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TRANSFORM • MOTIVATE • ENRICH • EMPOWER • ENJOY DECEMBER 2015 / Price £3.99
Be Inspired
HARRISON
FORD
A RETURN TO FORCE AS THE STAR WARS HERO
ALASTAIR CAMPBELL ON POLITICS, MENTAL HEALTH AND WINNING
SANDY NEWBIGGING WHY MEDITATION CAN HELP YOU TO HEAL YOUR BODY
JOE BARBARA DE ANGELIS ROOT STRUGGLING TO MOVE ON? LET GO AND BE LIBERATED
THE STORY BEHIND THE WORLD’S #1 BATSMAN
PLUS: HOW TO GET YOUR KIDS TO BEHAVE
THE BEST YOU www.thebestyoumagazine.co
TRANSFORM • MOTIVATE • ENRICH • EMPOWER • ENJOY DECEMBER 2015
Be Inspired
HARRISON
FORD
A RETURN TO FORCE AS THE STAR WARS HERO
ALASTAIR CAMPBELL WHAT MAKES A WINNER AND HOW TO SUCCEED
SANDY NEWBIGGING WHY MEDITATION CAN HELP YOU TO HEAL YOUR BODY
BARBARA DE ANGELIS STRUGGLING TO MOVE ON? LET GO AND BE LIBERATED
JOE ROOT
THE STORY BEHIND THE WORLD’S #1 BATSMAN
PLUS: HOW TO GET YOUR KIDS TO BEHAVE
EDITORIAL | BERNARDO MOYA
Exclusive content and shots on iPad, iPhone & Android devices
IT’S THAT TIME OF YEAR
TO SHOW THE LOVE! There are many ways to show your friends or loved ones your appreciation and love, and at this time of year we tend show it with a gift. The latest gadget, an expensive suit, those heels she wanted. It’s a time of excess... It’s also a time of mixed feelings, a time of the year when we know a lot of people are struggling to find food, stay warm, to stay alive. In 2015 we have seen younger people attending our courses, and reading our magazine. I think as parents and friends we should buy our loved ones things that can have a long lasting change. Do some research and buy them that course they want or that you know can help or inspire them. Maybe buy that book which helped you and changed your life!
Bernardo Moya, Editor-in-chief
Follow me: @Bernardo_Moya
It’s also a time to give to others, to thank the universe for how lucky and blessed we are for what we have. So that’s why The Best You will be supporting Yes to Life with £5,000 – we will share a percentage of the proceeds from our Christmas and New Year campaigns with this amazing charity. Read more on page 56. So remember, 2016 is only days away, start planning your year, your future, and that’s why this month we feature some amazing people, many of whom will appear at The Best You Expo in 2016. Barbara De Angelis, Jason Vale, Janey Lee Grace are some of the inspiring speakers who will be joining us at the show. We are adding daily to our lineup with big names in the personal development industry, exciting breakout seminars and a range of exhibitors, so be sure to book your tickets today.
To enjoy additional digital content, video and online galleries, download The Best You App at thebestyoumagazine.co
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CONTENTS | THE BEST YOU | DECEMBER 2015
REGULARS 03
EDITOR’S LETTER
Bernardo Moya welcomes you to this month’s issue of The Best You 18
WE SUPPORT...
#GivingTuesday, a day to forget the season’s commercial moment and do good for others
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BOOK REVIEWS
74
A few of our favourite recently published books – plus your chance to win some great reads
THE BEST YOU DIRECTORY
Where to find the best coaches, trainers and practitioners
FEATURES 22
26
30
HARRISON FORD
Despite it all, he persevered to become a Hollywood star
ALASTAIR CAMPBELL
Politics, mental health and what it takes to succeed
16 TOP 6 CHRISTMAS TREES
The world’s best-dressed spruces
JOE ROOT
The story of the world’s #1 batsman
INNER YOU 10
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FROM LETTING GO TO LIBERATION Barbara De Angelis explains how to start over
YOU ARE WHAT YOU RIGHT
Julia McCutchen says that writing has the power to help us to discover who we truly are
ENJOY LIFE 16
19
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TOP 6 CHRISTMAS TREES The best lit-up trees of the season
THE GOOD NEWS
With so much of what we read in the papers being negative, The Best You brings you some good news
JANEY LOVES...
The Best You columnist Janey Lee Grace picks her favourite things
22 HARRISON FORD A life lesson in perseverance EDITOR/PUBLISHER Bernardo Moya DEPUTY EDITOR Daska Davis ASSOCIATE EDITORS Cynthia Phillips and Gail Kingsbury ADVERTISING advertising@thebestyou.co
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CONTENTS | THE BEST YOU | DECEMBER 2015
LIVE LOVE LEGACY 40
INSPIRATIONAL STORIES
How volunteering and getting involved can bring benefits to your own life
42
HONEY, I HYPNOTISED THE KIDS
Alicia Eaton explains how what you say and how you say it has the power to transform your children’s behaviour
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CHOOSE YOUR LIFE
46
Sue Atkins ponders how we shape our own futures
WHAT DOES IT TAKE…
…to be a pantomime dame? The Best You chats with Matthew Kelly about dressing as a dame
FEEL & LOOK GOOD
46 A GRAND DAME Meet a pantomime player
50
STILL CALM
Sandy Newbigging wants our mind, body and soul to be calm – through the healing power of meditation
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BEAT THE WINTER BLUES
Jason Vale shares his advice and warming recipes to help us get through the winter months
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TRANSORMATION IS IN THE AIR
Ali Bastian and her brother head to Indonesia for a yoga holiday ahead of a life change
WEALTH & RICHES 58
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STRETCH OUT Ali Bastian’s yoga escape
Procrastination is life’s #1 enemy, but Peter Shallard has expert advice to max your time
THE PERSUADER
Author Philip Hesketh knows a trick or six to help us convince others to our point of view
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JOIN US AT THE BEST YOU EXHIBITION
The Best You brings together the world’s leading personal development speakers and brands in 2016
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THE ROCKY ROAD TO SUCCESS
54
TIME OUT
The Best You looks at people, past and present, who worked hard for their moment in the spotlight
21ST CENTURY LIVING 70
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VLOGGERS MAKING A DIFFERENCE The Best You recognises vlogstars doing good
THE WISH LIST
Bryan Szabo reviews the latest gadgets
MEDIA DIRECTOR Allan Banford DESIGNER Monica Notarnicola TECHNICAL CONSULTANT Martin Carter
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CONTRIBUTORS | THE BEST YOU
DASKA DAVIS
is deputy editor at The Best You. This issue she interviews Julia McCutchen, Matthew Kelly, Sandy Newbigging and Philip Hesketh. “While December is a month of reflection on the year that’s been, it’s also a great time to look ahead – we have advice to help you plan a fantastic 2016, and The Best You Exhibition in February is an unmissable event to move you forwards.”
@TheBestYou
SUE ATKINS
is a parenting expert, writer, speaker, broadcaster and coach, as well as the author of the Amazon best-selling books Parenting Made Easy – How to Raise Happy Children and Raising Happy Children for Dummies, the highly acclaimed Parenting Made Easy MP3s, CDs and workbooks and The Secrets To Well Behaved Kids.
@SueAtkins
BARBARA DE ANGELIS
is one of the most influential teachers of our time in the field of personal and spiritual development. For the past 35 years, she has reached tens of millions of people throughout the world with her inspirational messages about how to create a life of true freedom, mastery and awakening.
BRYAN SZABO
is a Canadian-born freelance editor and writer who specialises in helping authors realise their full potential as writers. He believes that everybody has a story that should be told. His appearance on the acknowledgement page of dozens of titles proves that the voice he is helping budding authors to find is a precious thing indeed.
@drbdeangelis
@eidolonink
ALICIA EATON
SANDY NEWBIGGING
is a best-selling author, clinical hypnotherapist and NLP practitioner based in London’s Harley Street, helping both adults and children. She has written several books on tackling childhood behavioural issues and explains how language affects how our kids respond to our requests for The Best You this issue.
@AliciaEaton
has made meditation fun and beneficial for thousands of people worldwide. His work has been seen on television in 30+ countries and his last six books have become no.1 best-sellers. His most recent release, Body Calm, aims to help people heal themselves through meditation.
@sandy newbigging
JANEY LEE GRACE
is a spokesperson for the organic and natural health world. She is known to over 8m listeners daily via BBC Radio 2, and is the founder of janeyleegrace.com, a consumer website recommending the best in the natural, organic and eco world. She is author of five best-selling books, including two Amazon #1s.
www.thebe sty o u m ag az i n e . co
is a Portsmouthbased author who is also an NLP master. He uses skills learned from hypnotist Paul McKenna and NLP co-creator Richard Bandler in his work. For The Best You, he writes about the acting career of Harrison Ford and sporting genius of footballer Joe Root.
@MattWingett
@janeyleegrace
JASON VALE
– aka ‘Juice Master’ – is the best-selling author of 11 books on health, addiction and juicing. His most well known book – 7lbs In 7 days: The Juice Master Diet – knocked The Da Vinci Code from the top spot. Jason is on a mission to ‘Juice The World’ and help people to turn their health around using natural means.
@juicemaster
The Best You is published by The Best You Corporation Ltd, 5 Percy Street, W1T 1DG. Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect The Best You Corporation Ltd, policy. The Best You Corporation Ltd accepts no responsibility for views expressed by its contributors. Advertisements and reader offers are not endorsed by The Best You or The Best You Corporation Ltd.
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MATT WINGETT
ALI BASTIAN
is an actress who rose to prominence on Hollyoaks and The Bill, and subsequently appeared on Strictly Come Dancing. For The Best You, she shares her experiences of yoga around the world, starting with a trip to Indonesia with her brother for a lifechanging moment.
@alibastian
Be Inspired
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INNER YOU LET GO AND LIVE Barbara De Angelis’ advice
Connect with the wonderful, special and powerful inside. Learn ways to get your mind and body in balance, bringing out the rich core of your being. Discover the secrets that will enable you to take charge of your inner life and become The Best You.
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GET CREATIVE! Julia McCutchen tells us to write
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INNER YOU | BARBARA DE ANGELIS
Relinquishing the things that weigh us down can provide a new life for each of us, says Dr Barbara De Angelis
Come and see Barbara De Angelis at The Best You Exhibition on 27-28 Februrary. Book your tickets at thebestyouexhibition.com/tickets TURN TO PAGE 62 TO READ MORE ABOUT THE BEST YOU EXHIBITION
FROM LETTING GO
TO LIBERATION 10
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We spend our time on earth dying and being reborn, over and over again. Most of these passages go by unobserved. In the few seconds that it took you to read the last sentence, for instance, a part of you has died – two million cells in your body die each second. Every few years, all of the cells in your body are totally replaced. You’re literally not the same person as you were before. Your body has died and been reborn, and you didn’t even notice. Then there are the little deaths that happen imperceptibly over time – old childhood dreams are discarded; early friendships fade; schools and teachers are left behind; ideas, obsessions, and interests are tossed out; people we once knew are forgotten; parts of us we battled are conquered; problems that once consumed us vanish. We sense these departures, but do not stop even to wave goodbye. On the path of personal transformation, we will inevitably arrive at many moments in which we feel the need to turn away from the past and step into the future. Old roles and patterns no longer serve us, and feel as if they’re weighing us down, and keeping us from moving forward into a life of more freedom and fulfillment. We cannot be the person we once were anymore, even if we want to. These times call for what I call a spiritual and emotional ‘letting go’.
”
There are people, circumstances, and even pieces of ourselves that serve us for part of our journey. They are not meant to keep us company for the whole way. In order to travel to our next destination, we will need to let them go.
I love the ocean, and I love watching films with an ocean theme, especially movies about long and difficult sea voyages. In these tales, there is usually a classic and predictable scene depicting a terrible storm that threatens to capsize the ship. The courageous captain realises the ship is too heavy, and unless he lightens the load, it will surely sink. “Throw everything overboard that we do not need!” he invariably shouts, and the crew franticly begins to toss anything that is not nailed down off the ship into the churning and angry ocean. The camera pulls back to a wide shot, as we see an odd assortment of items – crates of oranges, plant specimens, metal tools, clothing, books, sacks of grain – being carried away by the waves. Finally, the storm passes, the sun emerges from behind the clouds, and the ship is threadbare but safe. It has survived the storm.
