It sounds a bit glib doesn’t it? I love what I do. I do by the way.

The old cliche’s of ‘loving what you do means you’ll never do a days work in your life’ and ‘enjoy what you do every day’ are ringing in my head as I’m typing this.

Well in my world, I’m honest enough to say that’s not true. I haven’t loved dismissing people or making them redundant. I haven’t loved 4am starts to get to a depot in London before the morning rush. I’ve really disliked it when I’ve had to try and keep the Strategi team motivated on Teams every day in the Pandemic for over a year, the list could go on.

So, why do I love what I do? In my many decades of working, from being a Receptionist at a sheet metal works to sitting on an executive board for a multi billion dollar company, I’ve loved listening to people’s experience, trying to work out how business works, meeting people I never dreamt I’d meet and even attending some great awards dinners – so many more ups than downs I’d say! I try to focus on the positives. Working isn’t always fun – fact.

There is so much pressure on people today to “love what you do” and I feel that the more we say this, the more difficult it is to be happy, because sometimes, it’s the small things that make us happy. If we were happy 24 hours a day, it would become the norm. Would that make us sad when we’re happy because it isn’t special anymore?

So what would I say to my 25 year old self if I had the chance? Take every opportunity, however odd it may be sometimes. Something good quite often comes out of something bad.

And the 4am start? You may be driving down the motorway and see the most glorious sunrise ever.

The sketchy photo is a once in a lifetime meeting with Buzz Aldrin at the National Business Awards in 2015. I hadn’t expected it, but the opportunity rose and I took it. My smile says it all really. Great memory. Now there’s a guy who did reach for the stars!

If you’re looking for a speaker and can’t get hold of Buzz – I’d be happy to oblige!