Positive Jack

Education today is “Old School”

2011-12-21T04:43:00.000-08:00

A New Paradigm for Education

When you were at school, do you remember all those lessons focused on personal development, motivation, positive psychology, happiness, self-belief, confidence, emotional intelligence, communication, resilience, relationships within teams and leadership skills?! The sad reality is that for many people in our country these skills were never formally taught, and if they were, they were only a fraction of the curriculum.

Today almost every job advert asks for these skills, behaviours, attitudes and competencies. In our current climate, these skills are at a premium more than ever.

Old School

Our education system in Great Britain is broken. We educate children in 19th Century establishments, with 20th Century techniques for the 21st Century. (We don’t yet know the jobs that our five year olds of today will be doing in 2025).

Today’s education model produces uniformity and conformity in our young people. Over testing and examining young people is not working. We need to test when ready and realise that the model of one size fits all is an old school paradigm.

In many secondary schools there is a 40 minute non statutory period for personal development in the form of Personal Social Health Education (PSHE) and Citizenship.

Educationalists are some of the most important people in our society, yet their potential to inspire is being quashed by endless inspections, red tape and league tables. Those who make educational policy are often detached from the real issues of education. They have got to the top of their game and therefore believe that the education system has worked, which indeed it has, for them. Many politicians are privately educated in schools where positive life skills are formally taught. The sad reality is that many politicians prefer to send their children to private schools and the gap between private and state grows ever wider.

Deep within the British psyche is an unwritten rule that manifests itself in the ideology that suggests that we keep people down; to be too good is not good, “don’t get ideas above your station”, “tall poppy syndrome”. This ultimately becomes a form of subconscious social control. We can’t all be at the top of our game; someone’s got to do the less skilled jobs!

Shocking Facts

Professor Michael Depledge, advisor to the Government on human health, in his article called Blue Gym states that adults now spend only 21% of their time outdoors while for children the value may be as low as 9% (HPA, 2008). The Government predicts that by 2050, 1 in 4 under 16 year olds will be obese. The resulting cost to UK society will rise to £45 billion per year (Government Office of Science, HMSO, 2007). Equally worrying, the article states that 1 in 5 under 16 year olds already have a mental disorder. Each year employers lose £3.75 billion through lost work due to stress and the total cost of mental illness to British society is £77 billion (Sainsbury Foundation for Mental Health, 2008). It will get worse if, as the World Health Organisation point out, by 2020 depression becomes the second most prevalent cause of ill health worldwide (Mathers and Loncar, 2006). As with obesity, exercise in the natural environment can help. According to the Chief Medical Officer in England, being regularly active has the same benefits as treating mild to moderate depression with antidepressants.

In the latest Pisa study by the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the UK is ranked 25th for reading, 28th for maths and 16th for science. In 2006, when 57 countries were included in the study, it was placed 17th, 24th and 14th respectively. This is a considerable deterioration. Poland has now stretched ahead of the UK in maths, while Norway is now ranked higher in reading and maths.

Where Does It All Go Wrong?

Sir Ken Robinson, who was commissioned by the government to look at creativity in schools, cites a study In the USA. 1,600 children were tested for their divergent thinking. Researchers gave the children a series of tests to find out how many were in the genius category and measured them at different ages. From 3-5 years old, 98% were genius category, from 8-10 years of age 32% were genius, and of the 13-15 year olds 10% were genius. The same tests were also given to 200,000 adults over the age of 25; only a staggering 2% scored in the genius category (George Land, Breakpoint and Beyond).

Put simply most education systems stifle the genius in young people by making them conform to social norms.

One teacher told me,”If we could give confidence in the way that it is often taken away we would develop real potential”.

“The Golden Hour”

Educationalists, coaches and psychologists understand well that the skills, knowledge and positive attitude that are laid down in early years have a big influence on who people become in adulthood.

Istvan Balyi PH.D (Olympic coach) states that if you do something consistently well 10,000 times, 10,000 hours over 10 years you will become world class. (That equates to just over 2.5 hours a day).

In the same way that Olympic athletes strive to be world class, we need to coach young people, parents, educators, influencers, and role models strategies for life such as confidence, self belief, motivation, communication, positive focus, relationships and emotional intelligence. I suggest that if we can’t provide 2.5 hours a day in the curriculum, let’s give learners a golden hour!

To become lifelong learners, we first must understand our minds and brain. Most academic learning is taking place at the conscious level of our mind, the part that is analytical and critical and often in the “I can’t do” mode. Accessing our subconscious mind, we are able to process millions of pieces of sensory information every second. This part of our mind is in the ‘I can do’ mode, the one that can automatically get us to tap into our true potential of which many people only use 0.05% (Stanford Institute for research). Teaching strategies such as Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP), mindfulness, mental imagery, visualisation, mind mapping and goal planning would make a 100% positive change.

If scientists were to recreate just one human brain in the form of a computer, they would need to house it in half of the Houses of Parliament and use half the Thames water to cool it. The brain can create up to 60000 thoughts a day and uses 100 billion neural connections. The brain is the most powerful computer known to man and most of us never unlock its true potential!

With this thought in mind, just think about how much potential our nations’ youth have. Yet when I talk with them, many of them tell me that they put themselves down, that they are put down, and lack the self-belief, confidence and motivation to achieve great things. This is also the case with staff.

The brain has two hemispheres, the left and the right. The left works on logic, linear, sequence, maths, analysis, and language whereas the right works on creativity, imagination, visualisation, rhythm, colour and possibility. Much of our education focuses on left brain thinking and we often don’t put time into allowing young people to really think deeply about their purpose in life – who they are, what they do, why they do what they do, where they want to be in the future and how it will look, feel and sound for them.

