Very wall. Including the boy with the frog. Please join us every Friday at 5 p.m. Let's start turning stress into strength together. Now let's start into today's episode.
SPEAKER_03Welcome to the Transforming Stress with Dr. Lash Podcast. Today we have got a very eminent guest with us, Mr. Francis Fitzpatrick. Francis, it's a real pleasure to have you here today. Thank you so much for joining me. You are one of the most fascinating and multifaceted journeys I've come across, starting first initially as an international lawyer, navigating multi-million euro deals with iconic global brands, and then making a phenomenal leap into the world of children's media. And then to have co-created a global TV series for kids that has won seven Emmy Awards. This was aired in 64 countries and was a truly extraordinary, remarkable achievement. Francis, what inspires me most about you is not just only your creative success, but your overall resilience and how you continuously and consistently embraced innovation, how you managed uncertainty. So we are really looking forward to having you on the podcast today. Welcome so much and thank you for joining us.
SPEAKER_02Well, thank you very much, Dr. Ash. Delighted to be here and it's it's lovely to spend time with you. Not sure if your listeners know, but I was actually born in Mumbai in India. So India has always been a really important part of my journey, and so much so that when we were making our television series, which ultimately thankfully did quite well in the kids' space, it was a series called Jacers. Uh it won seven Emmy Awards. But in some ways, it started the whole uh animation business in my home city where I was born in Mumbai. Um, so I'm very pleased with that because we um I insisted that the the animation would be done in in Mumbai. And as a result, a number of other studios were started. Um so when you get an opportunity to give back, you you always love to do that, particularly to your home city.
SPEAKER_03Um so that was that was actually the first connection I I clearly remember when we were standing, uh when we were standing downstairs in the Petersborough conference, and when you told me I was uh when you told me Mumbai and Breeze Candy, uh and I went to medical school in in the KEM hospital in Mumbai, and there was uh automatic, there was automatic connection. Interestingly, and serendipitously, Francis, the places you have mentioned in this book, including the Cannes Festival, different places in uh Ireland, um Southeast Asia, it just happened that 90% of the places I have been there. So definitely you and me have a spiritual connection for sure. I mean, we are spiritual brothers. So uh you know, these days we are having so many challenges. I'm working as a full-time consultant in medicine. You live in Ireland, the HSC, the healthcare system in Ireland is hugely under pressure, and so is the NHS in UK. And I have published two books. One is The Boiling Frog.
SPEAKER_02Yes, I'm well, it's a fantastic uh book, and the workbook is is super to get uh help helps us all get rid of stress, whether you're a doctor, a lawyer, or any other uh professional or non-professional, it just it's great because it stress is the unseen killer, um, and we all have to deal with it. So any help we can get, as set out in your two books, is is is definitely worth pursuing. Uh, I've done some of those exercises and they've certainly helping me. Uh, thanks, uh, Dr. Rash.
SPEAKER_03Thank you so much. Thank you so much, Francis. And uh it's been a long journey. This is my work over a decade. Uh, how I've uh navigated different levels of challenges. So I would like to start with asking you that what was the transition like when you were a successful attorney and you transitioned into entrepreneurship.
SPEAKER_02Um, it was a little bit of a um kind of shot in the dark, a million-to-one shot, uh, something that I never ever considered even possible. Um so just the background to it is that I'm a young lawyer. My wife has decided to be a full-time mom. We have two children at the time, Clara and Daniel. Uh Clara is the eldest, aged uh six, and Daniel is uh about two. And I'm working really hard just to keep a roof over our heads, pay the car hire, pay the mortgage, pay ongoing bills. Kids are now starting to go to school. So I come home one Friday, and then the deal with my wife, who was a great mom, but she needed time off because it's stressful being a mom as well as being a lawyer. So then we understood that. So on a Friday, I'd come home and she would uh leave me with the kids. That was my general general routine, and she would go out with her friends, go for a pizza or meal or the movies, whatever, just to give her a little bit of a break. But for the for three Fridays in a row, uh, she, when I came home, she was all dressed up to go out, and I'd say, Oh, sweetheart, you're heading out. Where are the kids there? And she'd say, Oh no, the kids are with my mother. Uh, we're having time together, the rugby's on television. You're at the at the time I used to drink Corona beer. Uh, so that's in the fridge, we're gonna have a lovely night in. So, this happened for three weeks. So on the week four, I said, Sweetheart, what do you want? I finally realized that she wanted something. Males tend to be a bit slower on the uptake. So she said, Oh, yes, yeah, listen, I've got a brilliant idea about a pig that we're gonna make into a television cartoon series, and we're gonna make millions. So I stopped her there and then. I said, Sweetheart, I'm a lawyer. I move paper. That's how we make enough money to keep a roof over our heads and keep the kids fed and at school. And she said, Well, you know, you're really brilliant at sales. I said, Sweetheart, I've never sold a thing in my life. She said, No, no, you sold me a dream. I married you, you can sell anything.
