Coaching Skills For Leaders
Coaching Skills For Leaders
Conquering Endurance Challenges and Redefining Leadership: The Inspiring Journey of Neil Thubron
What if you could conquer the world's most grueling endurance events and lead with unwavering confidence? Join us for an inspiring conversation with our co-host, Neil Thubron, as he recounts his remarkable journey from childhood dreams of heroism to becoming a distinguished leader. Neil's story is a testament to the power of a goal-focused mindset, shaped by early leadership roles and a passion for adventure. His reflections provide actionable insights for anyone looking to enhance their leadership skills, whether in the corporate world or personal endeavors.
Ever wondered how a single event can redefine your entire perspective on leadership? Neil's transformative experience at a Tony Robbins seminar unveiled the profound equality and humanity in senior leaders, challenging traditional notions of lifelong employment within a single organization. We explore his transition from road marathons to extreme endurance challenges like Ironman and Marathon des Sables, showcasing how ordinary individuals can achieve extraordinary feats. Neil also emphasizes the importance of surrounding oneself with high achievers to break mental barriers and continuously strive for personal growth.
Get ready for an exhilarating tale of sailing across the globe! Neil shares his adventurous experience of participating in a global yacht race, covering 5,500 miles from Australia to Vietnam and China. Discover the meticulous preparation, physical training, and logistical planning required for such an endeavor, along with the challenges of managing a business remotely. Neil's approach to achieving a balanced life through equal division of time between paid work, volunteer work, and personal enjoyment offers a refreshing perspective. We also delve into the potential world-changing impacts of eradicating ego and fostering a belief in one's potential. Tune in for an episode rich with inspiring stories and thought-provoking insights that will leave you motivated to tackle your own leadership journey.
Welcome to the Coaching Skills for Leaders podcast with Jana Henderson and Neil Thubron. The purpose of the podcast is to help leaders anywhere develop their coaching skills to transform the lives of those they lead, as well as their own well as their own.
Speaker 2:All right, everyone, welcome back to a new, brand new, very exciting episode of Coaching Skills for Leaders, and we have a unique, very, very special guest on today. Who is? Well, may you have guessed it, it's Neil Thabran, our co-host from your very favorite podcast. Officially, neil is an executive coach and leadership mentor, best-selling author, motivational speaker, transforming leaders and teams to achieve extraordinary goals. He is one of those people who are walking their talk, have been in this world for many, many years and brings also 30 years of leadership experience in the corporate world and in the British Army. And I will think one of the most interesting topics as well about Neil is all of his crazy endurance challenges, which I'm sure we will hear about more as well. So I actually wanted to start somewhere else. But first off, neil, welcome to your own show.
Speaker 1:Thank you, Janet. I know how you felt when we did it, when we did your interview. So I'm very nervous about being asked the questions, because I'm normally asking the questions right, oh, it's gonna be wonderful.
Speaker 2:I think it's, and you know it's interesting, right, like we have known each other for, I want to say, seven years yeah and um you know I, I know you very well, you know me very well and still I felt it was different a being interviewed and be, you know, preparing interview questions for you as well, um, so I'm really hoping to give the listeners a very different insight. Look into what happens in Neil's head and you know just who you are. I think you're an extraordinary human being.
Speaker 2:Um, I have loved knowing you for for this time and just I think, always when I think of you, I think of you as somebody who is probably one of the most goal focused, action step executing person people that I know you know. Um, you're just so um reliable to follow through on what you set out to do. It's remarkable, very, very unique talent, um and a lot of commitment and um energy that you put into that area. So I wanted to start somewhere um a little bit younger, so I wanted to find out what you wanted to become when you were a child.
Speaker 1:Okay, that's a great opening question and it's a pretty easy one actually. So I wanted to be a soldier. I played as being a soldier when I was younger. I wanted to be in the military. I wanted to lead people as well. I didn't just want to be a soldier, I wanted to be a leader in the military. Um, so yeah, that's kind of up to 10 years old. That was probably what was driving me was being wanting to be in the military, and I did loads of outdoor stuff and, yes, that was kind of my life and had you?
