Why is Change So Difficult?

We all do it. Promise ourselves we're going to change something in our lives, work at it for a few days, or weeks, or months. And then stop.

Change is so difficult, some of our best attempts are bound to fail, because life doesn't follow the imaginary smooth path we all picture at the start of our efforts.

But some people manage it. Some people struggle through the diversions, the detours, to finally reach their change goal. Losing weight, going from unfit to winning triathlete, running a profitable business, getting their first paying gig.

If they can, then we can. Because change may be difficult, but it's not impossible. And we can cope with difficult. We do that every day.

What's The Secret of Healthy Ageing?

It's official - a British study conducted over the past 35 years shows that those who walk at least 2 miles per day and keep their weight at a healthy level will live longer.

Step forward my Kleeneze business - I walk at least 3 miles a day every time I either deliver or collect catalogues. Some days, I've walked more than 9 miles.

Looks like I've found the perfect way to live longer and get paid to do it.

Why Do We Do This?

Why do we strive for more? Why do we juggle all the aspects of our existence? Why do we bother?

We do it "because". Because it's our dream, not because it pays the bills; because we know it's what we should do. And best of all, because it matters.

Maybe it matters just to us; enough so that we keep a tiny flame alight in the deepest recesses of our hearts, sheltered from the persistence of those who can't see what we can see. Maybe our best and beloved spot the reflection of that light when we talk, just for a few moments, with the suppressed passion that only comes from the strength of what makes us, us.

When you can articulate the answer to this, nothing will stop you. As long as you give your self a chance to get there. Because that's what matters.

Forget the Quick Fix, We Need a Better Solution

It's endemic. The need to take the quick route, to success, to achievement, to money. Fed by the endless TV programmes that suggest you can be the next big name after 6 weeks dance practice, 10 weeks singing or 8 weeks living somewhere unpleasant. Not to mention the books and DVDs that promise you maximum gain for minimum pain

But the universe doesn't work like that. We are all interconnected in ways that aren't visible to most. If you don't take the right path, karma will let you know about it sooner or later. That goes for our choice of path to greatness.

We grow by taking the thousand mile journey, whether it's the path to fitness, creativity, or business success. That journey, with its mountains, valleys, flash floods and sunny days, with its seasons of both mists and mellow fruitfulness, is what shapes us into the person who is capable of enjoying both the travelling and the destination.

All it takes is the discipline to avoid the shiny distractions; that's a pretty big "All" as I know very well. I'm an expert in disappearing down side paths as well as spending too much time thinking the mists and the valleys are all there is to life.

But occasionally, like today, I get to climb up above the mists and the darkness and I catch a glimpse of the sunrise behind the mountains ahead. And it's beautiful.

How to Earn An Extra £50 Per Week

You know me by now - an endless curiosity and desire to learn. That doesn't naturally translate into an easy way to make money from my interests.

Yet the British press is enthusing about making an extra £2400 per year from your hobby, if you're a photography buff, and more than £3700 per year for other craft-based hobbies.

In other words, if you've got the right hobby, the right attitude, the spare time and the spare space in your house, garage or shed, you can earn between £46 and £71 per week extra.

Of course, another way to earn an extra £50 per week is to invest your time and money into improving your work-related skills, building your self confidence and finding a job that pays you another £2000 - 4000 per year.

Then there's the way I and many others in the Direct Selling industry have chosen - to invest a small amount of money - as little as £25 for your first instalment - in a business which can earn you over £50 per week in your first month of trading, with training whilst you're earning.

If you want to know more, get in touch. I'm loving what my business is helping me with - holidays, home improvements, new skills.

Fed Up With Being Paid Less?

Bad news all round - many private sector jobs are still not providing pay rises in line with inflation, women's pay is still less than for the equivalent male employee in many industries ... and now there's bad news about self-employed income - if you're a woman.

According to official statistics, between 2007 and 2012 over 50% of self-employed businesses were owned by women, yet the average income for a self-employed woman was under £10,000 per year, almost half of the average male self-employed income.

That could be because of the type of business that women choose, or it could be due to the need to manage a business around children, family, elderly parents, etc. It could also be due to the rise in zero-hour contracts as well as the increasing number of temporary jobs.

Whatever the cause, one thing is certain. The gender pay gap needs to go.

This is where a business like my Kleeneze business comes in. You can start it alongside whatever other business you're running, and everybody, male and female, is on the same earnings plan. If you're interested, ask me for more information.

Input, Reaction and Outcome

Bullying has been the thread underpinning a lot of my conversations today. Watching some stand up to being bullied, watching others avoid the bullying by leaving Facebook groups, talking to people about coping strategies.

I have way too much experience of bullying and its after-effects, be it my own childhood, my children's experiences, work, domestic violence ...

Bullying has changed me. I'm still the stubborn protector of others that I was as a child, but I have an awareness you can only get from traumatic experience.

That awareness could have poisoned me, weakened me, made me less human. I am blessed that I found another way to deal with it, although I struggle still with post-traumatic stress in some areas of my life.

I taught my children that they could control their reactions to the bullying, that how they chose to live their life was what was important, not what others might say or think. Turns out I taught them to defend others by my own example, to the point where, when my daughter saw children walking to school being bullied, she ran home to get me to come and protect them.

The one thing that makes a difference isn't easy. From personal experience, if you forget to do this until you're embedded in the bullying cycle, it's well-nigh impossible to do without somebody you trust being there to remind you. But it does work.

Whatever the input - ridicule, bile, physical attack, to name a few - you need to remember that the input is outside your control. You cannot undo a hurtful comment before it has been said, let alone afterwards. No matter how safe you try to be, you cannot always avoid a physical attack, especially not from somebody close to you.

You can control your reaction. It's not easy and it may be impossible to control the initial reaction of pain or physical defence. That's instinctive, not rationalised. But you can control the subsequent reaction. You can choose to stand there and quietly, assertively state that you are no longer prepared to tolerate their behaviour. You can choose to turn their ridicule into a joke. It doesn't have to be stated out loud, you can talk to friends you feel safe with afterwards. You can walk into a solicitors' firm and take out an injunction.

Because it's the combination of their input and your reaction that determines the outcome. You can make a better outcome for yourself. I know you can, because I've done it, over and over again.