SPEAKER_03Wow, that that is that is a very interesting insight.
SPEAKER_02So she effectively could see that I did have a skill that I had no idea about. So it was her idea to tell her story. She grew up on a farm in Ireland, um, and her grandmother kept pigs, and her farm was a beef and dairy farm, so cattle. So it was a little bit exotic for her as a little girl to go and play with pigs on her grandmother's farm. And that's where the character came from, um, that ultimately became a global success. Uh, but yeah, it was it was extremely foolish. Uh, all my friends' parents, with my parents and parents that spent a fortune sending me to law school, and um and I was one of eight kids, so I really felt uh bad that I was, but I didn't chuck in the law, I didn't stop the law. I kept my practice open and um as I went on this crazy animation journey, uh, because to make an animation series costs a lot of money, even now. It probably then it was more expensive because the technology wasn't at the level as it is now, uh, Dr. Ash. So it was um much uh much much more expensive. Um, but but even now it cost about $10 million to make a series, and you're taking huge risk because you don't know whether that series is going to sell, whether it's gonna it's gonna be a success or not. So, like every other entrepreneur out there, it was a huge um jump into the dark and took a lot of resilience. Um, I'm just finishing my final startup. I've sworn to myself I will no longer do any startups at my age, I'm 65. So as I said to my kids who are in this with me, you have three years to take this over, otherwise I'm selling it because uh dad is now too old for startups. Well, startups are are great, but they're all consuming. They the any anyone who's been through one will will tell you. Um and and most of them fail. Most businesses fail.
SPEAKER_03Most businesses fail.
SPEAKER_02Something like 95% or after after 10 years, uh it's 95% failure. Um, after three years, it's it's a whopping 55%. So you're always swimming upstream, and I think stress is intensified if you are trying to start something new. And and starting something new is wonderful, exciting, possibly a little bit like a relationship. Um, it's a bit like honeymoon period. Honeymoon period, absolutely, Dr.
SPEAKER_03Or the fantasy, or the fantasy.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it can be um the thing that keeps us going through the early dark nights. Um, but it requires a huge amount of resilience. And when you're young, uh when I started uh the animation series Jaker's, I was probably 38. Um, and I didn't really understand what stress was. Um, because in certainly in law school, stress is good. It's a little bit like Wall Street, that movie uh that uh Michael Douglas was in. Um, you know, lunches for wimps, and you know, time off is a no no-go area. Um, as a young lawyer, uh, that was certainly the case. I remember one particular incident when I was only a young apprentice, a trainee lawyer, and I was in this law firm in Dublin, um, and it was lunchtime, and we're talking uh 1982, 83, a long time ago for your viewers. Um, and it might have been 70 to 100 staff, including lawyers, uh, apprentices, secretaries, assistants, legal execs. And I remember at lunchtime, everyone was working. There was no such thing as a lunch break. And I was the only one sitting in my tiny little office. I was reading the Financial Times, and there was an advertisement for, I'll never forget it, for a pension fund, uh, Scottish widows. And they always had this most beautiful advertising for again towards men in those days was probably more less equally based, the pension industry in 1982-83. So this gorgeous looking um woman uh fronting this ad for Scottish widows, and it's the following words uh never left me, and it said, You're working too hard to make any money. And I took a deep breath and I looked around and I could see that everyone was working, and it just resonated with me that they're working too hard to make any money. So I went back to reading what I was reading, but that's still that that I've always taken that phrase with me, and so it's helped me a lot because I'm able to um switch off, and I think that's the key to to my survival, and and I've always prioritized my health um and you know done certain things along the way to ensure that when I because I I've had lost everything, um, particularly during the Celtic Tiger crash. Your international viewers will remember it was known in America as the Lehman's Brothers Crash, uh the crash of 2008 in Europe, it was the Northern Rock Bank that went bust. And I had at that point migrated into doing property development, uh real estate, because the Irish banks and a lot of the banks in Portugal, Ireland, Spain, and Greece were just throwing away money at it at developers. So I was sick of being a lawyer and making other people rich. I decided I'm gonna make myself rich, which which I did ultimately in real estate, but