We go through life slowly climbing Maslow’s pyramid. As babies, we rely on parents to provide the basics such as food and warmth. As we grow up, the family home provides a place of safety, a refuge from the uncertainties of the world we are starting to explore.
As we mature, we break free from our parents and find someone new to love. A career feeds our self-esteem, our achievements are recognised and our contribution to the common good valued. Finally, as old age approaches, when our own children have flown the nest and the mortgage has been cleared, we finally have the opportunity to follow our dreams, and perhaps realise long held ambitions.
Of course for many, life does not follow such an orderly path. At every stage of our lives, temptation, distraction and occasionally disaster, can push us back. I’ve survived redundancy, made many mistakes and endured often quite severe bouts of depression, but a recent brush with death (prompted by a severe anaphylactic reaction to a wasp sting) caused me to look at my life afresh.
Writing has been a constant through most of my life. From advertising copy, mail-shots, magazine profiles and features, to over the last 20 years, a good number of books, most aimed at those building a business. In 2019 I took a year out and now have a creative writing MA from UEA.
Right now I am working on a book that explores how rural life continues to evolve. I no longer have to allow others to distract me, even if they are offering to pay for my time. Finally, I can devote all of my time and attention to what matters to me, which is to write books that inform and inspire. To quote Douglas Adams; ’I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.’
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