Over the Christmas period, I watched a documentary on the life of Norman Wisdom, a VERY popular English comedy actor of the 50’s and 60’s.
They used to show his films all the time on the TV and I remembered loving them as a kid.
What I didn’t know at the time was the fight he had had in his early life to amount to anything.
We are taking the first tentative steps of 2017 and many people are thinking that if only their circumstances were different, they would REALLY make a go of making it online.
If you are one of these people I highly recommend you searching out the autobiography of little Norman.
Now there is a guy who was dealt a pretty crappy hand!
Shall we start with the fact that as a small child he was beaten mercilessly by his dad?
Many would have just seen it as their lot, put up with it and then used it as an excuse for just about anything bad they did in later life.
Not our Norman though.
At 13 he ran away from home in London, and with a friend walked/hitchhiked to Cardiff in Wales (150 or so miles as the crow flies)…I repeat at 13!
He then joined the merchant navy and learned boxing.
After a year or so he left the navy and returned back to London. Here he tracked down his dad (who by this time had left his mum).
His dad took one look at him and basically told him to bugger off!
Norman was now on the streets living rough.
Eventually, it was suggested he joined the army. So despite only being 14 and measuring only 4’10’’, he conned his way into the army.
While with the army he became a national forces boxing champion, whilst also learning to play several musical instruments…
…he also found that he had a natural skill for making his fellow recruits laugh.
When he finally left the army he became a professional variety artist, appearing in variety shows up and down the country.
To cut a long story short, this abused child, who ran away to sea at the age of 13, was knighted on the 6th June 2000.
The little comic even got a smile from the queen when he did a trademark pretend trip when walking away having been knighted.
Getting back to the point I was making, it is VERY easy to use our circumstances as our excuse…
…and yes, of course, they can make life more difficult.
However, I just love stories like that of Norman Wisdom.
He basically said that it was BECAUSE of the hardships he had to endure that he was as successful as he was, not despite them!
None of us have perfect lives, and some of us have lives that are less perfect than most…
…but the trick is to use those circumstances as motivation rather than an excuse.
With that, I would just like to say that I hope your plans for 2017 are coming along nicely. I also very much hope I can be a help towards you achieving your goals.