I was over-leveraged when the crash came and lost everything. So um had to start again. But I I do have one phrase that I use every single day, and it really helps me to deal with stress, and and that phrase um might be useful to to your listeners and and your your viewers, and and that is that overwhelm is lack of clarity. So sometimes we're we're just too busy and we're not doing the important things. I mean, things like you know, essentials taking a break. Um when I was a young lawyer, I mean, there were times you you might work 24 36 hours and and you wouldn't even consider going to the gym. That was that was a no-go. Um would you even get out for a walk? Probably not. Would you get out for a bit of fresh air? No. You just keep going. Pizzas would be brought in, burgers would be brought in, but you you had to continue to do those documents. In those days, there was no such thing as chat GPT, everything was uh was done. Probably I can remember typewriters were were not computerized. These brilliant secretaries were fantastic. When they'd make a mistake, they'd actually use TIPEX. So I'm speaking from your your a number of your younger listeners on kind of recognize any of that. Um so yes, stress is the is the unseen killer.
SPEAKER_03And how do you how do you on a day-to-day basis, how do you manage the stress that it doesn't get under your skin?
SPEAKER_02Um I have a system, um, and and I've written about it extensively in my new book, uh, which is which is a book about finance. Um, so it's called SOS Cash Flow. And it's really um the answer to the question I was always asking when I was a an entrepreneur, even today I find it uh challenging. Like, where can you find money in an hour, in 24 hours, in 48 hours, and 72 hours? And there's no book that I know of that deals with that. So I said, I'm gonna write that book. So I've written it now, and it's uh it'll be launched in September. So it's it's cash flow SOS finding money quickly when you need it to save your business. Um, so within that book, there's a chapter on on how I deal with stress. And I've uh got a system which um I created everyone will have their own system. There's some great systems in your book, your two books, and in your workbook in particular, you go through some exercises which are just excellent.
SPEAKER_03Um there's a full framework. There's a full framework.
SPEAKER_02Absolutely. Um, so so it's really, really helpful. And and I've sort of been using some of your stuff, but but this is my own system that I used uh before I met you, uh Dr. Ash. And I wish I'd met you earlier because it would have saved me uh creating my system. But but my system isn't as complicated as yours or doesn't give that sort of level of value, but for me it works. Um so it's called Mepsi as opposed to Pepsi. Pepsi, the system is mental, emotional, physical, spiritual, and intuition. And those are five uh key pillars to my life in dealing with stress, because at the end of the day, I'm under a huge amount of stress. Um, but I recognize that, and and and uh for a number of years I've I've done certain things, and then you know, you're nobody else needs to do these. This is how my body works. So, for example, I completely gave up alcohol um on my 50th birthday. So that is um quite a long time ago now. It's 15 years, seven months.
SPEAKER_03No, nothing, no, absolutely zero absolutely zero, yeah.
SPEAKER_02And I think like it nearly my wife, because in Ireland we we love uh uh partying and alcohol is a very central part of our society and culture, and it's really good. Alcohol is a fantastic servant, fantastic servant, and it it chells everyone, and everyone can have a great time. I mean, a few pints of Guinness, my favorite, or like Corona beer, I think I mentioned that earlier. Yes, but it can be a terrible master, and uh Ireland, like France and every country, India, my own country of birth, has been you know, a certain percentage of the population cannot process alcohol in in a I suppose it a good way. Uh so you know, alcoholism is is recognized as a disease. Um but uh so getting back to my how I deal with stress, so so the first section is mental, so mentally, how am I today? Well, I've got to be in top condition. So as part of my morning routine, so this is this book's written on win the morning and you'll win the day. So I firmly believe in that. So I will get up at around quarter past six to a quarter to seven. Generally, depending on what country I'm in, uh Portugal, where I'm speaking from, is sun gets up here quite early, and it's very bright, so I tend to certainly start at around quarter past half six. Ireland it tends to be around a quarter to seven, but but no later than a quarter to seventh. So, in that it takes me two hours to just get up and and and and get ready to face the day. And and during that time, I um will do my breathing exercises, I'll do my meditation, I'll do my spiritual. I'm a practicing Irish Catholic, so a Christian.
