An evening with Richard Wilkins - thank you!

If you want to be inspired to start living life to the full, to know how amazing we all are, including you..., find a way to experience Richard Wilkins. Details of his events are at his website here.

A week in glorious Scotland!

Last week was a joy - 6 days of non-stop walking, cycling and golfing in Deeside, around Ballater, in Scotland. This really is my favourite place in the world... my favourite lake (Loch Muick), favourite mountain (Lochnagar), favourite river (Dee) and favourite golf course at Ballater. We climbed Lochnagar - great views, but SO windy! The descent, via a waterfall down to Loch Muick, was stunning. The weather was just right - mainly dry and bright, but not too hot. Truly a place to retire to one day! And the food and drink was excellent, at The Green Inn, Balgonie Country House Hotel and the Oaks restaurant at Craigendarroch Hotel.

Having travelled a great deal, this area of Scotland is where I am happiest. I wonder if this is just the splendid beauty of the place, or whether my familiarity with the area from repeated visits helps? I guess a mixture of these...

Nick Williams and Barbara Winter - thanks

A big thank you to Nick Williams and Barbara Winter for a wonderful talk last night on 'Overcoming Resistance' - and thank you to Alternatives (see http://www.alternatives.org.uk/Site/Contents/) for hosting the event. It is this sort of evening that makes me miss living in London - the line up of Alternatives speakers each week is wonderful.

I wonder if one day I'll be able to sit at home, miles from London, and watch these talks over the internet perhaps?!

So... what am I most resisting? According to Nick and Barbara (and Steve Pressfield, author of the wonderful The War of Art), the thing we most resist, is the thing we should most be doing. Some thought required...

Sobering - the death of Corey Rudl

I didn't know him, but I knew his name and reputation well, so when an email alerted me today to the sudden death of Corey Rudl, in a racing accident, I paused for thought. He was 34, and very successful in the internet marketing world. Married less than year, his loss will be huge for family and friends.

Life is so brief - but his was briefer than most. This is a sobering reminder to treasure every minute of every day and to always part with loved ones in a spirit of love, just in case. You never know which day you will be parted.

Smiling!

This delightful poem was sent to me by my mother (thanks!) and I then found it all over the web:

Smiling is infectious; you catch it like the flu,
When someone smiled at me today, I started smiling too.

I passed around the corner and someone saw my grin
When he smiled I realized I'd passed it on to him.

I thought about that smile then realized its worth,
A single smile, just like mine, could travel round the earth.

So, if you feel a smile begin, don't leave it undetected
Let's start an epidemic quick and get the world infected!

So... keep on smiling!!!

Morgan Spurlock's new venture

I read in the Sunday Times yesterday about Morgan Spurlock (who lived on McDonald's for a month and made a film, Super Size Me, of his experiences). He has a new venture, a TV series called 30 Days. His goal is to stop Americans feeding on negative stereotypes, to shed their racism and prejudice, by filming ordinary individuals living for 30 days with people whose lifestyles and beliefs clash with their own. Episodes include a Christian fundamentalist living with a Muslim family and a homphobic ex-Army man living with a gay couple. He wants to teach tolerance and to change people's minds.

I think this is wonderful - this is so close to my own ideals - I will be watching and hoping for it to be screened in the UK.

Another holiday and another newsletter...

I have been lucky enough to spend 3 days mountain biking in the Lake District this week! This included some of the biggest hills I have ever cycled up - and some of the roughest! (If you have ever come across The Old Coach Road - part of the C2C route - you will know what I have experienced!)

The sun shone for the first 2 days and day 3 wasn't as wet as it could have been - a wonderful trip, with wonderful people.

I returned to produce the June newsletter quickly - see http://www.ambitioncoach.com/62652/84225.html.

Life feels very good...