If you put a gun to my head and made me pick a favourite album, I'd probably pick Sign 'O' the Times by Prince. As with most music, much of this is to do with who and where I was when it came out. Thirteen and all over the place. Who isn't at thirteen? The…

Before Roger Bannister broke the four minute mile it was considered near impossible, but hen athlete after athlete began to break it. Now its considered routine in elite athletics. Turns out the milestone was in everyone's head.  In a TV series about Bannister, the actor playing him was an okay runner, when he copied Bannister's…

We all have fundamental human needs. Certainty is maybe the most powerful. A steady job means you know you'll get paid each month, you know you'll make rent. A long term relationship means you know what the other person is likely to say, you'll have your rituals at Christmas, you know you'll be held when…

Martin has collected some data that might depress you, or maybe make you see what we're living through now as a chance to change things. The British hate change, I suspect and hope that since change is happening we never asked for, we may decide to create the change we want. Here's to being less…

It's a hell of a year for all of us isn't it? For myself, I managed to add separating from my wife into the, already pretty wild, gathering storm. I'm still here thankfully. I won't lie, there were times when it felt pretty overwhelming but I'm lucky that, by and large, I handle stress pretty…

I did this talk years ago. I'd forgotten about it. A talk in front of your peers, about what you care about. In three minutes (trust me, condensing it all into three minutes is harder than doing it in 20).  It's about swimming but it's really about having the courage to do what you love.…

If there is one I've learned it's this. Don't be a little bit in love. Fully commit. Don't spare yourself. To quote Yoda, do or do not, there is simply no try.  That's for work and life. Wonderful doesn't come unless you're ready to be hurt.  I love this song.   I think its supposed…

Creativity, ideas, work that makes you proud. The enemies are legion. To defeat them you need acknowledge they exist first.  They are: Long deadlines. Nothing sharpens a quill like feeling as if time is running out. Nothing stops decisions like more time.  Short-cuts and impatience. Excellence requires effort, you can't get to wonderful without breaking…

It doesn't seem to make sense, but if you want to get more done, switch off more.  Take your body and mind somewhere else.  It's so easy to become a busy fool, especially if you're in the problem solving business. You can't escape doing the work, but sometimes no matter how hard you try, the…

My children are like me, happiest in the water (maybe a close second for playing Fortnite, but lets leave that aside). So they insisted in coming to 'Carolines'. Obviously they loved it. I need to do some things alone. I'm an introvert and eventually I need to rebuild energy levels though doing stuff alone. But…