WHAT IS SUCCESS?

I'm currently reading "Success Intelligence" by Robert Holden. It's a fascinating book and one which I'll review properly once I've finished it. For now though I wanted to share the question that the author asks early on, what does success mean to you? It seems fundamental yet it's really not so easy once you begin to think about it. No two people will answer that question in the same way I'm sure.

For me I like the idea of success as a journey and not just as a destination. I want to enjoy the getting there and not just the arrival. Success is also about who I am becoming, it's more than just about what I'm getting or achieving. In fact the more I write, the more I realise that my own ideas are still at the evolutionary stage - let's call them a work in progress. Once they are more fully formed I'll share them with you in a future post.

Recently I talked about following your joy though and I wanted to share the fact that I really did live up to that yesterday. As a part-time GP I now work in the surgery only three days a week. The rest of the time is my own to pursue my other interests and today I did precisely that. I'm working on an article for one of the medical magazines about coaching. I wrote it on my laptop whilst sipping cappuccino in the coffee shop in my village. I spared a thought for my partners at work on what is undoubtedly the busiest day of the week in general practice and as always I smiled inwardly at the thought of being somewhere else on a Monday. But it was more than just being elsewhere, it was about doing what I truly love doing. Coaching is my passion and something that I care deeply about. This latest article was about coaching doctors and is really at the core of the sort of work I love; so yes, today; I really did follow my joy. When I was doing that work it felt effortless, I loved it. I felt inspired and somehow almost guided. I had a strong sense of being in the right place at the right time.

I haven't yet figured out my full answer to the success definition question but if I was to look just at today I'd have to say I think I came pretty close.

FOLLOW YOUR JOY

Well Saturday's workshop in London proved to have been well worth all the anticipation - it was absolutely wonderful. It was held in Porchester Hall in Paddington and was attended by around 350 people. I had met some of them before and as ever at this sort of event got chatting to a lot of very interesting new people. The atmosphere was warm and friendly and everyone seemed open to sharing and to exploring new ideas.

It was co-hosted by Michael Neill and Robert Holden. I knew that Michael Neill would be fantastic - he always is. I've read all but one of his books and his audio programmes have provided the backdrop to many walks with my dog Sox. Robert Holden on the other hand was relatively new to me - and he was a revelation. Rarely have I been introduced to someone's new material that has made so much sense and struck such a chord with me. He came across as such a straightforward, genuine bloke too with an absolute passion for the work that he is doing. Not only that but he loved sharing it and talking about it.

He shared so many fascinating ideas. One that I particularly liked was the distinction between being what he called HIP and DIP. HIP stands for healthily independent person whilst DIP stands for dysfunctionally independent person. Whilst in many ways it is great to be independent, allowing yourself to ask for and accept help from others is something that we all need to learn how to do and some of us find difficult. Many people are very good at giving help to others but find it hard to take. He spoke about seeing it not as taking but as receiving. I love this distinction and know I will incorporate it into my coaching as well as my own life. There were so many gems like this.

We explored many things during the workshop including the different answers that we received when we asked the same question of our head, heart and gut. Intuitively we know what to do in most situations but often we get in our own way and try too hard to think through the solution. Sometimes we just need to be with ourselves peacefully for a while and allow our inner wisdom to guide us.

Robert was kind enough to chat to me afterwards for a while. His background is in psychology and he has done a lot of work with the NHS around his Happiness Project. I was genuinely touched when he said that he thanked me from the heart for the work I was doing coaching fellow doctors. I told him I loved doing it and that I had found the day inspirational. He signed my copy of his book Success Intelligence with the inscription "Follow your joy".

Thank you Robert ; from my heart, I fully intend to.