Learning traditional subjects is vitally important to global and socio-economic development. Yet in a world where we appear to be becoming more selfish, one in three relationships break down, and negativity in this country has reached epidemic proportions with high levels of alcohol/drug related crime and anti-social behaviour we need to turn to education to provide young people with emotional intelligence and knowledge to enable them to get the best from themselves and others in life. Mr Blair said, “Education, education, education” yet can we see tangible evidence that his policies are having an effect? Our nations’ youth are our future. What we invest in them now, we’ll get back at a later date.

Some Strategies

1. Teach parents, educators and trainers life skills in school; happiness and positivity need to be on the curriculum.

2. Stop the red tape and litigious attitudes. Many children do not get taken outdoors and allowed to PLAY. Children should be allowed to take risks so that they learn what is safe or not.

3. TV, gaming and computer usage should be curbed; we are killing skill and potential and this is leading to obesity and a lack of human interaction.

4. Alcohol, sugar, fat, salt; we need to work with food producers and supermarkets to help people moderate and understand what they eat and drink.

5. We need leadership programmes for young people; equipping them to vision our future and positively influence others to go in the right direction. Outdoor programmes and positive psychology should be used to develop personality and character.

6. Relationship training, coaching people to communicate, work together, bring up children and take responsibility.

7. Tolerance and respect for one’s environment, community, country and people; taking pride in Great Britain.

8. Develop Life Long Learners with the ELLI profile method.

What Are The Blockers?

Since the 1950’s there has been a decline in national happiness. Today we are officially the unhappiest nation in Europe. The global village has enabled people to travel, live and work away from home but has contributed to the decline of communities and the family unit. Many people have lost their way in society; moral compasses have deviated due to greed and lack of integrity. The economic downturn is one product of this culture of instant gratification, with a mind-set of, “spend now and pay later”. Our mental, physical, emotional and spiritual toughness is often lacking and there exists an on-going battle between what we believe and where our values lie.

The process of getting Britain happier needs to start in our homes and our educational and organisational establishments. If parents are unable to teach life skills then schools must be the foundation and bedrock that gives the best start in life.

Knowledge Is the Key to Our Future

Globalisation affects every one of us in this country. In the next twenty years China will lead the world’s markets in productivity and export of goods followed by India, the United States of America and then Europe. Great Britain’s biggest export will be knowledge.

Today our planet has the greatest need for positive focus and innovation. Our environment, economy and people are in crisis. Yet, today people have more skill and knowledge than ever before. It’s our attitude that seems to be at the core of today’s challenges.

In times of crisis comes new opportunity, an unlocking of human potential and our natural survival instinct. If we agree that people are the most precious part of any organisation, group, team or family, surely now is the time to build relationships, to raise the game and get the best out of young people through education.

My Passion to Make a Change; “We must take action now”

I have spent over twenty years of my life dedicated to developing a positive alternative to our education model. I have worked in the field of positive psychology, leadership, personal development and education in the classroom and in the outdoors. My clients include young Royals through to socially excluded youngsters. I have worked with over 100,000 people. Today I coach personal development to heads, teachers and top business leaders. I have developed a project called Bee Positive that successfully ran in 70 schools in Kent. Last year the Schools Minister attended one of my courses.

My crusade is to give teachers the skill, knowledge and positive attitude required to coach personal development in our schools today. I believe the biggest skills most people lack are confidence and self-belief. If people don’t have these two vital ingredients, they look for substitutes to make themselves feel better. These manifest in alcohol, overeating, compulsive retail consumption, drugs, violence, and crime.

In 2011 I am launching a charity called Buzz4Life with the vision of inspiring every student in Great Britain to see a DVD that will share positive strategies for life. I need to raise £40,000 to produce the DVD and supporting website. I have a number of inspirational people from world champions, top educators, psychologists, health experts, explorers and celebrities who will all come together to share their magic strategies for success, happiness and well-being. As a follow-up, I would like to deliver the Bee Positive programme which coaches teachers over three days, giving them the skills, knowledge and toolbox that can immediately be used in school assemblies, inset days, tutorials and ultimately, The Golden Hour.

"The Ofsted inspection of June 2006 told us we were ‘inadequate'... remembering the Bee Positive programme, we worked together to achieve a ‘good with outstanding features' label from the Ofsted inspection 14 months later. Re-energised by the last training day, we are now set for nothing but ‘outstanding".
Simon Temple, Head Teacher at St Peter’s School.

How would Great Britain be if we spent £77 billion on personal development in Education?

http://www.positivejack.com/

1000 Mile Club

2011-04-15T12:27:00.000-07:00

http://www.dwrace.org.uk/1000mile.html

Cornwall Business Awards

2011-04-15T12:23:00.000-07:00

Very honoured to be involved,
http://www.cornwallbusinessawards.co.uk/jack-russell.php

Conference with Jack

2011-03-24T10:01:00.001-07:00

Hope you can come along to one of the conferences, see conference on page

http://www.positivejack.com/educational-development-bee-positive/

FREE SEMINAR AT ASHFORDS. FEEDBACK

2011-02-05T10:32:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to say again a big thank you for the invitation to Jack's seminar - it was both thought provoking and entertaining in equal measures (less the 'outburst').
Thank you for inviting me along to this seminar, I really enjoyed it and found it very illuminating.

