Please give if you can.

Stephens story is so inspiring indeed Stephen is beyond inspiring.

I have laid down a challenge to cycle for 7 days from May 6th by simply leaving South London and heading north to try and get Stephen to 2 Million pound before midnight tonight.

I have no plan, no route and no idea where I am going to go. I would hope I can get food and board along the way, but it matters not, what really matters is hitting the £2m mark by midnight tonight. I am even going to miss the last Liverpool game!

I have many followers on twitter and a few who read this, if you have just £10 then we can hit the huge target for a young man who's vision is beyond words.

This is all about hitting the target by midnight tonight. And for the cynics - I am not doing this for any gain for myself, the ride will be discreet and logged via "Strava" and the odd "Sore arse tweet!"

Please give to watch me suffer for 7 days of cycling around this fine country of ours and to send a message to Stephen that his life is so special.

Thank you for reading and if you can, thank you for donating.

https://www.justgiving.com/Stephen-Sutton-TCT

Please feel free to read any of my blogs. It may give you an understanding of why I am happy to give back to life and not take!

I went on a boat!

Of course we look at pictures of the world’s superstars upon their massive yachts in the Caribbean and wish we too could afford that same luxury or live the life of superstardom, to say we don’t is a lie, but the most amazing thing for under £700 is you too can share the same dream as the "A Listers"  well ok, it’s not exactly Simon Cowell or Sir Phillip Green or Sir Elton or Mr Ambrmavich, but you will, by taking a holiday on the Norfolk broads, have a smidgen of the idea and be in command of your own little harem aboard a boat, maybe note a yacht, but imagination is everything!

We arrived to pick up the boat a little early and stopped in a new pub called “The Green Man” We eat good food and listened to Michael Buble sing his Christmas songs, it was April, but this was Norfolk! I chuckled to myself and remembered the floor manager on Loose Women who is indeed from this fine county.

We picked up our sturdy vessel in a place called “Wroxham” or as I like to call it “Roy’s Town” as Roy seems to own everything in Wroxham, I wondered as we passed over the bridge if indeed the bridge was also named after him! Roy is indeed the Donald Trump of Wroxham and all power to him!

We hired our boat from Hoeseasons who were brilliant and the boat company “Faircraft Loyne’s” proved within two minutes of meeting them what lovely people the people of Norfolk are, We parked the car right outside the back of the boat (Or “The Aft” for those not yet up with my captains references!) and came face to face with the first representative of the company and indeed Norfolk proper, a lady called Kathy whose smile and welcome was worthy of The QE2! Pat was next in line and he supplied us with life jackets and signed us in, trust me it took longer to unpack our car than it did to get signed in and ready for off!

Next up we were assigned a lovely man who was to give me a 20 minute crash course in boating, he was brilliant and with his broad Norfolk accent and two teeth he took us brilliantly through the do’s and don’ts and within an hour I was the captain of the ship!

The boat had no Wi-Fi but did have a TV, much to my daughters horror we later realised that boats with WIFI were available, (And Sky and X Box’s) but take my advice, don’t get it and here is why. We as a family found a rare peace in no distraction from the outside world, we got to be a family, play cards, laugh (Mainly at me falling over in puddles, banging my head, brushing my teeth half in and half out of the bathroom, or attempting to get in the bed) and bond a million miles away from everything, it was utter bliss! Although on docking in nightly it was a race between all three of us to get hooked up to the free Wi-Fi in the local pubs, it was like an oasis in the desert!

The broads are beautiful, that is a fact, the people friendly and the boats great, but it is, if I am honest, a little the same, if you were to go for a low in the water boat you would indeed get under all the bridges but would spend a week staring at nothing but reeds growing from the river banks and the odd loving swan, or in my case a few ducks! Go high and at least get a view! Read the tide column in the broucher given to you as well, otherwise like me, you will find yourself stranded for hours staring at a bridge you cannot get under and floating tied up to a floating pontoon opposite a 24 hour supermarket and a massive flyover minutes from the sea channel!

