Success!! Could this be about you? includes Alvin Mighty,Rob Evans, Marlon Starling,my dad, my girlfriend my family, Frank Wise School, the Olympic Torch, Rosie Berry Bob Marley

It is fair to say that I write blogs in the hope of inspiring people.  I believe we all have it in us to achieve success in our own lives and also believe the vast majority of us underachieve massively.  I will sharing stories from all walks of lives including former champion boxers, successful business people, catwalk models, footballers and who ever else I can convince to join the party. Hopefully many of the stories will be direct from people I have contacted like former World Champion Marlon Starling and of course Banbury's own Boxer turned model Robert Evans

There are many ways in which we can measure success with many people seeing successful people as those who have made it financially.  How many times will we see someone we knew at school driving an expensive car and living in a big house or appearing on a TV show, and say 'they have done well for themselves'?  I will also be finding out what these people believe success is.  If you have a view on what you believe success is, please feel free to give your definition in the comments box below this blog.

What I want to do in this blog is find inspirational success stories to show how certain people who have perhaps started with nothing, had no prospects but have done really well against the odds.  I also would like to hear stories from people were feel they were born to be successful, who may have started their own business from scratch.  Many of my blogs talk about how hard work is the true route to achievement, is this true or are there short cuts?  I would like you the readers to join in with personal stories of your own to inspire others to become successful. I will be asking for four events/people/circumstances that have changed the course of your lives whether they are good, bad or indifferent.

I want to further understand what makes an achiever and the process it takes to accomplish their goals and who, if anyone helped inspire them. I have my own personal stories from people I know.  I will be talking to people on their way to success, people who are already successful and people who have been successful.  I want to see if people judge success as an achievement and if success has helped or hindered people.  I have many visits to schools coming up where I will be doing all I can to convince pupils that their future can be as bright as they want to make it.  The more I get inspired, the more I can inspire the next generation

To get the blog rolling I will write a little about my life and the times I feel I have been successful including at least four pivotal times in my life.  Much of my life has been highlighted in previous blogs and have been more about my experiences rather than what I feel are successes

Dave Earle

I was born in 1963 to my father Maxie Earle and Mother Patsy.  As a child I didn't feel any different to any other child.  After starting school in Coventry it became apparent that my skin colour was going to impact on my life.  With three Dave's in my class I was quickly distinguished as 'Black Dave'  I was bought up with my two sisters on a council estate in Coventry by my father after the breakdown of my parents marriage.  I was made aware that life may be harder for us by my father because of our colour and I would have to work hard for any success. At school I didn't do well academically and focused more on doing well at sport as that seemed to come more 'naturally'.  Although I was a short skinny kid, I would generally do well at most sports at school and was always fit.  I enjoyed school and although I was never going to be top of the class academically I drew strength and confidence from being above average at sports. One sport I would have liked to be better at was football. I never made the school football team being a fast runner meant I could get to the ball first but once I had the ball I couldn't do much with it. 

My father remains the biggest influence on my life

So as a child I never had much success other than winning the odd sprint on sports day.  Strangely everybody imagined I could fight because my father was a boxer.  My father is the biggest reason for me being who I am today.  Everything my father did I wanted to do.  My father was a boxer I wanted to be a boxer (and was), my father was a lorry driver , I wanted to be a lorry driver (and was), my father was a bouncer so I wanted to be a bouncer (and was).  I can clearly say that my father was pivotal to my young life and the way I wanted to lead my life.  He could do no wrong in my eyes. All I wanted to do was make him proud. Saying that,  I didn't start boxing properly until I was fifteen years old. I had a brief attempt when I was eleven but got scared off when I was asked to spar a bigger boy.   I moved from Wood End in Coventry when my father met a lady called Sylvia who lived in another part of town.  Fortunately for me I lived on a road opposite a family called the Christies.  The Christies were a family of Jamaican Origin and Mr and Mrs Christie had a daughter and five sons.  All five sons went on to become National Amateur Boxing champions.  One of the brothers, Andrew talked me into going along to the boxing club with him.  I boxed from the age of fifteen until I was twenty seven, winning five home counties titles back to back and reached the Quarter Finals of the ABA's (The national competition for amateur boxers) on two occasions.  Although I drifted from job to job through the years the one constant in my life was sport, in particular boxing.  I also spent a further four years competing as a full contact kick-boxer and won two British Full-Contact Titles, but in all fairness I wasn't the best kick-boxer in the country but my boxing skills at the time were enough to ensure most of my opponents didn't stay around long enough to use their superior kicking abilities for them to hear the final bell. I was it has to be said 'a bit of a banger' but also as one fighter said, I couldn't kick high enough to kick his cat. (not that I would want to)  I have been lucky enough to fight in different countries around the world and that taking part in sports has opened lots of doors for me and gained me the respect of many people. 