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My words: enlightening and encouraging

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Firstly thank you for inviting me, I found it extremely inspirational and it definitely kicked me up the backside!! Those sniffing salts left a few tears in my eyes mind you!!

I bought jacks book whilst I was there, which is something I have never done before at an event so I must have been impressed.

I use DISK in recruitment and I find it works very well, so I agreed with the principles of sunny yellow etc.... (which I of course was!)

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Thank you for the invite. I thought the seminar was really enjoyable and probably the first I've been to where I listened throughout!

I thought the outburst at the end was rather inappropriate, but if anything it reinforced our trust in the Insights profile as we could all see its relevance.

The event made me feel that I should have more confidence in myself and exude positivity!

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Thank you so much for the invitation. Enjoyed the morning immensely. Please pass on my thanks to the team at Ashford's and caterers for making us welcome and keep us feed and hydrated.

I think everyone needs to keep learning about this subject, understanding ourselves, others and the ability to communicate with each other. even when you live and breathe it yourself, always great to hear another's perspective - that a misuse of sensory styles or am I trying to touch both the auditory and visual?

Jack was an excellent presenter, I see why you recommend him. He certainly knows his subject as the whole presentation appealed to the different personality types as well as the different sensory styles.
I thought the psychologist was a plant and trying to upset everyone in each of the four styles, he succeeded, but for the wrong reason! Never mind, bit embarrassing, hopefully for him more than the rest of you.

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I have seen similar presentations etc before but with these type of things you always pick up something new and recall something you have seen before.

The bit at the end I have been involved with several times in the past, under several different names. Probably about 5 years ago everyone in the office was profiled under what was called ‘Social Styles’. Before Xmas and this month we have had 2 sessions for the directors of the office to profile everyone under E-disc. Although 4 different names are used (e.g. red, blue, green, yellow) the concept is the same. Unlike the person that argued it was all rubbish, I think it is quite useful.

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I thought Jack was a really good speaker.

Some of the exercises and thoughts put things into quite simplistic terms but they were very interesting and certainly got me thinking about things.
outburst was a bit unexpected and made me cringe a bit, but I thought Jack handled it really well!

The seminar really made me think about how I think about things and express myself. Being too negative is certainly something that I am battling with at the moment – overtired, underpaid, not enough time in the day etc, etc. so the seminar came at a good time for me.

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Great seminar. 2nd time I’ve heard Jack speak & he is interesting & entertaining with a really important key message.

Wish I had sent my entire team & family.

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Before I arrived I was fit and ready for the week and it was uplifting to see everyone there. When Jack started talking – about a third of the way into the first session, I did wonder if we were going to slip into a prolonged introduction and description of what was going to be presented instead of getting on with it – it was a slightly long ‘threshold’ to step over before ‘going through the door’.

Once through I was very happily carried away by it all and understood the groundwork and what we were building on it.

End result? It reminded me to step back from struggling with what’s on top of me and do a little bit of work on what’s underneath to make tackling what’s on top easier. Habits deserve a bit of spring cleaning and maintenance too. I feel quite cheerful most of the time, but Jack pointed out that we can also stimulate the symptoms to help recreate the mood, too.

I thought the Challenger was part of the show, with his method acting pacing up and down across the blue and green sectors determinedly between everyone as he ranted. I was mildly astonished when I realised he was genuinely upset – it was quite a display – very educational.

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Identified a top speaker and persuaded him to pitch up in Exeter at 8am, to give of his best to a packed room. As with all Richard's events it was a sell-out, and with just cause. Jack Russell had everyone on their feet within seconds of starting, as we collectively and simultaneously changed minds and chairs. This was a great high-energy event. Richard - please keep me on your list for future events!
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Thank you so much for asking me. As with all your events, thoroughly enjoyed it.

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The buzz in the room even before the seminar started was pretty electric, with a certain air of anticipation and intrigue. Jack delivered an interesting subject matter in a really entertaining, interesting and thought provoking way – living up to (and even surpassing) the pre-event speculation and buzz.

I came away feeling invigorated, if not a little introspective about my own behaviour and how it may impact on other ‘personalities' and relationships (professional and personal)…I must remember to be even more positive – in what I say (and how I say it), how I act and, most importantly, how I (subconsciously) think!
Thanks for opening my eyes and thanks for a truly memorable morning!

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It was a very interesting morning and I for one thought the challenge from x presented Jack with the opportunity to show us all how skilfully he could handle such a strong opposition, a lesson in staying calm under pressure.
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Kim and I would like to thank you for inviting us to Jack's seminar this morning. It was most inspirational and good fun.

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Firstly I wish to express my thanks to you for inviting me to the Jack Russell Event. I thoroughly enjoyed the seminar and listening to and taking part in the programme. I found Jack’s presentation to be sincere in what he said, professional, humorous when appropriate and totally committed to his workshop beliefs. It has made me look at myself and how I interact with others and also how I view others.

Excellent and I will progress through his website how I may be able to assist his schools project.

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How the event made me feel:

Before

Interested (in finding out what Jack Russell had to say)

Cautious (of being subjected to boring business b*llox)

Curious (about whom I might meet)

During

Interested (in what he said)

Very interested (in the practical demonstrations that it was not b*llox)

Entertained (by the humour and the presentation)

Involved (by the audience participation)

Bored (just for the duration of the academic disagreement)

After

Uplifted (because it applies to so many areas of life besides business)

Positive (that things can be made better)

Resolved (to do something about it, like read the book)

Thoughtful (about how I can help my grandchildren)

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Absolutely fascinating....... the demonstrations of the way in which the mind reacts to positive or negative words and thoughts and in turn either strengthens or weakens the muscles with myself, Clare and the others was amazing!! Especially of interest to me with some of the psychic/ spiritual work I am doing.

