Be The Bubble

In 2004 I was attacked by bouncers outside a club. I was a 22 year old engineering student. The attack, which nearly killed me, made headlines at the time and inspired an outpouring of support around the world. My long road to recovery surprised even my doctors. My neurosurgeon and trauma surgeon didn't have much hope that I'd survive, never mind live a normal, healthy life. My path to recovery wasn't easy. It was damn tough, actually. But it taught me life-changing lessons. Strange as it sounds, I'm grateful for what happened and the new direction my life took after that incident. To help me better understand what I was going through, and communicate my story with others, I completed courses in life coaching, mind power and meditation. More dauntingly, I had to work to overcome my fear of public speaking so that I could share my story. Speaking to an engaged audience was actually the catalyst for writing this book. I was invited to give a talk by a community leader. He called me a couple of days later to say that everyone had been enrapt - not just with the sometimes sensational details of my personal story but also by the concrete lessons imparted to the audience. Straight after that call, I opened my diary and set aside time the next morning, a Monday, to try and put my story and my principles into writing. I've managed to fence off a regular session of writing time in the work week, to focus on the project. In retrospect, I realise that the principles I was now living my life by had prompted me to start writing, without waiting for some imagined future moment when I would magically have the time and space to write. The process of putting these disparate but connected principles into an overall system has proved incredibly fruitful. For example, I have a friend who is very successful at business. One of those hard selling serial entrepreneurs. As successful as he is, he still walks around with unresolved anger and frustration. I'm not going to pretend that I gave him 6 Rules for Living and suddenly he was calm and full of joy. But he and I have been working through these ideas as a system and it's working for him. Incrementally, he's seeing improvements. So much so, that he and his staff are now working with the system to become more effective, empathetic and motivated. He tells me sales are up, and I'm choosing to believe him. I'm not trying to write a business manual, but I've learned that improving your attitude and connecting to your environment in a profoundly new way to the world makes you more effective in all fields. Recently, a woman called me about her son. I've never met the son, but the mother saw a talk I gave and wants me to help him find direction. He's a student who sounds bright and interesting, but aimless and frustrated. By writing this book I have two main purposes: to share these discoveries with everyone who might want to use them and to show how these principles connect and interact. Be the Bubble is a concept of mind. It's a technique for anyone at any level of life. The system consists of 6 interconnected discoveries that, taken together, enable people to live with intention and purpose. That's easy to say in abstract, but my aim to present concrete, achievable steps to help people achieve defined goals. The book begins with an account of who I was and who I became. More importantly, it details the steps I took to get from the former to the latter. The narrative explains the discoveries and the discoveries reveal the substance of the narrative. Today I'm a husband and father with a successful corporate wellness business. I feel like I make a difference. As I hope the book makes clear, I wouldn't have it any other way. There are six discoveries. The system is useful for anyone from an individual seeking spiritual solutions to life's problems to hard-headed corporate rationalists seeking practical steps toward living a more effective life 1. Perception vs Attitude - the foundational principle: perception determines attitude which determines action2. Love Yourself First - applying the principle of Discovery 1 to your own self-conception makes you resilient in ways that matter, and prepares you to withstand the contingencies of life 3. Realistic Illusions - Rigorously applying Discovery 2 enables you to see that your apparent mistakes and lost opportunities are illusory. But believing them effectively makes them real, producing a self-reinforcing negative cycle. 4. It's all about choices - Now it's time to apply Discovery 3 positively. It's not sufficient to break the cycle of negativity, you need to pursue positive growth. 5. Be the Bubble - Principles 1-4 lay the groundwork for applying a practical action of mindful presentness. This is where perception and a positive programme of action become a way of living. 6. Daily Design - Finally, you need a practical programme to incorporate these strategies into your everyday life