Remain positive at all times

But don't gloat, nobody likes a show off

Moments before it all went horribly wrong in a museum somewhere…

Hi there, how you doing?

I started writing a post back in January and purposefully saved it as a draft because it was precisely the sort of post that annoys the hell out of you at that that time of the year; namely reminding you that it is precisely that time of the year when everyone feels they have to tell you what they have done, that they are fabulous; and how they are going to be even more fabulous in the year ahead than they were in the year just ended.

Yeah, that time of the year.

The truth is, early one dark and dank January evening, whilst tapping the keyboard and swigging fine wine, (both) somewhat too enthusiastically, I too became rather more pleased with myself than I had any right to be, and came perilously close to smugly hitting the send button and submitting the unconventional flock to a shit shower of self-congratulatory nonsense that nobody needs at any time of year, let alone the most miserable cold dark and depressing of time of year.

So the draft post entitled ‘big business review’ has thankfully gone the way of many drafts before it; the big substack dustbin beckoned and the friendly red delete button obliged; it wasn’t the first and it certainly won’t be the last; the experience only serving to underline the fact that I am not a real writer; my ability to harvest my thoughts and ideas and organise them into creative draft posts, is rather limited.

Oh, to have the organisational ability to capture and record, re-order, categorise and develop these ideas; to return to them after a reflective period and craft them into beautiful stories; that is my dream and will be my focus for developing my writing in 2025.

I refuse to be negative about stuff I can do nothing about; I have a lot to be happy about and I must remember to tell my face that sometimes. Do you feel the same? Being a man (and an increasingly old) one does not help in this matter, I find…

Creativity is the key; and I intend to more fully engage my creative mind this year; the camera is charged and ready to go, my pile of notebooks are flowing with ideas and scribbles, pencils have been sharpened and I even have an unruled A4 green workbook for the office to encourage more drawings and visualisation and less list-making and self-flagellation.

I don’t want to be a show off; but there are encouraging signs that 2025 could become a very good year (despite what you may feel right now when you turn on the news) and so my message as always to you dear flock is one of positivity and optimism; we are half way through February and armed with a decent notebook and some pens or pencils and a cocker spaniel or two, one can create a lot of good in the world.

Let’s get out there and make it happen, together we can do anything.

Have a great weekend.

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Next week -

My Travel Journal

I started trying to list a few trips in a small notebook I nought in Brussels; and then as Ron Burgundy said, it escalated quickly.

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Thanks for reading ‘You can do Anything’; it means a lot to me - come and join the unconventional flock; the fun is just beginning.