The great fact about this holiday is that you will have no choice to re bond with the family and that is a rare thing in this fast moving world, so for that reason alone it is a million percent must, if nothing else you will quickly realise how much fun just “Being” is and how much fun watching the captain (Me) falling over in the only muddy puddle in Norfolk can be!

Would I return to the broads on a boat? No! Not because they are bad, just because I have done it now!  Would I hire a boat again? Most defiantly yes! Would I do it through Hoeseasons? Without a doubt! Would I drive my boat dreaming of Barbados and Marbella or docking into Monaco? Without question, even if my harem was the wife, the kid and the dog, hang on, that’s not a million miles away!

It matters not how big your boat is, how glamorous it may look or how impressive the place you are in, if the people on it are great, the holiday is great, so go live a mini dream and laugh at yourself pushing bow thrusters, trying to tie a sailors knot and standing on top of the seat on top deck in search of a thing called 3 or 4G, if you find it, you are a better man than I!

Holidays are not where you are or how big or glamorous they may be, they are about the people you are with, the company you keep and the ability to laugh at yourself, me driving a boat was without question proof that I am sold on the boating thing, my aim now is to do it in the Caribbean, although to be fair, it may be on a dingy at this moment in time!

It is so rare now to escape everything and just “Be” with those you love, I so get now why the huge stars of this world do it and the best bit about it, you can get to do it too! It may not be as big or as glam, but you will step off the boat relaxed, refreshed, in need of a bath, the ability to sit on the loo without pressing hundreds of buttons and remembering what it used to be like without the world knowing everything in a second.

We left Norfolk and stopped the car to let a man, with a bath on his head, cross the road, you don't get that shit happen in Monaco!

Dreams!

One of the most rewarding parts of my job is watching people I have worked with for years rise up the ranks of show business to jobs of great responsibility and to reach their dreams.

Four years ago Harry Styles auditioned for The X Factor (Along with the other boys but not on this day) and today they live their dreams, as does a friend of mine (who I knew as a researcher) who now returns as the boss of the show he started on. I have watched so many kids start in my business and now watch as they take roles of great responsibility, it’s humbling and honestly so good to watch and experience. The best bit is the true stars have not changed one bit, maybe a little, but on the whole they have remained true to themselves and grateful for the journey they are on right now. That’s why they are the stars they are and will last the journey!

I watched Piers Morgan grow from an editor of a newspaper to a star both here and in America, I watched a man sit in a judging seat who nobody really knew rise to worldwide super stardom and now someone everyone knows as just “Simon!” I watched some boys now known as 1D, jump up and down in a car park and now go by a number and a letter and have influenced the lives of millions across the globe, I shared Angle Delight with Olly Murrs and his family and had the joy of watching him perform as a true star this week,  I watched runners become execs and friends grow into great jobs, I sat with a friend in Scotland as she auditioned hopefuls and now she looks after the world formats for The X Factor and Britain’s Got talent, I remember a young Kelly Osbourne with mum down at The X Factor, now I watch her on TV looking amazing and gleaming with inner peace, I remember Dermot on his first day and now he is Mr Saturday Night, the list goes on and on!

Watching lives change, careers developed and new powers and influences born is really a brilliant thing to experience, the best bit is, I still get to take the piss and enjoy the banter of life with them, I am one very blessed lucky guy.

As I read it was Harry's 4^th birthday from starting his journey it prompted me to right this blog as this is also a great lesson for anyone wanting to enter into this life of lights, camera and action or indeed anyone wanting to enter into any business and start the road working for a living!

Never ever think you are a nobody or a nothing, never think you are not important or not special, never stop believing in yourself or dreaming your dreams, never stop when others tell you that you are not good enough, never doubt yourself or the career you so want to do and never ever take the first no as the definitive end, it’s their “No” Not yours!

