From Decorator to Mental Resilience Expert

This special blog is a day early because I am in Wales in readiness for a full day workshop tomorrow (Saturday). I am near Cardiff and the Champions League final is on tomorrow between Juventus and Real Madrid, so with the extra traffic it could be a long journey home!

Earlier this week I met Murray Macnab, a director from a firm of solicitors Ellis-Fermor & Negus with four offices across Nottingham. I was introduced to Murray at an event put on by RBS a few weeks ago. We got on well and so we agreed to meet.

A strange feeling

As I drove towards the offices following the directions of my trusty Sat Nav, I realised that I recognised the area I was approaching but I couldn’t put my finger on why. As I got very close to their offices, I realised that this was a property that I had decorated 4 years previously. What were the odds of this?

As those of you who follow my story will know, I had to decorate for 3 long years to pay the bills as I built JD Mindcoach Ltd. During the decorating years no-one in business knew that I was hiding my car to go to meetings, and taking calls from directors in my overalls covered in paint.

A very surreal moment

I am still a little mesmerised by the whole experience of walking into the reception area where four short year ago I was in my decorating overalls painting a large part of the building during weekends when they were closed. I must say that the paint still looked good after all this time!

At first, I wasn’t sure whether to share this with Murray but I felt that this moment was the closing of a chapter of my life.

Murray was amazed by this revelation but remembers that they were very happy with the decorating at the time. That was a big relief as I always like to do the best I can in every area of my life. He agreed to have his photo taken with me at the end of the meeting for me to share the story in this blog.

The dream is coming true

When I was decorating I hated virtually every second of it but I had a dream to one day be speaking/training and coaching across the world. This dream is starting to come true. Stuart Ross of High Growth Nottingham has been my mentor since those decorating years and he told me that while I was decorating I could never build my business effectively, and how right he was.

About 4 years ago I received a serious injury to my shoulder and I couldn’t decorate any more. I thought it was the end of my world, but in fact it was the beginning of a brand-new chapter of my life. I believe that there is always a seed of something positive in every negative situation. In this case it meant that I had no plan B and I had to concentrate 100% on the business.

It all started to turn around

It was from this moment that everything started to take off. I remember just before the injury saying to myself that I would never have another holiday as long as I lived, I would just about survive on my own and then die. These were genuine feelings.

Last year I went to Dubai 3 times, Switzerland once and Poland once with my wife Julie. I have a 10 year USA visa, I’m a published author and I am talking to large international companies. I got married two years ago and I have a 17-year plan to be speaking on stage at the age of 80. Next week I am the keynote speaker for a firm of solicitors who have 46 offices in 21 countries.

I have to pinch myself to believe what has happened over the past 4 years and I am very enthusiastic at the prospect of this getting much more exciting as I continue to stay positive, visualise a good future and maintain my self-belief.

Thoughts for the week.

1. What are you prepared to do to make your dream come true?
2. Remember that when something goes wrong there is always a seed of something positive – find it.
3. Never, never, never give up!

Well that’s it for another week. This has been a special blog for me as this feels like a milestone in the journey.

Have a great weekend and stay positive.

Warm regards

John

Off the Wall – How to Develop World Class Mental Resilience available here
https://www.jdmindcoach.com/product/off-the-wall-how-to-develop-world-class-mental-resilience/ (Special offer. Put in code 10POUND when prompted to receive a signed copy for £10 including postage and packing – UK only)