”
There are times in our lives when it becomes apparent to us that we, too, need to get rid of what is threatening to sink us. The old roles need to go.
It may feel like we are tossing things overboard that we can’t live without, but the truth is the opposite – if we do
not get rid of what is weighing us down, we will drown in our own frustration, unhappiness and lack of fulfillment. I have a dear friend who is a monk in the Hindu tradition. After many years of spiritual study, he chose to make a profound change in his life: to take on the role of a renunciate, giving up all of his worldly responsibilities and relationships and dedicating himself only to the search for God and service to others. The formal ceremony during which he was initiated into the monastic order is called sannyasa. The Sanskrit word sannyas means laying or setting aside, abandoning, or giving up. This ancient ritual of giving up one way of life for another has been practiced in India for thousands of years. Early in the morning on the chosen auspicious day, the candidate prostrates before his Guru. After many blessings, the candidate’s head is shaved. Then, divested of all possessions, having given up all things belonging to his past, he conducts his own ritual funeral rites, symbolising the relinquishing of his entire life up until that point, the death of his former self, and his rebirth as a spiritual being. Now he places the remnants of his personal identity – his hair, his clothing and his name – into a ritual fire, and pronounces his vows of renunciation. He walks around the fire, and returns to kneel at his teacher’s feet. His old self is dead. Finally, he goes to bathe in a nearby river, and when he emerges, his Guru gives him his new robes and a new name. I remember listening in awe to my friend as he shared the details of this powerful ritual. “What was that like, “ I asked, “to perform your own funeral rites? Did it feel strange?” “No, it didn’t feel strange at all,“ he replied. “It made the transformation I was undergoing real, and filled me with an enormous sense of peace and bliss. I was dying and being reborn while I was alive, and the power of that experience humbled me deeply. I was overwhelmed with love for God. I felt free.” Most of us will never experience anything as radically transformative as this formal ritual. Yet in our own way, as we attempt to renew our lives, we must offer up what no longer serves us into a sacrificial fire that we build within the temple of our own heart. Into this fire, we place all that we want to relinquish: our pain, our disappointments, our attachment to those things which cause us suffering, our broken dreams of how we hoped things would be, the parts of ourselves we need to release, the roles that no longer fit, old grief, old guilt, old anger. We make our own vows renouncing our unhappiness, and ask to be freed from everything that interferes with our ability to feel joy.
”
Offer that which you are ready to let go of to the sacred fire. This fire of grace, this fire of truth will take what you offer it and transmute all that is old into what is new – new life, new love, new freedom.
© Barbara De Angelis Enterprises 2015
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INNER YOU | JULIA MCCUTCHEN
Ever pondered the power of the written word? Well, perhaps the most powerful words come from within – Julia McCutchen wants us to discover who we really are through a conscious approach to creative writing
YOU ARE
Julia McCutchen is author of two books including her latest, Conscious Writing: Discover Your True Voice Through Mindfulness and More (Hay House). An intuitive mentor, she is the founder and creative director of the International Association of Conscious & Creative Writers (IACCW).
Find out more at www. JuliaMcCutchen.com and www.iaccw.com
WHAT YOU WRITE 12
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we’re so often caught up in conditioned patterns of thought and behaviour that it can take a major life event to stop us on our tracks. But we can create our own opportunities to make different choices that are truly authentic to who we are, support us to realise our full potential and enable us to live creative and purposeful lives.” McCutchen’s book provides a practical guide to starting and succeeding with the process of bringing all aspects of ourselves into alignment to connect with greater awareness beyond our everyday self and open up a deep space of inner truth. It’s here that we discover our richest and most original ideas, and the source of our true voice. Imagine that you are at the top of a busy, high-level publishing career and that one day this ends suddenly, and without warning, when you experience a lifechanging accident. What do you do? Give up? Despair? Or reach deep within and reshape your career with renewed vigour? Author, intuitive mentor and founder of the International Association of Conscious and Creative Writers (IACCW) Julia McCutchen knows this experience first-hand. She also knows that authenticity is the key to transformation and growth. After a head injury left her unable to work for over a year, it was during her recovery that she completely reassessed her priorities in life. She left the corporate world and started teaching and mentoring people who feel drawn to creative expression through writing and authorship. “The accident was a turning point experience for me and one that I found very challenging,” says McCutchen. “It took me apart at every level as my identity as a successful publisher unraveled and I was left not knowing who I was any more. I had some very dark moments of loss and fear; yet at some level deep down, intuitively I knew that it would eventually turn out for the best. In the emptiness of uncertainty, I came face to face with my true nature and rediscovered my true self. From here, gradually the essence of my own creativity returned which had previously been focused on publishing other people’s ideas; but now I knew I had to honour my own creative impulse and express my true voice in the world. My journey has been all about discovering my true self and expressing my true voice in all areas of my life.” McCutchen’s background meant that she had been at the forefront of creativity but it was only as she was developing the body of work she calls conscious writing that she found a way to tap into her authentic inner space in a way that she could teach to others. “I was in a creative role as a publisher,” explains McCutchen, “and had a very intuitive approach which led to launching some groundbreaking books. I loved the whole brain approach of publishing which enabled me to back up my intuition with a strong practical skill set. However, my own creativity always fell to the bottom of the priority list until the accident gave me the opportunity to review my priorities and discover my true voice.” In her recent book, Conscious Writing, McCutchen leads readers to use creative writing to discover their true self and express their true voice. It’s a technique that has won praise from personal development stalwarts Robert Holden and Mike Dooley. McCutchen believes that it’s a technique that can be used by anyone to reveal a deeper, more authentic aspect of themselves. “My own journey features a dramatic change,” says McCutchen, “but it doesn’t have to be that way. You don’t need to hit rock bottom to make positive changes in your life – you can make a conscious choice and choose change that serves the truth of who you are. Most people have an inkling that there’s more to life than the everyday level. Yet,
While creativity is an outlet that some of us find easier than others, McCutchen believes it is something that anyone can experience. “One client who was an academic with a PhD came to work with me as she wanted to learn how to write from her heart instead of exclusively from her head. Intuitively I felt there was more going on for her. It transpired that she had been born with a cleft lip and palate, had experienced multiple operations as a child, and felt a paralysing fear at being visible in the world. She had taken a decision during her teenage years that if she couldn’t be beautiful she would be smart so had studied hard to achieve a great deal in the academic world. “Now she wanted to explore deeper levels of possibility, and although it took a while for her to find the courage to apply all of the principles and the practice of conscious writing, eventually she succeeded in opening herself to write from her heart. From here, it wasn’t long before she experienced the positive effects rippling out through all areas of her life. She made it a priority to make time for conscious movement through yoga and walking, for nurturing her creative soul and gave herself permission to take action to realise her creative dreams. In the process, when she finished her academic project, she continued to experience a gradual ‘peeling away’ of the layers she had developed for protection at the level of her everyday self and started to show up more authentically in all areas of her life. This led to her discovering her true calling in life which is to be an ambassador for the message that we are all essentially born whole, regardless of our physical appearance. From here she followed her new sense of mission and purpose to volunteer with the charity, Changing Faces, which helps people with disfigurements and their families. She has now also taken a previously unthinkable step to set herself free from her old fears and launch a Born Whole blog to share her story and her message publicly for the very first time in her life.” This story of McCutchen’s client clearly demonstrates the transformative impact that her conscious writing teaching can have to change people’s lives and not just develop their ability for deep and meaningful writing. With her book encapsulating the detail of this core teaching for anyone who has a message to share, the next step for McCutchen is to take her message worldwide. By encouraging a new wave of conscious writers, her goal is to help others discover their true purpose.
”
Fear is a product of the everyday self,” says McCutchen, “and doesn’t exist at the level of our true self. Conscious writing has the power to transform our whole perspective on life from the work we do to the way we relate to others so that our real purpose rises to the fore and enables us to make the contribution that only we can make.”
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Be Inspired
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GO-TO GIRLS Wonderful women vloggers
ALL LIT UP
Top 6 Christmas trees
ENJOY LIFE
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THE GOOD NEWS
Laughter, humour, travel, love – these are the things that add the sparkle that makes life worth living. Climb a mountain, give to others, start a family, embrace life. What are the things you wish you had done but haven’t yet? Life is no rehearsal – enjoy life every day.
Positive stories to share
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HOMEMADE CHRISTMAS Janey’s seasonal picks
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ENJOY LIFE | TOP 6
TOP 6 CHRISTMAS
TREES
Real, faux or tinsel, with the Christmas tree in place the holidays can begin! Here are some of The Best You’s favourite spruces
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ROCKEFELLER CENTER, NEW YORK
New Yorkers always do things in grand style and the tree at Rockefeller Center doesn’t disappoint. It’s where Kevin McCallister, played by Macaulay Culkin, headed when he was lost in the Big Apple in Home Alone 2, and its tree-topping star is made from 25,000 Swarovski crystals. If you’re going to do Christmas away from home it’s the festive place to be.
TRAFALGAR SQUARE, LONDON Since 1947, Norway has sent one of its finest trees – typically 50-60-yearsold and 20 metres tall – to London’s Trafalgar Square. The gift is made as a token of gratitude for British support during World War II. After the lights are switched on and the tree makes its stunning debut, it stands until Twelfth Night, before it is finally chipped and composted into mulch.
GALERIES LAFAYETTE, PARIS As the US does size, France does style and Paris’ iconic department store extends it over four glass-covered floors. The flagship Galeries Lafayette was opened in October 1912 and was the vision of Théophile Bader who wanted to create a ‘luxury bazaar’ where golden light filtered through the domed roof, setting the products aglow. Today, the festive tree sparkles as a central star in the store’s Christmas decorations.
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WHITE HOUSE CHRISTMAS TREE, WASHINGTON Also known as the Blue Room Christmas Tree, since 1961 the tree’s decorative theme is the choice of the First Lady of the United States. Last year, Michelle Obama’s ‘A Children’s Winter Wonderland’ was overlaid with an, ‘America the Brave’ theme, with decorations made by children on US military bases around the world.
WREST PARK, BEDFORDSHIRE Now topping 99ft, a Wellingtonia tree planted in 1856 by Thomas, 2nd Earl de Grey, is believed to be Britain’s oldest living Christmas tree. Once brought in to the house for the celebrations, it was planted in the estate’s grounds and forgotten about until its history was re-discovered in a Gardener’s Chronicle.
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LIVERPOOL ONE, LIVERPOOL
This year, Liverpool will house the UK’s tallest Christmas tree at the city’s shopping centre, Liverpool ONE. Located on the aptly named Paradise Street, the 30-metre tall tree will be constructed from a 12sided steel cone and comprises 280 heart lights, 314 light rodx and more than 2,000-metres of cabling to light the night sky.
WE SUPPORT
Launched in the United States in 2012 as an antidote to the start of the festive shopping season, #GivingTuesday is a peoplepowered campaign
In that spirit, I’d encourage you to consider how you might be able to get involved on #GivingTuesday. The Civil Service has a fantastic history of supporting worthy causes, and I know many of you already do so much to help our civil society carry out its vital work. For example, the Civil Service Lifeboat Fund was established by civil servants in 1866 to support the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and has helped save 5,000 lives since the fund began.
#GivingTuesday on 1 December is a global day of giving. After the sales of Black Friday and the online shopping boom on Cyber Monday, #GivingTuesday is an opportunity to come together to show the world why it’s good to give. Whether it’s making a donation, volunteering your time or just spreading the word at the start of the Christmas shopping season, #GivingTuesday is a call to action for everyone who wants to give something back. #GivingTuesday has grown into a global movement, covering countries like The United States, Australia, Singapore, Canada, much of Latin America and Israel. In 2014 the campaign was launched in the UK by the Charities Aid Foundation with support from Blackbaud. The simple idea behind #GivingTuesday is to encourage people, charities and businesses to donate time, money or their voice to help a good cause. Rob Wilson, MP, Minister for Civil Society writes… #GivingTuesday, the global day of giving, spanning five continents, is coming up on 1 December. Following the frenzy of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, this growing movement, now in its second year in the UK, offers the ideal chance for us all to look at opportunities in our own lives for giving and volunteering. And it works. Last year, through the first-ever UK #GivingTuesday, donations in the UK went up 270 per cent on the year before. This year, #GivingTuesday is even bigger, with over 1,100 partners, from major businesses to charities both national and local. Government is proud to lead by example in offering its support, so I’m delighted that Cabinet Office is a founding partner.