Speaker 2:had you had any like role model that was also in the military? That gave you the idea, or how does it? I mean, how did you have the idea?
Speaker 1:no, that's a good question. So absolutely not. In fact, when I ended up joining the military, um, the reason I ended up joining was because a friend of mine was in and he got to go skiing for free every year and I thought this looks great, I need to go skiing every year and uh, but then so I didn't even know what a corporal or sergeant was or anything like so.
Speaker 1:No, I had no family history or anything in the, in the military, um, wow, so what? What kind of got me into? Okay? So if I'm going to be completely honest, I've always been a bit of a dreamer and I've always been a James Bond, mission Impossible, john Wayne type fan, and I watched a lot of that when I was younger. So I saw the military as a way of getting into that army world, the exciting travel being a spy, that kind of thing. So that's what.
Speaker 2:I've dreamt about as a young boy. Exciting, and you know so many adventures too right. I can imagine that that felt adventurous at the time, and so is there a time in your childhood when you can look back and think this is the reason I'm sitting here today.
Speaker 1:I'm sitting here today. Great question, I knew you'd ask some great questions today. I did try. So I think there's a yes and is there a moment in time? No, but there's.
Speaker 1:From a very early age, people look to me for leadership. For what do we? You know when I was a kid, what are we going to do today, neil? Where are we going to go play what?
Speaker 1:So from a very early age I knew people looked to me for guidance, for leadership, for, I guess, to what we're going to do, how are we going to have fun this summer holiday or this weekend? And I did start leading people with my little gang in our estate where we lived from a young age and then went on to be a leader in the golf course where I used to play golf and be a captain there. So no, no, I think so. Leadership has been a common theme all the way through my life, from young to to teenage years. But when I played golf and did a lot of leading there, to um being a very young manager in corporate life, to um going into the military and becoming an officer in the British Army. So it kind of feels natural that at this stage of my life I'm now giving back to leaders as a coach and mentor, because that theme has run through the last 40, nearly 50 years.
Speaker 2:So do you think you know? So I'm curious about what you think created this very strong desire and you know seemingly natural talent to lead. What do you think contributed to it? Or is it all just nature? We were born like this.
Speaker 1:So yeah, that's a good question. So are leaders born or are they created? I guess there's an interesting question in there.
Speaker 2:You know, is there an environmental like you know what? What influenced it? If anything? You know, I do believe that some people are just more character like their personality is more that way, but I'm just curious for you what you think contributed.
Speaker 1:I think so. I think there's a natural element in there. But when I say natural, I think it's I'm what I've seen with lots of leaders I coach, work with and I've led in my own organizations is it's a mindset thing. As a, as a leader, there's a mindset of wanting to help others or care for others or be responsible for others. Someone and that's that's actually probably it someone has to take ownership and responsibility in in anywhere, any form of life, because without leaders, then nothing happens. You know, without someone to make decisions, nothing happens. They're chaos there's, you know.
Speaker 1:So I guess I was happy, naturally, to step forward and be that person who goes, yeah, let's do this or let them make a decision. Um, where does that come from? Uh, I, I don't know why I've got that natural caring for people or wanting to, um, be the person who's happy to step forward. Um, certainly there's nothing in my. You know, I've not got like a role model leadership person I looked at. I guess I've always admired great leaders in movies or things I've read, ones I've read about, yeah, so I think, I think it's a mindset, but where that mindset comes from, I don't know.
Speaker 2:Fair enough. And so I was curious then about you, know, because you've had such a strong career that involved a lot of leadership positions and opportunities, and then I you remember those as being, um, at the height of your experiences um, there's, there's the, there's the really successful ones.
