Thoughts and thanks for 2018

It seems like an age ago now but there was a point in the summer of 2018 when it felt like we’d slipped into a world a lot like our own but was actually something entirely different.

The country basked in wall-to-wall blue skies and sunshine for what felt like forever, England won a penalty shootout in a major competition and (for fleeting moments) were brilliant at football, Geraint Thomas stormed up Alpe d’Huez en route to a Tour de France victory, and people were smiling in the streets for the first time in a long time.

It was surreal. Much like the last four years of my life.

Let me explain. Take the hand of the Ghost of Christmas Past, and, in his words: “Come in, and know me better, man!” For while stories can have many beginnings, this particular one began during the Christmas season back in 2014.

It’s only four years but that pre-child world already seems a lifetime ago. I was at a crossroads. We knew we wanted to start a family and, at the same time, despite having a brilliant job at a great company, I knew if I was going to become a Dad, I’d want to have control over my time, my choices and my life so I could be the Dad I really wanted to be.

I voiced these thoughts to my sometimes mentor and always-time friend, Toby Budd, over beer, stood in my kitchen, on New Year’s Eve. “Go freelance,” he told me. “You’ll never look back.”

“But what about the risk?” I asked. “What about finding work? Paying the mortgage? Supporting the family?

“I’ll bet you £20, a beer, and a packet of Quavers, that if we have this conversation in a year’s time and you’ve gone freelance, you’ll be doing better than you ever thought possible,” he replied. He’s not often right, but he hit the nail on the head and, along with many others, Toby’s faith in me and support in the first year helped me get to where I am now.

So we come back into the present and this New Year’s Eve, my little girl, Gracie, will celebrate her third birthday. Every now and again fate has an uncanny ability to make you smile.

And, even though this year has been all sorts of a crazy kind of busy, it’s very rare I have to sacrifice time with my family for work.

What’s more, on the work front, this year has been more than anything I ever dared to imagine. It’s been (there’s the word again) -  surreal. I’ve been lucky enough to do work I love for a whole host of different businesses, who are all brilliant in their own way, with great people who inspire me, challenge me and drive me to keep getting better at what I do.

To all of you who I’ve worked with this year: thank you. Thank you for believing in me, for embracing my mad ideas, and for making me a part of the journey you’re on. For my part, I truly hope the work I do for you helps you (and your businesses) reach the places you want to go, I hope it makes smile, and I hope you take as much pride in it as I do.

So, in no particular order Quinyx, Jarrang, Falmouth University, ISTA, Chiro London, Putney Chiropractic, Hartley Dental, C&E Consult, Murrell Associates, Roundhouse Barns, Flic, Sitoo, Thad Cox Branding Studio, and Vendemore - thank you for making 2018 an incredible year for me.

You’re all (most of the time!) a joy to work with and, whatever the future holds for all of us, I know you’ll all continue to be a huge force for good in the world - and that’s why I love working with you.

It’s not always been plain sailing. Like every year, this one has brought its fair share of tough times, frustration, challenges, and heartbreak. Sometimes the light at the end of the tunnel can seem an awfully long way away. But all of us, whoever you are and wherever you are reading this, have the power to do good in the world, to change things for the better and to leave a legacy to inspire those who follow us - whether that’s in five years or fifty.

This is me signing off for the year. To recharge my batteries. To eat my bodyweight in cheese. To spend time with my family and those I love. And to come back in 2019 with (to steal from Friday Night Lights) clear eyes and a full heart, to see what the next chapter of this adventure holds.