Sometimes, the person that offers growth, transformation and promises to ‘shake things up’ isn’t the right thing to go for. Sometimes, the sexy hire just isn’t the right hire to make. I’m going to say something that I’ve never said publicly here about hiring talent. On the other hand, I can look back on this 10-year old adventure, and feel very old, and physically at least, a shadow of my former self □□□□ Because I’m determined that my kids will grow up with more confidence than I ever had, to just go and get their dreams. What’s more now, when I tell my boys that they can do anything they want to do in life, I can believe it with every bit of myself and I can tell them a true story that helps them to believe it too. And this has helped me overcome far greater challenges since. It doesn’t matter how big a challenge it is. And by doing it, by proving everyone wrong and by pushing myself further, and setting myself a standard higher, than I’ve ever done before, I realised that if I really want or need to do anything at all, I can. It was the first time that I had been able to ignore the people around me who scoffed, laughed or just told me I couldn’t do it. But this ride was the first time in my life I had ever backed myself to do something out of the ordinary. I can’t say I banished my imposter syndrome - I can still doubt and question myself to world championship level. But it’s only looking back that I realise the other, personally more important success. So it was a success in terms of the goals I set. I didn’t make waves in terms of awareness, but I did make ripples and I think that the money I raised was at the time the most to be raised for a single, individual effort. Whenever I told anyone that my mum had died of MND, I got a “what’s that” response which drove me to distraction and essentially caused a massive cry for attention. So what possessed me? Well this was before the Ice Bucket Challenge, before Rob Burrow, Kevin Sinfield and Doddie Wier. Before I started training for this adventure, I had never cycled more than 12 miles on a crappy old hybrid bike, I didn’t know how to use cleats and had been hit by a car on that crappy hybrid, causing me to need jaw reconstruction. I set off on a bike ride that would see me cycle 2,500 miles around the UK in 28 days, to raise money and awareness for MND. 10 years ago today, I did something a little bit bonkers.
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