Speaker 1:So if I go through, actually, if I think through my my life and kind of there were, there were moments at each point in my life that I kind of remember. So when I was younger so below 10, in the estate we lived, we had a garage and behind the garage was a hut that my dad built and that was like our club hut for our group and every morning during the summer holidays people would come around there and I had a big map up of the whole area and we would sit there and and come up with plans what we're going to do, and we used to play spies in the air and stuff like that, and I would sit there, go right, our mission for today is this. So that and I remember those moments because, you know, I just remember sitting there and people looking to me, to what we're going to do today now, and so those things I remember. Yeah, in in golf, when I was a captain of a golf club, we were very successful as a team. You know, I wasn't a bad golfer myself, but I wasn't the best, but I was able to build a team that was incredibly successful at winning county and regional championships and that kind of thing. And the one moment I remember there was um, and it was a. It was a leadership moment where we turned up at a club to play a final of a competition and they basically the other team were cheating. They'd used false handicaps and I knew they had, because I've been playing with the guys at a competition false handicaps and I knew they had because I'd been playing with the guys at a competition the week before and I knew what handicaps they were. And I went up to the leader of this team, who was an adult, and said we're not playing, we're leaving. And I was 13, 14 at the time said until you actually, um, you know, play fair, we're leaving. So that was. I definitely remember that moment. That was a key leadership moment.
Speaker 1:In the military there were many, but there were ones that I remember which were successes, where you just know from feedback that you've done the right thing. And there were competitions we won that I led and and and that was. Those were especially some of the uniques where we had not necessarily the best team, but it was as individuals but as a team we worked incredibly well together and in business, actually one of the. One of the key leadership moments I remember was one of the hardest things I had to do as a sales leader was to tell my whole organization that had massively overachieved that we couldn't afford to pay them all their commission and as a decision that I'd made.
Speaker 1:My decision was everybody's going to feel the pain of that. We're not going to pick the best performers and let them get off with it, or the lowest performers and let them go. That was a big decision. It was really hard, but actually it was. It worked really well because everybody bought into it, everybody understood and you know, I think those hard leadership times are the ones that you do remember the most. So I don't know if that answers the question yeah, that's great, as I was kind of curious.
Speaker 2:It goes in line a little bit with the question I had actually for later, but it was what advice did you get from someone earlier in your career that you followed but wish you hadn't followed?
Speaker 1:oh, I thought you were going to ask that you followed, but wish you hadn't followed you, you can, you can take a step about.
Speaker 2:I'm not particular about it, but I just think it's curious. Did you ever get the advice that you did follow and then thought, oh no, that wasn't a good move? I think the.
Speaker 1:I can't remember any one bit of advice I got. I can remember some great training I got when I was a very young manager and the thing I took away from that training, the most important thing I took away and I still use this phrase today is only do what only you can do. So as a leader, leader, as a manager if you are doing things that your team should be doing, then you're not leading and you're not managing so, and that's it constantly. If you keep reminding yourself of that and that's something I did throughout my whole leadership is keep reminding yourself. If you're doing something that your team should be doing, then you're not doing what you should be doing. Um, so that was a key bit of advice, I guess. Actually, a key bit of advice I was given by my dad years ago nothing to do with leadership, but it just popped into my head because I don't remember much. Advice over the years was every time you get a pay rise, put at least one percent in your pension and you did.
Speaker 2:Did you follow it?
Speaker 1:that's why I can do what I do now.
Speaker 2:So, um, that was a great bit of advice, uh wow um the other advice, advice I was given not to follow no advice that you, that you did follow, but then wish you hadn't.
Speaker 1:Oh, that I did follow that. I wish I hadn't nothing's come into my mind actually nothing's. I mean, there's things I regret doing, but that's not the same as being given advice to do those. Um, yeah, I can't. Honestly, I can't think of something specific on that that's right, that's totally fine.
