As a former pilot in World War I, Walter had always preferred flying as a means of travel, rather than going by sea. Whenever he was in the Dakota, flying over to Northern Ireland, he always asked for...
The that gets published each year sends out the message that having more money than the next person is something to aspire to. This had led to a culture where - once we have grabbed hold of whatever...
Remember that society’s status is hollow and transitory, but genuine character and action endures and shines long after the fluff has gone.
It was always said to me with a wry smile, as if I was being told something of infinite power. And he was right.In turn, that enthusiasm adds the extra 5 per cent sparkle to everything we do - and lif...
It is just the way of the world: to get to the successes, you have got to get out there and commit to fail a few times first.The key is not in the failures themselves, but in your ability to keep goin...
In fact, the will to win means nothing if you don’t also have the will to train.The day of the race is the easy bit: all eyes are on you and the adrenalin is running high. the unglamorous times when...
I have made the mistake all too often in the past of taking experts’ advice as gold, as the only ‘right’ option. It has often been against my instinct, and it has all too frequently landed me in troub...
I call them the dream-stealers.Beware: they are more dangerous to mankind than you might ever imagine.In life, we will never be short of people who want to knock our confidence or mock our ambitions.T...
But it was the other things I witnessed in India that really blew my mind.In the back streets of Calcutta I saw sights that just should not happen: legless, blind, ragged bodies, lying in filth-strewn...
As a kid, this was usually a pretty simple equation - she would only buy me a new toy if I selected an old one to give to the charity shop. (Quite annoying, I seem to remember!) But as I got older I r...
Every time you try and do something new, or something difficult, or unusual, you are absolutely going to get doors closed in your face, friends mocking you and phones slammed down on you.Rejection and...
Conversely, note how those who laugh at are the people we instinctively pull away from.People who laugh at others are really showing that they think they’re better than the people they’re making fun...
People are often quick to label others a ‘failure’. There are many people who find it all too easy to point out loud and clear when others fall short of their dreams.But only little people belittle ot...
Or in other words: Think about it. What do you worry most about? Is it inside or outside your sphere of influence? You see, most of us fret and panic about stuff we have no control over - things we ca...
Now, there is ‘good’ kit we need to carry and then there is ‘bad’ kit. The ‘good’ is the list we are going to start compiling. The ‘bad’ is the stuff we are going to drop. Ultimately I want you to be...
Luckily those simple values meant much more to him than my school reports - which weren’t always glowing!
Let me explain…Mountains - and all the natural struggles and obstacles they present - are also arenas to find out what we are made of. It just takes us to be willing to dig deep and push on hard enou...
Legend has it that when he once gave a speech at Harrow School, he simply stood up and said, ‘Never give in, never, never, never. Never give in.’He knew those simple words make such a difference.Whate...
It’s very tempting, when we experience a little bit of success, to think that our good fortune is down to our skill, our brilliance or our good nature. That might be a part of it, of course, but the t...
It’s a great perspective, because so often we see a crisis as something to be avoided, when in reality it can conceal both adventure and advantage.I am not saying we should seek out a drama, but rathe...