What really makes the difference today? Talent, skill, knowledge?

We are increasingly recognising the most important ingredient is mental strength

When we think of someone who is strong, we typically think of someone who is physically strong — someone who lifts heavy weights, wins ultramarathons, or treks miles in the snow. The truth is toughness applies to what our minds are capable of too

When we have a strong mind, we can better manage our emotions, thoughts and energy when we’re faced with any type of challenge, setback or difficulty. We gain the ability to remain cool, calm, and poised no matter what we’re up against. Mental strength really is your secret super power

Top performers learn that this super power of mental strength is essential to effectively regulate their emotions and attention to ensure best performance.  Because if they don’t keep their emotions in check, they compromise their performance under pressure. This goes for all high performers and all high performa...

How do we stop the relentless deluge of things to juggle …?

When we're feeling stressed and overwhelmed by the relentless deluge of things to juggle, the last thing we would think, would be to do less. The reality is -  just like keeping our homes organised, rather than chaotic - overloading our schedules doesn't make us more productive. It makes us less effective

A great insight here is that it is not just our time that is limited each day, it is our energy too. So this is where the famous Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto's theory steps in, which is commonly known now as the 80/20 rule. The principle is simple: identify the 20% of tasks which generate the most value in our life, and then we invest our energy primarily into them

So the less we do, with greater focus, the more impactful, accomplished, and fulfilled we will be

Many people view multitasking as a necessity in the face of all the demands they juggle, yet in reality multitasking undermines productivity as focus is dimin...

From being replaced and manipulated by unregulated AI tools to the enormous challenge of climate change – a lot of us are feeling fearful of the future

It’s certainly true there is a lot going on right now which seems to be very different and larger than anything we have faced before – yet in reality from the fire of Prometheus to the mutinous neural network of 1984s "The Terminator" – humans have often been afraid of new technology. Some building structures in recent earthquakes and tsunamis would also be evidence of how we struggle to adapt to new ways of living in the face of impending natural catastrophes. Rather than doing what we can to mitigate the oncoming threat, we focus on impending doom scenarios, reach for a cold beer to drown our sorrows, and so the problem just gets bigger

Indeed, for a lot of us these external changes can seem so far outside our influence that we prevent ourselves from identifying the solutions to the very problems we are all facing

What to do?

It's...

Mental Strength is the new Zeitgeist – we all deserve the practical tools to mentally thrive! 

You know the great news? When we think about living a great life, we often think of having great energy, and when we think of energy, we often think in terms of batteries. What is fabulous is that when it comes to mental strength – spending time doing the things we really, truly want to do, the actions which are aligned with our values, our own unique vision of our own life – rather than depleting our batteries, this gives us mental energy – it actually refuels our batteries and builds our mental strength. Mental strength really is the new Zeigeist… 

Talent, skill and knowledge? We are increasingly recognising the much more important ingredient - mental strength 

Mental strength is often linked to top performers, from Tom Daley - the British diver who competed in three prior Olympic games and only recently won his first ever Olympic gold medal in Tokyo, to Andrew Hoy - the Australian eques...

Remember being eleven? In 2022, are your year 7 classmates happy and content or burnt out and overwhelmed?

Here’s a thing - think about the kids who were in top set, who were striving for scholarships, crazy competitive on the sports fields – the ones fighting for success, obsessed with achievements, studying like ninjas

Do you know any of them now? Maybe it’s you? How did it work out?

Take a look around and you may see that a lot of the big themes we see around us – the burnout, the great resignation, the overwhelm - are themes often driven by feelings of deep insecurity, a striving for perfection and a lack of understanding of how to build real mental strength. Feelings and behaviour which started in year 7 (or even before)

Scratch our shiny surface and underneath, many of us, even if we are so-called successful, are in truth attacked by deep insecurity - a wicked imposter syndrome which started when we were small, often alongside a lack of tools to build mental strength. Indeed,...

The laptop falls to the kitchen floor – “that’s IT! I’m DONE! I’m OFF!”

This is pretty much a regular scenario now in homes across the world ...

Overwhelm. The great resignation. We are leaving sour relationships, unfulfilling jobs, toxic work environments in our millions. Left, right and centre, over the last 18 months an overarching theme of overwhelm is leading us to reflect, reconsider, and re-evaluate our lives

We are picking different choices in an attempt to rid ourselves of this feeling of overwhelm – and often the choices we start with are the obvious ones – new job, new partner, new routine, (new laptop!)

What we often don’t start with, when we feel so overwhelmed – is building our mental strength

Which is ironic really – because actually – when we start our new job, our new relationship, our new routine – wouldn’t we want to start from a position of mental strength?

Because if we don’t – guess what – in 6 months time, that feeling of overwhelm might just still be there...

Mental Strength is the new Zeitgeist – do you have the practical tools to mentally thrive? 

Success is rarely instant - from Simone Biles to leading edge scientists, from Tom Daley to tech founders we are increasingly aware that mental strength is the real secret sauce of success

In fact, in all walks of life - from start-up founders to chefs to musicians - when we look at successful people, we are fascinated to learn how they do what they do - what their secret for success is

Talent, skill and knowledge? We are increasingly recognising the much more important ingredient: mental strength

Being an Olympian not only requires immense physical talent but also an incredible amount of psychological control - resilience and determination help them bounce back from defeat and keep on keeping on. From Tom Daley - the British diver who competed in three prior Olympic games and only recently won his first ever Olympic gold medal in Tokyo, to Andrew Hoy - the Australian equestrian eventer who ...