Speaker 2:And the other thing that I was wondering, kind of on the same line of this, is, honestly, aliana I can't think of something specific on that. No, that's fine, that's totally fine. And the other thing that I was wondering, kind of on the same line of this, is because I recently had a big one of my own and noticed that I probably look back on this in later decades. What would you say was probably one of the biggest paradigm shifts you've experienced, where you believed one thing to be true for a long, long time and then found out actually it wasn't true or it wasn't as you thought, and you changed your mind on it.
Speaker 1:So there's been a number of paradigm shifts over the last 30 years or paradigm I'm kind of overlapping my thinking here with belief shifts as well. You know kind of shifts in beliefs as well. So going into the, the, the military, in my twenties, in the reserves, while I was still working, um, I learned so much about what I was capable of doing physically and as a leader that I didn't think I was capable of doing so. So you know, that was a massive belief shift. Um, then the next big one would have been when I went to Tony Robbins, the first Tony Robbins event I went to and I had a limiting belief of my worth and value as a leader and where I fit, fitted into an organization, and how I looked at senior people above me.
Speaker 1:I was a bit overwhelmed by senior people. I was a bit in awe of senior people and one of the paradigm shifts, belief shifts that I had as a result of going to that Tony Robbins event was everyone's the same, everyone's just a human, everyone's just doing the best they can with what they've got. And they're not better than you, you know, they're not more intelligent than you. They've just got maybe some more experience or they're doing something. So that was a big shift for me in that, in releasing me of that belief I had. And then the other one I can think of is this paradigm shift I grew up with because of my age. You know you go into a company and you work till you retire and you stay with the same company, you work your way through it, etc. And the paradigm shift was actually you can leave, it's okay, it's safe outside, it's not dangerous outside the walls, there aren't loads of wolves out there.
Speaker 1:Um, you can thrive in other organizations or on your own if you want to, if you, um, and so that's a big, that was a big paradigm, and that's why I love helping leaders now who are on that same transition as well, uh, to help them with that mindset shift. So I think those are on that same transition as well, to help them with that mindset shift. So I think those are three that I can think of.
Speaker 2:So I'm here beautiful and, with regards to you know, I think I don't want to miss out on the lessons you've learned about yourself during your um, very extreme endurance events. So why don't you share a little bit with people who have no idea who you are and what the Yukon book is about, et cetera you can? Book is about you know, um, share a little bit about you know what you've, what you've done and really maybe what mindset kind of had you follow through on some incredible challenges, physically and mentally.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, okay, thank you, great question. And um, so, incredible challenges, physically and mentally. Yeah, yeah, okay, thank you, great question. And um, so I guess, from an endurance point of view, my journey started doing marathons road marathons back in the early 2000s and once, once I'd broken three hours in the london marathon thousands and once once I'd broken three hours in the London Marathon. I had enough of doing that. That was a goal achieved.
Speaker 1:And then someone said to me why don't you do this multi-day event? Actually that looks really interesting. It was seven marathons in seven days, in seven ways. That was 2005, I think, and when I was there. So this, this was cycling, canoeing, running off-road, on-road, you know, it was a real mixture of stuff over seven days. While I was there, I met people who'd done Ironman and who'd done the Marathon de Sable, and those were two things I thought were for elite athletes, for people who you know were extreme adventurers, and these people were just normal people and what I realized was actually they're no different to me, in fact, fitness wise, they weren't as strong as me, and so the next year I went and did an Ironman. It's like blimey, I can do an Ironman, okay so wait, a wait on a second.
Speaker 2:That's exactly the kind of thing I was pointing at, because so you had the realization that they're just ordinary people too, and so that's like a mindset shift right, like you're realizing it doesn't maybe take for you to be a professionally trained athlete or whatever, but also like what had you then think, oh, I'll do that then, or I could do that. There's something that happens at that point, isn't there?
