BREAKING NEWS: I’m NOT really Superman!

I apologise for this blog post in advance (because it’s largely about me), but I think it’s time I came clean about a few things. Let me explain …

I try to do all I can to make this blog positive and life-affirming. I want to help readers in every way I can. I want to help you get in the best condition of your life, and achieve excellent health. I want to encourage you to take chances, to take risks, to expand your possibilities, to stretch your comfort zone and maybe become a whole lot more successful and more prosperous along the way. I want to help you stay focused, and motivated, and inspired. I try to do this through these blog posts and through the emails I send out periodically (btw, if you haven’t signed up yet, just slot in your name and email in the form at the top right of this page). And I try to do it all honestly and truthfully, and not mislead you in any way.

But … here’s the thing

But I’d hate you to think I’m making myself out to be some kind of superman or super-achiever. I know I always try to write as though life is truly amazing (which it is), but sometimes life doesn’t appear all that amazing to me. I can get just as frustrated as you. If you read my articles you might think I must be in the best shape of my life. The truth is, I’m not. And if you read what I have to say about money, you could be forgiven for thinking I must be a multi-millionaire by now. Wrong again (not yet anyway). You might assume I’m always in high spirits and smiling insanely (or inanely), which is also not the case. And why? Because I’m just the same as you. If there is a difference maybe it’s that I recognise that the world really is truly amazing and absolutely bursting with potential and limitless possiblities (even if I don’t always manage to see it that way), and maybe you haven’t fully realised that yet. I’m trying to help you come round to that way of thinking.

Apart from that, you and me, just the same. I’m nothing special. I haven’t achieved all my dreams yet, or become outstanding in any particular way (not that I’d thank you for a touch of fame, I don’t have any desire for that). I do try though. And I get frustrated when things don’t work out, same as you. Sometimes very frustrated! It sometimes seems I’m putting 100% effort into achieving things and only hitting about a 20% success rate. And I’ve started out lucky and ahead of the field – I’ve been rated with a very high IQ (not opinion, btw, tested by Mensa, and I scored high even for a Mensan). I guess that’s why I’ve always found it fairly easy to tackle and do well in lots of different things.

Still learning … and my mistakes are my greatest teachers

But … and this is critical … I’ve sometimes allowed circumstances to dictate to me, instead of the other way round. I certainly don’t believe you should allow that to happen, but in the past I have. So I’ve quit on some things in the past when, looking back, I should have just kept going, against all the odds, and even when the pain was practically unbearable. I quit, and I didn’t achieve certain things I should have, things I’d worked long and hard for over many, many years. I quit, and I have to say, it leaves a very bad taste in the mouth. But I’ve learned from my mistakes, and that’s the main thing. We all make mistakes, that’s just part of being human. The important thing is to recognise each one as a learning experience, and move on.

So, I just want you to know I’m not making myself out to be something I’m not. Unlike some online so-called ‘gurus’ I don’t make myself out to be super-successful, or an unfeasibly high achiever. I’m just telling it like it is. And I’m taking this moment to be honest and open with you just in case you’re under a misapprehension. I’m not a millionaire. I’m not super-successful. I’m not a computer genius. I could probably fill a few sizeable paragraphs with a stack of other ‘I’m nots’, but I think you get the picture.

This doesn’t mean I can’t be of use to you. Regardless of the fact that my computer skills are a bit thin on the ground, I run a website and this blog, and some people think they’re not at all bad, so I know I can help you do something along the same lines, if that’s what you want. Regardless of the fact that I’m not in great shape right now, I’ve trained, in various disciplines, for decades. I’ve made mistakes by the bucketload, and I’ve learned a huge amount in the process, so I feel confident I can help you make steady progress and avoid the mantraps I fell into. I can help you get in great shape, I don’t doubt that, and neither should you. And regardless of the fact that I’m still not a millionaire, I’ve learned a lot about prosperity consciousness and how to make money in recent years, and I’m confident that I will become wealthier and that I can help you become more financially secure as well.

So … what’s the problem?

So what’s caused me to fail in some ways, and sometimes so spectacularly? Well, there’s procrastination for a start – I was very good at that, seemed to get better with practice actually – and then there’s the fact that I just gave up on one or two important things (as I mentioned earlier), but that’s partly due to the main reason. And that, my friend, is a bit of brain damage.

I’ve had a neurological condition for a long, long time, though I was blissfully unaware of it till it was finally diagnosed about twenty years ago. I’d had the symptoms a lot longer, but I didn’t recognise them for what they were – I just accepted that I had recurring health problems of various kinds and didn’t even connect them. The resultant damage to my brain and nervous system has caused me to be far less effective in all kinds of ways. My memory is badly affected, for one, and particularly in some specific areas (incidentally, that’s why I created a memory improvement website). I’ve always been fascinated by words and language, but nowadays I’m often stumped trying to recall a particular word, even when it’s one in common use. Because of my abiding interest in words I have a very wide vocabulary, but nowadays even common, everyday words sometimes seem to slip through the cracks, and just leave me scratching my head and mumbling to myself, completely mystified. They just disappear from my brain as though they’ve been permanently deleted at the flick of a switch (which is sometimes quite frightening, to be honest), and then they pop back later as though they were just hiding and playing a trick on me. Mmm … not funny. :\

My ability to focus and concentrate has been knocked sideways as well, which hasn’t helped, as you can imagine. It means things that would have been a stroll in the park for me years ago nowadays take all the attention I can muster, and sometimes still leave me completely confused (that’s where searching for and getting help online comes in handy!).