He came close on a couple of occasions to touching on the spiritual aspects of who we really are which I would have liked to have explored with him, but time was obviously limited so I kept quiet. Another time perhaps, as someone as influential as Jack could make a difference if he started talking about it.

Just the savings to the National Health Service alone could be vast and a greater understanding of who we are would clear a lot of the depression he talked of this morning, as an awareness of our spiritual connections would make a lot of people see themselves and the world we inhabit very differently.

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A very memorable morning...!

As you were probably aware, David and I were both hugely looking forward to the seminar and we were not disappointed.

We arrived with excitement and curiosity as to what gems we would be able to take away with us. During the presentation, Jack was very engaging and without doubt - knows his stuff! He made the presentation interactive and fun, as well as highly informative. We left the seminar feeling even more positive than usual!

Many thanks for giving us the opportunity to see Jack in action!

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GREAT seminar: no 2 ways about it. Thankyou for organising it and inviting me.

Score out of 10: 9

Why: very engaging and encouraging, with some simple clear mesages that I can use straight away. I was familiar with most of the material, but Jack puts it together and delivers it so well!

How could he have got a '10'? By not engaging with the interrupter, and agreeing to talk about it outside the seminar!

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Firstly can I just thank you Jack and Richard for inviting me to an excellent event this morning. It was the first time I'd seen Jack's presentation and although I was familiar with a great deal of the concepts, it's great to engage with someone who is clearly passionate about their subject.

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Most people are not very self-aware nor do they begin to think about or understand how their behaviour affects themselves and others around them. I've been around behavioural profiling for many years. I am not accredited but understand it. Personally, I think behaviour profiling can be a great tool to encourage people to think about what they are doing and how it might impact those around them. As people, we are a beautiful, delightful and sometimes very strange mix of behaviours and feelings so I want to thank you both for giving us insight to that in a most unusual way today.

Jack I thought you were brilliant and funny and I learned new things today and had many things confirmed in my mind as well. Thanks to you too.

Finally, finally, thanks to you Richard for organising it. It was indeed a great pick- me-up and starter for what was an incredibly cold morning but a great day... Brrr
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Fun, enthused, excited

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Really enjoyed the Jack Russell experience. We really do need to get to hear more of this kind of teaching. I really like that he is going into schools as well to spread his philosophy. It runs very well alongside some material I have been studying from some Americans ,Carlos Xuma , Dr Paul , and David Deangelo . i.e. 'Inner Game' . I definitely felt uplifted , kind of like a gentle kick to get going !

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Thanks for the show Richard - I'll not miss anymore if they are as exciting as this going forward :o)

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An opportunity well taken as far as I’m concerned!

Jack is a very good presenter. Whilst I am familiar with a lot of the content, we use a fair bit of NLP + in our courses, it was very well delivered. Fun, enjoyable and easy! It’s just the sort of interaction we get with our delegates but not that many people on a course please!

I was already motivated before I came along but it definitely helped keep that feeling throughout the day.

I will contact Jack separately as there could be areas we could work on together and I would like to thank him.

As regards the challenges (!) ( not sure if that was humour or challenge!) I didn’t have an issue with the overall argument just the way it was handled and the timing. From the other email it looks like lessons learnt all round. I am actually qualified to use Insights but tend to use DISC as it’s generally simpler and gets us to the learning points quicker. For me these personality profiles are a means to an end. If they help people understand themselves better and enable them to improve the way they interact with other people then that’s o.k. They are a useful tool. Jack handled it well which takes some doing when you have just spent a couple of hours getting people on board.

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Thanks, A very memorable event to say the least. Jack really is an inspirational speaker he has a presence on stage which is captivating. I had high expectations before coming to the event in terms of content and delivery and Jack far surpassed that. I enjoyed the group interactions and the way Jack gave practical examples of how the tools could be applied. After the event I was left with a strong urge to help him in his project to bring this message out to the colleges and Universities of which I’ve already mentioned to him.

Thanks again and congratulations for organising this successful event

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Just a really quick note to say 'thanks' so much for the invite yesterday.

Jack was excellent, really enjoyed his stuff and met up with some great people after.

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Just wanted to drop you a note to say thank you for the invitation to yesterday’s seminar.

I thoroughly enjoyed it and it was very kind of you.
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A very good and thought provoking morning. Thank you very much for asking me. As with all of these types of presentation, there were some parts that one had learnt already, other parts that were fascinating and a couple of bits that one just does not agree with - but, all made one think

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An excellent morning. Great investment of time for all there.

My thoughts before the event were anticipation and curiosity. During the event they ranged from laughter, joy that someone as brilliant as Jack had similar thoughts as me on some matters and a sense that my eyes were being opened to insights that could only help me in relationships, whether business or elsewhere. Some material was familiar and some entirely new. I still don’t know where that guerrilla came from!

The third session prompted a need for more understanding of that whole subject. It was uncanny to see how other people fitted in to the different quadrants of the disc in a way that mainly fitted with how I would have read them, but it also helped explain a couple of recent business meetings that didn’t go quite as I had anticipated when meeting previously unknown prospects.

I’ve now started to read “Don’t tell the Bumble Bee” and I’m looking forward to applying what I learn. Somebody asked me this morning in a phone call how I was. I replied, “Really Good” (I would have said I’m Excellent, but that would have been like plagiarising you) so I’m already introducing ideas used yesterday. I may not make it to the Olympics, but I reckon I’ll be able to improve my performance.

