John's Blog

I came across this article about Thomas Edison, which made me think about how he processed apparent failure. He didn’t see every failed attempt as a failure, but he saw it as a learning experience and one step closer to

Like millions across the country, I was mesmerised by the fantastic talent of sixteen-year-old darts teenage sensation Luke Littler, who has just reached the finals of the World Darts Championship but has just failed to become the youngest-ever winner. He is

So here it is, the end of 2023. How has your year been? Difficult, challenging, heart-breaking, good, outstanding or a mixture of the above. One sure thing is that we will all experience difficult times every year. It is impossible

This blog is longer than usual, as I want you to really appreciate the value of gratitude and why you should develop and cultivate the habit of being grateful every day. You will see at the end of this blog

I came across this article about a woman who had a life-changing accident which left her without the use of her arms or legs. This was a devastating accident which completely altered her future and gave her a choice to

Burnout is characterised by disengagement and stress by over-engagement. In burnout, your emotions become blunted; stress makes them over-reactive. Burnout causes emotional damage; stress primarily causes physical damage. Burnout affects motivation and drive; stress affects your physical energy. Depression from burnout

The day has finally arrived, and tonight, we fly off to Australia for four weeks. This trip was scheduled for early 2020, and then Covid hit. The flight was cancelled, and we received our money back. Then we waited and

Born in 1958 in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, Mark Cuban is an American entrepreneur and pop culture icon, owner of the Dallas Mavericks and star of the hit television show Shark Tank. However, things weren’t always so rosy for Cuban. He learned failure the

Sometimes things go well, and sometimes they don’t; we often don’t know how things will work out until we experience the reality. This week could have gone well, or it could have gone badly, and in all honesty, I didn’t know

Yesterday, I arranged for our settee to be picked up by the furniture company from which we originally purchased our suite. While the suite itself is beautiful, we noticed a slight sagging in the seat padding, prompting us to bring

Believing in yourself is incredibly important in life. If you think you can achieve something, you have a chance of succeeding. But if you don’t believe in yourself, success becomes very unlikely. Sylvester Stallone is a great example of someone who

Keanu Reeves is one of the finest actors in Hollywood, but it is very inspiring to read that his childhood was marred with incredible difficulties, yet he succeeded to an amazing level.  Against all the odds In 1964, the world welcomed Keanu

I came across this article about Helen Keller who was stricken with an illness at a very young age which robbed her of her sight and hearing. On the face of it, this was the end of the world but in

Born in 1809, Abraham Lincoln is famously known for being the 16th President of the United States. He was a champion of equal rights, and he blazed a trail towards the freedom of slaves in America.  But Lincoln didn’t start out

I came across this inspirational account of an American writer who had a tough upbringing, but he decided to focus on something every day until he had mastered it and it changed his life. Jack London chose to focus on

I had never heard of tennis player Carlos Alcaraz until 3 weeks ago when he became a world superstar beating arguably the best player in history Nowak Djokovic in the Wimbledon men’s tennis final. Watching him play in the first round

The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on individuals, communities, and societies worldwide. It caused millions of infections and deaths, overwhelming healthcare systems and highlighting the importance of public health infrastructure. Lockdowns and restrictions led to economic downturns, job losses, and

During my 40-year career, I have experienced several episodes of complete burnout which had a profound effect on me and put me out of action for long periods of time. If you have never experienced burnout, then you are doing very