recovered he had a longer spell without illness.

We only repeated this a few times as we couldn't bring ourselves to make him worse to make him better. Fortunately as he has gotten older his immune system has got stronger and he now copes very well indeed.

Alternative medicine and treatments shouldn't be ignored, they should be welcomed and experimented with. The last thing that any of us wants to do is to pump our bodies with pharmaceutical drugs, you have to realise that it's not going to do anyone any good in the long run.

Project 366 / 186 - Creativity, feedback and trying

I love the process of creativity. From having the initial idea to brainstorming to execution, it's a very rewarding experience, especially when you have some personal measure of success.

Success comes in so many different forms. To most success would mean adulation by either family, friends or strangers, or all. But to me that personal feeling that I succeeded in what I set out to do really does trump all else. Now I'm not saying that I don't enjoy some positive feedback, of course I do, after all we all love some level of reassurance or compliment by others, after all we're only human.

It makes me smile when I see the looks I get from some of my work colleagues when I describe some of the marketing content that we're trying to produce at work. Some of them look at me like I've gone insane, whilst others say nothing but just tut and walk away. Yet everyone is always interested in the results. It's like taking photos of people; most don't want their photo taken and they'll do anything to avoid being photographed. Yet when the pictures are developed (or downloaded) those same people are the ones hopefully wondering if there is a picture of them in there, even if it is to say "see I told you I look crap". Oh the irony.

My family have been very reserved in the compliment stakes, especially direct praise. Yes they will tell everyone how wonderful I am and what amazing things I've been doing, yet they shy away from telling me to my face. What they don't seem to realise is that I'm the one person who they should be talking to. It's just another example of their failure in their ability to communicate.

Unlike other creative people who simply hate everything that they've done or do, I actually enjoy looking back on what I've created. Yes some of it is better than others, some of it could or should have been better but it was what or who I was at the time and it was what I was wanting to produce or capable of producing in that moment.

We're all just a constant work in progress. We never make it, we never reach the top of the hill - we're constantly learning and constantly trying. If you spent your life not doing something because you didn't think that you were any good at it then 2 things would happen;

1. You'd never get good at anything
2. You'd never do anything

And that, my friends, would put you in the same pile as the majority of people.

Project 366 / 185 - Holidays, children and relaxing

So as we approach the last few weeks of the school term hopefully the weather will begin to turn in our favour, just in time for the kids school summer holidays. That's the hope anyway.

When we were young all my sister and I wanted was a beach holiday but we literally never got it. We would have loved Disneyland or a holiday playing and relaxing by the pool but it never happened. Instead we were subjected to driving holidays in Germany or France, visiting vineyards where our parents would sample wine and buy cases. Fun times consisted of lunches of wine and cheese by the Rhine or people watching in a market in Dijon.

The airport always held great fascination though. Rather than the arrival at a location or resort it was Gatwick's moving walkway which signalled the beginning of a holiday. Flying anywhere was so rare so there always was an enormous sense of excitement for us yet ironically our kids hate flying. Yes they enjoy the airport part but they suffer with the air pressure and it becomes a highly stressful episode every time.

We took the kids to Disneyland Paris but all they could say for the entire holiday was "when can we go back to the hotel and go in the pool?". Admittedly the queuing didn't help, it really saps the excitement very quickly if you're queueing for an hour for a 3 minute ride.

Last year we took them to Cyprus and stayed in 5 star hotel but the weather was so hot that we had to stay inside between 12-3pm and if we weren't in the pool then they weren't happy. At £4k for one week it wasn't great.

So we've resigned ourselves to going to Centre Parcs as it has everything the kids could want come rain or shine and also caters for them as they grow older. Also the beauty of Centre Parcs is that everyone there is in the same boat plus there are no cars allows on site. The cars have a very strange effect on people. Everyone is so friendly when the cars are not on site, it really is a hi-di-ho-neighbour atmosphere. But the second that everyone is back behind a wheel... bam! you're arch enemies once again.