In show business as in every business, there is a list, The big boss sits at the top and the least experienced or the “New person” sits at the bottom, but you are not at the bottom because you are less important or not worthy, always remember it is the person at the bottom who holds the rest of the names up, and honestly the person who sits at the top, was, at some point in their lives, sat where you are possibly now, or indeed may have once been.

Hard work, dedication, commitment, kindness and a true passion for what you do will always shine through and will always get noticed, that in life is a fact but and it’s a huge but, you have to take the knocks along the way, without them you will never learn or grow as a person. Life is a bumpy path, it will not always be a bed of roses, not every day is going to be an amazing day, but if you stay centred, stay focused and truly believe in yourself, even if when it seems everyone around you does not, then you will reach your goals and your dreams.

Taking risk is the key, sometimes in life have to step out of our comfort zones, you know when it will be the right risk to take, you will feel it and if you get it wrong, fuck it, what a great story to tell around a dinner table one day!

Sit back, don’t be jealous of others, don’t judge yourself by others, don’t try and be like others, be you, find you, learn from the knocks of life and shine bright and be proud of yourself for taking the risks and know the hard days will come, it’s not what the sadness is or how hard the knock is, it’s how you deal with it that will define you as a person!

Stake your claim to your dream and do not let one person tell you it is not achievable, EVERY dream is achievable!

The list of people I know and love and have watched and watch live their dream is too long to mention, but as I stand in the corner, mic in hand, I watch with a huge sense of pride, a big smile on my face and think and a belief that the big guy upstairs has a plan, you just got to wait till he is ready, the question you need to ask yourself, are you?

Work hard, think of others, be kind, and dedicate yourself to the job in hand. Always apologise quickly if you make a mistake, and you will! Be honest, heartfelt and mindful and everything you ever wished for will come true. Always think of others first, be selfless, its the greatest gift in life!

If you hate what you do, change it, if you want something else, work for it and if you have a dream, go chase it, life is too short not too!

Who knows it could start by simply jumping up and down in a car park, but it may be an idea to make sure an audition is taking place, you’re going to look pretty stupid if you do it on a random Saturday on your own!

Never judge anyone before you judge yourself, lead not follow and most importantly be “YOU” because “YOU” is the person you’re going to spend the rest of your life with!

 

Thanks for reading.

 

Roycey.

 

 

 

 

My Inspirig followers on twitter!

So we have a new car or as I like to now call it; “The machine that is saving the planet!” Every time the car stops in traffic it turns itself off and lets me know how much CO2 I am saving, or as I like to call it, how wonderful I am at saving the planet!

If I am honest I am not the greatest planet saver in the world, Roxy is often telling me that by leaving the tap running while brushing my teeth is indeed doing something to an ice cap somewhere, the lights we leave on in the house are worthy of the Las Vegas strip and I don’t use compost in my garden! However I have done some little things to save our planet and its seems the little things in life is where change does indeed come about.

If everyone just made one small change then a huge difference would be felt globally, but it takes effort to change, it takes dedication and a long term commitment to do something different or out of our daily routines or comfort zones, To change is to grow, to grow is to see a new view of life and to indeed become, I believe, a better, fuller more complete person.

I read through some amazing tweets last night from some of my followers who posted pictures of their truly inspiring weight loss, they decided to make great change in their lives, to make a long term commitment and as a result they tweeted tweets full of self esteem and pride, I was humbled to read them and proud to share in their journey of dedication and commitment.

For me change came about in my life by taking small steps, anyone can make change, really they can, but it does take effort, commitment and a belief you can do it. The belief bit for me was the hardest part, how can anyone believe in themselves when they don’t like themselves? It’s a very difficult starting point and the mountain to climb, to start that change, looks like a sheer face cliff with no sunlight or great reward at the end. I hated me and if you hate something, why would you even want to start the ball rolling to begin that change or indeed do something good, positive and kind for the one person you hate most in the world?