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I think that's because and this is about proximity is power. You know the fact that you are. You know I hadn't mixed with people who'd done that sort of thing before and I was mixing with them and the mindset shift for me was well, can do it, I can do it and I'm always looking for the next challenge that's going to grow me. And so doing something like an Ironman or the Marathon de Sable and and to be honest, both of those scared the hell out of me when I entered them. And that's how you know you're pushing yourself, and I've always said that. You know, if you know you're pushing yourself outside your comfort zone if it scares you. And you know Ironman scared me, marathon de Sable scared me.
Speaker 1:The Ultra Trail de Mont Blanc, which is 100 mile run around Mont Blanc, scared the hell out of me when I started that. And standing on the start line of a 300 mile foot race in the northwest territories of canada in minus 35 degrees, you know you're definitely not standing there thinking I've got this. You know it's a nervous, uh, very so, so pushing you, so so I guess I've got a bit of a, or I had a bit of a. Um, um, what's the word I'm looking for I just I was seeking that adrenaline or that dopamine hit, you know. So I was always trying to grow. My challenge Addiction was the word. I'm looking for an addiction to that growth and that challenge Positive addiction.
Speaker 1:So yeah, but the thing that does it is a big learning point. For me is just spending time with people who are doing it makes them realize it's much more accessible than you thought it was yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 2:So it might be slightly related to that or it might not be, but I was kind of curious about what the darkest or hardest moments of your life and so that's a difficult question for me.
Speaker 1:The reason it's a difficult question for me is I'm a very I'm very much a glass half full person, so I find it hard to see dark things for very long. Um, so you know, the the night my first wife said she was leaving was definitely a dark moment. Um, because I just couldn't see where the future went. But by the morning I was thinking okay, I see opportunity here, I can see what might be the benefit here. Um, I've had moments in business where I've certainly thought I don't know what I'm doing here, I'm not the right person to do this. Um, I'm going to get found out, um. So those are, you know, they're moments in your own head that are dark. Uh, you know, I've I've lain awake at night many, many times worrying about meetings I've got the next day. Am I going to be capable of doing this? Um, and then, yeah, in endurance events there's always dark moments.
Speaker 1:In in endurance events there's always a low good friend of mine. In endurance events, there's always dark moments. In endurance events there's always a low. A good friend of mine talks about endurance events like a sine curve. You know, you've got a high to start with. I'm drawing a sine curve with my finger now. But as you know, there's a high to start with and then as you get into the event you go through and you get into a big trough and people stop and give up in that trough. That's where you get a lot of dropouts in these big endurance events. But then once you start coming out of that trough, you start getting a high and you start getting more energy and come out the other side.
Speaker 1:But you know, in the Yukon, when I was there, I had a very dark moment where I really wanted to give up. I can't remember day four. I was really tired, exhausted. I was going a little bit mad as well at the time because I just hadn't slept and I and I was really tired. But I had a strategy that I thought about in advance and I'd saved. This is one iPods this. I had an iPod, I'd saved battery on and I had my favorite music on it and I put on Walking on Sunshine and I started dancing as I was walking down the trail, as it was getting light first thing in the morning, in the snow, and that lifted me out of that dark moment.
Speaker 2:So there have been them, but I don't stay in them very long okay, so that might make the next first half of the question a bit trickier.
Speaker 1:Um, I was wondering about your worst and your best things that happened in the last year in the last year, um, the last year, hmm, um, oh, I mean, one best thing would be hard actually. No, I would say it's going to be a bit soppy now. I think, um, one of the best things was I was away for two months doing this sailing trip, and one of the best things is how that's brought Anna and I closer together, uh, in our relationship. When she came out to visit me in Vietnam it was amazing, and then you know so we that was a that's.
Speaker 2:That's the best thing beautiful, uh, so wait a second. So for those people who don't know, I want to just kind of highlight and tell a little bit more of the story around this because, um, I've known you for years and this had been something on your bucket list really for a long time, so you just kind of mentioned it in an offhand comment there about doing a two-month sailing trip. But tell more about what that was about and what that took to even make that happen, leading up to it okay, yeah, that's true, I do.