When you have a young family (ours are 5 and 9) you have to accept that what you classed as a holiday before isn't what you're going to get now. It used to be a time to relax, to recharge and to eat, drink and be merry. I can't remember the last time I had the opportunity to relax let alone recharge. In fact you'd better get used to the phrase "a change is as good as a rest" as that's the only rest you're going to get. Fortunately we are in a position where my wife and I can get away on a weekend break or two during the year on our own, even if it is just to catch a lie in.

But I wouldn't change any of it. Having a close nit family, where we do things together, have fun together and make memories together is the most important and rewarding thing in my life. And these years of sacrificing relaxation for smiling kids is worth every black ring around my eyes. The kids are only young once, it doesn't last all that long and before I know it we'll be missing these days.

Project 366 / 184 - People watching, confidence and visualisation

People like people watching. It's a strange habit but yet somehow a guilty pleasure. Why do we do it and why do we like it? Does it come back to that same old thing - comparison? Are we watching other people and comparing ourselves to them?

Indeed it is fascinating to watch other people. The clothes and shoes they wear, the way they walk and hold themselves and the way in which they treat those around them. Someone said once that you should always go out dressed as if you were going to meet the love of your life.

But for those of us who are lucky enough to have already met the love of our lives then what? Well we could carry on trying to impress them, that would be a good start. But what you wear bears so much more on your mental state and mood than you realise. It's only when you wear that suit, that favourite outfit, that dress that you realise how much better your persona, mood and confidence becomes.

But when you look in the mirror do you like who you see? And I'm not talking about the way you look but more importantly who you are. If you were to meet yourself would you be friends with yourself? Would you like you? And how would you describe yourself? Would your description be accurate or just a rose tinted version of the person you'd like to be.

My wife used to be painfully shy. As a teenager she wouldn't even come down the stairs if someone knocked on the door. Then one day she found herself sitting in front of the mirror, frozen in fear and thought "Stop. Enough. I have to control this or this will control me." And from that moment on she put on a front, a confident outgoing bubbly personality to combat her shyness and eventually she became that person.

Visualisation is totally underrated. If you can mentally picture who you want to be, be it the physique, the job, the home, the spouse or the lifestyle then your mind will have a picture to bring to reality. Otherwise you'll be in danger of drifting along not knowing where you're heading.

We could all make more of an effort. Don't save your best clothes for a special occasion, wear them today and act the person you want to become.

Project 366 / 183 - Politicians, change and Trump

So it's been a week since the EU referendum and it appears that the nation is beginning to realise that the world hasn't ended and that as per usual the political promises laid out during the various campaigns are as empty as a mourning heart. We just don't learn. We hope beyond all hope that our nations elected will honour their promises but yet they rarely do, once again fooling us into believing their propaganda only to be deceived once more.

I was talking to a friend earlier today about the referendum. He's currently holidaying in Spain and said that the majority of the Spanish that he's encountered think we've all gone mad to have voted out. In the UK the petition to hold another referendum has reached 2 million - just another 15 million to go then. And then what, a best of 3?

My thoughts? We're going to be just fine. I know for a fact that no matter what your current opinion of it all is, one day we will all look back and say that this was a great thing. Why? Because we'll make it work, we have to, after all there is nothing else. Unless the European Union breaks up (which there are reports that it may do just that) we won't know what would have happened if we'd stayed.

Unless you have some access to a sliding doors alternative universe then this is it. Some will succeed and some will fail - but this was going to happen anyway. People who fail will blame whatever they can get their hands on, so there will naturally be a lot of blame for failure on Brexit. But we will live on, we will survive and our children, who may not be able to travel in Europe so freely as they could do now, will never know anything different.

The whole system is broken anyway, so a complete mix up and shake up is probably what is needed. And it could be worse, we could have Donald Trump.

And there's a thought. Just as a big percentage of the UK's out camp voted that way out of rebellion and denial (they didn't think we'd actually be out), so our friends across the pond who initially gave Trump some support out of rebellion against the institution are suddenly realising that things are beginning to get out of control. Its kind of like "ok it's not funny any more".

I heard Adrian Grenier talking to Chase Jarvis the other day and he likened the Donald Trump scenario to the Steve McQueen movie "The Blob". The more you throw at it the bigger it gets, the more you battle it the more it absorbs your energy and the stronger and larger it becomes.

Now that's scary.