My life was full of doing everything for everyone else and rarely anything for me, the only things I ever did for me were negative and hurtful, I spent my energy, focus and drive on the world around me but forgot about the one person I would spend a life time with, me!

Keeping those balls in the air, trying to keep everyone happy, trying to people please everyone soon led me down a very slippery slope to a place of much darkness, loneliness. hurt and desperation, I was, after all, a nothing, a worthless piece of shit and a nobody, sentences than ran deep in my mind from growing up. I cared not for me, so the only thing to do was care for others. I was a walking empty shell of no self esteem, no love for myself and a desire to only hurt me and those that truly loved me, I was looking for the exit and not the way in to life. I was stuck in the traffic jam of life and saving nothing, just killing me and everyone around me, who had, not supprislingly made a quick exit from this road of destruction! 

Change started with the way I put my socks on (I have blogged about this before) but the very first thing I did for myself was to buy myself a candle, yes a simple candle, I purchased a Jo Malone candle just for me. I loved my candle, it was and still is very important to me, it was one of the very first positive things I had done for myself, it even took a few therapy sessions to go out and buy the bloody thing, that’s how difficult doing something good and positive just for me was, it was so unnatural and felt very uncomfortable! 

Following that I started on a massive life change to do exercise, I changed my diet, my lifestyle and my thought process, I started to do things just for me and thus the change began. I used twitter and facebook as my drive, I signed up to do challenges for charity that would give me goals to reach and made a plan and for the first time in my life stuck to it, (Well nearly all of it!) I was not ever going to be the “Fatty” at school or have the piss taken out of me for looking like I was pregnant or being a “Pot bellied” sweaty embarrassment, I was not a nothing, a nobody or a worthless piece of shit, I was not a humiliation or an outcast, I was a breathing human but and its a huge but, I had to start to love myself and this process started with the treadmill, spin class, zumba, sha-bam, yoga, meditation, swimming and other gym activities, they taught me quickly a thing called pride, achievement and success and with this I began to love myself as I thought I never could.

Nobody will do anything for you that will change you, yes jobs might be better, holidays bigger, cars faster, suits and dresses more glamorous but the house you live in, the wooden sunbed you lay on, the super luxurious car you drive or get driven in, the label that hangs at the back of your designer dress or suit still has you in the centre of it, trust me, if you hate stuff about you, you will only grow to the hate the stuff around you, it’s a fact, I know, I tried it!

Change HAS to come from you, for you and because YOU want to do it, if you change just for you then the results are without question momentous, the cars are not faster, the houses not bigger, the holidays more glamorous, but the self esteem, pride and achievement is a reward not one other person gets to share with you as its all yours, every single bit of it, and yes YOU got to do it, you will get to look in the mirror and like what you see!

My experience of this, of doing something just for you is that people around you will notice the change and the very thing you have been craving your whole life, to be loved, complimented and respected comes naturally and you didn't have to do one damn thing to force it, you simply began to change self.

Do something just for you, start change, make it small to start, set goals, tweet it, facebook it, write about it and begin a journey that belongs to you and only you! Talk about it, share it and enjoy the journey on new roads, new paths with bigger views, amazing scenery and breath taking feelings! The only person who can change you is you, that's the truth, some come and join me on a journey of change.

The journey is not easy but the rewards for the hard work, commitment and dedication are the greatest rewards of all, fill yourself up with self esteem, pride and love and watch great change in your life happen. The best and most rewarding part of it all is you will get out of "Self" and start to have the energy, room and commitment to give back, help others and share the love you know have for yourself, it is a reward that words cannot really explain.

Stop in the traffic jam of life, hear the engine stop, take a deep breath and look not to save the planet but you, the most important thing on it!  

I'm now going to do the recycling, go for a walk and later hit the gym, its a triple whamy today!

Finally thank you to those followers on twitter who shared their stories with me yesterday, you inspire me to write, keep going and continue to change, grow and improve. You know who you are!

Roycey.