Back in 1974 when I was just 5 years old, I was travelling in our battered old Peugeot 504 (KLH 666 :-)) from Njoro down to the coast at Mombasa for our family holiday! Now, as much as I remember, it was a usual trip, giraffe and elephant on the side of the road as we drove through Tsavo, the picnic under the bridge at Mtito Andei and of course Kilimanjaro rearing out of the plains across the border to the West in Tanzania. I made a mental note that one day I would climb Kilimanjaro and it was something that remained in my mind for many many years to come. I even started a ‘Kili fund’ with a mate back when I left school, having seen it again on a return trip to Kenya post A Levels.
I finally climbed that mountain, the highest free standing mountain in the world, back in September 2013 – only 39 years later! Bear with me – there is a reason for the trip down memory lane – I had a plan, it may not have been particularly well thought through or conscious, but inside I had a goal, a desire and a passion for something beyond the normal remit of daily family life. For me this represented the start of a journey, exploring what I am really passionate about and helping me to find my purpose – ‘motivating and inspiring people to build a brighter future’. It was also the beginning of what has finally morphed into Sat Nav for Life, a programme designed to help people ensure that they create the space to dream dreams (no matter how big or small), identify goals and priorities in their lives and build plans to achieve them.
It starts with the philosophy that life is too short not to be the best that you want to be, to live the best life you want to. The emphasis must be on want, making conscious choices! I am not advocating we all become super triathletes or multi-lingual – couch potato scrabble expert is good, if that is the best you want to be.
If that is going to happen, you need to spend more time planning your life than you do your weekly shopping! Unfortunately we are all leading busier and busier lives, we live in the pressing needs of today and next week, bombarded by information and opportunity from every angle. As a consequence we can easily find that life is whizzing along and passing us by.
- Do you find yourself running just to keep up, juggling priorities, not clear what is important and failing to grab the opportunities that come your way?
- Do you feel stressed, frustrated, lack confidence and conviction or motivation in areas of your life?
- Do you feel like you are underachieving or that others have a more interesting life?
If the answer is yes to any of the above – then it is time to take some control! In Ken Robinson’s book “Finding your Element” he poses an interesting question; ‘If you knew you would succeed, what would you love to have a go at, to become or to try that you have never done before?’ What a great question and one I would urge you to ponder in a quiet moment. That question could trigger the start of a life changing journey, from which you get focussed on the things that are really important to you and perhaps the first action you take to make changes.
There are 4 key principles that sit behind Sat Nav:
- Your life is unique – meaning two things. Firstly that everyone’s life is clearly unique to them and you should live your own life rather than try and live the life other people want for you. Secondly, you only get one shot! I am 46 Christmases’ into my (self-allotted) target of 85 – only 39 to go!
- You have the freedom to choose – Stephen Covey made this his first Habit* – we cannot blame anyone else for how our lives turn out because we always have the choice about how we respond to whatever life throws at us.
- You are in charge – people rarely see themselves as leaders in life but we all have an incredibly important leadership role, every single one of us is in charge of leading our own lives. Taking accountability for principle 2 and following through is a leadership role and a half!
- Attention is a scarce resource – where you place your attention and your intent is what gets done! There are so many things, people, and opportunities clamouring for our attention and as a consequence we must ensure that we are focussed on the things that matter for us!
What is it?
Sat Nav for Life is a 6 month programme that starts a life long journey of personal growth and self-discovery – it is for anybody who wants to ensure that their lives are being consciously lived in the way they want. You can be what you want to be, just do it consciously! It is a peer group experience that brings like-minded souls together under my coaching, facilitation and guidance.
- Session 1 – after a bit of pre-work join me and the rest of the group for the kick off session, a day to explore your motivations, your goals and start to build your plan.
- Session 2 – after going away to reflect on what we covered in Day 1, to build the detail and refine your thinking, you come back to share and finalise your plans and goals.
- Webinars – every month creates the opportunity to re-connect with the group, share progress and get to grips with new tools, concepts and insights to help you on your way. Access couldn’t be easier from a computer or tablet.
- Close out session – after the quickest of 6 months – get together again with the group to share progress and revisit your plans to ensure that you are best placed to continue to make great progress.
The first programme starts on the 10th September – don’t miss your chance to book a place and build yourself a Sat Nav for Life. Create clarity on your life goals, your must win battles and put in place the foundations to enable you to navigate the life you dare to dream about.
*Stephen Covey – “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”