And the damage to my nervous system has left me completely unable to do certain exercises, unable even to do certain movements properly, and at times, even unable to walk without a stick. It means I can’t do the wrestler’s bridge exercise, for example, which is an amazing exercise for improving your general health, because if I get into position to do it I get wildly and really sickeningly nauseous. Same goes for headstands and shoulder stands. Even sit-ups are very difficult, for the same reason. High knee raises are out – my body, for some reason, seems to have ‘forgotten’ how to jump and so jumping up and drawing both knees toward my chest has become impossible. Ridiculous, I know, but true. I can barely jump more than an inch off the floor actually (both feet at the same time, that is), which is, and feels, as ridiculous as it sounds.

And that means I can just about skip (or jump rope, for US readers) since I only need to bounce an inch or so off the floor at each turn of the rope, but even that I can’t seem to do properly anymore. I trip and make a hash of it all the time, which is endlessly frustrating. In the absence of other exercises, skipping would be a great way to keep in shape, but even that route is closed to me, or at least partly cordoned off.

It’s also left me with wildly fluctuating energy levels; I can be hyper sometimes and feeling on top of my game, and at other times I can be so energy-depleted that I can barely keep my eyes open or think straight (even with the strong medication I have to take). And that can go on for a day or two at a time, sometimes much longer. Sometimes I have to take naps several times a day, and other times I can’t sleep for a day or two at a time, occasionally even longer. I definitely don’t recommend that kind of sleep pattern to anyone, but for me, at times (quite often actually), it’s the only one I’ve got.

There are other symptoms, quite a few of them, but I’ve got no intention of boring you rigid by listing them all. Naturally, all this has had knock-on effects across every area of my life. When you’re affected in these ways, your confidence takes a battering, for example. So I’m not quite the same person I was years ago. But I’m not complaining. Absolutely not! It could be infinitely worse. People with this condition often have much more severe difficulties and far wider restrictions, so I’m actually very lucky, and believe me, I do appreciate that.

Why do you need to know any of this?

And why am I telling you all this? Certainly not for sympathy, that’s for sure. I had to think very carefully before starting to write this blog post because I really do not want to sound as though I’m looking for anyone’s sympathy. But I felt it was important to clear some things up in case you get the wrong idea. I’m guessing, from the stuff I write, you might have pictured me as some amazing walking success story. Sorry to disillusion you, but no. And that’s the point – I wanted to make it clear that I’m just like you.

Also that I’m not going to let these things define me. I’m sure you have your own issues to deal with (perhaps far more challenging than mine), and the message I want to send out is that we shouldn’t let them stop us making the most of life. I don’t have any intention of just sitting around feeling sorry for myself, and neither should you. It’s all about doing the best with what you’ve got, and starting from right where you are right now.

There are things I can’t do, sure, but equally there are things I can do, and they’re the ones I choose to focus on. I won’t let my restrictions stop me creating an online success, or stop me helping people make the most of their lives. I just won’t let any of it stand in my way. It might slow me down, but so what? If I have to take a back seat for a few days now and then, so be it. I’ll just get back up and carry on where I left off later, that’s all. It’s not the getting knocked down that matters, after all, it’s the getting back up.

And I just want you to know that even though I may not be as fit as I was, I’m still able to coach and advise you on fitness matters, regardless of that. And if you stick with me and follow the guidelines I advise, you can be sure you will achieve levels of health and fitness way beyond your present capabilities.

Stick with me … the best is yet to come!

For my part, I will keep writing inspiring and motivating articles for this blog, you needn’t doubt that, and I’ll keep sending out little emails to help give you a gentle push in the right direction. And I’ll do all I can to make you glad you subscribed to the truly amazing blog, because I really want to help you achieve your goals and make the best of your life. I just wanted to clear a few things up and make it plain to you that I’m not some kind of ultra-high-achiever, which is probably good for you to know, because now you know that what I’m saying is coming from someone who has the same kind of problems and challenges that you’re facing. Because basically, I’m just the same as you. 🙂

We’re in this together! And we can become fitter, healthier, and more productive as time goes on. We can become better versions of ourselves – happier, more content, more confident, more capable, wealthier, and more in control of our destiny. More like supermen, you might almost say (or superwomen).  😉 

PS  Please, if you’re seeing results from anything you read on this blog, let me know. Just send me an email. I like nothing more than hearing readers’ success stories, and I’d love to print yours, if and when you have one to share.