Posted by lisallen on September 10, 2010 under Personal Development Blog, Self Improvement Ideas | 
What does gift-giving mean to you? Does it fill you with joy at the thought of making someone else happy, or does the whole performance fill you with anxiety?
Did you know that HM the Queen has circumnavigated the globe over 7 times and that there’s a 6,000 word document which gives her host countries guidelines as to what to give her as a gift? I’d be interested to know the advice it contains, since the list of gifts she’s received over the years is intriguing, to say the least. Read more of this article »
Posted by lisallen on August 26, 2010 under Personal Development Blog, Self Improvement Ideas |
The thing I LOVE about YouTube is the fact that you can re-visit and share experiences with people who weren’t with you first time round. A couple of days ago I was talking to a friend about Derek Redmond, the British athlete – the name might not mean anything to you until I say …….Barcelona….. Olympics 1992. He was the guy who was tipped to win the 400m and had to pull out in the middle of his semi-final due to a torn ham-string. Read more of this article »
Posted by lisallen on August 12, 2010 under Personal Development Blog, Self Improvement Ideas |
Last Tuesday evening I was doing something rather unusual. I was in Scotland, queuing to get into a Brechin City football match (you know Brechin, that well-known mecca of British Football!).
Now for those of you who do know about British football, you’ll understand that Brechin’s usual crowd is around 500 people and there’s no need to queue! And yet I was lining up with all these people. Why? One of the reasons was the standard of the opposition – Aberdeen had come down to test out the local boys. However, there was a much more important reason for us to be there. This was no ordinary match – it was a memorial match for David Will, CBE, a former Chairman of the club who died an untimely death due to cancer in September 2009. Read more of this article »
Posted by lisallen on July 29, 2010 under Personal Development Blog, Self Improvement Ideas |
I like to keep up with the times, but this year the house ‘springclean’ has been delayed into a house ‘summerclean’. Why? I need to clear the clutter first.
I’ve never been known for my tidiness – in fact quite the opposite. I adopted the untidy habit when I was a teenager because, perversely, it gave me a feeling of power when there was little else I was in control of. (I was certainly not in control of myself!). It worked for a while (great for getting the parents riled!) and then it became ingrained beyond the point of usefulness. Read more of this article »
Posted by lisallen on July 19, 2010 under Personal Development Blog, Self Improvement Ideas |
When I was little, I used to think my mum spoiled all the fun. Why? She used to be quite disapproving when I wanted to hang out with the naughtiest kids in the class. When I was 10 years old, being naughty was much more fun AND it got me some attention! Double whammy, eh? What I didn’t realise when I was busy getting into trouble with the school caretaker, was that my mother understood the importance of being with like-minded people. It’s quite simple really (as are lots of things in life!) – if you hang out with people who think it’s acceptable to drink a bottle of whisky a day, you become an alcoholic. If you hang out with people who like train spotting, you become a nerd……….only joking you lovely train spotters! Read more of this article »
Posted by lisallen on July 2, 2010 under Personal Development Blog, Self Improvement Ideas |
England are out of the World Cup ( just in case you didn’t know!). Part of me is glad – couldn’t stand the tension of watching the schoolboy football – part of me is very disappointed cos I can remember jumping on the sofa with my dad back in 1966 when we won. Would have been nice to have done a bit of sofa jumping again!
However, even though we think it’s all over – and it is – the England football debate rumbles on. So what went wrong? Read more of this article »
Posted by lisallen on June 22, 2010 under Personal Development Blog, Self Improvement Ideas |
Isn’t it fascinating what’s going on at the World Cup? For a start there’s the match results – they’re completely unpredictable, which is keeping the tournament result wide open and exciting. European teams are realising that they no longer reign supreme in the footballing world and are having to work very hard to earn their places in the last 16 – I’m writing this before England play their third game so who knows what’s going to happen there! Read more of this article »
Posted by lisallen on March 22, 2010 under Personal Development Blog, Self Improvement Ideas |
I LOVE Eddie Izzard!
I’ve just done a telly-watching marathon over the last few days. Telly watching’s not a habit of mine; however, there have been three programmes/series on recently which I’ve found really compelling, inspirational, and one in particular, very moving. Don’t want to rank them in any order, so I’ll start with the one I’ve just finished watching – all about marathons – definitely not the telly-watching variety!
Eddie Izzard (comedian, transvestite and now runner) is a legend. Read more of this article »
Posted by lisallen on March 15, 2010 under Personal Development Blog, Self Improvement Ideas |
Sunday evenings used to mean guilt trips for me, mainly during school days cos I hadn’t done my homework for the Monday! Nowadays, Sunday evenings still prompt me to be asking ‘is there anything I need to plan or prepare for the week ahead?’ – such is the power of conditioning over a lifetime! However, last night I was in a great situation – there was nothing I had to do, and I was given the opportunity of going to listen to a Championship Section brass band rehearse for the forthcoming British Brass Band Championships (think Brassed Off and you get the picture!). Read more of this article »
Posted by lisallen on January 26, 2010 under Personal Development Blog, Self Improvement Ideas |
Have you ever noticed how the pressure builds in the run-up to a trip away? Whether it’s a holiday or a business trip, there always seem to be a million and one things to do before heading off. I suppose in the ‘old’ days it was necessary to tie up the loose ends, because the ability to communicate when you were abroad was much more difficult than it is now. These days we can be right back in the domestic or office ‘thick of it’ at the press of a button or two. Not sure that’s necessarily a good thing….sometimes it’s a very good thing to be a long way away and out of contact! However, if the pressure build-up means that the desk/head can be cleared in order to focus on the trip/task, then the pressure is perfect.
I’ve just had some perfect pressure 
I’m off to Australia this evening in order to learn from some great mentors, people who have already done what I’m aspiring to do. (More on the aspirations in a later blog – watch this space, as they say!) I’m off down under for some learnings and sunshine – great combination! Oh yes, I hope to be sitting in a bar on Sunday watching Andy Murray playing in the final of the Australian Open. Let’s hope he experiences some perfect pressure this week!