Speaker 1:I do take these things for granted. Uh, so it was a leg of the around the world yacht race, a clip around the world drop race, and I was part of the crew sailing on one of the racing yachts from earlyie Beach in Australia to Ha Long Bay in Vietnam and then from Ha Long Bay to Zhuhai in China. So total distance was, uh, 5,500 miles, 30 days at sea, um, hundreds and hundreds of miles offshore. For most of that, uh, on a boat with 70 foot boat with 16 crew and a skipper and a mate and hot bunking, four hour shifts, four hours on, four hours off, in some very hot conditions, as well as we crossed the equator and some very big seas as we got into the big part of the Pacific. So, yeah, it was so that, yeah, that's the event.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and in terms of getting ready for it it was two and a half years of prep, doing training courses, yeah, getting myself physically ready, because I'm a runner, which means I'm quite slight, so I had to do a lot of bulking up and putting weight on, because to be a sailor you need to be upper body strong rather than uh, rather than fit runner. And then, yeah, lots of prep with kit and all that sort of stuff.
Speaker 2:So yeah, it was a two-and-a-half-year project.
Speaker 2:You know, what mesmerizes me is that one of the biggest concerns that I remember you had was actually setting your business up in a way that would survive you being gone for two or three months at a time for this race, but also because you have property abroad and you like to travel there, and so maybe you can share just for a minute about what you think it took for you, because that's a big paradigm shift that happened there as well and I think it kind of cracked and moved in the COVID times.
Speaker 1:But you tell me what, what, yeah, that's a really, really good observation. Yeah, because it's when you run your own business as you know it's it's hard to go right. I'm just going to step away from it for two months, or I'm just going to trust that everything's going to be okay with the business while I'm away, or that everybody's going to be there for me to pick up when I get back. And I know you went through it with pregnancy and having to step away after you had your children and it's. But what I learned was I've got a great team and I spent time setting them up, setting the processes up, just details like how you set the bank accounts up and the invoicing up and all this, all the stuff where I might have to get involved, and so that's great. You automate it, you process it, you trust people and then just have to trust and let them get on with it.
Speaker 1:And with my coaching clients none of them it was. It wasn't a surprise to any of them. They knew long, long time in advance that I was doing this. So, from their mindset, they knew they were going to have a two-month break from working with me and they were fantastic and very supportive. So, yeah, it was a bit of a paradigm shift, and would I do it regularly?
Speaker 2:probably not, uh but it, but I know I can if I wanted to yeah, exactly, and um, there's a question related to that, which is you know, I wanted you to talk a little bit about your perfect balance of how you spend time, because I know that's also been something you've been very actively working towards in the last three years or so. Do you want to share?
Speaker 1:it is. It's a great question. I'm really happy sharing it because I am passionate about this and I. It's a model that really works well. I think it works well for me. I'm just about there.
Speaker 1:So the the balance I've been trying to get to over the last couple of years is a third, a third, a third. So a third of my time doing paid for work. And I just want to add to that. I think that's important for anybody to be doing at all stages of their life. So I know we both work with a lot of people who talk about retirement and stuff like that, but actually paid for work. Personally, I find it makes me feel valued and it knows I'm adding value and I'm adding value to someone paying me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, third is give back, and at my stage in life and I'm nearly 60 I want to have a good portion of my time which is using skills I've learned over the years to help people in an unpaid work way, and I, you know I do that with things like working with the army cadets to help the army cadet force, with helping as a business mentor for young businesses, that kind of thing. And then a third is play and family and doing the stuff you love. So you know, if you broke down a year into four months, four months, four months that would be the ideal uh for me. Or if you broke a week down into I don't know what that looks like one and a half, one and a half, one and a half days or something, two days yeah so that's kind of that.
