flow state – pooh – sunsets and sunrises

as we drove back from cheltenham last night, i looked towards the sky and breathed a very long breath, and then looked to my right and spied the most glorious reddy orange sunset, and i felt amazing.

sunsets for me do it.

i absolutely love watching a sunset, and for that matter a sunrise too.

and my mind this morning has jumped into best sunrise/sunset mode.

my best sunset was in italy, sitting in a restaurant overlooking the mediterranean sea.

my best sunrise was on mount denali, after climbing down to the airstrip on the snow overnight, we arrived to wait for the aircraft with skis on to pick us up and fly us back to the little town of talkeetna in alaska.

we watched the sun peek over the mountains and bath us in its glow, warming us immediately, i had never experienced cold turning to warmth so quickly before.

and as we boarded the aircraft, beers in hand, the pilot cranked up the red hot chilli peppers playing ‘under the bridge’, and i looked out of the window and reflected on how fortunate i was to have the life that brought me so much joy.

even though we hadn’t made the summit, i learnt so much about myself, and how it’s not always about the summit, wow what a metaphor.

i have a friend who started collecting sunsets a couple of years ago, and now people send her pics of theirs to share, how wholesome, i need to start doing the same.

last nights was kind of spiritual, and i felt that same warm glow as i felt on that tiny aircraft flying over alaskan skies.

i was in cheltenham to do a talk for a group of ceo’s in a high class motor dealership, adorned with ferraris, bentleys and aston martins, etc.

cars aint my vibe, but i appreciate beauty, and i admired the design lines of the cars young and old.

i have changed my talk a little at the end.

i was trialling asking for what i need, for bigmoose obviously.

to give a flavour of the audience, as one chap arrived early, i said hello, and he reminded me we had met at the polo.

i enquired if he had stayed for the after party, to which he replied.

“i did, but don’t remember too much, except i bought a racehorse.”

“wow, did you buy into a syndicate”, which is where people buy shares of a horse, which allows you the fun of having an interest in the horse, but is a much lower cost.

“no, i just bought a racehorse.” he replied, smiling.

wow, cool story bro, i thought.

i later discovered he was 28.

and owned a company turning over 10 big ones.

i got my jar of bigmoose sparkly magic dust, and prepared to shake it in his general direction.

the meeting started, and after two laps of the clock, it was my turn to talk.

i stood, breathed deeply, and bared my soul, sharing the highs and lows of my story.

in life people talk about being ‘in flow state’ and google describes it as ‘a mental state where you are fully focused, deeply involved, and enjoying what you do, time seems to fly, distractions fade, and your skills match the challenge you face.’

i was in flow state.

eye contact with everyone was tight.

they laughed at my jokes, a very dangerous thing to do, and the encouragement provided my body with adrenaline, cortisol, and dopamine, a heady cocktail indeed, and extremely intoxicating.

as i wrapped up, and introduced the new slides informing them of what i need, which ran the risk of being perceived as arrogant, they scribbled notes, nodded, and gave the most amazing buying signals.

flow state.

the q and a was the most intense and emotional i have ever done, and when asked what my lowest point in my life was, a question i had never been asked before, after much thought, i deduced it was being diagnosed with parkinsons, and as one of the audience was telling his story a little later he broke down, saying his mum had just been diagnosed with parkinsons and he had lost his brother to suicide.

tears and hugs followed.

the format of the event is that all members make a pledge at the end of the gig, normally something they will do in their own lives or businesses, but pretty much all of them pledged to help bigmoose, one by linking me into a billionaire philanthropist he knows in london, another ceo who has a multimillion pound business, that explicitly are looking for a project to provide them with purpose, invited me to present to his board this month.

i felt the same warm glow i felt on that snowy runway as the sun rose.

this week has been full of highs, and i haven’t got capacity to share all of them, but here are two headlines.

cat burford.

cat was introduced to me by a mutual friend, who arranged my talk for the foreign office, and cat has done a solo trip to the south pole, extremely brave.

she has also done a polar ‘girls trip’ and is now embarking on the next stage of her adventurous life, and hopefully we are going to be doing some storytelling together.

her drive, passion, and commitment to the goal is exciting to see, and watch this space for further ‘bigmoose x girls trip’ info.

second big headline, we have had our 166th life saved, and wanted to share this with you.

ring that bell.

to wrap up this blog, i have news for those who are monthly givers, we will be announcing soon an exciting idea to offer added value for you, so watch your inboxes, or if you fancy jumping on the monthly giving train sign up here,

so, until next week,

blue skies,

jeff

p.s. catch those sunrises and sunsets.

p.p.s. otto just came up to my office to remind me to do the bins, and left me his pooh bear to keep me company until i come down.