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THE IMPORTANCE OF BELIEF

Last week, I had the pleasure of speaking to Barrie of Feast & Fables. Not only was the experience incredibly uplifting, it was also totally unique. Barrie retired from the RAF having spent 30 years in uniform. He and his wife Jojo then set up a delicatessen before more recently, selling their dream home to live a life of curiosity and adventure in a camper van.

When Barrie and Jojo were running their deli, they did so to a set a values. They've since published them as the Encouragement Manifesto. Living these values, Barrie offers his time to others as a Non Executive Encourager. In the hour that we spent on Zoom, he did exactly that. I came off the call having felt listened to, understood and supported. I came to a couple of pivotal realisations with Barrie's help.

One of those is that when you're creating something completely new, something untested, there isn't a step by step guide to success. In fact, there isn't a step by step guide to any of it. And so, before you can get started on a task list for the day, the first thing you have to do is to believe. Believe in what you're doing, believe in the change you're trying to bring about and believe in your ability to create that change.

That realisation was like a pebble being dropped in the middle of a pond and I'm hoping that the ripples will roll out to all of you - a hope that I know Barrie will wholehearted share too.

FIELD NOTES

Over the last three years, I've been lucky enough to be supported by people from all over the world, including each of you who have chosen to follow along with the journey. Every one of these people has had a direct impact on me and my drive to work towards the goal of creating an influential company that crafts beautiful, high quality jackets.

MARK LERUSTE

Last year, I reached out to Mark having watched his wildly popular TEDx Cardiff talk "The Truth About Entrepreneurship". We jumped on a call and the rest, as they say is history.

Mark's incredible insight and positivity is infectious in the best possible way. His TEDx talk has over 1.1 million views and he's impacted millions more through his podcast The Unconventionalists. 

Recently, Mark has been developing a book to help and support people to tell their story in a way that engages with their audience, to connect with their community and make an impact. I've been lucky enough to get my hands on an advanced manuscript and I can tell you now, it's life changing.