Anyway, apart from the interruptions from the delegate who ‘lost it’ it was a stimulating and very positive morning. Even the heckler demonstrated the team dynamic in the room as the rest of the group rallied to Jack’s cause. I’ll look forward to meeting with you and Jack soon.
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First of all thank you for inviting me to the seminar yesterday. Although we have probably heard some of it before from other sources, it was nevertheless a very well presented reminder of what we should be thinking about but don't because life gets in the way! Entertaining too, and I mean that in a positive way.
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Jack Russell’s seminar was very informative and entertaining – time well spent. Jack has wide appeal as was shown by the way the audience so positively responded to what he was presenting. I loved the interaction and the exercises clearly demonstrated the key points. There was a lot of learning in the room! What a great way to start the week!

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Please thank Jack for a truly memorable morning. I learnt lots of things and remembered to reapply lots of others! I thought Jack managed X incredibly well. All in all a tremendously worthwhile morning.

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Sorry for the delay in responding (in blue) – I needed time to digest!

Before: I didn’t really know what to expect about the morning, having never been on the receiving end of a self professed ‘inspirational speaker’.

During: I really got into the presentation – there’s no doubt that Jack is good! I found myself seated next to X and was aware, from early on, that he had a different agenda to some of us! His subsequent outburst did not spoil the event for me and I thought that Jack recovered well. Being more used to ‘lively debate’ than the style of the morning I was unperturbed.

After: I can’t say that I learnt a great deal ‘new’ from the morning but definitely felt (& continue to feel) motivated by attending and hearing the delivery. I think the drawing together of a number of psychological concepts was useful.

This sort of event is a departure from the norm for me and I would attend similar in the future.

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DAY 21.GET OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE

2011-01-20T09:41:00.000-08:00

High Life

We all know that human beings have spent their lives looking at becoming more comfortable, at being able to find a way to make life easier so that they do not have to struggle being cold, wet, tired or frightened. We have learnt to find a way of making things easy for ourselves. Sadly, what has happened in this process is that we have spent too much time in our comfort zones and what we need to do now, in this current world, is to actually get out of that comfort zone - to start stretching ourselves. But beyond the ‘stretch zone’ is the ‘panic zone’ and if we spend time in the ‘panic zone’ where we may have bad or negative experiences, then what often happens is that our comfort zones shrink too. So, spend time in the ‘stretch zone’ - do things that really challenge you and make you feel a little bit frightened, nervous or anxious. If you start to spend time in the’ stretch zones’ you will notice that once you get out of your comfort zone then that middle comfort zone starts to expand and your confidence starts to grow.

DAY 20. WORK OUT YOUR PURPOSE IN LIFE

2011-01-19T12:55:00.000-08:00

What is your purpose in life? Is it to love, learn and to leave a legacy? Find out what is really, really important to you. Take time to realise why you are here on this planet, what your purpose is, what you want to achieve and how you are going to get there. One of the deeper needs of human beings is to discover their own purpose in life. People put more time into planning their holidays than they do sitting down and working out what is their purpose in life. So, find time to think deeply and to work out why you are here on this planet.

DAY 19.TIME WAITS FOR NO-ONE

2011-01-18T14:21:00.000-08:00

Exe Estuary

Spend time really focusing on what is important in your life.
Start by creating a mental image of a square divided into 4 quadrants.

In the top left hand quadrant, you would have the things in your life that are ‘urgent and important’, ‘pressing and engaging’, the things that you have to do and react to straight away.

In the top right hand quadrant would be the things that are ‘not urgent, but are important’, the things that perhaps you have put off for another day, the things that you put on the back burner or put on ice. These are the things when you say” I must go and do that” or” I ought to go and do that”, things that should be paid attention to yet somehow you never get round to them. I imagine these might be about family, health, or deep relationships with other people. But, these are the things that really matter - the things that we really want to achieve in life but somehow never get there.

In the bottom left hand quadrant are the things that are ‘urgent, but are not important’. These may be the things that are urgent to other people, but not necessarily important to you. For instance, the double glazing salesman that rings you up at 9 o’clock at night to try to sell you something - it’s urgent to them, but its not important to you and it wastes your time!

Then the bottom right hand quadrant is for things that are termed ‘not urgent and not important’ - these may be about watching endless amounts of television, listening to conversations that really aren’t going anywhere, phone calls that really have no meaning and are just waffle. This is what really wastes people’s time.

So, the idea is to spend more time with the things that are ’not urgent but are important’ (that right hand quadrant) because, if you do, you will find that what happens is that the top left hand quadrant, the ‘urgent and important’, starts to shrink because you have put more time into doing the things that really matter - those that matter most.

Time is the one thing we all have in common – some of us manage it and are in credit, while others are in debt. Put more time into what really matters in your life.

DAY 18.SEE, HEAR, FEEL, THINK, SMELL, TASTE

2011-01-17T11:52:00.000-08:00

Perfect Day

‘Common’ sense is about using more than only two of our senses. Be aware of the senses that you have, and work with all your senses.