The Civil Service leads the way in supporting its employees to volunteer, with a minimum of three days a year special paid leave for volunteering available to all civil servants. If you haven’t already considered volunteering, why not make #GivingTuesday the moment to plan that step? Volunteering is a great way to learn new skills and develop new experiences while doing some great work for important causes. Did you know that people who volunteer also have significantly higher levels of life satisfaction than those who don’t? It’s simple to get started – you can search more than a million volunteering opportunities at www.do-it.org.uk Many departments choose a charity to support each year, or you could consider volunteering for one of our civil service charities, with roles available at The Charity for Civil Servants and the Civil Service Retirement Fellowship. And #GivingTuesday is not just about volunteering - there’s such a range of ways people can get involved, from using the day to highlight a favourite charity and lending your voice to promote the day, to organising fundraising or donating money. But the choice of what to do is truly yours. If you’ve been inspired and would like to get involved with #GivingTuesday, why not post what you’re doing on Twitter with the hashtags #GivingTuesday and #OurCivilService. #GivingTuesday is such a fantastic way for us as a nation to celebrate and encourage giving and volunteering, and I’d be delighted if you would play a part.
To find out more about #GivingTuesday visit www.givingtuesday.org.uk
THE
ENJOY LIFE | THE GOOD NEWS
GOOD NEWS SPECIAL DELIVERY After Google’s driverless cars, the next automated innovation is pedestrian robots, which can deliver small parcels within a 3-mile radius. A pilot of the service by UK Starship Technologies will take place in Greenwich in early 2016. Brings new meaning to special delivery. www.starship.xyz
READ THIS Bored with Candy Crush? Commuters in the French town of Grenoble are being challenged to ditch their smartphones for short stories as they wait for the bus. Short Edition, a publishing company, has installed vending machines stocked with 1-, 3- and 5-minute stories – depending on how much time you have to kill, you choose the length and a short story is printed on a strip of paper. short-edition.com
MIRROR, MIRROR Shopping for a bra can be a frustrating and time-consuming experience, but lingerie expert Rigby & Peller is hoping to streamline this with the introduction of a new smart mirror. Trialed in Hong Kong, customers stand in front and slowly rotate as an inbuilt camera creates a 360° measurement to calculate the perfect fit. rigbyandpeller.com
WISH YOU WERE HERE… It sounds a bit like Total Recall, but virtual reality postcards are now being offered by Marriott Hotels and Samsung for guests in New York and London. A VR headset is delivered to a guest’s hotel room and they are able to choose three postcards – a trip to the Andean Mountains in Chile, an exploration of Beijing or a visit to a Rwandan ice cream shop. marriott.com
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ENJOY LIFE | JANEY LEE GRACE
JANEY LOVES... 20
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The Best You’s columnist Janey Lee Grace presents a round-up of the latest products, ideas and innovations catching her eye this month
One bit of me feels like running screaming for the hills at this time of year. I dislike the commercialisation of Christmas but I love the candlelit church services, the cosiness of sitting by a warm fire and of course opening presents, especially if it’s something handmade or local. It is possible to have a natural Christmas without being all bah humbug and wearing sackcloth instead of your regular party frock. For gifts think ‘personal’ and wherever possible local or homemade. Remember,it’s the thought that counts - not the cost. Foodie gifts are usually appreciated so you could buy locally produced goods from a farmers’ market or jazz up anything in a gorgeous glass jar (I’m thinking herbs steeped in good quality oil). If you really aren’t a domestic goddess (come on admit we all LOVE watching Bake Off but do our own cakes make the grade?) there are lots of other simple ideas you can make to give to family and friends or just to adorn your own festive space.
FESTIVE PINECONES Make a little bag of pinecone firelighters, melt down old beeswax candles by placing them in an old tin standing in boiling water, pour the melted wax over the pine cones and add pretty star shapes.
BEESWAX CANDLES Talking natural beeswax it’s easy to make your own natural rolled candles – buy wicking and wax sheets from a craft store, decorate with wax crayons, stars and glitter.
SHOPPING FOR GIFTS? Nourish gift packs include a luxurious collection of shimmering gold, rejuvenating frankincense and revitalising myrrh, with omega-rich organic Moroccan argan oil.
nourishskinrange.com You can’t go wrong with lovely bubble bath as a gift. The Little Soap Company’s Pure Rose Geranium Bubble Bath is a luxurious, moisturising (and bubbly!) bubble bath.
littlesoapcompany.co.uk
GLITTER BELLES If you want to bring Christmas into your beauty regime, go festive and beautify yourself with gold, frankincense and myrrh. For gold it has to be the beautiful gold-packaged organic dry shampoo from Tabitha James Kraan – (saves you washing your hair on Christmas Day).
tabithajameskraan.com
For frankincense and myrrh, go DIY…
Christmas aroma toner with myrrh
Lavender and myrrh work well together (yes, myrrh of wise men fame) and produce a healing antiseptic toner for oily or blemished skin: – 100 ml lavender water – 10 drops myrrh essential oil Apply with cotton wool to clean skin or add to a spritzer bottle for a refreshing spray. To revitalise after a late night…
Christmas anti-ageing oil with frankincense – 50 ml rosehip oil mixed with 50 ml sweet almond oil – 2 drops lavender oil – 2 drops rose oil – 1 drop frankincense oil Apply a fine layer to clean skin, works great as a night-time moisturiser.
MAY ALL YOUR WISHES COME TRUE Christmas is the time of magic and hope, and when I work with clients on their business strategy, PR and media skills I always start by asking them, ‘What do they really want?’ It can be a tricky question and anyone versed in setting intentions will know that specifics are needed! A dance teacher wished for her own space to teach in. As her pretend fairy godmother I ‘granted’ her what she had wished for – a disused garage – but of course that wasn’t really her dream! This festive season, and definitely as we head into the new year, get absolute clarity on what it is you really want for your life, your relationships, your business. I am actually going to be a fairy godmother in panto this year. (Oh no you’re not!) Seriously I was a singer and dancer years ago, so here’s hoping I haven’t lost the magic – I’m in Cinderella at Haverhill in Suffolk. (Oh yes I am!)
And for that special Christmas gift? Feeling Love from Findhorn Flower Essences. The duo pack consists of an aromatherapy spray and flower essence spray.
findhornessences.com It can’t be Christmas without chocolate – check out the artisan bars from Seed and Bean.
seadandbean.com
WRAP IT UP Don’t contribute to that huge excess paper mountain. Apparently every Christmas we throw out enough square miles of the stuff to cover an area the size of Guernsey! Grab some of the lighter news pages (get the kids to do a colour wash) or wrap gifts in hessian and tie with a big red ribbon.
DON’T MISS THE BEST YOU EXHIBITION
I’m so thrilled to be asked to speak at The Best You Exhibition. I can see I am in great company alongside Jason Vale, Sir Clive Woodward and Gill Fielding. I love these kind of events where you can make some great connections and be re-inspired all over again to literally be the best you! I look forward to meeting you there, I’ll be speaking about how to get clarity on your USP and how to use it to attract PR and media attention for the work that you do. See you there! TURN TO PAGE 62 TO READ MORE ABOUT THE BEST YOU EXHIBITION
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COVER STORY | HARRISON DANIEL CRAIG FORD
At the release of a new Star Wars movie, The Best You looks at the astonishing story of how Harrison Ford finally achieved recognition
HARRISON FORD SO LOW BEFORE SOLO
Harrison Ford has sometimes boiled down the ingredients of his success to two things: “Persistence and luck”. But this is not the whole story. There are other elements in his journey well worth considering. Born in Chicago in 1942 to a Jewish mother, Anna Nidelman, and Irish father, Christopher Ford, a radio scriptwriter, Ford Jnr was soon made aware of the media world’s shortcomings. “My dad would get all dressed up, go to work, come home, sit at the dinner table and bitch like crazy about those bastards at work,” he recalled. His initial instinct was to have nothing to do with entertainment, hoping instead to emulate the local coalman, because, “he didn’t go home at night and tell his wife how un-cooperative the coal was”. His mistrust of entertainers was further highlighted when he met Earl Nightingale, an actor who played children’s radio adventure hero, Sky King. While the character was strong, tall and square-jawed, the actor was short and unhandsome. Ford recalled later, “It intrigued me, how different show business was from what people thought”. Unconventional and ironic, Ford remained unimpressed by the movies his dad took him and his younger brother, Terrence, to see. He was happier breeding rats, a hobby he took up, and remained intensely private and withdrawn. At Meltzer Junior High, Chicago, aged 12, Ford acquired a reputation for aloofness – even arrogance. Quick-witted, with a sarcastic turn of phrase he made enemies of the kids in the Des Plaines gang, who beat him up day after day. After being sent tumbling down the slope by the car park, face bruised, he would climb back up and invite them to try again. His determination not to do what they wanted and fight, but to endure instead, meant they lost interest in him. His stubbornness could be a motif for his decade in Hollywood, in which he picked himself up after numerous knocks, waiting for the bad times to pass. When Ford’s father moved into advertising, his fortunes changed. It was a far more lucrative profession during the great consumer boom of the 1950s. The family had money at last, and Ford’s later childhood was spent in a smart new estate among driven, hard-working people. “I was taught the work ethic in its most fundamental form,” he reflects on those times. “I admire people who work hard.” He got work at this time as a cook on a yacht and later in a tobacco pipe shop, where he took up smoking.
While appreciating hard work, Ford also saw in his father’s example that it was possible to have a job that was fun and interesting and this fuelled his unconventionality. “It encouraged me not to want a ’real’ job,” he later said. At Maine East High School, Ford debuted on stage, dancing in Mainspring 1960, the end of year show. It was no Damascene conversion. Acting just wasn’t his thing. Ford went on to major in philosophy at Ripon College, near Chicago, though his initial interest did not convert into good grades. As his final year loomed, he slipped into depression, struggling to get out of bed and get to classes. One time, he even dragged himself into college after days adrift, arrived at the door to the classroom, turned around and walked away. Seeking somewhere to fit in, he stumbled upon Ripon’s theatre society. On 3 May 1963, he took his first tentative steps into acting, playing Mack The Knife in John Gay’s Threepenny Opera. Reviews were good, and Ford finally knew what direction to take.
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I had never thought about what I was going to do when I grew up,” Ford said of his discovery. “I didn’t realise there was an option to not grow up. When I realised that, I knew I had a profession, right there.”
Ford’s talent was described by one lecturer as “virtuosic”, but it was too late to make it his major. So it was that after four years, Ford left Ripon College in 1964 with no degree – but with two more precious assets. One was the desire to act. The other was Mary Marquardt, whom he married within the year. Luck smiled on Ford in his next career break. He immediately got work with The Belfry Players, on the shores of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. They had lost an actor, and Ford was recommended through a friend. Experienced director William Fucik took the gamble. Under Fucik’s guidance, Ford developed his talent. He learned stagecraft, took singing lessons and honed his skills into art. Quick-witted and lacking in vanity, teaching him was easy.
That summer, Harrison married Mary at a wedding held between performances. The first half of the honeymoon night was spent with Ford performing at The Belfry Theatre. It was an idyllic time for the couple, who relished the unconventional lifestyle. At the end of the summer season, Fucik suggested Ford go to Hollywood to make his name. The next ten years would prove to be a long test of Ford’s selfbelief, a gruelling, bruising time. Ford entered Hollywood during the last days of the archaic studio system. It was as if the environment was designed to make the intense, personal Harrison, who was so unwilling to put up with “bullshit” or prostrate himself before studio grandees, feel out of place. Signed on by agent Walter Beakel as a “contract man” for Colombia Studios, Ford went through acting and singing classes intended to mould him into the actor the studio wanted, suppressing his individualism and maverick nature. Playing a bellboy in his first minor movie role, Ford was told by Colombia studio mogul Jerry Tokovosky: “Kid, siddown. Lemme tellya a story. First time Tony Curtis ever appeared in a movie, he delivered a bag of groceries. A bag of groceries! You took one look at that person and you knew that was a star. You ain’t got it kid.” Ford replied that he was intending to make people think he was a bellboy, not a star. The reply so incensed Tokovsky that he was sent back for six months’ further training. Moving from Colombia to Universal Studios saw no change in Ford’s fortunes. Playing minor role after minor role in TV shows and occasional films, Ford grew increasingly demoralised. His rugged masculinity didn’t fit the required look of the time, his reticence and intenseness won him few friends. In preparation for one television role, he bought and trained a tarantula. He took it on set to use it to explain his character motivation to the director, who promptly asked him to leave. Intelligent, yet unwilling to compromise, Ford had finally had enough. In 1970, he decided to stop taking TV roles. As he put it:
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If you think you’re going nowhere and you stop, then you’re not going nowhere any more.”
