The Brilliance of Buffers
July 11th 2024 by
You won’t have heard of fellow Geordie John Baillie, but if it wasn’t for him, trains would have been smashing into each other with alarming force for the last 170 years. In the mid-19th century, John Baillie invented… the Baillie Schneckenfeder (that’s German not Geordie), a spring coil which we now call a train […][...]
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Are you filling potholes?
June 29th 2023 by
I live in the country, a place where there’s more sheep than people. Our house is situated at the end of a single-track lane. Not much traffic – nice. Every year, the local county council arrives with a truck full of tarmac and fills the many potholes. The quality of the repairs, and their subsequent […][...]
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Learning is boring
April 27th 2023 by
The challenge with a lot of learning is the lessons are just too long, too impractical and too boring. There’s a whole bunch of research that shows how tired brains start to switch off long before teachers realise they’ve lost their class. That’s why short, powerful, exciting messages are much better. And I can prove […][...]
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How to lose well
March 2nd 2023 by
No one wants to lose, but if you are going to, it’s worth losing well. Christine and I were lucky to be part of the legendary Toon Army who made the trip to London for the Carabao Cup Final last weekend. Commentators said we didn’t win the game but we won Wembley. But lose we […][...]
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Play the part
August 18th 2022 by
Would you rather play a minor role in someone else’s story or the major part in your own? If all the world’s a stage, and this life is your ‘one shot’, what’s it going to be? I’m not saying you shouldn’t play a minor role. If that should bring you joy and you leave this […][...]
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A Year In Numbers
December 16th 2020 by
Here’s my year as a list in numbers. Minutes spent LIVE broadcasting – 5,400 Zoom Coaching Sessions delivered – 349 People joining our How to Be Brilliant Facebook Group – 2,874 Books published by members of Write That Book Masterclass – 8 The Bumps Ahead Nick Finney Welcome to Hilltop Shelia Starr Scared To Be […][...]
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Worrier or Warrior
September 9th 2020 by
You’ve been a Worrier and you’ve been a Warrior. There’s only a couple of letters difference, but they’re a world apart. Worrier to Warrior contrasts. Some as simple as a change of tone. Worriers think – what happened? Warriors ask – ‘What’s next? Worriers assume – they’re talking about me. Warriors assume – they’re talking about me! Worriers deliberate […][...]
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Pavlov’s iPhone
August 28th 2019 by
I did it. I actually did it. This summer I achieved a… drum roll… digital detox! And it was like coming off crack. In August, we shared a week of our summer break with friends. We had a great time; mainly lying on beaches, eating amazing food and drinking G&T. One night, the conversation turned […][...]
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The smart way to get a double espresso
March 26th 2019 by
Last week I had a few days writing in the sun. The hotel was very nice, the breakfast very average. Two days running, the early morning team managed to make the world’s worst double espresso. Weak, too much liquid, lukewarm. Yuck! I asked how they made them and they said it was just a button on the machine. […][...]
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Magnifying Christmas
December 19th 2018 by
Christmas is a massive magnifying glass. Every niggle becomes a drama. Every special moment becomes a magic moment. Every delay will feel like an eternity. Every drink will be a large one. Why not? It’s Christmas! The Christmas Magnifier is great for the positive things but when it comes to the challenges …. ouch! You […][...]
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