SPEAKER_03So I I read about it and uh the places um you have described in is it be is is in Donegal or Donegal, that's it, Dr. Ash. Yeah, and also I I was thinking about you because recently I went to Isle of Mull and Iona, and I was wondering, did has Francis ever been to Iona? Because it has got a huge uh history behind behind it.
SPEAKER_02Yes, no, it's on my bucket list, uh Dr. Ash. So maybe we can go together the next time.
SPEAKER_03Absolutely.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I'd love to to go. Uh one of our saints from Ireland, St. Column Kill, um went to Iona as far as I'm uh pretty certain it was him. So yeah, I'd love to uh to go um and spend time on pilgrimage there. I I do a three day pilgrimage, it's in a place, as you say, in Dunegal, which is north of Ireland. Um And it's it's quite a severe um pilgrimage. It's three days of fasting and not sleeping, and um but you know it's it you you go around in your bare feet and you're praying, walking over rocks, but for me it's uh it's kind of detoxing, and physically you did you do detox because of uh mind you, I took it to extremes this year um and last year because my future son-in-law, uh Connell is his name. Um he came with me last year. Now he's my daughter and him got married in in December. It was a brilliant occasion.
SPEAKER_03Congratulations.
SPEAKER_02Oh, thank you. Um, but he joined me in Lock Durb with one of my son, two of my sons, Patrick and George, and you're allowed one meal a day. So meant to go to that meal, which is just literally dried bread, toast, and um tea or coffee without any milk. And Connell said to me, Oh, I'm not gonna bother with it with the food, I don't need it. Uh it's much better if you just detox completely. So I said, That's actually a really good idea. So, how long are you gonna do this detoxing for? He says, Oh, five days. I said, The pilgrimage is only three days, and he says, Yeah, but I'll add on another two days. So I said, Oh gosh, that's a lot. So I decided to take up the challenge. So I went five days without five days as well, five days as well, yeah, and without any food. But we did take water, but I heard because my daughter told me subsequently that Connell actually had broken after day three when we got back from Donegal. My daughter was cooking some lovely steak and onions, and it was just too much. So I do feel a little bit uh pleasure to think that I did the five days. But I did it again this this year. I always go in June, and two of my daughters came with me, and one of my sons. So I was really proud that that they they would come with me. Um, and they get a lot out of it because we're uh once again, my my faith is really important to me and it's part of my spiritual journey, the Mepsi I'm talking about. Yes, and to see my kids coming was was quite uplifting. Um, but I did the five days again this year. Connell didn't come with me this time, but um yeah, it it can be dangerous, and and obviously, I'll leave it to you to advise your your listeners on on fasting like that. Um, yes, the body gets a reset, but I did find a lot of issues uh certainly on day four and day five. Um my body was cramping up um and also my eyesight was you know um not operating at at the highest level. Uh now within a day after getting food again, it it just really felt like superhuman.
SPEAKER_03But like I don't don't want to kind of spiritual uh recharge, but Francis, you know, everybody has a different physiology and different things work for different people, but uh and everybody might be having a different faith as well. So it is important to know what your body constitution allows, but broadly, physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, intuition, all those, all areas are important and also interconnected. Now you've touched about you starting as an attorney, then moving into entrepreneurship. How do you manage how do you manage your identity? Do you ever feel uh any kind of self-doubt? And I've also read in your book that you're pitching big ideas, big ideas, multi-million euros, multi-million dollar ideas to big players. Do does doubt ever creep into you? Uh like the imposter syndrome.
SPEAKER_02Well, great, great question, uh Dr. Ash. Um absolutely. Um, I think one of the personal development coaches that I follow. My favorite is Tony Robbins, of the same age as Tony. In fact, I'm six weeks older than Tony Robbins. And Tony uh is is, I, in my opinion, the world's leading coach.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, he is, he is a great teacher, a great coach.
SPEAKER_02And I I'm lucky enough to have discovered him when I was young and have followed a lot of his teachings on on health and mental awareness and mental well-being and success, and you know, he has um this idea that we all have have to create a map. MAP, know where we're going, but map means massive action plan.