Instead, he set himself up as a carpenter. In Hollywood it was notoriously difficult to get decent tradesmen, and Ford worked for numerous stars, even building
musician Sergio Mendes’s recording studio. Ever resourceful, he read books on carpentry from the library before commencing the day’s work. Unexpectedly his work gave him back his pride. He was no longer the cowed actor walking into an audition begging for work, but an independent, confident tradesman. In 1972, Ford appeared in George Lucas’s second movie, American Graffiti. Lucas was part of the “new Hollywood” seeking to overturn the nepotism and favouritism of the past. Completely different to those other
COVER STORY | HARRISON FORD
directors he’d worked for, Ford’s suggestions were encouraged. Though by now 30 years old, and far older than his fellow actors, he spent wild nights hell-raising – even throwing Richard Dreyfuss into the swimming pool from a second storey balcony, cutting Dreyfuss’ face in the process.
The Indiana Jones series, Blade Runner, The Witness, Frantic, Air Force One and The Crystal Skull are just a few of the films that after that one moment when George Lucas finally relented. Ford’s persistence during almost a decade of flailing round the edges of stardom finally paid off. It is estimated that he is the most successful actor of all time, with four films in the top ten grossing films and eight in the top 50.
Though American Graffiti was a success, it brought no change in his fortunes and Ford returned to carpentry. A friend, Frederick Roos, pestered Lucas to audition Ford for the role of a space cowboy on his next film. When Lucas ignored him and continued auditioning, Roos asked Ford to build a new doorway in the building where Lucas was auditioning.
His journey shows that persistence and luck are only part of the story. Talent, dedication, stubbornness, intelligence, good friends who believe in you and the willingness to be resourceful are also part of the mix that took Harrison Ford to success.
Finding the prospect deeply humiliating, but needing the money, Ford sullenly agreed, watching as actors he knew walked in to audition. Unable to find his space cowboy, and now at his wits’ end, Lucas’s eyes finally alighted on Ford and he asked him to read the part of Han Solo for him in Star Wars.
That was the turning point. Ford was signed up, and when Star Wars became the smash movie of the year, Han Solo was singled out for special praise by critics.
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To read more about Harrison Ford visit thebestyoumagazine.co
Harrison Ford never looked back. After Star Wars there were numerous blockbusters.
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FEATURE | ALASTAIR CAMPBELL
Alastair Campbell tells The Best You what drives him, the struggle with mental illness, the problem with education and the skills you need for success – plus how all those things are the drivers for his own passions
A WINNING
PROFILE: ALASTAIR CAMPBELL
He’s the former ball-busting Downing Street press secretary renowned for ferociously defending his former boss, Tony Blair, with expletive-laden invective. He has been famously or infamously lampooned as Malcolm Tucker in the political satire The Thick Of It, and called a bully by at least one former Conservative Home Secretary. Whether he deserves these labels or it’s all part of the vicious cut-and-thrust of British political life, the man who visits The Best You’s studios to talk about his life, his inspirations and the qualities it takes to succeed is a very different figure from that tough-talker known for singeing even the most hardened journalists’ ears. Quiet, thoughtful, charming and genuinely amiable, Alastair Campbell’s tall frame and piercing eyes reveal a little of the energy which got him through his former political role. There have been many other roles, too. From factory worker, to provincial and then political journalist at the Daily Mirror, to business consultant and author of (at last count) ten books, Campbell has done everything in his life with dedication. His intensity also has its destructive side. He’s battled alcoholism and, in his words, “complete mental breakdown” along the way, and had the guts to talk about it when others would have wanted to hush it up. It all started in Keighley, Yorkshire in 1957, where he was born to Scottish parents, his father from the Hebrides, his mother from Ayrshire. Early on, there was a drive in Campbell that pushed him on, even at school in Keighley and Bradford. He loved it. “Neither of my parents are living but they always said they never ever had to get me to work, do homework all that stuff. I wasn’t a swot but I liked working,” he says with the pithy precision he’s renowned for.“ While some of his teachers, for example his German teacher, John Webster, were special and inspirational, others were average. Since education was so central to Labour policy when Campbell was in Downing Street, what’s his personal view of education? For him, he confides, it’s the use of the word inspire. Those traits expressed themselves in the willingness to challenge teachers. “I would ask them, why did they think that? and I would quite often find it was because they’d always done it like that and I would say, “Well, why do you do it like that? What do you think about doing it like this?” When asked for advice by younger people now, he answers:
It also led to his political awakening. “Britain is actually quite a class-based country. We do tend to have this belief that if you’ve got the self-perpetuating ruling elite at the top, things will work out for everybody else – and history suggests that is wrong,” he explains. He expresses sadness that even when kids from lower class backgrounds get into higher universities, they don’t have the swagger and self-confidence of kids who’ve been to “posh schools”. They needed to be taught confidence and resilience, he adds. After leaving university with a 2:1, Campbell drank, busked, worked in factories and even got a job as a roulette dealer. Then, one day he applied for a job with the Daily Mirror. It was a turning point. He was one of 12 selected from the 1,100 applicants to work on a scheme organised by the newspaper. He met his wife-to-be on that first day, and they both asked to be placed at the Tavistock Times and then the Sunday Independent, a regional Sunday paper. During a placement with the Daily Mirror, he was spotted and asked to stay on, eventually becoming a general reporter. In 1986, he was headhunted to become news editor at Today. The pressures proved too much. “In the spring of 1986 I had a complete, total psychotic meltdown,” he remembers. He was arrested and ended up hospitalised after a serious drink problem finally went out of control. It was then his former Daily Mirror boss stepped in, saying: “I did warn you... I told you it would be a disaster for you, you didn’t listen... Listen to me now, carry on taking the money while you’re sick and when you’re well, come back here.” Campbell started again at the bottom, got psychological help and went on to become political editor.
“It is actually to make people want to love learning. I mean if anybody ever says to me, “You’ll look back on your schooldays as the best days of your life”, I think that is the worst possible message you can give to anybody because actually it should be preparation for better things ahead. I think one of the things I developed, at the various parts of my educational process as it were, was a sense of aspiration and ambition.”
“Don’t underestimate the people above you but don’t overestimate them either and don’t think there’s anything wrong in aspiring to want to do what they’re doing but try and do it better.”
Campbell’s application and independent-mindedness got him into Cambridge to study modern languages. “I think I’m right in saying that I was the first kid from my school to go to Oxbridge. I didn’t like it much to be honest... I think that’s when my politics started developing really as I felt it was very elitist, very privileged, didn’t like it. But I... wish I’d done more when I was at university other than raging against the system the whole time.”
From there he went on to write speeches for a new politician, Tony Blair and after John Major was returned to power, realised he had to make a decision: was he going to help Blair get into Number 10 Downing Street? “It was the day after the election and John Major was walking back into Downing Street and I’m a journalist thinking, ‘God I wonder if I could have done something about that?’ Then another image came into my mind, Tony Blair walking into Downing Street and I’m still a journalist and I’m thinking, ‘I could have been a part of that.’ Then the third one, Tony Blair is walking into Downing Street and I’m just behind him. Now those were really powerful images that were coming into my head and I went with the third one.”
In the next General Election, Campbell was instrumental in getting Blair into power. Once he’d done so, he had to make a decision about his history of depression. “I just decided from the very first day when I got a phone call from a journalist saying I’m doing a piece about you and I’m doing a profile and I want to cover your breakdown and relationship with alcohol and blah de blah. I took the decision to be open and I’ve never ever regretted it. It’s one of the best things I ever did. I’ve never tried to say,
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FEATURE | ALASTAIR CAMPBELL
Bernardo Moya interviewing Alastair Campbell
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‘Listen that was then and this is now, it’s got nothing to do with who I am now’. I’ve actually said, ‘Yes that happened and I’ll tell you what – it’s been the making of me’.” This is one of the things Campbell wants to be remembered for – his support for people with mental health issues. The fact that suicide is the number one killer of young men is a serious health issue in the country, and needs to be addressed. His campaigning is aimed at doing exactly that, and one of his main roles nowadays is raising awareness and charity work. Campbell has also been in a position to meet countless successful people, and another side of his life has been to study them. He wants to inspire people to succeed, and counter some of the British press’s need to chop down people who’ve made it in life. That’s the reason behind his latest book: Winners and How They Succeed. The book looks at winners in sport, business and politics and it tries to work out lessons that we can all take from that.
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One of the motivations for writing it was my sense that I don’t think in Britain that we’ve quite got a winning mindset at the moment. I think a lot of it’s the way the media covers stuff, I think there’s just relentless negativity and I think it has an impact upon the public. I think we sometimes prefer failure to success in others.”
And success? How does that happen? Of course, there are countless parts to the mindset of success in the book, but one thing Campbell says sticks out:
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One of my favourite quotes in the book is from a guy called Colin Mcdonnell who’s an athletic coach in Kenya, he’s an Irishman who coaches Kenyan athletes, and he says,
‘The winner is the loser who evaluates defeat properly’. So we can learn as much from losing as we do from winning.”
It’s this turning a negative around – be it a class disadvantage, a mental illness, alcoholism – and learning from it, that is one of Campbell’s great skills.
WORDS OF WISDOM: ALASTAIR CAMPBELL • “If anybody ever says to me, ‘You’ll look back on your schooldays as the best days of your life’, I think that is the worst possible message you can give to anybody because actually it should be preparation for better things ahead.” • “Don’t underestimate the people above you but don’t overestimate them either and don’t think there’s anything wrong in aspiring to want to do what they’re doing but try and do it better.” • “If there’s one thing that makes me left of centre rather than right of centre it’s a real belief in equality of opportunity and a real understanding that it doesn’t exist.” • “The three most important letters in the English language are O for objective, S for strategy, T for tactics. Strategy is what I call the big how. You set your objective – this is what you’re trying to achieve, win the election, win the Premier League, whatever it might be. What’s your strategy? The strategy is what I call the big how. For us in New Labour, the strategy was modernisation... The objective is your goal, the strategy is the big how and the tactics are the tools and the techniques you can use.”
FEATURE | JOE ROOT
At just 24 years old, cricketer Joe Root is the world’s #1 batsman. He’s captain of the Yorkshire team and vice-captain of England, but his humble response to his ranking speaks plenty about his mindset. “I disagree with that status,” he says, considering the matches that took him to the top. “The world’s best player doesn’t get three scores of around 80 in a series and then gets out each time. He goes on to make a match-winning hundred at some point...” Always looking for more from himself, his feet have stayed firmly on the ground, from the moment he entered the brutally honest culture at Headingley, renowned for its Yorkshire plain-speaking.
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One thing the environment I was brought up in taught you was not to make excuses,” he says. “... A batsman couldn’t get away with walking off every week saying ‘I got a good ball’ when they were dismissed. You would have ten other blokes telling you, ‘No you didn’t. You played a rubbish shot’”.
