After selling my marketing agency and taking some time to decide what’s next, I began a phase of idea generation with my husband, Ben. After deciding I wanted to get back in the arena, the plan was to come up with a hundred million dollar idea that we could throw the kitchen sink at. Each of those thought processes is explained in its ...

Last week I was at an event with someone we’ll call Pandemic Pete. Pete was angry and wanted everyone to know. He had opinions to share. Masks, vaccines, travel restrictions. The “scamdemic” had cost him bigtime and it was time someone paid. Unfortunately, the only people paying for Pete’s misfortune were the people he was ranting at, ...

If you haven’t got it all figured out If your family don’t understand your work If you pretty much live in activewear If you have embarrassing taste in music If you leave the event to get an early night If you don’t want to “jump on a call” If you stay on airplane mode all weekend If you opt out of the round If you turn down the invita...

John Gottman began his research in 1986 when he set up the “Love Lab”. There, he invited couples in and hooked them up to electrodes whilst asking them a series of questions whilst they were sitting next to each other. After questioning, he secretly labelled them masters or disasters. Gottman found that the masters were still happily t...

The zone of genius concept is one way of discovering how you are uniquely placed to serve. Various versions exist, but I like the Gay Hendricks depiction of a three-circle Venn diagram. Complete the zone of genius exercise by drawing the Venn diagram and writing the following in each circle: Circle one: What you enjoy Circle two: What ...

If you’re in a job you hate, there’s no room for the job you love. The same with a relationship, your home or the city you live in. The space is already occupied, so the option that will truly make you happy has to work harder to reach you. It has to push past your status quo to make itself seen. Not changing is easy. Staying still fee...

The book Delivering Happiness, written by the late Tony Hsieh, gives fascinating insights into how he built Zappos, the company he led as CEO, that was bought for $1.2 billion by Amazon in 2009. Zappos’ focus on culture was so strong they invented something they called a culture book. Tony emailed everyone in the team to ask for 100-15...

The athlete trains to complete. To run the race like never before. To keep their cool in front of the crowd. The salesperson trains to close. To plan, pitch and seal the deal. To handle the objections and complete the sale. The grand master trains to checkmate each opponent. The lawyer trains to fight in court. The boxer trains for the...

Oprah once said she doesn’t want “to just be successful in this world… to make a mark or have a legacy.” Instead, she wants “to fulfil the truest, highest expression of [her]self as a human being.” Powerful. Some questions: Am I fulfilling the highest, truest expression of myself as human being? Are you fulfilling the highest, truest e...

Once you know yourself, everything changes. You have more confidence. You are happier in your own skin. You cannot be side-tracked or feel shiny object syndrome or FOMO. You cannot be confused or sad. Once you know yourself, the rest is obvious. You know what you’re here to do. Knowing yourself really matters. Here are five questions t...

1. They see the best in others Happy people don’t put people down. Happy people don’t hate. They give the benefit of the doubt and they look for the good in whoever they meet. You won’t catch them gossiping or hating on anyone. 2. They know who they are Happy people aren’t trying to impress everyone else because they are indifferent to...

Since 2013 I’ve written (and co-written) twenty books including four children’s storybooks, three workbooks, two guided journals and, most recently, one book of morning affirmations. Two have been published, seventeen are self-published, and one will be published in July with Hodder & Stoughton. Here are the twenty lessons I learned wr...

In 2018 I was in Australia, supporting my friend as she competed in the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. One day I watched an England badminton player called Raj Ouseph play a men’s singles match against a Singaporean. The rules of badminton state that you must win by two clear points in a close set. During the match Raj faced four match...

Set a goal and write it down. Then stare at it. Imagine yourself achieving it. Imagine what you have written down being your reality. Assess how you feel. If a goal is worthwhile it will fill you with excitement. You’ll feel it in your whole being and you’ll be raring to get started. If it fills you with anything less, you’re probably ...

The word mantra has two Sanskrit roots. 'Manas' meaning ‘mind’ and 'tra' meaning ‘tool’. A mantra is a tool of thought. At the start of each year I choose a mantra. This mantra will sum up the year and underpin what I do. In 2018 it was: If you’re going through hell, keep going. Told to me by a friend, I think this is a Churchill quote...