People often have a preference for using either their visual, auditory, kinaesthetic or digital sense. But, find out what is really important to you, and spend time focusing on those things with all of your senses. Be aware of how other people communicate with you – which of the senses they are using are their preference. For example, if somebody is a visual person, talking in terms of ‘the way I see it,’ ‘the way I look at things,’ ‘my picture,’ or ‘my image’ - then show them things - let them ‘see’ - repeat back to them in a visual way. If somebody is auditory and communicates in terms of ‘I hear where you are coming from’, ‘that sounds good’, or ‘I hear what you are saying’ - communicate back to them in a way that they can ‘hear’, and repeat their own language back to them. Use all your senses to heighten your experiences in life. Each day, think more of what you can do to improve your senses. See the world in a very different way, hear the world in a very different way, feel how the world makes you feel, and think about the world. Think deeply, smell the world and taste it too. Use all of your ‘common’ senses to the best of your ability.

DAY 17.USE MANTRAS

2011-01-16T15:16:00.000-08:00

Scilly

The Western world could learn a lot from the East in terms of mantras. A mantra is a tool which uses the repetition of words, phrases or sentences. Used often enough they then become downloaded into your subconscious mind, and eventually come out in your natural behaviour.

We have an internal voice and internal dialogue - a chatterbox that is our conscious mind and which is often telling us that ‘we can’t’, ‘we won’t’, and ‘stop!’ By using mantras, we find a way of saying what it is we want over and over again. Remember, the more you put it into your psychology the more it will come out in your physiology.

Every time I kayak down a white water river, I say to myself in my head “Jack, you are good, you are brilliant, you are going to do well.” Then the brilliance starts to happen! If ever I go out and am worried, nervous, anxious or frightened - as soon as I download mantras like ‘you are going to get into trouble’, ‘things are going to go wrong’, ‘you are going to get hurt’, then they do start to happen. So use positive mantras over and over again, telling yourself whatever it is you want to believe - ‘I am attractive’,’ I am intelligent’, ‘I am motivated’, and ‘I am positive’. Find the mantra that works for you, and repeat it over and over again until it melts into your subconscious and eventually into your whole way of being

DAY 16.PUT YOURSELF ‘UP’, RATHER THAN KNOCKING YOURSELF ‘DOWN’

2011-01-15T13:18:00.000-08:00

Foggintor Quarry

Many people are ‘world class’ at putting themselves down, being self-deprecating, at knocking themselves, saying “I can’t do this”, “I can’t do that”. This negative thinking then goes into their belief system - into the very core of their identity and they start believing that they are not able to do amazing things.
So, instead, put yourself ‘up’. Put yourself up internally and externally and find a way of being confident about yourself, rather than knocking yourself down. In our world today our self-esteem can get knocked very badly. So constantly find a way of putting yourself ‘up’, and the more that you put yourself ‘up’ the more you will find that other people begin to put you ‘up’ as well.

DAY 15. CONFIDENCE, NOT ARROGANCE

2011-01-14T14:39:00.000-08:00

Sarah Russell

In our society today many people are crippled with a lack of self-confidence. Confidence is the one thing that people are always looking for in their lives, but arrogance is sometimes what they get. The difference is that confidence is knowing that you can, arrogance is thinking that you can. And there is a difference between thinking and knowing. Sadly, arrogance comes across as being conceited, whereas confidence comes across as being positive. So, begin to believe in yourself - start finding ways of having positive experiences which give you confidence. Remember, confidence comes from positive experiences! The more positive experiences you have and the more that you allow yourself to take risks and try things that might have been holding you back - the more confidence you get.

So do things that you feel might hold you back - allow yourself to do more and more of these things. Then the result will be a truly confident and positive you.

DAY 14.VISUALISATION

2011-01-13T11:39:00.000-08:00

Tresco Sound

We know that visualisation is one of the most powerful strategies for the human mind - if you can believe it in your head, then you can conceive it in reality. There has been much research done looking at Olympic athletes running the 100m in their ‘heads’, and in doing so, they have fired off the same muscles in their body, as if they were running for real. Therefore, believing that you can do it in your head first means that when you come to do it for real, it is already a future history - it has already happened. Many people, though, find it hard to visualise things in their mind. But we need to learn to really visualise, absolutely vividly and clearly.

Think of your mind being like a camera. If you can visualise the images so that they are crystal clear, then they will become crystal clear. Many people, when they visualise, see blurred images and therefore their visualisation is never really clear. So, put smell into your visualisation, put colour, movement, taste, feeling, sound and make the visualisation really come alive. See it as if you are really doing it, and visualise every day what you want. The more you do that, the more it will happen.

DAY 13.FOCUS ON WHAT MAKES YOU FEEL GOOD, AND GET RID OF THE BAD STUFF IN YOUR LIFE

2011-01-13T09:02:00.000-08:00

South Westerly

Notice what, or who makes you feel bad and attempt to cut that out of your life. Instead, focus on what makes you feel really good, and attempt to do more of it. Many people find it hard to get rid of the bad things in their life – that might be negative thinking, living in fear it might be over-eating or swearing, it might be being cruel to people or animals, it might be negative thinking, compulsions, addictions or drugs. Find out what it is that makes you feel bad and get rid of it from your life. It may even be some people who may be around you. If those people do not make you feel good, then find a way of disassociating yourself from them. If its alcohol, attempt not to be in pubs or bars. If its cigarettes, attempt not to be anywhere near where you can buy them.

Think about how these bad experiences make you feel - then think about what it is in life that makes you feel good. Do more and more and more of the good stuff. Remember, the secret of a positive life which is full of confidence, is doing more of the good stuff and less of the bad stuff.

