Inspiration comes to us in many ways.  Many times it will come from positive role models in our own communities, often it will come from our parents who want the best for our futures.  It also comes from school teachers who show us the value of education and how education can help shape a better future.  Many of us are inspired by our heroes. I was inspire by my father to become a boxer and also by watching boxers like Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard. My friends at school were inspired by footballers and all wanted to play for their favourite football teams.  Our inspirations and what influences us can shape our lives.

I recently wrote a blog about a friend of mine who I have known for many years. His name was Phillip Panadher and he had recently started to help out at the gym with the young lads who aspired to be boxers.  He had recently successfully come through rehab after 7 years of drug abuse and was looking and sounding brilliant.  He was lorry driving through a temping agency and told them he couldn't work on Tuesdays or Thursdays as he needed to be here at Spit n Sawdust to help train the children.. During his short time here Phil had a massive influence on the children and had a certain uncomplicated way of getting them to train.  It was like turning back the clock listening to him talk to the lads.  People these days seem to tip-toe around children so as not to offend them where as Phil was to the point and couldn't understand why they came boxing training but didn't seem to want to work hard.  It wasn't that he was strict he just would laugh at their excuses for not putting the effort in and tell them in the simplest of ways why it was important.  I remember doing the same thing to Phil when he was a child.  He reminded that I had laughed at him when he told me he lost his fight after winning the first round easily because he got too tired and had no energy left.  I had told him it was because he was unfit and should have trained harder.  He trained harder after that and won his next eight fight before discovering 'wine and women' and packing it all in.  His experience was helping him to inspire the boys at the gym to train harder.

On Thursday of last week Phil didn't turn up to training.  I knew that he had started to drink again but it was not on a regular basis and seemed to have it under control.  At the end of the Thursday's class My step Brother came into the gym to see me asking what I was doing after training so I told him I was going home.  He the asked if I could go with him to see my sister because Phil had just died at her house and she was distraught.  I can't go into the details of what happened as there has to be an autopsy but on getting there, there were police both inside and outside the house.  My sister was inconsolable and there was a lot of emotion in the air.  Phil's body was still in my sisters house and rumours of what had taken place were spreading like wild fire.  It was a terrible evening.  Many of us had lost a close friend who seemed to be on the road to recovery.

This blog is about inspiration and what influences us.  Phil was starting to influence the lives of others in a positive way but at the same time was clearly dealing with demons in his own head.  2 days after Phil had died The Olympic torch arrived in England.  The Olympics will hopefully inspire future generations to take up sports and sport will become a focus that will lead them on the a successful life.  Phil knew the dangers that were out there and joined the boxing club to ensure others didn't go down the wrong road.......

Whats in the book?

The blurb on the cover of the book may lead you to believe that the book is all about me and my struggle through a difficult upbringing. A story that will take you on a journey through my difficult childhood, where you may expect to read how I fought through the difficult streets of my council estate, endured racist taunts, family unrest and despite my lack of education, came through all of that to become successful, despite the odds.  Whilst these things maybe facts, the book will show you many stories that show how many people including; my family, people I have loved, people I have lost, people I have trained and even strangers I have met whilst writing the book who have struggled with their lives and emerged with differing results.  At least one story will resonate with you, whether you find it is your own life story or the story of a family, friend or colleague, who's life is seeming to be replicated within the pages.  In the second half of this book you may find, as I did, answers to questions that you never considered asking yourself.  You may find that there is more to this life that you realised and discover that you are far more capable than you ever thought.      

Choose your journey

I started this Blogspot on the 7th March 2011 and have written 42 posts over 2 years and 8 months.The blog has had more than 20,000 hits in that time and on the whole, judging by the comments, has been positively received.  Although they were not all great pieces of work, and I cringe at some when reading them back,  I linked the post to Facebook and sometimes Google + and Twitter to maximise their audience. I also gave some posts provocative titles to develop more interest from my prospective audience.

Spit n Sawdust

I stopped writing the blog regularly once I decided that I wanted to write a book that will be somewhat based on the blog.  Since I stopped writing the blog, I have become immersed in my book writing and now spend between 1 and 4 hours a day writing.  The book is now in it's final stages and I will be going to Italy to finish the draft on the 9th November before talking to a number of editors, publishers and literary agents, that I have contacted using Linkedin over the past couple of years. I hope to have a book launch some time in the new year.

Phillip Panadher a good friend
& victim of a drugs overdose

The reason I started the book was to show a wider audience that their life is in their own hands.  It is story based, and will tell of stories of how 'real people' and their choices have steered their lives.  The stories show the journeys that friends, family and some famous people have made and how events have shaped their lives. Not all of stories have a happy ending and most of the journeys are still in progress.  Some journeys are making good progress and some not so good and some sadly ended whilst I was writing this book.

Some of the boxers that have been through Spit n Sawdust

My purpose in writing this blog and the book has never changed.  From my gym I believe I change lives by giving peoples lives a purpose.  The book is aimed at helping redirect people, who seem to have lost their way, and show them a journey that helps them understand among other things, that they don't have to let other peoples opinion of them become their reality; and that we can all achieve far more than we realise.

