Month: February 2019

For as long as I can remember my working day started the same way. Sat at my desk, I would look through a to-do list and number some of the jobs to do today. Then I would open my email software and answer emails from customers, suppliers and so on. Next, I would check our ... Read more

Last summer at the Nantwich Show, I spent 15 minutes watching a craftsman handmake a pair of clogs. He outlined the shape of a foot on a wooden block with a charcoal crayon, then with a variety of ancient tools he crafted and shaped the wood into a beautiful clog. His precision and accuracy with ... Read more

I have been wrestling with a decision, tossing it over and over in my mind. Playing out the possible outcomes and I’m struggling to decide what to do. Have you felt this kind of indecision too? Are you facing a difficult choice with no obvious answer? Or a choice between two outcomes both of which ... Read more

Are you thinking about starting your own business? Are you feeling a bit scared? We were too. Don’t know if it’s going to work. Nor did we. Don’t have enough money to start? Snap! Today I’m going to begin a regular series of posts tracing some significant moments in valentte's history. It’s been eight years ... Read more

Will people remember when I’m gone? Will they notice my passing? Am I leaving something worthwhile on this earth? Have I created something that will live on beyond me? Am I sharing the knowledge and skills that I have? Today, I have been thinking about legacy. Have you given this some thought too? How can ... Read more

In my mid-thirties I began to do a lot of cycling. When I mean a lot, think of Forest Gump and his running, and you are getting somewhere close to my obsession with endurance cycling. I was spending 40 or 50 hours a week on my bike. I cycled through rain, snow, all day, all ... Read more

I frequently find myself in quiet moments reflecting on my happiness. Is my life going the way that I wanted? Is it turning out the way I planned? Am I spending my time in ways that fulfil me and progress me towards my goals? I imagine that you have found yourself in similar reflective moods. ... Read more

Regular readers will know that I have made a personal commitment to “become the kind of person who does physical exercise every day”. Two days ago, was the first day I failed in this commitment in 2019. I broke a 37-day streak and went to sleep feeling gutted. Of course, there was a reason, I ... Read more

I’m spending a couple of days hill-walking with my brother in Snowdonia. He reminded me about a go-karting experience we had some years ago. We decided to sign up for a nationwide go karting season. Every two weeks the championship would move to a different track around the country. The race was a two-hour endurance ... Read more

The mountains are great teachers. They care nothing about our ambitions or goals. Each time we venture into them, we measure ourselves against them, and this forces us to make judgement calls. Make the right decisions, and we come home safe and sound, make the wrong decision, and the consequences can be life-threatening. The very ... Read more