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let me entertain you – ted talks – my biggest idea ever

good morning bigmoose chums, we’re back.

i have token an extra week off from writing as i needed it, but this morning i have the most aromatic cup of coffee, my winter climbing socks are on, and i am amped to be back, ready to regale stories of my life, past and present, the goings on in bigmoose, and hopefully to, in some way, inspire you to be bold, take risks, calculated of course, and step out of your comfort zones, are you in?

then let’s go.

but before i start, a big welcome to all the new subscribers we have had sign up for the blog, we are now at an all time high, so thank you for your support.

i was boldly going to write “let me entertain you” and could hear robbie williams singing in my head, but chose to be more ‘british’ and not offer such a bold foray.

i believe the caffeine has truly kicked in.

talking of robbie williams, me and tan went to see his new movie ‘betterman’ recently, which is a biopic with robbie, played by a computer generated monkey.

yes, a cgi monkey.

sounds mad.

it is mad.

but brilliant.

please give it a watch, i highly recommend it.

talking of recommendations, i received the book ‘rebel ideas’ by matthew syed, in our bigmoose secret santa, from our newest and youngest team member, the wonderful gemma, and it’s dust cover describes it as ’the power of thinking differently’ and it definitely helped influence me in coming up with three game changing ideas, one of which is the biggest idea i’ve ever had, so thanks gem, the best secret santa ever.

reading rebel ideas led me to ‘invisible women’ by caroline criado perez, which is all about exposing gender bias in a world designed by men, which as a bloke, is a real eye opener, and for me as a person fortunate enough to be in a position in life where i can make changes, to attempt in my own way, to redress the balance, and although it is a tough read, because of the shame i have felt reading about gender imbalance, i feel extremely empowered about the opportunity i have to make a shift, for me another game changer, and very worth a read.

so, enough of jeff’s bookclub, i just thought i’d share a few things. that have brought me joy recently.

another thing that is bringing me joy is a challenge that i have set myself.

now with my parkinson’s it manifests itself in physical rigidity (i nearly wrote stiffness, but the schoolboy in me sniggered, so i chose not to) plus being honest it zaps your confidence, as you, or rather i, worry that people are staring at me, and what must they think, all ridiculous concerns, but i’m just being transparent.

so.

i have set myself a challenge.

to do 12 public speaking engagements in 2025.

a bit masochistic, and i wouldn’t blame you for challenging me as to why?

why put myself in front of 12 different groups of people, exposing myself to their gaze, and possible judgement?

well the reason is, because i have a story to tell.

of highs and lows.

of joy and pain.

and of failure and success.

but mostly about never giving up.

and if i do it well, the net result is bigmoose will benefit.

increased exposure to our work, and hopefully increased interest in what we do to the degree that stimulates commercial relationships.

plus selfishly, i push myself out of my comfort zone, satiate my appetite for personal risk, fill myself with dopamine, and silently sit after the 12th talk, sipping on a glass of bourbon, and smiling.

so that’s my why.

what’s my how?

well, i’m a big fan of surrounding myself with experts.

so to attempt my new everest, i need the russell brice of public speaking.

someone that will push me.

that will train me.

that will get me ready for the mountain i want to climb.

meet charlotte lewis.

charlotte is a public speaking coach, and she is going to help me get to the bourbon.

so watch this space.

i have booked one talk in london in may already, thanks wadds, eleven more to go.

the dream is to get a ted talk, and speak to an audience of over 2000 people.

gotta dream big right?

i reckon put it out to the universe, work hard, and see what happens.

well, i have so much more to tell you about, but i’m conscious of your time, so i will save some exciting stuff until next week, but for now i will leave you with the best bit of news i can share, this week we had our 78th person tell us we saved them from taking their own life.

it’s good to be back.

have a great week.

blue skies,

jeff

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