WHAT A ROLE MODEL!

I'm a big tennis fan and an even bigger fan of Roger Federer. I honestly believe that he is probably the greatest ever role model in the world of sport.

Currently world number 3, the former world number one has won no less than 16 grand slam titles. He has been there, done it and got the tee-shirt but he remains the most incredibly modest man. He is currently playing in the French Open championships at Roland Garros in Paris and on Tuesday was involved in an incredible comeback from two sets down to beat Juan-Martin Del-Potro in five sets. Two days before he beat a young up and coming player who openly admitted that he idolised Federer as he was growing up.

I was full of admiration for the way he conducted himself both during and after these matches. He demonstrated incredible mental strength and focus. He dug deep when he most needed to and called upon the resources he required to get the job done. Afterwards he was full of praise for his opponents. He is like that whether he wins or loses. Even after losing in the US Open semi-final last year to Novak Djokovic after being two sets up, playing fantastically and having several match points, he remained a real gentleman. He must have felt crushingly disappointed by the loss but said something I have never forgotten - "When things like this happen it always makes me remember why we all love sport - because we never know what's going to happen."He demonstrates exactly how sport should be played and is in my opinion is sportsmanship personified.

I once read an interview in which a sports reporter told the embarrassing story of how as a young reporter he had been lucky enough to interview Federer in his hotel room the night before a big semi-final match. As he was finishing the hour long taped chat he realised to his horror that he had forgotten to switch the tape recorder on. Far from being cross with him, Roger Federer simply suggested they do the whole thing over again, even though it was already late at night.

He is fluent in four languages and proficient in several others. He always makes people feel special and never forgets his roots. The man is a legend, quite simply the greatest sportsman who ever lived.

OK so I didn't actually meet him at last year's ATP world finals at the O2 ........ but you have to admit I still look pretty happy about it!

DIAMOND JUBILEE

What other subject could there be to blog about today? As Britain returns to work after the four day celebrations for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, the nation is left with some great memories. It was a fantastic time in which Britain came together to give thanks for her 60 years of selfless service.

The British aren't really a nation of flag wavers. We tend to be more reserved in our shows of patriotism. However, the only time I have ever seen anything like as many flags around the place was during Euro 96 - don't start me off about that, there's a week's worth of blogging in there and I've already got so much great content planned for you!

The jubilee was an opportunity for old and young alike to get out onto the streets and give thanks to our Queen. Now whatever you may think about the monarchy, you have to admit that she is an amazing lady. I was lucky enough to visit Buckingham Palace about 10 years ago when my (now late) grandmother received the MBE. It was an incredible day, really special and every bit as exciting as I thought it was going to be. My Nan was a great royalist and loved that day as the Queen made it so personal for her and made her feel so special.

I loved the way that communities got together and there was a real sense of pride in our nation. Foreign friends on Twitter were saying that seeing the celebrations made them wish they were British. For those of us lucky enough to be from these Isles it was an opportunity to express our love for our country - I've never seen #proudtobebritish trending on Twitter before.

So let's take that pride, that great feeling and spread it into our daily lives. Let's show the world that Britain is a great place to be, not just for the Jubilee celebrations but every single day.

TIME TO REFLECT

Those of us in Britain are lucky enough to have a long four-day weekend to look forward to now, in celebration of our Queen's Diamond Jubilee. It's one Bank Holiday that I will particularly enjoy. I don't work in the surgery on a Monday so I normally miss out on the holidays, but not this time as we are off on the Tuesday as well.

Sixty years doing anything is an amazing achievement. What is so amazing though is how much the world has changed since she came to the throne. She was there years before the internet, the mobile phone, Facebook, moon exploration, the first four minute mile or the conquest of Everest. All of these things have happened yet she has remained a constant reassuring presence in our lives.

This weekend will hopefully provide you with a bit of down time, a bit of time to quietly reflect on your life. What are the calm, reassuring presences in your life? What or who can you rely on to be there for you when needed? Thinks about these and feel grateful that they are in your life.

Think also about what needs to change. What have you thought about doing or achieving and haven't started yet? What projects have you begun and let fall by the wayside? What better time could there be to resurrect these, to breathe new life into them, thereby enriching your own?

You can always look back and say you should have started X, Y or Z ages ago and is it really worth doing it now? My answer is this - it really is never too late. Remember the old Chinese proverb,

      The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the second best time is now.

So relax, enjoy your weekend and take time to reflect on the next chapter in your life. It's up to you.

RICHARD BRANSON'S HABITUAL PATTERNS OF BEHAVIOUR

I can't remember who said that we are our habits, but whoever it was got it pretty much spot on. As a coach I'm interested in getting people into better habits and that of course includes myself. I read this article about Richard Branson a few weeks ago and thought you'd be interested in it too. I can't credit the original source as I've seen it in several different places on the web. I believe it has been compiled from both his autobiography and various interviews. I think it's a fascinating insight into the mental habits of one of the world's most successful entrepreneurs and businessmen.

Branson lists these as his most important mental habits, the attitudes and ways of being that have got him where he is today:

• Stepping outside your comfort zone
• Facing problems head-on
• Being open to change
• Making every second count
• Hunting for new opportunities
• Asking questions
• Challenging yourself
• Enjoying life to the fullest
• Having fun
• Meeting new people
• Trying new things
• Enjoying working
• Always carrying a notepad
• Surrounding yourself with great people
• Taking calculated risks
• Taking time to read and learn
• Taking time to catnap and daydream
• Taking time to think

I love these. I find them stimulating and thought provoking. These are what works for him, they're not rules but how much better could things be for us if we adopted some or all of these ideas into our own lives? We likely do many of these things already but I think the difference is in doing them consciously. Why not choose a couple that really appeal to you and make a real effort to do them today? Actually ask yourself for example in what way are you stepping outside of your comfort zone today or in what way are you making an effort to meet new people. The answers you get will lead you into a whole new set of highly productive habits. What have you got to lose?

