Control your mind to achieve goals and get more done.
I decided to set up a Limited Company to buy property investments. I had two rental properties in my own name and when I worked out my profits after tax, I was horrified to see that I just about broke even.
Continue reading “Setting up a Limited Company to buy property in the UK.”
Have you ever stopped a regime of good habits, or fallen off the wagon? Whatever that wagon is for you. How do you get back on track? Here is how I got back on track.
I’ve read lot’s of books on the art of communication as I’ve had a career in sales. Sometimes, though, real life is the best teacher.
“It’s your posture”, she told me.
“That’s what’s causing your bad back”.
These were the fateful words uttered to me, by my G.P. on that fateful day in November 2003.
What follows is a sorry tale of misunderstanding and woe; A modern fable on communication. It’s something only Count Arthur Strong could better.
By telling you this I merely wish to caution you on the importance of listening carefully. You see, my friend, the truth is stranger than fiction.
My Doctor went on to explain that I needed to improve my posture. She then proceeded to refer me to a Physiotherapist, to show me how and to give me some exercises to do.
She then slid the piece of paper, she had been scribbling on, across the desk in a way only G.P.s do.
Nadine, Physiotherapist
Whitefield NHS Clinic
Friday 4th November 9.15AM
I picked up the chitty and carefully folding it and slipping it into my pocket, I offered my sincere thanks. With that, my fate was sealed, the dye was cast.
At precisely 9.14AM, on November 4th 2003, I launched into Whitefield clinic only to find the receptionist on the phone, deep in communication with another patient.
I waited for eye contact.
9.15AM
“Come on” I whispered to myself.
She’s still gabbing on the phone.
There was a bell on the counter, like the one in Faulty Towers.
Should I ring it, whilst she’s there in front of me?
9.16AM and finally eye contact.
The receptionist finished the phone call.
“Michael Holden, to see Nadine the Physiotherapist – 9.15”, I announced.
“Ok, I’ll let her know. Please take a seat, she’ll be out shortly.”
9.17AM – I sit down in the waiting area. Not long now.
I idly browse through some back issues of Country Life, as you do.
It was 10.03AM that I realised there might be problem.
“Is there a problem?” I asked. “Only I’ve been waiting over three quarters of an hour and I’ve not been called.”
The receptionist said she would check for me.
Just then Nadine come out of her surgery and quickly looked me up and down, with a puzzled look on her face.
“What time did you think you should have been here?”
“9.15 today”.
“But we’ve no record of your appointment. I’ll tell you what, I’m free now for an initial consultation if you ‘d like?”
“Let’s go then” I rebounded. As I followed her to the surgery.
Now let me tell you, this was the strangest physiotherapy surgery, I’d seen, even though I’d been in precisely zero before this day. There was a couch, though and Nadine indicated to me to sit down on it.
As I sat down, I noticed a statue of a head on the shelf. You know the ones which show the regions of the brain on it. I thought the NHS must be looking into using the mind to control back pain. Enlightened.
Then in all innocence I asked Nadine if I should take my shirt off now. She recoiled in shock, but quickly regained her composure.
“Do you feel you need to undress?”
“Well, I did at my GPs, she had a look at my back and then sent me to you.”
“Well I think you better stay dressed. What seems to be on your mind then?”
What a strange question for a psychotherapist to ask. It was at that precise moment that there was a knock at the door, which opened, and a uniformed lady popped her head round it.
“Excuse me Nadine” she said politely.
“Oh, hi Nadine, what can I do for you?” replied the first Nadine.
“Well, I seem to have lost one of my patients and Margery on the front desk said he might be in here. Mr Holden, I presume?”
Then as I sheepishly got up to follow Nadine no. 2 to her surgery, my eye caught the sign on the door.
PYSCHOTHERAPIST
What are the chances of that happening? Me living in a sitcom.
See if you can spot each example of poor communication in the above. Let me know in the comments.
What time is it? What do you do when someone asks you that question? Chances are you look at your watch or phone. Why is that? How did time get there? Well, I’m going to tell you. 3 or 4 minutes in the future (if you keep reading) you will be able to identify the key milestones in the history of time.
First, lets go back in time. Way, way back, into prehistory. Imagine if you had asked someone then the same question. What would be the answer?
When should we sow, when should we reap? The seasons gave us the answer. So, the answer would be, for instance, Harvest Time. Or it would’ve been whatever season depending on the orbit of the earth around the sun – the year. Although to be fair, from their perspective the sun travelled round the Earth.