SPEAKER_03Massive action plan.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_03Massive action plan.
SPEAKER_02So um you you always do have doubt, and and one of the uh sort of phrases that that is really uh I've kept with me on my journey is that every great leader, every great athlete, every great business person, they do have fear, absolutely, but they do it anyway. So feel the fear and do it anyway. And it can be exhilarating in the same way that you know an entrepreneur is a performer, you know, we have to create a connection between the investor and the product. Um, and we have to communicate. I mean, that's that's one of the greatest skills any of us can learn is how do we communicate with our fellow human beings. Um, and and for me, the the the best example was was was uh Jesus Christ, uh who is the head of my religion, and um and Muhammad is and the Buddha are great spiritual minds that I've read, and and a lot you can take from all of the different different spiritual journeys that people have been on. But but Jesus was was amazing because he communicated in the local language of the fishermen, Galilee and Judea, Siberia, and and that's a lesson I've taken that you have to communicate to your audience. Um, and after 43 years of entrepreneurship, I'm only now discovering what you're told from day one, but you you can never have time to listen to this advice because you're out there pitching, you're out there trying desperately to get investment in, and investment never comes in on time, and and that's the real challenge. But our every book will tell you listen if you're in sales, listen, listen, and listen.
SPEAKER_03Listen, listen, and listen.
SPEAKER_02And and no one ever does it. Or well, I haven't, I think at the very top of the sales profession, you'll you'll probably find listeners, but the rest of us are just too desperate to get the sale completed, get the money in. Um, but uh as you as you get more experience, maybe you get you get better. Um so great question.
SPEAKER_03Imposter syndrome is always is understanding it and knowing that it's normal and doing it anyways.
SPEAKER_02Yes, uh, one of the greatest actors of all time, um Lawrence Sir Lawrence Olivier, always said that prior to going on stage, he was nauseous, and the greatest actor of all time saying that. And I suppose really we do perform best when we have that adrenaline and that cortisol in us. So you do unfortunately need a bit of stress, otherwise, we might all be too relaxed. Absolutely. Yeah, so there's there is benefit in in stress, but but it has to be handled, and it has to be handled well.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, no, thank you for sharing those insights. So uh thank you, Francis. So, as you might have heard, that in the healthcare, both in the HSC in Ireland and NHS UK, there's a huge amount of stress in the boiling frog analogy, where the chronic stress really gets under your skin. Entrepreneurship, as you mentioned earlier, is hugely stressful. In your book, I read about your battles, I read about the cash flow management challenges you've had, uh how industries change dealing with uncertainty are some of them. Similar challenges, you know, healthcare is a complex environment, whether it is in Ireland, UK, United States. How do you deal? How would you suggest and what we can learn as healthcare professionals from a successful entrepreneur like you?
SPEAKER_02Interesting question. Um I'm not sure I have all the answers or any of them, but I'll give it a go. Um so healthcare, like an entrepreneurship, is about interaction um between yourself and the people who work with you or for you. And you're not going to get the best out of them unless they feel that you appreciate them, that their job is worth doing.
SPEAKER_04Yep.