While the Yorkshire C.C. environment encourages a stoical attitude, Root already displayed it at the age of 12 when he was invited to Headingley after being recommended for a scholarship. Stepping into the nets for batting practice with the team coach, Kevin Sharp, Root asked the coach not to hold back. Struck on the helmet with a hard knock, Root simply acknowledged, “That were a good delivery.” He so impressed the coach that afterwards Sharp remarked to a colleague that he’d just been working with a lad he believed would one day open the batting for Yorkshire. Five years later Root did exactly that. Behind Root’s stoical exterior are strong emotional drives. He admits to being a “badger” – the nickname for the cricketing
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geeks who love the statistics – and was a fan early on, watching his dad play for the Sheffield Collegiate Cricket Club, or getting up to hi-jinks at the cricket grounds with his younger brother Billy, also a keen cricketer. Cricket has been a grand passion from a very young age. When he was 11 years old, he wore his Yorkshire schoolboy cap everywhere. While getting autographs from his beloved team, cricketer Craig White saw Root’s cap and suggested one day they’d play alongside each other. This was an imprint moment. “I can still hear Craig’s words in my head. I can see him mouthing them to me as clear as day,” he recalled, 12 years later. Another defining emotional moment occurred in 2009 when retiring England Captain Michael Vaughan gave him one of his cricket pads in 2009, to inspire him. It certainly worked, with Root cherishing the gift, and seeking to inspire younger players through similar gifts. Emotions aside, Root is also an intelligent, analytical player. In the youth team, he was one of the smallest players. Unable to generate great power, he learned to harness the bowler’s strength, developing a nuanced and subtle style. The power he needed came later. A sudden growth spurt at age 18, in which he grew four inches in just a few months, left him rediscovering his style and his co-ordination. Support from coach Kevin Sharp saw him through that difficult patch. Several character traits combine in Root to make him the player and man he is. One is his modesty. In the same way that he was quietly determined to play for Yorkshire and England when young, he avoids talking about his talent. Instead, he describes how “lucky” he is to be doing a job he enjoys so much. Yet, behind that luck are hours, days and months of gruelling hard work. Another trait is attentiveness to detail. He studies other players’ styles closely; he has the humility to ask for advice and the intelligence to listen. He admits copying the players he admires, and has no ounce of prima donna in his system. This is why he is so popular with his team. As vice-captain of England, he is happy to advise and suggest ideas to team captain Alistair Cook, whom he deeply respects. When Cook retires, Root is heir-apparent to the captaincy. After his extraordinary role in bringing back the Ashes to England in 2015 when he was named Man of the Series for his record-breaking performance, he now stands on the brink of even greater things. That isn’t all down to “luck”, for sure!
With a world ranking that positions him at the top of his sport, Joe Root remains modest in his achievements as he has been throughout his career
JOE ROOT
ROOTS
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This month we are giving away a wide range of fantastic books. If you’d like to be in with a chance of winning , simply email your name and contact details to prizegiveaways@thebestyou.co with the name of the prize you would like to win in the subject title before 31 December 2015*
FUTURE SENSE: FIVE EXPLORATIONS OF WHOLE INTELLIGENCE FOR A WORLD THAT’S WAKING UP BY MALCOLM PARLETT
Future Sense offers an interweaving of global and personal themes, which are often kept apart: a far-reaching synthesis of ideas in tune with emerging global developments. It points to how greater whole intelligence can strengthen us in transforming the world and our lives at the same time. Faced with today’s enormous global challenges, humanity often seems ineffective, distracted, or powerless. Many are pessimistic about their descendants’ future chances. In Future Sense however, Malcolm Parlett shows us that tackling global problems can begin in the microcosm of our own lives. Our interconnectedness means that changes in the small worlds we inhabit have ripple effects in the big world. Each of us can help create humanity’s future.
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Parlett has a rare gift for ranging from the personal to the global and back again, weaving these dynamic elements together with insight, empathy and panache” - Gordon Wheelerbook
THE NEWSMAKERS BY LIS WIEHL
TV reporter Erica Sparks has become a superstar overnight. But is it due to her hard work and talent? Or is she at the centre of a spiralling conspiracy? Erica Sparks is a beautiful and ambitious reporter who has just landed her dream job at Global News Network in New York. Erica is determined to succeed in the cutthroat world of big-time broadcasting. She can only hope her troubled past won’t come back to sabotage her dreams. On her very first assignment, Erica inadvertently witnesses and films a horrific tragedy, scooping all the other networks. Mere weeks later, another tragedy strikes – again, right in front of Erica and her cameras. Her career skyrockets overnight, but Erica is troubled. Deeply. This can’t just be coincidence. But what is it? Erica will stop at nothing to uncover the truth.
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A heart-pounding thrill-ride from someone who knows the news business side inside and out” - Karin Slaughter, author of Pretty Girls
WIN! We have one copy of each book to give away. TERMS AND CONDITIONS One entry per household. Entry implies acceptance of rules and conditions. No purchase necessary. Open to all UK residents aged 18 years or over, other than employees of The Best You and companies associated with it. Draw will be conducted by The Best You Corporation. Prize is as stated and will be awarded to the entry drawn at random on the draw date. No cash alternative is available. No correspondence will be entered into. Delayed entries will be deemed invalid. Winners’ names may be published and the winners may be required to participate in publicity. Promoter: The Best You Corporation.
CO-CREATING AT ITS BEST: A CONVERSATION BETWEEN MASTER TEACHERS BY ESTHER HICKS AND DR WAYNE DYER
What happens when you bring together one of the most inspirational spiritual teachers of all time and the Master Sages of the Universe? A magical, insightful, invigorating encounter you will never forget! In this awe-inspiring book based on a live event in Anaheim, California, Dr Wayne W. Dyer sits down with Esther Hicks and the wise Collective Consciousness known as Abraham. Wayne asks all the questions he has accumulated from his more than 40 years of teaching others about selfreliance and self-discovery and Abraham delivers the answers we all need to hear.
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Enjoyable book with these two greats!” - Iona Main Stewart
CUT THE CRAP AND FEEL AMAZING: HOW TO LET GO OF THE NEGATIVE AND GET INTO THE AMAZING ZONE BY AILSA FRANK The techniques described in this book will help you to make changes from each area of your life – work, money, wealth, relationships, love, parenting, addictions, heartache, bereavement, stress and mundane, everyday irritations. The way you live your life is based on a series of habits and established patterns. By replacing old habits with new ones, you can change your life for the better, says Ailsa Frank. In this book, Ailsa Frank who is also an experienced hypnotherapist provides you with the knowledge and tools you need to take control of your life and ensure that it follows a more positive direction – the direction in which you want it to go. From the moment you start reading this book you will begin to change the way you think as the creative techniques will free your mind from negative rigid thoughts patterns.
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A truly inspirational book that will change your mindset and help you transform your life for the better. A clear,concise and beautifully designed book that encourages the reader to want to read on” - Sarah Secoy
Need some inspired thinking? Enter our lucky dip and we’ll send one winner a book from The Best You’s bookshelf.
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BOOK Be Inspired
REVIEWS
With the power to entertain, enrich and empower your life, books are as important today as they have been for millennia. Here’s what’s catching our eye at The Best You this month…
OPEN ACCESS To coincide with the 80th anniversary of Talking Books, the Royal National Institute of Blind People has made the service free for all blind and partially sighted people, removing the £50 subscription fee previously paid by its users.
The Talking Books service – which was launched in 1935 to help soldiers blinded in the First World War – provides 4,000 audio books each day to people with sight loss.
As part of the service’s anniversary celebration, book publisher HarperCollins has committed to deliver its new titles on the date of general release to provide equal access.
‘People don’t realise how a man’s whole life can be changed by one book’
– Malcolm X
BOOK REVIEW | JULIA MCCUTCHEN
CONSCIOUS WRITING:
DISCOVER YOUR TRUE VOICE THROUGH MINDFULNESS AND MORE BY JULIA MCCUTCHEN
Conscious Writing is an original approach to deep creative writing which leads you to discover and express your true voice – on the page and in the world. It is a journey of self-realisation (conscious) and self-expression (creativity) which can be applied to any and all types of writing and fluently blends soul with craft to reveal your richest ideas and most innovative creative work. From her many years’ experience as a publisher, teacher, mentor and author, Julia McCutchen has found a strong impulse underlying many people’s dreams: a yearning to reclaim who they truly are and share the lessons they have learned along with their insights, ideas and stories through the written and spoken word.
“Julia McCutchen’s beautiful new book Conscious Writing will guide you to discover and express your authentic voice – both on the page and in your life” – Robert Holden,
author of Happiness NOW!
BOOK REVIEW | ALICIA EATON
WORDS THAT WORK: HOW TO GET KIDS TO DO ALMOST ANYTHING BY ALICIA EATON
Wouldn’t it be fantastic if you could simply wave a magic wand to get kids to do what you wanted? Author Alicia Eaton, a leading Harley Street hypnotherapist and advanced NLP practitioner, explains how much easier it is to get children to cooperate, simply by changing the vocabulary and structure of your sentences. She shows how powerful words are if you know about the NLP ‘language of persuasion and influence’ and also shares the secret to slipping ‘hypnotic influence’ into day-to-day conversations. Parents who appear to have well-behaved, happy, high-achieving kids are not just plain ‘lucky’ - quite simply, they’re handling things differently and with a bit of inside knowledge, you can too.
”Such a good book all about positive reinforcements, if you are struggling to deal with your child this is for you” – Annette Clark
BOOK REVIEW | SANDY C. NEWBIGGING
BODY CALM
BY SANDY C. NEWBIGGING Body Calm introduces you to a powerful way to use the mind-body connection to help your body heal and stay healthy. From the creator of the widely used Mind Calm, Sandy C. Newbigging, this transformative technique gives your body the rest it needs to recover and remain healthy while bringing about greater harmony within your heart, mind, body and soul. Discover: •
The research that proves meditation is essential for self-healing, staying healthy and even living longer
•
The seven secret sources of stress and bad health
•
Quick-start cures for reducing stress and increasing serenity
•
Sandy’s five comprehensive directories listing physical conditions and their probable mind-based courses
“I have studied many types of meditation but Sandy’s CALM techniques have enabled me to achieve a lightness, a calmer mind, a relief from stress and find harmony” – Sadie Frost
BOOK REVIEW | PHILIP HESKETH
PERSUADE:
USING THE SEVEN DRIVERS OF MOTIVATION TO MASTER INFLUENCE AND PERSUASION BY PHILIP HESKETH What motivates us to say ‘yes’? We all have areas of our lives where we’d love to win people around more often – asking for a pay rise, pitching to a new client, getting a new job, or just getting someone to do you a favour. But what is it that makes people say ‘yes’? By understanding people’s underlying motivations, not only can we become more persuasive and influential, but happier too. Based on sound psychological principles and grounded in science, Persuade helps you to get inside the heads of decision makers and uncover exactly what’s going on, so you can get what you want, time and time again. • • • • •
Tap the power of the seven psychological drivers that motivate us all Gain insight into how to motivate yourself Understand how to improve your relationships Learn how to negotiate like a pro Uncover techniques for getting people to like you
Once you understand the seven drivers that make us tick, you can use this to master the power of influence and persuasion, and ultimately get your own way more often.
“Insightful. Funny. Brilliant. An excellent book” – Andy Bounds,
author of The Jelly Effect, The Snowball Effect and Top Dog
Be Inspired
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GO-TO GIRLS Wonderful women vloggers
INSPIRING STORIES Be a volunteer!
LIVE LOVE LEGACY What do you want to be remembered for? What are your relationships like with those around you? How does life treat you… and how do you treat your life? There is so much good in you. Enrich your life with the passion you feel and the connections you make.
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BEST BEHAVIOUR How to get your kids to listen
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IT’S BEHIND YOU! Matthew Kelly’s big panto
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LIVE LOVE LEGACY | INSPIRATIONAL STORIES
WE
DID IT
#GivingTuesday is a great moment to make a life-changing decision to help others. Here are three volunteers who have done just that
MADELINE ASALA is a volunteer youth leader and writer
I stumbled into voluntary work in February 2010. A friend of mine asked if I would like to sit in on a group discussion she was leading with her youth group at the church she attended. I had no prior experience, and no clue that this would be my first step into the world of youth leadership and mentoring. Also, I was by no means prepared or even willing to make it something permanent. My fears were, one: I was not good enough to mentor others; and two: my life was filled with too much drama, and had little room for the level of commitment needed. But a little convincing and a few training sessions soon did the trick. Five and a half years later and I am grateful to have found my calling! As it’s a programme pillared by the church, my principal activity is to lead a weekly bible study. However this is by no means the sum total of my role. There are many young people under my mentorship who do not attend the bible study sessions. For all members of the youth group, I and my group leader partner are available to lend a non-judgemental ear, and to offer support and advice when needed. We organise team bonding activities, tuition sessions to help with school work, and community outreach events. Our activities are open to everyone, regardless of beliefs or background!
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The most exciting activity organised with the youth is our annual three-day event: a weekend of poetry readings, and theatrical and musical performances, all crowned with a Fun Day held at Horniman Park, South London, open to the local community. The weekend-long event, which is entirely funded by the church is dubbed, ‘The Stepping Up Youth Weekend’. Life as a volunteer youth leader is not always easy, but is deeply rewarding. I feel I have gained a thousand fold from voluntary work. My wish is for young people to find their purpose in life, to nurture their skills, and for them to appreciate the value of giving back. When I see a member of the youth group turn their life around, it means everything to me. I do encourage everybody to devote some time to voluntary work, even if it’s one hour of your whole life!