That other celestial orb that travelled around the earth was useful too. The moon waxed and waned a tad over 12 times a year. Now we could separate the year even further and become more successful at hunting, gathering and then later farming.
So, about 12 thousand years ago, we could now cultivate crops and grow them exactly where we wanted, soil and climate permitting. Now we could settle down. We formed our first static communities. Villages became towns, which became cities. Eventually kingdoms formed, with kings to rule over them. These rulers needed to control their subjects and how they worked, to ensure the work got done. The carrot and the stick were both used and a new form of time came about. Work and rest days.
Festivals divided up time, into when you could eat drink and be merry, provided you worked to the bone in between. The week of 7 days also arrive with each day give a special name. Oh, and you could rest on the seventh. You’re welcome.
The day is an obvious unit of time, but it wasn’t until the Ancient Egyptians, that we measured the time of day. Sundials were used to track the sun across the sky. The Greeks were the first to divide the day up into 12 divisions or hours. One slight problem. Daytime changed in length every day, due to the tilt of the Earth on it’s axis. The length of daytime and nighttime is only the same twice a year, at the equinoxes.
This problem ticked on until the 14th Century when a bright spark had the audacity to invent the clockwork mechanism. Now we could really tell the time. We had proper hours, minutes and seconds. Punctuality and being on time were good traits to have.
Next, we have the industrial revolution. Mass travel and the railways caused another problem. You see, back then we had local time. The time was different in Manchester than it was in London. The position of the sun at its highest point, determined at what point noon was and that is very different depending on where you are. That’s fine if it takes you a week to commute between two cities, but it’s a huge problem when you have train timetables.
This prompted another great leap forward – standardised time or Greenwich Meantime here in the UK. Now you could ask anyone in Britain what time it was and they could give you the same answer.
So, there you have it, job done. Now you can answer the question with certainty – what time is it? Or can you?
When NASA started sending satellites into space, they quickly realised that they had to reset the onboard clocks continuously. This is because time slows down in space. Now that would eventually really screw your Satnavs up. So, time is different where you are in the universe.
Well, here we are 3 or 4 minutes into the future (thanks for reading fellow time traveller). Now you can identify the major events on time’s timeline. But are you any more certain than our ancestors in the fields 12,000 years ago, when I ask?
What time is it?
The Easy Way to Control Alcohol – Allen Carr, A Review
Allen Carr
When I first found this book, I was simply looking for a way to control my alcohol consumption, as I felt at the time, that once I started drinking, I couldn’t control when to stop. So the title of the book was inviting to me. It was not long into the 234 pages that it became apparent that you cannot control alcohol consumption per se … unless of course you quit for good. So don’t be misled with the title; Spoiler alert – this book is about quitting for good.
You should read the book in sequence and do not skip ahead or miss anything. Each chapter builds on the previous ones, as it slowly strips away the myths and excuses one by one. When you get to the end you will have systematically erased every reason you might have for drinking. You will not want another drink
Allen Carr does tell you to keep drinking until you reach the end of the book, although obviously don’t drink and read. Eventually you will arrive at the last chapter, entitled hopefully ‘The Last Drink’. Here there are some detailed final instructions for you to follow. Don’t skip anything.
This book is easy to read and you might feel it is repetitive. This is part of the cure. In a way it’s Suggestion Therapy, as you read, the instructions go into your unconscious mind.
This book should be a part of the library of anyone who wants to quit. It’s another tool to your toolbox, but I believe you should accumulate as many tools as you can, to defeat this highly addictive drug.
A few years ago there was a short film about living in the present, that was doing the rounds on social media. I watched it and logged out of ‘the matrix’ for the rest of that day. I will tell you what happened to me Continue reading “Living in the now – my present to you”
I’m a massive fan of having rituals, especially morning rituals . In his book The Miracle Morning
In this post, I go through Pat Flynn’s points on how to set up a sustainable online profitable business.
There are firstly two things that all businesses must fulfil in order to find prospective customers and to convert them into buying customers. Continue reading “5 STeps to Set Up a Sustainable Online Profitable Business”
Do you want to start blogging, but are not sure if you can and should? This post is for you. I’ve always wanted to be a writer, but I never knew how. When you think about that last sentence, it might seem strange. It’s like saying I’ve always wanted to be a jogger but don’t know how. You just do it.