This is Helen’s story. Helen lost a child. It’s the most terrible of things. The joy of a new-born baby…and then gone. The shock, anguish and despair were incalculable. 

When I first heard the term ‘Toxic Positivity” I experienced a strange energetic reaction. I am a huge advocate of Positivity and fight to encourage more of it within organisations and on the planet. 

Looking for some ideas to boost your energy and the impact you create? Have a listen as I share my thoughts on how to succeed through speaking with Tom Bailey, Founder of Succeed Through Speaking.

With over a billion people on this planet currently suffering from some form of mental or emotional well-being challenge, we must ask ourselves - why? Of course, the ever-present news is inundating us daily with increased doom and gloom.

I am frequently asked why I have so much energy and why my demeanor is radiating positivity. I’m not exactly sure of the answer. I guess that some of my makeup is genetic. But I know that most of it comes down to how I approach life.

All my life I have been a Bull. I can stand on my own two feet. I can deal with adversity. I can work harder and longer. I can provide for those that I love regardless of what’s happening in the world. I can sleep less, drink more, travel further, take more knocks and keep bouncing back. Because I am a Bull. 

I used to have a client that was plagued with a culture of “just in case”. If one of their senior leaders was coming into town, they used to pull all nighters generating deck after deck with all the possible answers to all the possible questions that they may ask. To be caught not knowing was career suicide. 

There is a lot of talk about the feeling that many people are about to throw in the towel and resign from their jobs. Some say this will be a biblical proportion, a mass exit from the workforce. A big change in company culture. How very exciting!

Human beings have an inbuilt drive to find answers. It’s part of our survival instinct. As hunter gatherers our lives absolutely depended upon it. If we could understand that migrating animals came through a particular valley at a particular time; our chances of feeding our tribe skyrocketed.

The best leaders are fantastic at asking the question “What's Needed Here?” It really is a superpower. Gone are the days when business was predictable. The speed of change is wondrous. And we all know that we can no longer do today what we did yesterday, and hope to survive.

It’s confusing, it’s unrelenting and often feels like it’s a massive waste of our time. But it’s not the business’ fault – it’s ours. Business is not conscious; it doesn’t decide whether we have a good day or bad.

I used to have a team based out in Shanghai, China and one also in Seoul, Korea. The Shanghai team used to like nothing more than to challenge me to eat unusual local delicacies.

... And That’s Just Perfect. Yesterday was a big day. It was the day I was starting to write my fifth book. Anticipation was high (alas only in my mind) and I made preparations to make it a thing of legend.

When living in lockdown there are less surprises. No friends arriving on our doorstep without invitation. No tickets suddenly going on sale for a pop-up gig. No invitations to help neighbours finish off an excess of rosé that couldn't possibly go back in the fridge.

Do you fancy a drink? I know a place called The Brink. D’you wanna go there? The opening line from a brilliant song, To The Brink by I am Kloot. It’s full of melancholy and longing and John Bramwell’s voice can’t help but pull back the veil to give us a glimpse of how lonely isolation feels. But it is done beautifully.