Fun with my three boys and my step-daughter

Another huge influence in my life was having children.  The biggest influence since the influence of my father. I see my role now as being a positive role model for my children.  Everything changed when I had children.  I see the world differently now.  Having children is a great natural boost to anyone's life.  It's almost a new beginning.  From changing nappies to taking them to football matches and watching them compete at sports. Terrible twos? I never noticed them although I may have been told they had them.  I have a triple whammy now.  I have gone from trying to make my dad proud to making my kids proud and watching them make me proud

My gym is a place where people
can and have transform their lives

Jo has been there for me
 whilst I followed my dreams

Three of my sisters

I have had lots of highs and lows in my life and wouldn't change anything apart from wishing my parents were around for longer.  Do I see my self as successful?  Yes I think so.  I have nothing of material value, never owned my own house or had two holidays in a year.  I am at best financially unstable but... I started on a rough council estate in Coventry, along the way I have been lucky enough to have a loving family including 6 sisters and a brother.  Joining a boxing club led to me winning several championships both in boxing and kick-boxing,  I have three wonderful sons who are all doing well and achieving their own successes and a bright musical step-daughter and have a lovely girlfriend who I been with for ten years who has allowed me to follow my dream of setting up my own gym and boxing club.  I get to influence peoples lives in a positive way which has included leading some away from a life of crime and for others instilling confidence and belief in their personal abilities. I also get to work with the less fortunate such as the pupils of a local school for the disabled.  This alone has helped me realise how fortunate I am. They once reduced me to tears after a school assembly, seeing how contented some pupils were despite their disabilities.  

Frank Wise 

I was voted in as a Town Councillor by the public of Banbury, so get to help people at a local level from issues varying from deportation to overgrown stinging nettles.  As a councillor I have cut ribbons to open shops and fetes. The Banbury public also nominated me to carry the Olympic torch which I will do on July 10th 2012.  I have helped a young lad achieve his dream of being a British Champion boxer on three occasions, he is now a super-model and mixing with 'A' list celebrities all over the world.  He recently called me from Brazil and told me it looks like he is going to be a judge on America's Top Model   

Wez was a bit naughty but became like a son. I like to think
that we are one big family at Spit n Sawdust. 

Success to me is being happy with my life and I am very happy.  My successes are continuing.  I will produce more champions, I fully expect my children to keep making me proud and I will steer youths along the right path and help them realise their potential.  Yes I would like to have more money, a bigger house  a nice car and have financial stability, I am not a martyr but they would just be the icing on the cake.

 In summary: to many people I may not be successful, but I feel successes are to be had every day of the week.  I successfully woke up in time to walk my girlfriend to work and for a coffee at Nero's this morning before going to work myself, as I left Nero's a lady said "have a good day" I said  "I will" and have gone on to have lots of minor successes throughout the day, including I believe, adding to this blog.  I believe you don't have to be a great achiever to be successful, you just need to be successful in your own right.  Surely it is more important to be surrounded by a loving family and have a great circle of friends, than it is to own a Rolls Royce and live alone in a mansion? 

If we smile more than we frown we are doing ok