[Never give up hope]

A story of success that involves my Dad, a deadline and a single one pound coin…

Now before I go on I’ll pre-frame with the fact I may of shared this to some in my past, but it’s pertinent for many of you to read this story NOW

Hence sharing this with you today

So, many years ago my dad – aka the goat – was in sales and I believe at the time he was a sales rep for a UK stationary company

It was during the 90’s recession and yours truly was just a little boy

(I only learned of this story last year)

Times were tough

Even though my dad was, and still is, a fantastic salesmen

We didn’t have much back then

I was always loved
I was a happy boy
I was never hungry or without books or a dog or toys

But times for many – as they are now – were hard

My dad isn’t by his own admission isn’t academic – but he IS determined and he IS relentless

He is also a provider

Hence the thought of him NOT being able to provide was something I knew that drove him from our chats in the last years

Anyways to the story

My dad got a lead

A company that he had been chasing down for many, many months gave him a call

If he could get to Cardiff?

The deal was his

Now I live in Somerset, and if you don’t know we have a big old body of water called the Bristol Channel between us and and wales

You can go up and around but that takes a few hours – and he would of missed the meeting

So he needed to use the bridge

The bridge back then cost £1

Problem was, he didn’t have any money

Now i don’t have a family

One day, I hope to

And if I do, my mum and dad have provided me with – in my opinion – a ‘blueprint’ for what being a good mum or dad is

Mum taught me to be kind and empathic, to look out for those who can’t look after themselves and to not complain about your lot in life

But to simply crack on

Dad?

That’s where I get my tenacity, people skills (different from mums) and sheer bloody minded relentlessness from

Now I can’t quite imagine how that felt

Knowing that the answer to your problems…

To the deal that would put money in the bank…

And food – literally – on the table…

Knowing all your problems could be solved by one fucking pound that you didn’t have I imagine would of felt brutal

For many?

Hope would be lost

What he felt – is for him and him alone – but he didn’t give up hope

From what he told me he went through every drawer…

Every suit pocket…

Every nook and cranny in his car…

Looking
For
One
Single
Pound
Coin

After coming up blank, he started turning the soft furnishings literally inside out

And after literally removing the lining of true sofa

Nestled amongst she lint, crumbs and things you find in the crevices of sofas…

…was a single, shiny, golden £1 coin

With barely enough petrol to cover the journey he set off

– made the meeting with 4 mins to spare –

And closed the deal

Got the commission
Paid the bills
Was there for his family

He didn’t lose hope
He kept looking
He refused to quit

I’m sharing this now as – for many – at times it might feel hopeless

No idea what to do
No idea who to turn to
No idea if you’re going to be ok

If you let your thoughts run wild?

You will he paralysed by fear and you won’t do your equivalent of ‘tearing up the sofa’

Now if your are reading this and you are 100% fine, more power to you

But with everything I write, I’m always mindful there could be those reading this that are fucked

I say this having come from no material privilege

All I have?

I worked for and earned myself

Yes I’ve had help from others

But you know who got my ass out of the shut?

Me

When it comes down to to IF you have a few people you can TRULY rely on?

You’re lucky

There’s times – more than once – I’ve felt completely hopeless, a week or two away from ruin

I remember having to sneak into work early when I was 19 to have a teaspoon of cereal from the boxes the consultants kept on the kitchen shelf…

I remember hiding in a corner behind a skip waiting for the manager of Pret to throw away the gone-off sandwiches that I would happily harvest after he closed door and before the motion sensor alarm was activated…

I remember walking 6 miles a day in a summer heatwave in london with multiple shirts (that I had to change in McDonalds toilets and wash/clean/iron every night) and a bundle of CV’s I printed off from the job centre handing them out for sales jobs…

I remember it all – and many more – clear as day

How I felt is BURNED into my mind

Because as depressed, beaten and emotional battered as I was?

Like my dad all those years ago – I didn’t give up hope

Somehow, I found a way

Fuck, I’m only here now because I’m a spiteful little arse who refuses to stay in his lane and knowing that I have a duty of care to my sister in years to come

If you’re in the suck right now?

I implore you: don’t give up hope

Yes, it may not be easy – it might be far from that – it might be fucking brutal

But do what you need to do

Call in favours…

Swallow your pride…

Get up early and go to bed late..

Do
What
Needs
To
Be
Done

This won’t last forever and I’m telling you there ARE opportunities out there

They might not be exactly what you want

When I lost it all?

I certainly didn’t want to be working in a strip club being belittled and spat on (literally, more than once) by bankers

But I did what needed to be done until I could shift to what I wanted to do

I did the work
I got paid
I fed myself and paid my bills

Had fuck all else

But I got through it and it made me who I am today

You WILL get through this

No idea when, or how but if you don’t give up hope and you don’t quit

You WILL find your own £1 coin

Yes you’re gonna have to be relentless
Yes you’re going to have to do some things you don’t want to do
Yes it’s not going to be easy

But one day it will be!

You just have to grind through this

So send the pitch…
DM every old client…
Leverage your network..

Hit the digital streets and knock on those digital doors one by fucking one and don’t fucking quit on yourself

One day YOU will be looking back on this and you will be PROUD that you didn’t quit when every fibre of your being said

‘I’m done’

Flip the sofa cushions

One day?

You’ll find that £1

Good luck

And it may not feel like it..

…but you got this