I did a talk at a sports awards evening at a school in Essex last night. Lots of people came and I presented loads of prizes and awards to some lots of really highly achieving kids. What's often really great about these events, is that even though I'm obviously directing my talk to the children, their parents can also be inspired by what I've said. I've lost count of the number of times that a parent or adult has come up to me after a talk and told me how they feel as though they want to find 'their Everest', or that perhaps they already have a passion, yet were afraid to pursue it for whatever reasons.

Ultimately, in the same way that the age range of Everest summiteers stretches from 13 to 78, it shows that you are never too old to try and turn your dreams into a reality. Too often we are made to feel that if we haven't achieved our dreams by a young age, then it's too late. I strongly believe that it's never too late to try something new, or to pursue a dream. As always, your biggest adversary between you and your goals is usually yourself. If you can persuade yourself that something is worth doing, then that's the hardest part. Every journey starts with a single step, and that step could be as simple as waking up one morning and saying 'today's the day!'

I've just receieved an email from a parent in the audience from last night which I think I should share:

Hi Jake
Myself and my three children heard you speak tonight. The
reason I feel moved enough to contact you is that your words were TOTALLY
INSPIRATIONAL to myself and my kiddies. My 14 year old was very impressed and is
planning all sorts of expeditions for the future. My 12 year old is enthused
about joining more sports clubs.  You have had a profound effect on me however -
I've been putting off applying to go to uni for at least ten years, and now
because of your words I am actually going to do it... at the grand age of 38!!!
You have inspired me and I am very grateful. Good luck with your future
endeavours.

You'll never regret the things in life that you do, only the things that you don't do. You also never know what doors will open and what opportunities will appear when you finally make that leap into the unknown. Let's hope that the application all goes smoothly - all the very best of luck!

I've had a busy couple of weeks since my last post. I've been making the most of the good weather and have had quite a few days of climbing in down in Swanage on Subliminal, Boulder Ruckle and some DWS in the Conger area.

I've spent the last few days doing a number of talks at schools at Davenies, Yorkhouse and Hayfield schools, from the M25 to Doncaster. Yesterday for the end of term Speech Day and Prize Giving at Yorkhouse school, I received a standing ovation after my talk. I think that in over 300 talks, it was the first standing ovation I've ever received, and although totally unnecessary, it was much appreciated (albeit a little embarrassing!).

I'm doing another talk at Hedingham School in Essex on Monday evening, and then am speaking at a private party for Vertu/Esquire Magazine on Tuesday in London, where I am part of a panel judging an extreme photograph competition. I've already seen the shortlist of the finalists, and I must admit, there are some amazing photos and it's not going to be a an easy choice!

Well the days are officially getting shorter now that we're on our slipperly slope back to dark days and SAD. On a brighter note, wasn't yesterday a corker... all 16 hours, 16 mins and 44 seconds. I was in Guernsey doing an event in conjunction with the Confederation of Guernsey Industry, and it couldn't have been a nicer day to spend on a more beautiful island. It was a bit of a flying visit, only 22 hours, but it was a wonderful introduction to the delights of the Channel Islands.

Back on the bike today for the remainder of my DAS motorbike course. Despite being twice as heavy and four times more powerful than what I was on last week, the bike to day wasn't quite as scary as I was expecting, and I ended up having a fantastic time. The only downside was the heat of the sun in the protective clothing... I felt pretty poached by the end of the day!

I did a talk for KPMG last week and just had a note back from them which I thought that I might share.

“I just wanted to let you know how well yesterday went and ask you to pass on once again our thanks to Jake. Although I had high expectations, Jake exceeded them.  We really appreciated how he linked his experience to ours in what came across as a very natural way and the story he had to tell was such a fascinating one that no-one could fail to be enthralled.  Feedback from the group has been extremely positive.”

The title of the talk was 'Making it happen', and I spoke to 210 people from the Indirect Tax department. The talk went really well (from my point of view) and I gave them a few pointers about how to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary, and therefore how to achieve big things in the future. They were a really great audience and I stayed for an hour or so afterwards chatting to them. Although I find speaking pretty straight-forward now, it still always makes a massive difference when I'm warmly received and the audience are really responsive to what I have to say. Regardless of whether they are class of school children or the executive management board of a major company, a warm and welcoming audience make speaking an absolute pleasure, and very enjoyable from my point of view. To everyone at KPMG, an extra special thank you!

Article in this month's edition of Esquire magazine with me in it. It's actually an advertorial for Vertu, a company that makes the most incredible phones I've ever seen. Beautifully engineered, comfortingly solid and packed with lots of very smart features. Their phones are more than just a handset: They are a wonderfully decadent fusion of jewelrey, electronics and effortless style, and I am lucky enough to have the newest version: the Ascent 2010 (Titanium and Leather).

Vertu Website

Did my CBT (Compulsory basic test) yesterday for a motorbike. Having never ridden one before, it was a bit of a steep learning curve, and it took me a bit of time to get used to positioning of clutch, gears, brakes etc!  So apologies to anyone driving around Swindon yesterday if you got caught behind a learner on a little motorbike who kept on forgetting to cancel his indicator... it was a baptism of fire! I'm doing my Direct entry scheme at the moment, which should enable me to go from zero to hero in about 5 days (or at least set me up for my final test at the end of the five days). I think that I'm nearly ready to look up the Gloucestershire Chapter of the Hell's Angels!