I had my first ever job interview when I was 16 years old. It was for a job in a hotel as a Conference Porter. I would be responsible for setting up conference rooms and delivering coffee to the delegates. The man who interviewed me firstly explained what the job would entail. He told me what would be expected of me and the hours of work. He only asked me one question - What football…

Young children are naturally curious. Everything is new to them and the world is a big new adventure full of unknowns. They ask lots of questions. Lots of ‘Why?’ questions. Luckily, confused parents have Google to help them. We can ask Google anything and always get an answer. I haven’t lost this childlike curiosity. I often find myself saying ‘Hey, Google…’ For example, I was having some mixed nuts the other day and I started…

Have you ever told your boss or colleagues that you think they are wrong? Told them that you disagree and that their idea is rubbish? Most of the time, we accept that they are right because they are either above us in rank, or because we are in the minority. This happens a lot during meetings - individuals shy away from saying what they really think because they don’t want to be seen as disruptive…

In 2009 Bonnie Ware wrote a blog entitled ‘Regrets of the Dying’. In it she lists the top 5 regrets of terminally ill people she had looked after in the final months of their lives. It was both sad and inspirational. It went viral. You’ve probably read it. According to the article, the second biggest regret is ‘I wish I hadn’t worked so hard’. Within that paragraph there was one sentence that resonated with me.…

I work with lots of high-profile business people. They have important, well-paid jobs and are considered to be highly successful. Most of them have lovely cars, nice watches and second homes on the Tuscan coast. They have everything they need. Except one thing: time. They never seem to have a lot of time. Take holidays for instance. In 2015, a study by the US Department of Labour showed the average American takes just 8 days…

I went to the best school in my area. It was a prestigious Grammar School where the highest level of standards were expected. The teachers were strict and the lessons were extremely formal. Our school uniform was a tie and a blazer with smart trousers and polished shoes. To be considered successful, you either had to excel at sport or pass your A-levels with top A grade marks. Anything less was looked upon unfavourably. When…

The 1000 Miglia is a historic classic car race that takes place in Italy every year. It began life in 1927 as an open-road speed race from Brescia to Rome and back again. The motivation for the drivers was to see who could complete the course in the quickest time. In 1955, Hans Herrman and Stirling Moss, the great British Formula one driver, set a record time of 10 hours, 7 minutes and 48 seconds,…

When I arrived in Rome, I got a scooter. It was a 50cc Yamaha. I had never ridden a scooter before, I was terrified. The first time I went out I got lost. Instead of going for a quick ride up and down my road, I ended up riding around my neighbourhood for 2 hours. By the time I found my way home I was feeling confident. I went out the next day as well,…