MARGRIET tells us about Dot Dot Dot, an organisation which provides cheap accommodation in return for 16 hours volunteering a month
I currently volunteer at The Canvas, a café and creative venue in Shoreditch. They serve homemade food, host workshops and arts events in confidence and self-esteem, and you can write on the walls... They’re London’s first Happy Café in association with Action for Happiness. I got on board as an interior advisor and helped with the design of the café, which included creating visuals, sourcing furniture, picking paints and flooring and planning. I have also carried out some of the work as part of a team of volunteers. I have been volunteering for most of my adult life. I have done a lot of volunteering at cultural non-profit organisations; from PR and website management to programme and production management. Since I joined Dot Dot Dot I have volunteered at the Canvas, but also at The Create Place in Bethnal Green running workshops, I have made cards to fundraise for the Stepney City Farm. I have started most of these projects because I’m passionate about the cause and it’s great to be part of something wonderful. It’s amazing what a team of volunteers can achieve in a few hours per month. To me volunteering is a great way to share your skills and develop skills. In my case The Canvas was really fun to do and is also resulting in a project for my interior design portfolio. You usually meet new people and it’s a great way to broaden your horizons and do something different. Dot Dot Dot is very active in inspiring guardians. There is a weekly newsletter with on-going as well as ad hoc projects. I remember once receiving an email asking for people to help with activities at Chrisp Street market (where I live), resulting in me face painting! You’re very free in finding work as a volunteer. You can do a few hours a week at the same organisation or start something up yourself.
Before Finsbury Parkrun, I’d been around the volunteering block a few times, so to speak… But I’ve now been in a committed volunteering relationship since 2010. Every Saturday, more than 6,000 UK volunteers will be ready at 9am. In over 300 parks nationwide, they will be giving their time to make Parkrun happen – and I’m usually one of them! Parkrun is not just a free, weekly, timed 5k run. It is a safe and supportive environment for exercise and fun whether you walk, jog or run the distance. It’s not only about the ‘running’! It’s about the relationships you form, the community spirit that you create, the families that you get to know, the children that you see grow up and the friends that you make. It is also an enduring example of the power of volunteering; over the last ten years Parkrun has grown to be one of the largest volunteer led organisations in the country.
It is an ideal partner for a longterm volunteering relationship because:
JINAKA explains what it’s like to volunteer for Parkrun
• Take it fast or slow You determine the pace and intensity of the relationship – you can be in contact as often or as little as you like; once a month or up to four times a month. And, it can last for as little as an hour or the whole morning. • Keep things fresh You can opt for your favourite volunteer position or you can try out a variety of others. Volunteers set up the course, set off the runners, cheer them round the course, time them through the finish funnel, load the data online and then relax drinking tea and coffee with everyone in the local café. There’s loads to try! • It’s fun and stress-free You will be provided with all the instruction and equipment you need before the main event. It takes you on whatever terms you can offer. And it’s easy to get involved. That’s why I love it.
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LIVE LOVE LEGACY | SUE ALICIA ATKINS EATON
Struggling to get your kids to do what you want and need them to do? Alicia Eaton offers expert advice on making a change for the better
HONEY,
I HYPNOTISED
THE KIDS 42
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For most of us, the idea of hypnotising our children into doing what we want them to do has simply been a bit of a fantasy – just imagine how brilliant it would be if all you had to do was simply click your fingers to get kids to tidy their bedrooms and do their homework! Well, it might not but be as far-fetched as it sounds. Harley Street clinical hypnotherapist and neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) practitioner Alicia Eaton is also a parenting expert. In her book, Words that Work – How to Get Kids to Do Almost Anything, she shows how easy it can be to get kids to co-operate, just by changing a few words and the structure of your sentences. As Eaton explains, “It just seems that too many parents, and teachers for that matter, struggle to get their requests heard, understood and taken seriously nowadays – kids just don’t seem to be able to do as they’re told any more.
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Learning how to use NLP’s ‘language of persuasion of influence’ on the other hand, can make life so much easier – not only would parents benefit, but with fewer arguments and confrontations, kids would be happier too”.
So whether the issue is mealtime arguments over fussy eating or junk food cravings; an anxiety or phobia about dogs, spiders, wasps, going to school or exams; bad habits such as nail-biting and thumb-sucking; a lack of confidence or shyness, finding a solution to the problem might be as easy as phrasing your request in a different way, using a different set of words. Here are the techniques that Eaton suggests. 1. Place the word ‘NOW’ at the end of a sentence. The conscious mind gets confused at hearing the word ‘now’ at the end of a sentence – it’s in the wrong place – and therefore, it gets interpreted as a command. Handy for saying things such as: “When will you be doing your homework, now?” “When will you finish playing that computer game, now?”
“When would be a good time to tidy that bedroom of yours, now?” 2. Create the illusion of choice If you’re exhausted with nagging your child to get dressed in the morning, start nudging them in the right direction by offering the illusion of choice: “Which t-shirt will you be wearing this morning – the blue one or the one with the picture on it?” Or, “Which will you put on first? The trousers or the t-shirt?” This pre-supposes that the child has agreed to get dressed and overcomes the impasse. Likewise: “Do you want to work on your school project today or tomorrow?” “Would you like to organise your school bag before or after supper?” “Would you like to taste the broccoli or the carrots first?” “Which one will you choose first?” (presupposing a choice will be made)
“So, you’re talking to me about this now – in order to start making some changes?” “So, you’re telling me about how much you hated this year’s maths teacher – so you can begin to look forward to the new one you’ll be having when you go back to school?” 5. Moving things forward These useful phrases will help your child to shift from focusing on the negative and start visualising a happy outcome for the future: “I wonder when you’ll start becoming aware that you feel different.” “Hey, how good are things going to be once you’ve solved this problem?” “Which of all the new ideas that you’re rapidly thinking of, do you think you’ll become aware of first?” “Isn’t it nice to know that those happy feelings are becoming more and more a part of your life?” “And the most amazing thing about struggling to get over a problem is that once you’ve done it, all of those good, positive feelings will keep moving you forward...º” “OK, so together we’re going to write out a list of ideas – shall we do this right now or later this afternoon?”
3. Reflective listening Help your child to get into the habit of looking for solutions by reflecting or bouncing the statement back with a positive spin. When your child says: “It’s too hot in here.” Bounce back with: “Ah you’d like to feel cooler? What would make you feel better – opening a window or removing your jacket?” Or: Child: “I hate sharing a bedroom.” Adult: “So, you’d like to have some space to yourself? What is it about having your own space that appeals to you?” Child: “The room wouldn’t be messy with Lego all over the floor.” Adult: “OK – so you’d like your sister to tidy her toys and the floor area to be clear?” These responses result in less moaning, less complaining and are more solution-focused. 4. Leading questions This is a useful language pattern that can take the child from the question being asked, or the statement being made, to the desired solution. “So, you’ve been feeling worried about your exams – to make yourself aware that you need to do something more about them?” “I get it - you’ve come to the conclusion that you don’t like any of the vegetables that we eat at home, in order to start experimenting and tasting some new ones.”
Alicia Eaton is a fully qualified psychotherapist, clinical hypnotherapist and NLP practitioner based in London’s Harley Street helping both adults and children change habits and behaviours for the better. Originally a Montessori teacher who ran her own school, she’s also the best-selling author of Fix Your Life with NLP (Simon & Schuster) and Stop Bedwetting in 7 Days recommended by NHS paediatricians. She provides regular expert comment in TV, radio and print media.
Find out more at aliciaeaton.co.uk and success-4-kids.com
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INSPIRING PEOPLE
TALKS Live in London
Museum of London 2 December 2015
LAST REMAINING TICKETS
To find out more and book your tickets visit thebestyouseminars.co
Don’t miss these fantastic speakers at our upcoming Inspiring People Talks VLATKA HLUPIC
Our company is an innovative research-driven management consultancy founded by Professor Vlatka Hlupic, an award-winning international thought leader with more than 20 years of both academic and consulting experience. Vlatka is the winner of the CMI Management Articles of the Year Award 2015.
HARI KALYMNIOS
Hari Kalymnios has a passion and mission in life. And that’s to help those people and organisations who want to achieve high performance by helping them to understand what it takes to live energetically. Without energy it’s impossible to perform at your best.
Coming soon… DON’T MISS THESE FANTASTIC SPEAKERS AT OUR UPCOMING INSPIRING PEOPLE TALKS
NIGEL BOTTERILL,
6 January, Royal Institute of British Architects, London Jessica Huie, Rachel Kelly, Pete Wilkinson, Gill Fielding
ALEXANDRA WATSON
PLUS, SAVE THE DATE! 27-28 February 2016 The Best You Exhibition, ExCel London
the founder of the Entrepreneurs Circle has one clear aim; ‘Help UK business owners escape mediocrity and live the lives they want to lead.’ Not only does he spend time teaching, training and mentoring UK business owners, but he has won numerous awards in the process. Alexandra’s expertise helps people like you create a ‘successful mind’, one which creates wealth in all areas of your life whilst abandoning doubt and limitations. You become happier, more fulfilled than ever before and very, very masterful at success – and right now, you’re closer than you think!
TURN TO PAGE 62 TO READ MORE ABOUT THE BEST YOU EXHIBITION
LIVE LOVE LEGACY | SUE ATKINS
CHOOSE
YOUR LIFE In her column for The Best You, parenting expert Sue Atkins considers how to pick the best options
This month I’ve been pondering choices as I’ve been working with a young woman recently who acts like a victim. She blames her boyfriend for getting her pregnant and treating her badly, she blames her teachers for kicking her out of school as she relentlessly defied the rules, and she blames her last employer who sacked her because she became belligerent, argumentative and rude to the customers, for the situation she now finds herself in. She blames everyone and everything except herself. She takes no responsibility for the decisions that she made along the way that led to the situation she now finds herself in. So this got me pondering about what is the single force that shapes the quality of our lives and how do we teach it to our children? I believe it is the choices that we make. It is our decisions, not our conditions that define the course our lives take. I think it’s helpful to ponder that we are where we are today because of the decisions that we’ve made – decisions about what to focus on, decisions about where to place our priorities, decisions about what things mean and decisions about what to do, how to act and what to say. Of course some of us have grown up in more challenging circumstances than others, but no matter what we have experienced in the past, our history is not our destiny – we all have the power to make new decisions starting from today. The new, better, more empowering choices you make today can transform your whole life… over time. I often say that it’s no good driving forward constantly looking in the rear view mirror. That’s allowing your past to impact and continue to affect your future. Each of us has two distinct choices to make about what we will do with our lives. The first choice we can make is to be less than we have the capacity to be. To try less, work less, contribute less, earn less, have less, read less, think less and discipline ourselves less.
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These are the choices that lead to an empty life. These are the choices that, once made, lead to a life of constant apprehension, fear, anxiety and playing small instead of a life of wondrous anticipation.
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And the second choice? To do it all! To become all that we can possibly be. To give 110 per cent, to read every book that we possibly can. To earn as much as we possibly can. To give and share as much as we possibly can. To strive and produce and accomplish as much as we possibly can.
All of us can choose which path we are going to step onto if we are mindful about the choices and decisions that we are making. It’s about having the mindset to be the best we can be and to reflect and ponder on the small, as well as the big decisions we are constantly having to make. It’s about developing our confidence, tenacity, and decision-making, and seeing the bigger picture. It’s about sometimes delaying our instant gratification to focus on the bigger goal to our lives and taking small, regular steps towards that vision – whatever it might be for us. It’s also about taking responsibility for our choices too and learning from our mistakes. Anyone can blame their parents, the government, the weather or the economy for their misfortune or circumstances but it takes courage to step back, pause and reflect on the choices that we made that contributed to where we find ourselves. So get clear about what you want to be, do and have, and what your life will be like after you accomplish these things. With that clarity, you’ll find it becomes easier to make the kinds of decisions that will move you in the direction of what you really want.
Visit thebestyoumagazine.co to read more of Sue’s advice for making life choices.
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LIVE LOVE LEGACY | MATTHEW KELLY
WHAT DOES
IT TAKE TO BE A ...PANTOMIME
ACTOR?
To book tickets to see Cinderella at Richmond Theatre, visit atgtickets.com
Alongside his son, Matthew Rixon, Matthew Kelly is appearing in Cinderella at Richmond Theatre, as one half of the ugly sisters. It could only be pantomime time!