DAVE EARLE - Choose Your Destiny

How Positive Energy brand ambassador Dave Earle has changed lives

How Positive Energy brand ambassador Dave Earle has changed lives

Live your dream don't just think about living it

Looking forward to the seminar

So much has happened since my last blog that I feel I am getting near to writing an interesting life story. I read a book called 'Awaken The Giant Within' and I am also listening to Anthony Robbins audio compilation through my computer.  Having read and listened to his tapes for the last couple of years I have now decided to write a journal and actually follow some of his exercises.

One such exercise is a goal setting exercise where I was asked to write down as many personal development goals as I could in 6 minutes and to do this as fast as I could.  I was also asked to imagine I was a child on Santa's knee and let my imagination run wild. I was also instructed to write down as many 'thing' goals as I could in 2 minutes and to have no limitations. I could ask to own anything from a house in the country with a pool, or even 2 pools, or an island in the pacific. The final goals I was instructed to write down were my economic goals. Anything to do with how much money I would like to earn whether it was personally or for my family. would I like to invest money etc.. Judging by what Mr Robbins now owns I imagine these were exercises he had practiced in his early years.

So I started writing down what I wanted to achieve and managed to write down 18 personal development goals. My personal development goals included:
Learning more about becoming a personal development speaker.  Although I currently do inspirational talks for schools, colleges and community groups, I am not doing them as regular as I would like to.
Visiting regular schools, special needs schools, colleges nursing homes Etc... and to carry out a minimum of 3 talks a week so I could inspire more people to be more successful and fulfill their potential
To meet or have a conversation with Anthony Robbins as he has become a bit of a Guru to me but as he lives in America I was unlikely to see him for a while.

Beside all my goals I had to say in what time period I wanted these goals to be achieved by and then to pick 3 one year goals and write down why they absolutely had to happen.  The next thing I was instructed to do was to make a positive action to get started on at least one goal. But before I got around to that, the phone rang and I was asked if I could stand in for a speaker who had cancelled with only ten hours notice. I asked what the subject matter was and I was sent a list that included; 

Me my torch and my Olympic tracksuit

• Perseverance of adversity 
• not letting difficulties hold you back 
• being a positive influence on others through the way you live your life.

Now if you have read any of my other blog stories you will know this is right up my street.  So seven hours later I turned up, as instructed, with my Olympic torch wearing the Olympic tracksuit.  I was to speak to youths from a private school who had achieved a significantly high grades in their GCSE and A Level exam results.  Judging by the response I got from the crowd and the kind words from the organisers the talk went well. So well that the person who hired me twice the money that I had asked for. What I didn't know until the following day is that I had been standing in for 'Titanic' star Kate Winslet who has two children at the school.

Kate Winslet

This to me was a step in the right direction and although I didn't get a recording of the event it will remain fresh in my memory.

A day later I was told that Tony Robbins was to doing a talk with Seb Coe and Donald trump amongst others, at the Excel Arena; £12 for a 3 day seminar.  So I then attended the seminar and got to see him live at the O2 Arena London only days later.

Now I have never signed up to the belief about cosmic forces, but the events of the last week are starting to give me an open-ish mind to it.  I forgot to mention that the evening of the talk at the private school was my second talk of that particular day, as I took my torch to a care home in the afternoon where I was 'educated' by a lovely 94 year old man who once part owned LLoyds of England. My torch has been a passport to meet some wonderful people

My advice to anyone reading this would be to follow your dreams and don't lose focus on what you really want out of life.  Focus on what makes you happy.  If it's money you want, saying I want to be a millionaire will never make you a millionaire.  Focus on the reasons you want to be a millionaire and then work towards that goal. There is nothing wrong with wanting to be rich, and if your beliefs are strong, having money won't change you, it will just magnify the person you are. If you are someone who just wants a simple life with no desire to climb the ladders of success and riches, and you are someone who just want a happy family and close friends you can rely on, then focus on those you love.  There is no secret formula to happiness but we will tend get what we focus on most.  So for goodness sake, don't focus on the stuff you don't want to have, focus on what makes you happiest

One positive decision made today can change your life immeasurably

Facebook With the Olympics and Paralympics fresh in our minds it is important that we carry this legacy forward.  Many people have taken up new sports and the personal expectations of the people on the streets has risen.  People like Nicola Adams, Mo Farah and Jessica Ennis have shown that you don't need to be gifted and that hard work and a will to win can and does take you to the top

This is true not only in sport but also in day to day life.  We can all decide to change our lives at any given time.  It is just making decision.  One decision today has the ability to alter the rest of your life beyond belief.  If you are not happy or believe your life could be far more enjoyable, then make a decision.  Whether it is taking a college course, joining a gym or changing jobs.

Now more than ever before there are opportunities out there for all of us.  The internet has made the world a smaller place.  Information on the net is freely available to most of us.  Your new and improved life could be a click away

Make your decision