SPEAKER_02And healthcare has a huge advantage in terms of entrepreneurs are greedy people, you know, we're there to honestly make as much money as possible and live a great life. Um, sure, but if you make it, you you'll set up your foundations and your charities and contribute to the world. Fantastic. And at the end of the day, you can't take your money and your wealth and your assets with you. Um, and hence you see the likes of Warren Buffett and Bill Gates um already giving huge amount of their wealth, I mean giving away their wealth and then not giving it to their kids because you know wealth can be a huge uh burden to carry, believe it or not. If you look at the Rockefeller family, the Kennedys, the Onassus dynasties, you'll find huge amounts of tragedy that you know wealth has brought. I mean, I I personally have seen wealth bring terrible tragedy to people and and to families, both as an attorney, lawyer, and and and in business. I've met lots of wealthy people and I think they really sort of sector of society, you could have some very sad people, some reasonably together wealthy people, and then uh some happy wealthy people. So I don't think wealth is the determinant. Um, I've been rich, I've been poor. Yeah, it's easier to be rich, but it doesn't solve money, it doesn't solve all problems. Uh it helps. Um, so really it's it I I think entrepreneurship and and healthcare. Sorry, just to make that point, the healthcare has a huge advantage because people who go into healthcare generally are doing it because they have a vocation, they actually want to help, they love to help, they want to see people cured. Um, so so they're starting from a really good place. But then when bureaucracy meets healthcare and there's huge corporations such as the NHS and the HSE in Ireland, then uh one of the biggest issues uh you often hear politicians being blamed for is that there's more administrators in the healthcare system than nurses and doctors. And then that all kind of breaks down because if you're a brilliant nurse, and and I must say in Ireland, and I'm I'm sure in the UK as well, the nurses, primarily female, um, are lauded, praised, uh, thanked all the time because you can see if if I've been in hospital only twice uh in a very short period, one was a wisdom tooth, and the other then was um, I think it was hemorrhoids, apologies to your listeners, but uh the health care that that that I received was was was wonderful, and particularly the nurses. My mother was a nurse, my sister's a nurse, so might be a little bit biased. Um so unless you keep that um ability to reward people, and then nurses and doctors unfortunately have to go on strike all the time because they're not adequately paid. Um so so if they're underappreciated, um and then if if I have six kids, so I've often been through football injuries or rugby injuries, I've had to go to the emergency um centers in the hospitals, and your normal wait time is 12 hours. Um and then there, and then you see a real live uh picture of the stress that the healthcare professionals are under. They're already understaffed, and um, and then they're having to deal with things that you know with a portion of the AE is is taken up by drug abuse and by alcoholism, you know, patients that get injured because of their using, and of course they're taking up more time and more doctors and nurses than the regular patients, but they too need help, as I say, alcoholism is a is a categorized disease and drug addiction probably as well. Um but look, the fact that they're they're still going is is a beacon of hope. They haven't collapsed despite many forecasts that that they will. Um and I think uh as technology improves, uh, there will be hopefully no need to hire as many administration staff. Uh, hopefully AI can do a lot of that. Um, and you'll get a bigger concentration of what we most need in our healthcare service, doctors and nurses. But then they need to read your book, Dr. Ash, to make sure.
SPEAKER_03No, that is I I fully agree with you that there's no easy answer because there are unsurmountable challenges. But we that's why I've come out with the jacuzzi effect, that what you can focus on, like in every environment, there are there are equal both positive and negative factors, and there are huge challenges, but equally, there are opportunities for connection, uh, opportunities for kindness, opportunities for gratitude. What you were mentioning earlier. And if you focus on that, you make that your reality, you can make the heat a comfortable warmth.
SPEAKER_02Oh, that's a nice uh metaphor.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, and that's that's the that's the jacuzzi effect. You can see that this is the jacuzzi I've created. And I'm the creator here in the jacuzzi as well, smiling.
SPEAKER_02That's right. I enjoyed that when I worked that one out. That was you.
SPEAKER_03So uh now, Francis, we are coming to the top of the hour, and uh uh before we finish, any final word of advice to anybody who wants to recreate themselves, and they are letting go, they're struggling, letting go of their core identity, if you know what I'm saying. Uh because we all have a lot of skills, and like what you mentioned in the uh mentioned earlier, that it took your wife to see that you are a great salesman. So sometimes we have a lot of skills in ourselves which can be leveraged in different ways, but it might sometimes create you know self-doubt. So, any final words of advice to listeners? How they can uh they can literally create what they want, of course, with it with their own strengths, and you have done it time and time again. So I think you're you you'll be a great person to answer that question.
SPEAKER_02Oh, thank you, uh Dr. Rash. Um I think I always go back to Nelson Mandela, um the great South African leader who sacrificed everything for his dream of uh having a rainbow nation. And he said in his uh acceptance of the presidency speech, which which is magnificent, you can see it on YouTube, he said be very very aware or very careful of how great the human being is. You can achieve anything. And uh I think really the the human being is the most magnificent uh creature, the most advanced creature ever to uh to walk this planet. Um anything is is is achievable. And and I mean I I've done some charity work over over my years, and and it's amazing that if you can give someone a uh just a little bit of kindness, a little bit of help, they can they can go from uh I I worked with a charity known as the Vincent DePaul for years, and it was it was amazing how we we we focused very much on kids' education and taking them out of poverty and uh getting them into university. Um and then it was just amazing what what people can achieve if if they have belief. Um so uh I I encourage all of my my kids of six of them um to read two books. Um and they they've all now read them.