HOW DID YOU FIRST GET INVOLVED IN PANTOMIME, AND WHAT IS IT YOU ENJOY ABOUT IT? I love the colour and spectacle of it. I saw my first panto at the age of six, at my dad’s works do at The Ardwick Empire, Manchester. It was the most magical thing and I’ve never forgotten it. I wanted to know what happened outside the frame of the picture and even now while I love the magic on the stage, I enjoy knowing how it’s done as much as the spectacle itself. I performed in my first pantomime at my local church when I was seven, and I played the role of Happy in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. This year is my 36th in panto and now my son, Matt, is appearing with me. WHY DO YOU THINK PANTOMIME IS SUCH A PERENNIAL FAVOURITE WITH UK AUDIENCES? It’s a great time of the year and panto is a fantastic art form. I love the theatre so much – it’s my
passion, my hobby and profession. Very often pantomime is a child’s first experience of theatre, so it’s got to be memorable. There are key ingredients that have to be part of a pantomime – there has to be spectacle, the struggle between good and evil, fabulous costumes and a happy ending. It has to appeal equally to parents and children so there has to be something for everyone. Pantomime has developed as a cultural institution and you get the chance to watch famous people in parts you’d never ordinarily get to see them in. There’s the opportunity for political and local jokes, and it plays very much to the British sense of humour. YOU AND YOUR SON ARE PLAYING THE UGLY SISTERS IN CINDERELLA. WHAT DO YOU ENJOY ABOUT THE PART? The sisters are baddies, a double act that are just vile to Cinderella and that everyone loves to hate. They insult each other and are really stupid but they
have to be grotesque and absurd too. My son and I play them as twins and when we’re in costume you can’t tell the difference between us. We laugh a lot and share a dressing room, and we have a lot of fun together. Being in panto is a wise ruse, as we only get Christmas Day and New Year’s Day off, so on those days everyone feels sorry for us and we get let off doing the cooking as everyone feels sorry for us! WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE PANTO?
Cinderella is definitely my favourite, and the effects in this production are thrilling, with a live orchestra and real ponies on stage. When Cinderella is going to the ball and her frock turns from rags to a beautiful dress it happens in a single twirl. It’s magic and very beautiful. The best part in a panto is Mother Goose, which I played at the Hippodrome about 20 years ago. I had 19 costume changes, so with two performances I was changing my clothes 40 times a day!
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Be Inspired
50
CALM MASTER Sandy Newbigging’s moment
FEEL & LOOK GOOD Feeling good about yourself has a hugely positive impact on your appearance, persona and the response you ignite in others. Explore new ways to enhance the impression you make and enjoy the benefits of a positive self-image.
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WARM WISHES How to beat the winter blues
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THE GREAT ESCAPE A yoga getaway with more
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FEEL & LOOK GOOD | SANDY NEWBIGGING
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STILL
CALM With a celebrity client list and five best-selling books, Sandy Newbigging is on a mission to teach us to meditate to heal our bodies
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Visit thebestyoumagazine.co to watch Sandy’s introduction to Body Calm.
Freshly returned from a trip to Geneva, Sandy Newbigging’s feet are briefly touching the ground as the book tour for his latest title, Body Calm, gets underway. Alongside the highly anticipated release, Newbigging’s schedule is brimming as he mentors and trains clients – among them Sadie Frost – and a team of life coaches to spread his meditation teaching, and leads retreats in the UK and his idyllic base in Turkey. While the whirlwind of activity might sound exhausting, Newbigging is as calm as his book’s title suggests, and he’s on a mission to encourage us all to achieve the same balance in our frenetic lifestyles. “This book is the culmination of a decade of discovery,” says Newbigging, “and Body Calm takes the concept of mind detox further than before. “A few years ago I was working on international TV shows such as Spa of Embarassing Illnesses and 30 Days to Change Your Life, and doing work that gave me an insight into the mind body connection. It gave me an understanding that if things are unresolved, stress has an effect on the body. I knew this but I still wasn’t happy. I had the tools to change my mind but I still felt stressed and lonely, but then someone suggested meditation to me. I learned how to meditate and it turned my life around as I finally experienced peace.” Body Calm combines therapy with meditation to heal and address mind-based disease. From an introduction to Newbigging’s approach, it takes readers through a journey with practical steps to shift awareness and embody calm. “Essentially we know if we’re stressed, and that it’s not helping our body,” explains Newbigging. “You don’t need to be a doctor to understand the mind/body impact and also that meditation helps. Exploring self-help is one of the best, non-invasive ways to tackle stress-related symptoms.” To contextualise Body Calm, it has been estimated that in the UK in 2014, 50 per cent of women and 43 per cent of men regularly took prescription drugs, and that the NHS gave out 22m prescriptions for paracetomol, up 13 per cent on the previous year, at a cost of £80m to the taxpayer. It’s a shocking fact that only drives Newbigging’s belief and determination to help people to use meditation as the powerful, natural
and healing treatment that he firmly believes it offers. “Our mind is so powerful, but it can be a negative as well as a positive force. We all have our rock bottom moment and wake-up call that there must be more to life than this. My personal moment was when a long-term relationship fell apart and, despite the success that I’d had with my books and television work, I didn’t have what I really wanted. I realised that the common denominator was my mind. “The moment when you first wake up and experience a few seconds of complete peace before the body kicks in is completely pain-free, and the Buddha saying, ‘no mind, no problem’ struck me as the solution so I thought I would go learn meditation.
has ambitions to grow the resources and reach of his meditation teaching further.
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I’m passionate about it,” he enthuses, “In my own journey, I was so close to the peace I was seeking but I just didn’t know where to find it. Helping others to discover the same inner peace is what gets me up in the morning.”
I realised that it’s not the mind but our relationship with our thoughts that’s at the heart of the issue. You want to have peace with your thoughts but rather than waste time trying to manipulate them you need to recognise that while the context is permanent, there are temporary aspects that you can control through meditation.” Following his own existential crisis, Newbigging took himself off to study meditation 24/7, firstly in Greece for ten weeks, followed by 14 weeks in Mexico. The profound effect that such an intense and immersive period of meditation left on Newbigging has been life-changing.
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I feel meditation is as important as eating, sleeping and drinking water,” says Newbigging, “and it gives you life by forcing you to fully experience the present moment through inner stillness and silence.”
With Mind Calm and Body Calm established, Newbigging’s next title will tackle Soul Calm, providing his followers with a complete holistic resource pack for life.
Body Calm by Sandy Newbigging is published by Hay House.
Find out more at sandynewbigging. com
His calm living philosophy is already being developed and used in schools and workplaces, and Newbigging
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FEEL & LOOK GOOD | JASON VALE
BEAT
THE WINTER BLUES 52
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With the chill of winter in the air there’s no better way to warm up than with tasty low HI (Human Intervention) soup or a beautiful, freshly extracted healthy juice with a kick.
Feeling chilly? Juice master Jason Vale has the perfect recipes to stay warm and healthy all season long
I recommend getting more nutrition in over the winter months as when it gets colder our immune system can pick up little bugs. One of the best juices to have on a cold winter’s night that I always recommend for busting colds is my J’M-sip (pronounced ‘Jemsip’, like the popular packaged kind!). This consists of fresh apple, ginger and lemon juice mixed with hot water, sweetened with a spoonful of Manuka active honey. A couple of years ago I also discovered something called the Ginger Shot and now I swear by them for a daily dose of intense nutrition. It is so simple to make as all you do is juice one apple with a fairly decent sized chunk of ginger (approx. one inch). As with any shot it’s best to knock it back in one and as long as you put enough ginger in, you will really feel this as it hits your throat and awakens your senses. Ginger is everyone’s favourite ‘anti’ – it’s antiviral, antiseptic, antihistamine, anti-inflammatory and a great natural antibiotic. It is also what you need to be getting inside you if you ever suffer with a head cold or sinus congestion. For me, you can’t beat a nice warm soup on a cold winter’s day! You can either eat it right away or stick it in a thermos flask and take it out with you. For those that find it difficult to stay on track when it comes to being healthy, I highly recommend a hearty homemade soup to keep warm, energised and, most importantly, feeling full! We all have our comforts so I think in this case it’s making the soup nice and thick. There are many seasonal delights to enjoy like my pear & parsnip soup, carrot & coriander or butternut squash. You can find the recipes at www.juicemaster.com I receive questions all the time about what to snack on during the day, as naturally during the winter I think we try to ’insulate’ our bodies. If you’re not doing a juice only plan, it’s good to avoid the inevitable Christmas chocolates and gingerbread, mince pies and other festive snacks that creep in by snacking on raw nuts and seeds, fresh fruit, homemade hummus and carrot sticks, cucumber or slices of bell pepper. With everything, I believe moderation is the key and adopting a ’5-2-5’ mantra is a good and manageable way forward. This includes healthy eating and juicing (or just juice) throughout the week and spending a more ’relaxed’ two days at the end of the week enjoying little treats in moderation. This is what the 5:2 Juice Diet also encompasses, as it’s not a fixed ’diet’– more of a way of living. I personally live my life by the 5:2 concept and have never looked back!
Come and meet juice master Jason Vale at The Best You Exhibition on 27-28 Februrary.
Stay warm with carrot & coriander soup...
Book your tickets at thebestyouexhibition.com/ tickets TURN TO PAGE 62 TO READ MORE ABOUT THE BEST YOU EXHIBITION ...and butternut squash soup
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FEEL & LOOK GOOD | ALI BASTIAN
Ali Bastian and her brother experience tranquility, relaxation and yoga on the Gili Islands
Ali Bastian and her brother experience tranquility, relaxation and yoga on the Gili Islands
TRANSFORMATION
IN THE AIR
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The phone rang a few weeks back, it was my little brother Nick. I say little, as in my head he is still six years old and I can definitely beat him at a BMX race. He is in fact 29 and, despite my best efforts, he is no longer willing to race me. I settle in for the usual, ‘Are you going home this weekend?’ ‘What shall we do for mum’s birthday?’ ‘Have you got time to go out and buy something... because I haven’t.’ This was, however, a phone call with a difference. ‘Al, I’m leaving my job and setting up my own advertising agency. I have two weeks break and I need to get away. I’m thinking the Gili Islands. Are you in?’ I had never heard of the Gili Islands. I had no idea where to find them. After about 20 seconds on Google images, I knew one thing for certain, I was most certainly in. Indonesia was the destination, and the scatter of three Gili Islands are, in fact, a short boat ride from Lombok, which now has its own International airport. Gili Meno is the smallest and most secluded, Gili Trawangan the largest and, as I later discovered, the party island for gap year students. If you’re over 30 they probably won’t let you over the border. After a little research, we decided on Gili Air, and boy are we glad we did. Switch your phone off, leave your laptop at home and escape from it all on this beautiful, small but perfectly formed paradise island. At a leisurely pace you can stroll around the island in about 90 minutes. The only other ways to get around are by bike, or you might choose to arrive at your hotel, as we did, by donkey and cart which certainly added to the sense of adventure!
meditation practice, workshops and a whole variety of holistic healing treatments. At the heart of the retreat is a beautiful circular Yoga Shala with a high domed natural thatched roof where all classes take place. As Nick was new to yoga, it was wonderful to enjoy classes suitable for all levels taught beautifully by teachers from all over the world. The words, ‘Al, can I show you this flow I’ve just learned?,’ were not words I ever imagined would come out of the mouth of my little brother. Thanks to our special time spent at H20, another new yogi is born! A blissful nightly ‘yoga by candlelight’ practice soon became our ritual along with stronger morning Hatha and Vinyasa classes. You can buy bundles of classes with 10 passes at roughly £3.50/class. Two weeks on a desert island moving between my hammock and the yoga centre is all the activity I needed but for the more active traveller the island offers some of the best diving on earth, breathtaking snorkeling, paddle boarding and kite surfing. Or try free diving – a three-day course promises to teach you breathing techniques to safely explore the ocean on a single breath up to 40 metres! As another cloudless day draws to a close on Gili, we hear Safari Bar is the best spot for the evening to grab a bean bag and listen to some live local music. My brother and I leap onto our hire bikes to race up to the northern tip of the island to witness the spectacular sunset. He is six and I am 10, and we are pedalling as fast as our little legs can carry us, the cool breeze in our hair. I win... secretly, I know he let me.