Speaker 1:That's the balance I I'm I strive for. Don't always get it right and you know, not every week is perfect, but that's why I strive awesome.
Speaker 2:Thank you for sharing that, and so, um, what do you think then is one of you know, people's possibly biggest misconception about you?
Speaker 1:um, that I've got it all together. I think the biggest misconception about and and you know, there's only one person who really sees behind the, the, the, the curtain. It used to be two, but um, which was you, and and Anna, um, so I have a very people think because of the way I come across, with my tone, my body language. I've got it all together. I'm confident, I know exactly what I'm doing. Honestly, I have, uh, as much imposter syndrome, as much uncertainty and doubt about my skills, capability, am I doing the right thing? And about the direction I'm going. So, again, people think that I've got these very clear goals and exactly where I'm going, but I question myself all the time about am I fulfilling all my purpose and everything I can do? So I think that's, and probably the reason people think that about me is because that's my coping mechanism, is to use, is to be that person, and otherwise I'd probably be a anxious wreck somewhere. So you know, I'm using the triad, the physiology, the focus, the language to help me yeah, of course.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I totally can see that being, you know, kind of a an interesting dynamic as being a coping mechanism as well as a perception on the outside world. And just for anybody who's hung up on the you know this, the fact that leo said that it used to be him. It used to be anna, his wife and myself. People may not know that I was coaching you for a number of years and so then I had a different insight to, uh, your sort of your yes, yeah, yeah so I just want to clarify not that there's
Speaker 2:some weird things coming out of this. So I had a different insight in that time and then our relationship just really shifted, where I felt like we are much more meant to work together now and become colleagues than becoming client and you know, coaching client or coach coachy. So, but you know, I've, obviously I've met Anna and you know she's wonderful and of course, she has every right to be the number one person who can see behind the curtain. So that's lovely, um, and so for those people that are, you know, perceiving you publicly, that see you speak, that you know, uh, read your book, and um, are being coached by you, what do you think they would say?
Speaker 1:are being coached by you. What do you think they would say is your number one superpower and why? So? I've had feedback on this. The feedback I get from people and it's not something I'm conscious of when I'm doing it, but it's feedback is that when people leave a conversation with me, they leave more energized, motivated, inspired, uh, than when they came into that conversation and uh, I don't you know if someone said to me how do you do it? I don't know, I just um, but that I get that feedback regularly and I'm very pleased that you know people feel that way and that I can. So I think that's probably a superpower that I've got.
Speaker 2:Would you be willing to share this is? You know I'm kind of slightly nervous to tap into my insider knowledge here, but would you be willing to share what your mantra is in the mornings, what your mission in life is?
Speaker 1:mantras in the mornings, what your mission in life is? Um, yeah, no, that's fine. So, um, I have a number of them and I do change them regularly, but the one I write every single day is I expand in abundant success and love every day as I inspire those around me to do the same. That's my number one mantra and I check in with myself every day. Am I doing that? Am I inspiring, am I enabling? Am I you know? So what am I going to do today that's going to make that happen? That might live that purpose. And you know my purpose statement, which you know is all about enabling people to achieve their dreams and and be inspired by inspiring them, empowering them, uh, enabling them with my skills, energy, passion, etc. So those are kind of things that are, but that that statement I expand in abundance, success and love every day as I inspire those around me to do the same is something I write down every day and I try and live my life by that right and you it's.
Speaker 2:it's striking to me how you express it in almost like a factual manner, that that's just what you live by, but I do think that there'll be some listeners that think, oh wow, this is like. You know, this is a very intentional practice and it's something that's really inspiring in and of itself, right, that you would choose to, you know, have a daily reminder and a practice of checking in with yourself If what you are doing, how you're spending your time, is actually aligning with what you perceive to be. You know your life's purpose here, right? So I think that's really, really amazing.