1. Finding a millionaire mentor This mentor helped me think bigger and in better ways. He saw things differently. He could differentiate true opportunities from distractions in disguise and I learned so much from every chat. 2. Joining a mastermind group Weekly meetings, with purpose and structure, with four other entrepreneurs traveli...

My favourite athlete is New Zealand rugby player Beauden Barrett. He started playing for the All Blacks in 2012 and has won the World Rugby Player of the Year award twice. When asked about how it feels to be selected for the national team, Beauden said that he never says no to an offer of playing for the All Blacks. He explained that h...

I have joined a new gym and it’s busy. Full of people. Every machine is taken, there’s kit everywhere and a queue for the squat rack. The first few visits filled me with dread. Everyone annoyed me. I was frustrated having to wait around for equipment. People took ages doing their sets and they played on their phones for too long in bet...

Create a life you don’t need to take a holiday from. There are many unhealthy cultures that permeate business advice, but the most widely-accepted is, in my opinion, actually the worst. Grinding and hustling all year except for a handful of “well-earned” breaks, including Christmas, is practised and recommended by entrepreneurs and bus...

Some people support political parties like they support a sports team. Their party can do no wrong. They remain loyal no matter who is in charge or what they say they will do. The devoted supporter is challenged on their beliefs and doesn’t want to show weakness, so defends policies they don’t quite agree with, to save face. The politi...

An incredibly intelligent friend with ADHD and Asperger's told me that he often, after leaving a social event, asks himself: was I too weird? I think he's asking the wrong question. The people that stick in your memory are those who stand out. Of the thousands of Uber journeys I've taken, I remember the drivers with the stories. Of all...

One key difference between entrepreneurs that make it and those that don’t is focus. Putting all of their energy in as few directions as possible (ideally one) in order to go further. Switching between projects doesn’t just cost your own brainspace. It costs your brainspace in other people’s heads. They don’t know how to help you. They...

When politicians change their mind it’s seen as negative. Inconsistent. A U-turn. They are expected to stick to their convictions so they don’t look like they made an initial misjudgement. Even for the rest of us, there’s a stigma. We are reminded we used to want to live in Spain, we never wanted a dog, we wanted to study law at univer...

The mushroom effect is where, in the absence of big problems, small problems appear bigger. It’s molehills dressed as mountains. It’s the phenomena of needing something to worry about and inventing issues. Perhaps our minds feel uneasy without fear. We’re so used to low level anxiety that when it’s missing we believe it’s cause for con...

In the depths of the UK's first lockdown and with the uncertainty of business, life and travel, I wanted to create some certainty. After reading about the concept of a premeditation strategy (where you choose, in advance, what you will make happen) I loved the idea of being able to decide what type of day I could have. This book is an ...

Athletes cannot train or compete well on empty stores. They need to be well-rested, fed and hydrated. They need to know the technique and the rules and have developed the muscle mass or endurance. Entrepreneurs cannot lead well on empty stores. They need strong intuition, experience, and examples ready to draw on to choose the way forw...

1. Early nights are the new luxury. 2. Once defined, your dream life is halfway there. 3. People who follow up get further than those who don’t. 4. Whatever triggers you requires further exploration. 5. Change your trajectory by changing your geography. 6. What we hold onto might be what holds us back. 7. Every part of your life is a c...

Our brains make up just 2% of our mass but they use 25% of our energy. Brainpower is expensive. Whatever we do and think about is taking energy away from somewhere else. Where are you expending brainpower on topics that just aren’t worth it? Here are twelve true wastes of energy that many of us fall into without realising. 1. Commentin...

Frugal means simple and plain and costing little, or economical regarding money or food. The word frugal conjures up images of scrimping and saving and living a meagre existence. Being tight and ungenerous and counting every penny. One way to be frugal is to check the price of everything. Search around for a better deal. Go without som...

The best leader I worked with had high standards of herself. She knew what was exceptional and what wouldn’t do. She questioned her methods. She asked for feedback. She was open to learning and she saw the detail others overlooked. She had high standards of others, too. When she led someone with similar high standards, the relationship...