DAY 12.USE YOUR EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

2011-01-11T11:21:00.000-08:00

Exe Estuary

One of the greatest new ways of thinking is that of using our Emotional Intelligence. It is now thought that the use of our IQ, a traditional concept taught in schools, only contributes to 20% of people’s success (be that mentally, physically, financially, spiritually or emotionally). The other 80% of success is down to Emotional Intelligence. This is the way that we are more socially aware of ourselves. It’s people skills, it’s how we read, perceive and understand other people’s emotions so that we can work with those emotions rather than against them. It’s how we self motivate ourselves - it’s how we get the best from others in terms of coaching people, supporting them and building strong relationships. Being unaware of emotion is called being alexathymic, where people are unable to even perceive the feelings of other people. So, begin to use more Emotional Intelligence in your thinking. Really become aware of people – focus on understanding them, before being understood yourself. Find out about them, rather than telling them about you!

DAY 11. BE SELFISH IN ORDER TO BE SELFLESS

2011-01-10T12:39:00.000-08:00

Appledore

In other words, look after number 1 in order to look after number 2.

When the cabin crew do the safety checks on an aircraft, they often say that if the aircraft is in trouble, oxygen masks will come down for the use of passengers. The interesting thing is that they say” put your own mask on before you put other people’s on”. This should apply as a major strategy in life, because if you have looked after yourself first, then you will be able to look after others. If you have topped up your bucket you can then top up other people’s buckets. For many years, when I worked on Dartmoor, people would say to me “you are always looking comfortable, dry and well fed”. But my response would be “if I am cold, wet, hungry and miserable, how can I look after anyone else?”

So look after number 1 before you look after number 2. Be selfish in order to be selfless.

DAY 10. LIVE LIFE AS THOUGH YOU ONLY HAD ONE YEAR TO GO

2011-01-08T11:20:00.000-08:00

St Agnes

A few years ago, I had a friend who was dying and he told me that he only had one year to live. I remember saying to him, “what will you do in that one year? and he said, ”I will do everything that I did not do when I was just living my life normally”. So, in that one year that he had left to live, the things that he did were phenomenal and he died having achieved so much. Although it is a challenging thought - to live life as if it was your last day, or last year - it makes sense of the following concept: most people only tap into 0.05% of their true and real potential during their lifetime..and often go to their grave with their music still in them!

Within every single person there is a phenomenal ability to achieve great things both physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and financially. But often we are held back by self-doubt or, interestingly, the fear of being too good. Many people fear failure, but some people fear success. We often put off the things that we really want to do, thinking that we will be able to do them one of these days.

My story above illustrates that we should live every day of our lives as if it was our last day or year, so that we really, really live them to the full .I'll do it sometime means never! Do it now...

DAY 9. MANAGE YOUR EXPECTATIONS

2011-01-08T10:28:00.000-08:00

Many people are not realistic enough about their lives, and have not prioritised what is really important to them. They think that they can do things, but consequently this may result in letting people down because they have not thought things through properly. What happens then is that people feel disappointed with other people. So, manage your expectations in a more realistic way. Think about allowing yourself to perhaps not totally jump head first into things, but give yourself time to think things through, so that you know you can achieve your goals and objectives - especially when working with other people. Allow yourself to do this in such a way that you end up achieving what you say you were going to do, because you have been realistic and have prioritised. The result is that you then end up by exceeding other people’s expectations.

DAY 8.TAKE CHOCOLATE OR EXERCISE

2011-01-07T14:50:00.000-08:00

Erme Estuary, Devon

Taking regular exercise of at least 20 minutes, three times a week, is a very powerful way of producing endorphins - the ‘happy drugs’ in the body. These drugs are natural, man-made, free, harmless and above all legal. . Another 'happy drug' (neurotransmitter) is serotonin which elevates mood and lifts depression. Serotonin can become depleted with chronic stress or anxiety, starvation or a low carbohydrate diet, and inactivity, leaving you feeling depressed, irritable, moody, and exhausted. Conversely, serotonin is strongly elevated after a long walk, or workout, even at moderate intensity levels.

Chocolate also affects the levels of endorphins in the brain. Eating chocolate increases the levels of endorphins released into the brain, giving credence to the claim that chocolate is a 'comfort food'. The endorphins work to lessen pain and decrease stress.

So given that serotonin is an anti-depressant, and based on the philosophy of, 'Eat Less, Move More', I suggest a little chocolate and more exercise! Make sure that you exercise in a cardiovascular way and in a safe way that will give you the ability to start thinking clearly. Once you begin to exercise, this moves the blood around the body, puts oxygen back into the brain and gets you into a state of being more energised, more focused, more imaginative - using the parts of the brain that allow you to start to become more creative. Use exercise as a way of allowing the brain to think more effectively and rediscover your amazing body.

DAY 7 .FIVE BITS OF POSITIVE TO ONE BIT OF NEGATIVE

2011-01-06T14:13:00.000-08:00

Paradise in the UK

Psychologists carried out a fantastic bit of research with 100 people who were recently married. These couples were videoed for 15 minutes each day to see who gave the most positive or negative feedback to each other. It was predicted that the ones that gave one bit of positive to one bit of negative feedback would not be together in ten year’s time, but the ones that gave five bits of positive to one bit of negative feedback were thought to stay together. These same people were then interviewed 10 years later, and the results were 84% correct in their predictions. The ones that had given a ratio of 1:1 positive to negative were no longer together, but the ones that had given a ratio of 5:1 were still together, and very happy.

However, conversely, too much praise is not always a positive thing. If you give praise on a ratio of 12:1, this might mean that people then feel that the admiration is insincere. So focus on the magic number of 5 bits of positive feedback to 1 bit of negative or improver. Always look for the good things in a person’s life. Focus on the positive things that people do and give them praise. Many people in our society today find it hard to accept praise because we are not used to it, but everybody loves to be complimented so constantly have your mind looking for things that you can praise people about. Remember, the magic ratio is 5:1.