SPEAKER_03Um which are the two books?
SPEAKER_02Two books are Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich and then uh Dale Carnegie's Seven Habits of Effective Philosophy.
SPEAKER_03That's Stephen Cooby. Is it Stephen Coobey?
SPEAKER_02Stephen Covey, Stephen Covey, thank you, thank you. Um of course Dale Carnegie who uh encouraged Napoleon Hill to write his book. Um so there's always tomorrow. If you can just get through today, um I mean the darkest hour is before the dawn, and while you're still breathing, you still have all this amazing spiritual energy within that you can harness um identity. You spoke about, I think that's really key, Dr. Ash. Um because if you can know and and and and your your younger listeners will have heard of the great Muhammad Ali. Um, and in fact, when I was a 12-year-old boy, I was uh firmly in Joe Fraser's camp because I couldn't stand because the media absolutely hated Muhammad Ali.
SPEAKER_03But I've got his po I've got his poster in front of me. Uh which says suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.
SPEAKER_02Oh, fantastic. Uh he really was amazing, amazing. Yeah, and I had a great pleasure to meet him, but he hate he had Alzheimer's, um, but just to shake his hand was just so so powerful. But when I was a young 12-year-old boy at boarding school, um we all wanted Frazier to win because Mono Ali's just this big loudmouth, but what a what a champion um because he believed in himself.
SPEAKER_03He believed in himself, and if he believed in himself, yeah.
SPEAKER_02If you can tap into just the the immense power within you can achieve anything.
SPEAKER_03Very true.
SPEAKER_02But but you must believe.
SPEAKER_03Yes.
SPEAKER_02I'll tell one quick story if I might. Um my six kids just didn't believe me when I said, Look, guys, this guy Tony Robbins, you should listen to Bob Proctor, uh Brian. Tracy, all the grades of personal development. They kind of knew dad would go off to these conferences and they thought nothing of it, just although when when the boys, for example, needed to play well in the rugby field or the girls needed to perform well at acting, it company dad gives a plan and I'd give them my little version of Mepsi and tailored for them, nutrition for all of that, and they generally succeed. But they never really kind of believed what I would be saying. And I told them about the book The Secret and all the other books I've mentioned. Um so nothing was resonating with them until an unemployed plumber from a rough part of Dublin called Clundaukin becomes one of these world MMA champions, the um you know, the fighting, the mixed martial arts, Connor McGregor. And the day after he won his first title world champion, all of my kids said, Dad, you were right. Everything you said was right. McGregor's using the secret. Oh my god, I wish we had. I said, listen, the best time to plant a tree was five years ago. The second best time is today.
SPEAKER_03Never too late. Never too late. Never too late.
SPEAKER_02That that's that's it's uh Dr. Ash. Yes.
SPEAKER_03Well, Francis, um uh it's uh it's not even a year when we met uh in Petersborough near Cambridge, and uh when I started speaking with you, uh and you told me about Bombay, that it was like I couldn't believe that. And Breach Candy, Bombay, your connection. And then uh when I got your book and the cities which you have loved, which on with my recollection has been several months when I read this book, uh, from Bombay, then Dublin is one of my top top three cities in my life. Um then you talk about Donegal, I think you talk about Boston, Los Angeles, those are on top of my head. And Donegal is a very special place because when I was working in Derry, London Derry, I was living in Donegal, commuting every day to Greencastle. So definitely, and the lessons of resilience, the battles you've had, very similar journey. So definitely there's a very there is a spiritual brotherhood between us, and I'm really grateful for our connection and uh for the wisdom you've brought to the listeners. And um and uh if anybody wants to reach out to you, what would be uh the best way? Uh if in if if at all if you are interested in sharing any social media platforms or uh oh thank you, uh Dr.
SPEAKER_02Ash. Uh just uh easiest thing to do is uh contact me through our um animation business, that's where I spend most of my time. It's Futurum Group. Uh the the website is Futurum Kids, F-U-T-U-R-U-M. Kids, all one word uh dot com, and you can find me there.
SPEAKER_03Thank you so much, and really it's been an honor and a great pleasure to have you. Thank you for sharing you, sharing all your wisdom. And as in Ireland we say, until we meet again.
SPEAKER_02Oh, lovely. Thank you, Dr. Ash. Great pleasure.
SPEAKER_03Thank you.
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