Speaker 1:I would encourage anyone to do it as well. You know that it doesn't matter what you write, but what do you? What, what? Until you play around with the words and do something it yeah tony robbins talks about affirmations and then there's lots of other evidence around writing things down and how that connects with your brain and your nervous system, and, um, I would encourage anyone to just write down what is it they're really passionate about and believe in and, uh, how they want to help others as well, because that's an important element yeah, very important for happiness and well-being.
Speaker 2:Right, the topic of well-being. And so I have one last question for you, if I may, which is um, if you could change one thing about the world, what would it be?
Speaker 1:Great question, one thing about the world. Okay, there's so many answers I could think about with that one and and it's going to my answer is going to link to I'm going to give two answers, actually. The first one is if I could do change one thing in the world, it would be, uh, for people to just human beings globally, to just drop their ego and focus on what's the right thing to do, not not what it seems to be a right thing to do, and so, yeah, I wish ego didn't exist, um and uh. And I guess the second thing is, if I could implant a thought into everybody's head globally, it would be you can be anything you want to be. You can achieve anything you want to achieve. You can have whatever you want to have in your life, and I know that some people are in really difficult places and they can't.
Speaker 1:You know, don't believe that. But if you just implanted that thought because I can give you so many examples of people who have come from some of the hardest backgrounders, have achieved amazing things and if everybody believed that, well, wouldn't it be incredible? What would happen? What uh opportunities there might be for humanity as we expand as a race? Um, and also, you know, please believe in global warming, because it's not going to be great for our kids if you don't please believe in global warming, because it's not going to be great for our kids if you don't.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's a funny one. Yes, I would agree with that. I would agree with all of them. And I was curious, you know, just as you started explaining a little bit on the second thing that you would like to implant, I was curious about what you think might happen or would happen if the ego was dropped. If you know people did the right thing, rather than you know, maybe, what ego is striving for, and if, um, people believed that they can become and do and be anything, what do you think might the result be of that?
Speaker 1:so in my, my head, without having thought this one through in any great detail, um, there would be, see, I I believe in abundance, I don't believe in scarcity, so I believe that everybody would be lifted up and there wouldn't be this massive difference between those that have and those that don't. And you know, and I'm not a socialist in any stretch of the imagination, but I do believe that, um, opportunity and enabling people opportunity is going to benefit. Would it benefit everyone? And dropping ego, I think, would take us. You know, the thing I'd love to see there is to take us away from the brink of destroying this planet because, um, there's people who are just too focused on on them and not on what's good for humanity. Um, so I think, I think, I think it would be about lifting everyone up and creating more equality throughout the world. As I say, I'm not a socialist, but I do believe that that would be of value.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. Thank you so much for sharing, and thank you for all of your shares and your willingness to be open and vulnerable and letting us look into the life's history and work of yourself a little bit more, so thank you so much for your time thanks.
Speaker 1:Thanks for the amazing questions and yeah and I hope there's some useful insight in some of those answers for some of our audience as well I would sure think so.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and you know, like people you said, you know people tend to leave conversations and speeches and things like that with you workshops inspired, and that's the intention, really, and just to genuinely share a human's story, right? I always think that's very, very empowering in and of itself for us to sit quietly and listen to somebody's experiences and how they think about things. So hopefully the listeners found it just as wonderful and inspiring and interesting as I did, and we will find you back at the next episode of Coaching Skills for Leaders, as we are, you know, recording the season three. We are so grateful that you are continuing to listen to that. You are continuing to listen to share you, that you are continuing to listen to share your feedback with us. It's so, so lovely. We've just gotten feedback from the first few episodes of season three. So thank you so much and we'll see you next time yeah, see you.
Speaker 1:Great to see you. Bye, bye. Thank you for listening to coaching skills for leaders podcast with with Jana and Neil. If you found the conversation useful, please share with your colleagues and friends. Please also leave us a rating and a review, and if you would like to connect with us directly to discuss your own or your business needs, you will find our contact details in the show notes below.
