Want to hear more from Jeff? Every Friday, he shares a blog packed with stories, insights, and all the incredible things happening here at Bigmoose over the week. It’s a chance to get a behind-the-scenes look at the impact we’re making together, the lives we’re changing, and the big dreams we’re chasing.
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parkinsons is shit.
there i said it.
no good morning, no welcome, just raw and real.
if you’re still reading, buckle up, coz i ain’t pulling any punches today.
parkinsons is shit.
but it’s my shit, not yours.
you have your own shit.
i won’t list all of the symptoms, as there are far too many, some i hide, some i can’t.
but believe me when i say, it’s tough.
the toughest thing i’ve ever faced.
but face it i will, and i must use it’s power and energy for good.
so how can i do that?
well let me tell you a story of my week.
but before i do, let me provide some context.
a number of years ago a prominent businessman came into my orbit, and i recognised his wisdom, and decided to ask him for an audience to ask for advice on how to grow bigmoose.
he agreed to see me, and the essence of what he told me was that we needed to treat bigmoose more like a business than a charity.
we needed to make more money to pay for the good that we could do.
simple.
to the point.
but over two million quid raised later, 2534 referrals, 75 lives saved, six members of full time staff, and punching very much above our weight, being so lean, i thought it time to seek his counsel again.
to tell him of the impact his advice had on me, hopefully bringing him joy.
also to see if he could again unlock the door to future growth and expansion.
i messaged him, not expecting to see him until the new year, but he agreed to see me two days ago.
parkinsons causes shaking at the worst of times, and as i sat in this international businesses reception area, it engulfed me with visible tremor, which in turn made me feel worse.
he didn’t appear for ten minutes, time enough for me internalise walking out.
how ridiculous.
but this shaking was affecting me big time.
don’t be ridiculous, i negotiated with myself, you can do this.
as he appeared, he apologised profusely, and genuinely for being late.
we entered the boardroom, and i made sure i sat down, not allowing any balance or shaking to affect where my arse landed on the chair, paranoia enveloped me.
we chatted briefly about our lives and our businesses, and it wasn’t long before we were up to speed, including the health stuff, which he responded to empathetically.
i really enjoyed telling him about how he had impacted me, and bigmoose, and the reaction to the actions he had suggested we take, and i could see it moved him.
as we spoke about our growth, and the need for us to be there to support more people, i could see he was really thinking about something.
he paused.
and then spoke.
“why do you want to carry on?”
“now you have parkinsons”
i replied, slowly.
“ i just want to help people”
and unexplainably i felt a wave of emotion start to wash over me, my voice breaking, and my eyes starting to well up, i couldn’t control myself, as i tried to explain my why.
i watched as he rose from his beautiful black leather chair, and walked around the table to embrace me in a warm glow of comfort, as we both fought back the tears.
i have never been so emotional in a business environment, but as he returned to his seat to sit down, post embrace, he said that if we had filmed that, people would be queuing up to fund us, and “if he was a billionaire he would give us half a million, in a heartbeat.”
as we both composed ourselves, he talked about how he could help, and how he had a number of connections, including a lord he wanted to introduce me to.
he also explained that he was the chair of an almost underground group of business leaders, that, if i was comfortable speaking to, he thought would be a great opportunity for me.
i nodded enthusiastically.
“that would be great”
and we proceeded to talk about the power of parkinsons, and how by showing that it wasn’t going to stop me, and if anything, it was going to inspire me to use it’s energy for good, and i scribbled notes as we spoke.
“use parkinsons”
the energy in the room was electric, and as we conclude our meeting we hugged again, probably five seconds longer than we would normally.
but we both knew.
something special had just happened.
and as the cold winter air hit my face as i left the building, i spoke to myself silently.
“we can do this”
it’s gonna be hard, but anything that is worth achieving is hard, and if is was easy it would be boring.
my plan is to do more public talks, really pushing myself to connect with more people that can help build bigmoose even more.
please come with me on the journey, it’s going to be so exciting.
have great week, and if you or anybody you know needs help, we’re here.
blue skies,
jeff
p.s. sorry for the swearing.
