Bouncing back

My article 'Bouncing back after a life crisis' has been published on HRZone - see http://www.hrzone.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=147950.

A day at the Houses of Parliament

I had a wonderful day visit to the Houses of Parliament... a tour around, a meeting with a local MP, then lunch with 4 local MPs. I found myself sitting next to my own MP for lunch in the private dining room we were in, which was a great opportunity to learn more about the workings of parliament. I also managed to get 30 minutes watching the House of Lords and 30 minutes watching the Commons - something I have always wanted to do. The experience was wonderful. I suspect it is as well I didn't do this years ago - or I may have decided I wanted to be an MP!

It struck me that this is something all teenagers should experience... A visit there would help to instill ambition to achieve more from life and a greater respect for history and for government.

We will rock you!

Last Saturday I was in London to see the Queen musical "We will rock you". I had seen it before, but second time around was even better. There is a fabulous photo exhibition of Freddie Mercury, which includes a wonderful quote by him: "I am possessed by love". I suspect this is why I so admired him - someone with a passion for life and for love, which caused him to sparkle with energy.

The musical features a long list of famous musicians who died young - a sobering and moving moment.

It also hints, not so subtly (I do enjoy Ben Elton's lyrics!), at the damage caused by not encouraging individuals to shine in their own way... music of the future is portrayed as all manufactured, with no creativity allowed - with dreadful consequences.

A good news story

I so believe that we need more good news in the papers and on TV... our thinking is coloured by what we read and watch, and the 'diet' of gloom that we are fed does not nourish us well. I read a wonderful story at the weekend - see http://www.timesonline.co.uk/printFriendly/0,,1-2-1857930-2,00.html.

This is a great story, not just because of the positive attitude of the young Iraqi girl, Hannan Shihab. What struck me most was the strength of Katrina Turner, for taking action, presumably with her friends and family thinking her daft to attempt something like this. Her hard work must have sometimes felt like a lost cause, maybe crazy even. But with perseverance, what a difference she made. I love stories that prove 'the power of one'. I love to be reminded that each of us can make a difference. If we had more of these stories every day in the news, perhaps we would all be inspired to take more action and to make a difference more often?

My November newsletter

My November newsletter can be viewed at http://www.ambitioncoach.com/62652/84225.html. It has some ideas for how human individuals can raise their game by learning lessons from big business.