Let me take you back to 1999. I'm in my first year at University, many miles from home and I don't know a soul.  I want to make friends. Furthermore, I'm hopeful I might meet my first serious girlfriend. However, something inside me is changing.  I'm starting to grow resentful of my peer group and questioning the university experience.  Why is it we can only socialise and be open when alc...

CHAPTER 5: CHANGE YOUR THOUGHTS TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE  Back in 1903, James Allen’s book As A Man Thinketh was released. The title is an abbreviation of a bible verse from the book of proverbs. In its entirety, it reads, “as a man thinketh in his heart, so he is.” To our modern world, this is a curious promise. 21st century life is about the material. We value what we can see, touch and, most o...

(by Andy Beck) How many times have you heard that saying? And how strongly do you resonate with it? Not everyone does. And nor did I, for a long time.  30 Years of Normal Until a few years ago, I knew intellectually what "you only live once" meant. But I didn't feel it. This was probably due to my very "normal" upbringing and early adulthood. Preschool, primary school, grammar school, univer...

Although the Coronavirus outbreak and, to a lesser degree, The Black Lives Matter protests, have dominated the news this year, the main story has gone ignored. The health of our planet is spiralling out of control. Temperatures are rising, ice caps are melting, methane stores are starting to be released, oceans are becoming acidified and forests are being chopped down at an alarming rate. If th...

Are you pissed off with life? Do you feel disillusioned with the world?  If so, you are not alone.  According to the World Health Organisation, close to 800,000 people die every year from suicide. (To put this into perspective, as of writing, 1,000,800 have died from Covid-19 and this has brought the world to a halt).  Again, according to the World Health Organisation, more than 264 mill...

My dream to become a prominent personal development author, and speaker, had its inception back in 2002. Although I took little action at the time, my mind started pondering the practicalities of reaching this destination. The problem, as I saw it, was that it would take at least a year to write a book. Then, after that, I had no idea how long it would take to get a publishing deal and start r...

I was teaching a tennis student last weekend and she said to me, "I've got to find some way to be famous." Ain't that the truth. Fame, above money and power, is where the real juice is at because fame, unlike money and power, carries with it the implication of excitement and fun. You can be rich and powerful, yet still have a boring life. However, if you're famous, even if it's only in your ow...

If you’ve read any of my previous work, be it books, blog posts or even watched my YouTube videos or attended my talks, you’ll know I’m passionate about letting people know they have options. You don’t have to accept the life you are presented with. If you want something extra, or different, it is within your power to create it. If you’re familiar with my work, you’ll also know I’m fond of mis...

Life is a belief game. Henry Ford famously once said, "If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you are right."  Your beliefs set your boundaries and parameters. Believe your possibilities are limitless and that you can do anything you want, and you'll have the ideas needed, and meet the people necessary, for this to come true. Believe you're average and that life is full...

These are strange times. For the first time in my life, it feels like external events are having an impact on what I do. I've lived through multiple government changes, wars (not that I ever took part), 9/11 and the 2008 credit crash. None of these events had a direct impact on my day to day existence. However, the coronavirus pandemic does.  Now, I find myself limited in what I can do. I can'...