Yes I'm back... well sort of....

Hey everyone,

Yep, it's been four months but I'm back on here and it's good to be writing to you all again.

I could start this blog off by saying that I've been offline due to the busy time at work I've had, or because I moved again last month or that I've been busy with stuff away from my desk - and all of these would be true.

But the real truth is that I sort of got burnt out with writing at the end of last year and decided to take a hiatus from it (outside of work) for a while.

Sometimes, no matter how passionate you are about something, if you lose the love for it, it can be really hard to keep going.

Now I know that you should fight through for the things that you love but I think it's important when people say this to also include the fact that to do that, sometimes you need to step away from the heat of the kitchen and take a more birds eye view of things.

And so, that's what I did. I spent some time reading great works and listening to some amazing speakers, I spent time listening to God and to what he wants me to do and I caught up with some amazing people who have now inspired me to the next stage of my writing/blogging journey.

And so it is with this note that I write to advise that this will be the last post on this blog for now.

I've really enjoyed doing this blog and giving people with words of encouragement and wisdom - and don't worry I don't expect to stop that anytime soon - it's a gift I truly feel that God gave me and it would be wrong not to use it.

In saying that though, I feel that the next stage I'm about to take up on this blogging journey is one that needs to be spoken about, one that will hopefully help a lot more people in their lives, ones I'd love others to get involved in too and one that I believe is where I'm being called to at this time of my life.

So what is it you may ask... well you'll just have to wait to find that out. I'm hoping to get started on it really soon - by May at the latest.

Until then however, I will be praying for everyone of you and thank you for your support with this blog - I won't shut this up entirely, because who knows, one day I might be called to continue on this journey but it's adios from me for now.

The next great thing....

Hi everyone,

Well it's time to look at question 2 of the reflection I did last month and unpack a bit about something that I know scares a lot of people and can cause people to freak out (I know it can for me from time to time)... the future.

The second question asked about what you want to do next. Now depending on your age, your current life situation and your values - this could be anything from being a superstar to making sure I make a positive difference tomorrow.

Personally, I'm not the biggest fan of the question - what do you want to do next? This particularly the case when people (including me) ask it to school leavers.

The reason why I'm not a fan of this question is that I think it forces people to think they have to make a decision and then once they've done that, the success of that decision will ultimately decide whether they have succeeded or failed in life.

Now anyone who has lived at least 25 years on this earth knows that this sort of thinking is filled with so many lies it would blow up a lie detector on impact!

The truth is that while we may make a decision on what we want to do next in life, no matter how hard we strive to do it, it might just not happen. Add to this to this the fact that for those who are followers of the faith, if it's not God's will, then as people who follow God, we may end up doing something completely different instead that could be equally as satisfying but no where near our original goal.

Here is my life journey so far so that you can see an example of exactly what I'm talking about above:

Working with Computers- Writing - Being a Youth Mentor in High Schools- Wanting to become a Youth Minister in a Church- Writing- Volunteering to help look after tech and mentor primary school/early childhood kids outside of work.

Now that's a super condensed version of the journey but as you can see - my goals have come and gone and morphed and what I'm doing now - while still using some of the talents I had before, is completely not what I would have expected to be doing when I was 15.

The fact is that no matter how much we want to say that we know what the next great thing is - we actually don't know until it arrives and we can see it.

Now this doesn't mean that you don't have any plans for what you want to do in the future. Plans are important because if we don't have any direction or purpose in life - as I've said in earlier posts we won't give 100% to life and for those who believe in God, he won't be able to work in us effectively as we won't be using our gifts and talents to do his calling.

We are given gifts and talents for a reason- to make a difference in the world and to help make it a better place- however if we have no idea or concept of how we are going to do that- which is what goal setting should really be all about - then we won't have an avenue in which to make a difference.

Alongside goal setting however- we also have to be open to the fact that there may just be something around the corner that is amazing and wonderful that we just haven't discovered yet. While our goals are important and we need to keep striving for them- we also need to keep working on a daily basis on the little things in life that can continue to foster our gifts and talents in all areas.

Fostering our gifts and talents will allow us to begin to see which areas of our life we are truly called to and if we're open to those areas, will allow us to truly offer the greatest reward to society and ensure that your next thing is also something truly inspiring, exciting and rewarding for all- not only in this life, but in the eternity to come.

So next time someone comes up and asks you what do you want to be when you're older or what is the next step- tell them that you have a plan, but that more importantly, you want to be the best person you can be and from that, everything else will work itself out.

It's counter-cultural, it's not the normal answer- but it's definitely the answer I believe will lead you to success both now and in the years to come.

Till next time...

Reflection: A look into your life today

Hi everyone,

Ok, so once again apologies for the delay in writing. It's been a busy last month with moving, family events and then to top it all off my computer decided to breakdown... good news though is that it's back, I'm back and even more inspired to help you to be the best you can be.

Speaking of which - this idea of being the best you can be is going to be the focus of the next few blogs. I know in the last few blogs the idea has been spoken about but now I want to get real, into the details and give you the tools you need to see out the year as best as you can.

So to start off with, it's time for a bit of reflection. If we're being honest, none of us spend enough time in reflection (unless you're in an order, love to meditate or have a personality trait as such) - I know I certainly don't.

The thing is though, if we don't reflect on our lives and how we are going, then how on earth are we meant to be able to see what works, what doesn't and make those necessary tweaks along the way to being the people God calls us to be.

Below are a series of questions that are meant to make you think about how your life is at the moment - there are no right or wrong answers and if you feel you are weak at something, don't do what I sometimes do and get either worked up over it or crawl into a ball of failure. The key to this is to see the weaknesses and acknowledge them but to also be made aware of the unknown strengths and talents you may have as well. Over the coming months, I will share some of the ways in which you can harness both these areas of your life to your advantage and be the best you can be.

Q1: Am I on the path I want to be on?

Q2: Do I know where I want to go next?

Q3: Does this path involve just me or my friends and family as well?

Q4: Is my end goal fame, money, power, success or is it goal achieving, helping others and making a difference to the world?

Q5: Is there anything that I fear about the path I'm on?

Q6: If there is, what is it, and why?

Q7: Are there any roadblocks outside of fear that are stopping me on my path?

Q8: What sacrifices am I willing to make (if any) to achieve the goal?

Q9: Have I taken any steps to make the goal happen yet?

Q10: Where do I want to be in 6 months time?


I really encourage you not to just skim over these questions but to take the time to really think about the responses. Once you have, keep reflecting on these on a daily basis and in my next post I'll start going through each of these areas and explain what it means both to your life and also how to maximise your potential within these areas to make life the best it can be.

Until next time...