SYNCHRONICITIES

Have you ever thought about someone you haven't heard from in ages and then immediately afterwards got a phone call from them? Or maybe you've been thinking about going on a course when an email about the perfect one lands in your inbox? I'm sure you've had similar experiences or synchronicities. Maybe the Universe is trying to tell us something?

As regular readers will know, I have recently changed direction and am no longer working with my business partner to deliver NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) training. Instead I am concentrating on individual coaching and am absolutely loving it. It feels more authentic and real for me. I'm able to do it in my own way and tailor it to the needs of the individual doctors I coach. It's flexible, personal and enormously enjoyable. So what has this to do with synchronicity you may be wondering? Well in the last few days I've read two articles by coaches I admire, about them moving away from formal teaching NLP too. I'm thinking of Jamie Smart - now more involved with teaching the Three Principles (Mind, Consciousness and Thought). Jamie is a great coach, really generous with his time and with his content. Check out his website here. I also read a fascinating interview with Chris Morris yesterday in which he talked about making a similar move. Chris is now closing down NLPconnections which has been one of the biggest free NLP resources on the internet. I was introduced to the work of both of these coaches by Michael Neill who regular readers will know I greatly admire. These guys are big players.

I guess what I'm saying is that in some way, reading their interviews came at exactly the right time for me. It reinforced the fact that I have made exactly the right decision. Friends have been very supportive although some expressed surprise as the NLP training was in fact going very well. I have to say though that my favourite comment came from my most emotionally intelligent friend. Whilst out to dinner a couple of weeks ago she said "change is good; we all need to keep changing to keep growing." You know what - as a coach I couldn't have put it better. Think I might pinch that line for myself!

BEING GRATEFUL IS AT THE ROOT OF EVERYTHING

When was the last time you stopped at looked at your life; I mean really looked at it? Too often nowadays  it's easy to get caught up in the flow of busyness without even knowing what we are busy doing, let alone how it's going to benefit anyone. Sometimes we need to take a step off the treadmill and just look at ourselves, just appreciate our lives and realise how fortunate we are.

Let's see - I'm sitting outside writing this on my laptop, it's an Apple MacBook and I've got my BlackBerry Torch by my side. It's a beautiful day and I'm in very good health. I'm sitting looking out at our house and garden and can see our chickens and our dog basking in the morning sun. I'm privileged to have two great careers - medicine and coaching. I love the challenges of General Practice and still learn something new from it every day. I earn reasonable money and am free from debt. I've got a wonderful partner and two great kids. I have a lovely family and some great friends and colleagues. I'm lucky enough to live in England and so enjoy free speech, free healthcare, clean water, sanitation and all the many other priviliges of life in a developed country. I could go on for ages and so could you I'm sure but the point is, we don't need to. How long did it take for me to mentally list those things? Thirty seconds, maybe a minute? How great did it make me feel to think about them though? Absolutely wonderful!

For me, the root of all achievement is being grateful for what you already have. It's realising that you already have so much to be grateful for that gets you into the mindset to achieve even more. Not only that but it ensures that you appreciate those things when you achieve them. I'm sure that you have friends, as I have, who live their lives at breakneck speed, collecting "stuff" and seemingly never allowing themselves the time to enjoy it.

Why not slow down and step back, just briefly, to mentally run through what's great about your life. Do it first thing in the morning, maybe whilst you brush your teeth? If you ask yourself each morning what's really great about your life then you deliberately create such a powerfully positive state in yourself that believe me, you're ready for anything by the time you get out of that door! Of course you're not restricted to that time, it's never to early to start being grateful - so why not start right now?

FOCUS YOUR EFFORTS

I was sitting in the sun at the weekend, enjoying the fabulous weather. I was reading a book and trying to ignore the dog who wants to be played with 24/7. She was repeatedly dropping her tennis ball on my foot, trying to get me to throw it for her. I gave in after a bit and we played fetch for 15 minutes or so until she collapsed in a panting heap under a tree ...... don't worry, she was fine and the whole cycle was to be repeated several times more that day!

Whilst she was resting, I started to throw some bread onto the lawn for our chickens and the way that they behaved inspired today's blog. We've got two chickens, both very independent souls. They have distinct personalities in many ways but they both did exactly the same thing with the bread and that's what interested me. I tore it into small pieces before throwing it and as I did so they dashed to wherever it landed and started pecking away greedily. However, as soon as I threw a new piece down, they instantly abandoned what they were eating and rushed over to the new bit. They did this repeatedly, never able to stick with what they had, even though they were evidently enjoying it, always tempted by the promise of something new in the hope that it might somehow be even better.

How often do we find ourselves doing a similar thing? How much more could we achieve if we stuck at something instead of always expecting the grass to be greener elsewhere? Think about it. Maybe you started learning a language and then gave up when the going got a bit tough? Perhaps it was a new sport in which you made rapid progress at first and then stopped when you seemed to reach a plateau?

Success involves both focus and determination. If you set a goal and keep taking steps towards it every day then you are going to get there, even if the steps are small, providing you keep moving in the right direction. This means not changing your mind and moving onto a different course at the first hint of trouble. If you keep doing this you'll waste so much energy but if focus your efforts there's no limit to what you can achieve.