DAY 6.HAVE AN ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE

2011-01-05T15:20:00.000-08:00

In my garden

Find a way of constantly being grateful, and ‘thanking’ every single day for what you have - your health, your positive life experiences, your loved ones - the fact that you may be able to see, hear, feel, taste smell and touch. Be grateful for what you have. If you have not got those things, be grateful for everything that you do have. Have a way of constantly thanking, and look to a higher purpose to thank. That could be from God to the Universe, but thank every single day. Give thanks for what you have, because we all have much more than we could possibly imagine.

DAY 5 . GIVE TO OTHERS

2011-01-04T05:16:00.000-08:00

Helford Passage

One of the greatest ways to bring happiness to other human beings is to give to others. There are ‘givers’ and there are ‘takers’ in our world, but if you can find a way of giving more to people rather than taking, then this leads to a massive sense of fulfilment, happiness and self-worth that brings with it immeasurable gifts.

Anything that is easy to give, often has little rewards – but it’s when giving requires effort that the effects can really be felt.

When you give, be aware not to expect to receive anything back from the person you have given to. You may find that, like the boomerang, it will come back via another source or person.

So, remember to give to others, rather than taking from them, How about today you decide to give in a random act of kindness and feel the effect.

DAY 4. USE POSITIVE LANGUAGE

2011-01-03T17:15:00.000-08:00

Dartmoor

The conscious mind is often critical, analytical, negative and focused on the I can't. Over use of the conscious mind can turn us into a walking risk assessment centre!. Conversely the sub conscious mind is natural, positive, an automatic pilot, and in the I can do mode.

We need to be mindful of how we use our sub conscious as it does not come with a filter! Highly trained professionals such as Military, and Emergency services are aware of this .They train their sub conscious by programming the right strategies so they respond correctly rather than react.

Situated in the brain are two neuro structures called Amygdalas that share a common link to the conscious mind. The Amygdala's job is to scan for danger in order to keep us alive. In pre-historic times, when we left the cave door we would worry about the sabre toothed tiger or the woolly mammoth - either we were going to eat it, or it was going to eat us.
We would be constantly scanning for threats. Great for back then, but not so appropriate nowadays!.

My belief is that the conscious mind and Amygdalas manifest themselves in negative language and thoughts. Without realising it the majority of people have programmed themselves to talk in the negative. They say things like “I am not too bad... bad, it’s not a problem... problem, don’t worry...worry, things aren’t going to go wrong... wrong, can’t complain...complain”. Every time people say these things, they are putting that negativity into their psychology which is then affecting their physiology. So then, what you think, you actually become. So think about changing your language and using the positive. If somebody says “I am not too bad,” well, why not say “Im good or (I'm teetering on the brink of pure perfection!!)”. If somebody says “it’s not a problem,” let’s say “it’s a challenge”. If somebody says “I can’t,” lets say “I can”. Focus on changing your language, because remember, if you change your language to the positive it affects your psychology which in turn affects your physiology.The more positives you put into your sub conscious the happier you become.

DAY 3. BROADCAST THE GOOD THINGS IN LIFE

2011-01-02T13:49:00.000-08:00

Day Mark Scilly

A lot of people spend time complaining and being negative. They become ‘mood hoovers’or ‘energy thieves’. They walk around saying how bad life is. Due to this negative focus, the bad stuff comes back to them like a boomerang. Focus and broadcast to yourself and others all the good things in life.
Think about the four types of people we have in our world today. There are the people who say, “I'm alright, and you're alright too”. You then have the people that say, “I’m not alright and you're not alright either - things are dreadful for us”. Then you have the people that say, ” I’m not alright, but you are alright, aren’t you” and then you have perhaps the worst type of person who put people down by saying,“I'm alright, but you're not”. Focus on being in the first category of people - those that say “I am alright, and you are alright”. They are the people that broadcast the good things in life. They only talk about the good stuff. If its raining, it's ‘liquid sunshine’ - they find that if the weather is bad, then they look for the good in it - ie: it’s helping the plants to grow.

So, it’s about finding and concentrating on the things that are going well in your life. We all ‘think’ about 60 thousand thoughts a day and thoughts become actions. We are like lighthouses, constantly sending out signals. Your external behaviour causes an internal result on others which in turn causes their external behaviour to have an internal result on you. If you're not happy with the results you're getting from others, broadcast more of the positive.

DAY 2. CREATE A COMPELLING FUTURE

2011-01-02T01:40:00.000-08:00

Topsham

Think about ‘abundance’. Have a mindset which says “there is enough abundance to go around”. Have a mindset of seeing a compelling future that thinks about you being happy, fulfilled and loving. If you get really excited about that future, that’s where you will spend the rest of your life! That’s what most people find very hard to do. They find it hard to look into the future. To me, the future is where you spend the rest of your life and it’s a really good place to get excited about - so start looking into the future. If you go through life metaphorically driving your ‘car of life’ along the road but constantly looking in the rear view mirror, you will never be able to see where the future is going to take you. Create a compelling future - get excited about what it is going to look like, what it is going to feel like, what it is going to sound like. Even taste the future and see that as exciting! Learn to set goals. Set short term, medium and long term goals. Make those goals so compelling that you get excited about them! If you have ever looked forward to a party, a holiday or something that you are going to do, create that excitement in everything that you do in the future so that becomes so compelling, you just can’t wait to start!