We stayed in Sunrise Bungalows, a group of traditional Indonesian villas nestled in lush green gardens with panoramic sea and mountain views.
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For me, there is something about a return to this kind of simplicity that encourages another level of relaxation. Sleeping under mosquito nets, listening to the sound of the geckos and gentle lapping of the ocean, I soon feel a million miles away from everything and so very happy in the knowledge that my little brother, tucked up in his bungalow next door, is experiencing exactly the kind of head space required before he embarks upon his next exciting chapter.
We found a couple of options for yoga classes on the island but after asking the advice of other travellers, it seemed that H20 Yoga and Meditation Centre would be the place for us. Nestling in lush green gardens, set back a little from the beach, H20 has created a most peaceful and relaxing retreat. It offers two yoga classes a day, an introduction to
Ali Bastian
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The Best You is delighted to have Yes to Life as its preferred charity partner. The work it does for people fighting cancer is immeasurable, providing support for people in real need of care at the simplest and most human level Yes to Life is the UK’s integrative cancer care charity and we are here to help people with cancer navigate their way to finding the right choice for them. We provide support, information and financial assistance to those seeking to pursue approaches that are currently unavailable on the NHS. We also run a series of educational seminars and workshops for those wanting to learn more. We want to change attitudes and make integrative cancer care (combining the best of conventional and complementary approaches) readily available so more people have the best chance of reclaiming their health.
Helpline – 0870 163 2990
Our helpline offers free support to those with cancer, their carers and relatives. Staffed by trained volunteers, we do not offer advice but can signpost to experts and practitioners who can.
You give: • •
LIFE - directory
Our directory provides access to a searchable database of therapies, practitioners and clinics working with people with cancer around the world. The interactive LIFE - Talk forum offers a place to share experiences and ask questions about each therapy type.
Financial assistance
We support people to take the complementary approach of their choice. Callers to our helpline are eligible for a free consultation with Cancer Options and we provide small grants to assist with costs of supplements, organic food, equipment and therapies.
There are two ways you can help us: If you want to make a one-off donation then please join our campaign to raise money for our Funding Scheme so we can continue to help the increasing numbers coming to the charity looking for choice.
http://campaign.justgiving.com/charity/y2l/ fundpeoplewithcancer Or you can be our Friend. The best way you can have a direct impact is to donate a regular amount each month. Your money will go directly to helping individual people with cancer and gives them a real choice.
A monthly donation – as much or as little as you can afford Someone with cancer access to approaches they would not have been able to pay for themselves
You get: • • • •
The knowledge that you are helping us support people that really need it Advanced access to tickets to our workshops and seminars A Friends newsletter featuring all our latest news, stories from our beneficiaries and some delicious healthy recipes A Friends badge to display on your social media page to celebrate your contribution and share it with the world
https://www.justgiving.com/y2l/ and click,º ‘Make a monthly donation’ We have been sharing stories from their beneficiaries to highlight this diversity and raise awareness of the value of complementary approaches for healing.
You can read some of their amazing stories here: http:// yestolifecharity.blogspot.co.uk/p/ stories.html
Be Inspired
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GO-TO GIRLS Wonderful women vloggers
JUST DO IT!
How to ditch procrastination
WEALTH & RICHES Building your career or business can bring both financial reward and personal growth in every aspect of your life. Seek out advice and support to ensure your success today and for the future.
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YOU REALLY WANT TO The gentle art of persuasion
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SAVE THE DATE 2016’s biggest show
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WEALTH & RICHES | PETER SHALLARD
A procrastination epidemic is sweeping the world but Peter Shallard advises how to ensure you have immunity
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Everywhere people are dreaming big and accomplishing less. Time feels like it’s speeding up – this year’s calendar pages are vanishing behind you faster than ever before. You go to bed every night with huge intentions for the next day then wake up only to procrastinate just like the day before. It feels like it’s getting harder and harder to follow through on your good ideas and best intentions. It feels harder because it IS getting harder. The whole world is trying to stop you from getting stuff accomplished You now live in a world of overwhelming distractions. The new hot currency is eyeballs and there are thousands of corporations and people, hell bent on getting access to yours. Take your smartphone. This unholy device, marketed as a tool of work and leisure, is responsible for infecting you with procrastination. It’s syncing with the cloud, constantly updating you with social media, email and more. Everything about your smartphone’s existence is designed to pull your attention away from your work. Smartphones are designed to interrupt you. They’re explicitly created to interrupt you (it’s called an ‘alert’) and take you away from whatever you were doing. Until recently, productivity’s biggest enemy was television – a dangerous adversary to be sure, but the fact that it gets switched off for most of the day was its weakness. Your smartphone is always on. And that’s just part of the problem...
CHANGING PLACES The nature of your work itself is making it harder to be productive In the last 50 years, our work has changed. It doesn’t matter if you’re an entrepreneur or an employee, chances are if you’re reading this you do something very different to what your grandparents did. Blue collar work was simple, because it didn’t require creativity or decision-making. Workers were given operating manuals or training. They pulled levers and pushed
things. Repetitive and boring, right? It’s great that you don’t have to do that kind of work, but it would certainly make you more productive if you had such a clear set of tasks in front of you. Today, our work has become creative. The knowledge economy exists and it’s about making decisions and prioritisation. Being successful demands that we act decisively and know what to focus on. If you wait around for someone else to tell you what to do, you’ll most definitely get left behind.
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You try to tell yourself to do all the smart things you know you should. You make lists. You have good intentions. But the mindlessness of industrial labour is gone – YOU have to make those decisions. You have to chose what to do next. Only YOU can make yourself take action.
Most of procrastination is simply caused by hesitating over the decision of what to do next. The transition from agricultural to industrial labour was easy for humans to make. We went from mind-numbing repetitive work in the field to doing the same in a factory. The leap from factory to the technology driven future is totally different. To succeed in the modern world, you have to recognise the truth: The old mental patterns for making ourselves work no longer apply. The knowledge economy has arrived and our brains are playing catch-up.
HOW TO BE MORE PRODUCTIVE At my company, Commit Action, we’ve spent the last two years researching with the help of Ivy League professors and scientists to uncover the truth about what makes people – and entrepreneurs in particular – hyper successful. In more than 10,000 individual phone conversations we had with entrepreneurs, one thing above all else kept emerging. Scientists call it ideal implementation granularity. What it really means is not just knowing what you should do – or want to do – but also having a clear next step which is neither too big and overwhelming… nor too small and detailed to feel exciting. The most effective people of the modern world are intuitively excellent at breaking their goals into the perfect bite-sized pieces, totally bypassing the overwhelm that paralyses the ambitious (but stuck) majority. The first step to finding YOUR ideal implementation granularity is to consider your biggest, most audacious goal. Then ask yourself one simple question:
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‘What can I move forward on – on my own – today and on this day alone?’ Your answer to this question is the single most powerful key to taking an idea and making it real in the world.
Peter Shallard is known as The Shrink for Entrepreneurs. Grab his free video training series that reveals the science of super-human effectiveness at www.commitaction.com
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WEALTH & RICHES | PHILIP HESKETH
In a world with infinite options, how can we convince people to choose us? Philip Hesketh knows the secrets to influence and persuasion
Philip Hesketh is the author of Persuade: Using the Seven Drivers of Motivation To Master Influence and Persuasion published by Capstone Wiley
THE PERSUADER Choice. It’s as exhilarating as it is exhausting, but if you’re on the other side of the table how do you convince someone to pick you, your business or your products? Persuasion truly is an art, but motivational speaker and author Philip Hesketh has distilled the seven routes to decision-making in a new book. He’s an expert on the subject, having studied psychology at university and having subsequently built a hugely successful advertising agency with a turnover of more than £48m. During that time he pitched against 92 agencies to win one of the largest advertising accounts at the time, worth £80m over a decade, for a government body. The secret to success? “Asking the right questions,” responds Hesketh.
“Find out what a client really wants,” says Hesketh. “It’s never about the pitch, and creative can always be redone, but asking and understanding what the most important thing to the decision-maker is crucial to winning. “Even when there is a problem or objection, drill down to understand what’s worrying the client – ‘Help me to understand your problem,’ is a great way to create empathy and to connect directly with the client. Instantly you’ve shown you are on their side, and they are more likely to respond to you.”
“Rather than try to persuade people, it’s better to ask people questions and reinforce that they are free to choose and make the final decision”
In his book, he lists 50 questions to influence and persuade and these are key to directing people to our point of view. “We don’t like a fait accompli,” says Hesketh, Indeed, empowering others to feel that they are in control and you are simply guiding them through the thought process is far more likely to be successful than applying a blunt pressure.
Indeed the need to be loved, important and belong are the three primary drivers of motivation, says Hesketh. It’s exactly why we feel good when we connect with someone in business, and the building of a relationship is so vital to success. “By and large, it comes down to psychology,” says Hesketh.
“We are indoctrinated when we are young to believe that we can, or can’t, break the glass ceiling and be successful, and so we self-limit. But if we are serious about using the drivers that motivate us we can all develop the skills to achieve more from life.”
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WEALTH & RICHES | THE BEST YOU EXHIBITION
COME AND MEET WORLD LEADERS IN PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT AND LIFESTYLE ENHANCEMENT IN AN
AMAZING WEEKEND EVENT
JOIN US AT
Exclusive content and shots on iPad, iPhone & Android devices
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We are tremendously excited about this event, it’s going to be an inspirational weekend. If you are as passionate about personal development as we are, then you absolutely have to be there!
So what can you expect?
The Grand Seminar Hall which seats 1,000 people. Confirmed speakers in this room are: Sir Clive Woodward, Barbara De Angelis, Kelle Bryan, Gill Fielding, Janey Lee Grace, Michael Neill, Jason Vale, Robert Holden and Daniel Priestley.
THE BEST YOU GREAT MINDS SEMINAR
AT THE BEST YOU EXPO DAY
1
SPEAKERS
MICHAEL NEILL
DAY
2
BARBARA DE ANGELIS
KELLE BRYAN
DANIEL PRIESTLEY
ROBERT HOLDEN
JASON VALE
JANEY LEE GRACE
SPEAKERS
SIR CLIVE WOODWARD
TICKETS FROM £199
For more information about the full line-up of event speakers visit thebestyouexhibition.com, email info@thebestyou.co or call +44 207 927 6500 If you would like to exhibit or speak at the event email
louise.dockery@thebestyou.co or call +44 (0) 203 011 0874
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WEALTH & RICHES | THE BEST YOU EXHIBITION
THE BEST YOU EXPO
CONFIRMED SPEAKERS WEALTH & RICHES BEST FOR BUSINESS SEMINAR DAY
SEMINAR ROOM 1
DAY
1
2
DR JOHN DEMARTINI
THE BEST PRACTITIONERS SEMINAR
GILL FIELDING
DAY
BERNARDO MOYA
DAY
1
1
SEMINAR ROOM 2 KATE VARVEDO
PAUL BOROSS
DAY
MATT KENDALL
DAY
2
2
DAY
1
DR. STEPHEN SIMPSON
DANIEL PRIESTLEY
SARA DAVISON
FEEL & LOOK GOOD SEMINAR
ELLIOT KAY
DAY
1
SEMINAR ROOM 3 PAUL J SPENCER
NEIL SHAH
MORE SPEAKERS COMING SOON...
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THE BEST YOU EXPO
EXHIBITORS DIET BOOKS + RETREATS
STRATEGY TRAINING + SUPPORT
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT MIND, BODY & SPIRIT EVENTS
HYPNOTHERAPIST PITCH COACHING
INTERACTIVE CANCER CARE CHARITY
SPORT COACHING
LIFE COACHING
STRATEGY + TECHNOLOGY
DIVORCE COACHING
PUBLIC SPEAKING TRAINING
WORKPLACE STRESS MANAGEMENT
TALENT MANAGEMENT
SOCIAL MEDIA EXPERTS NLP TRAINING COURSES
MORE EXHIBITORS COMING SOON... Watch the speakers videos using the FREE DIGITAL APP for iPhone, Android & Window phones. To download, visit http://thebestyoumagazine.co/subscribe/
THE EVENT WILL BE BROADCASTED LIVE THROUGH OUR PARTNERS
WEALTH & RICHES | ROCKY ROAD TO SUCCESS
CARRIE FISHER
FORCING A BALANCE
Carrie Fisher was born into wealth, fame and privilege; she went on to international acclaim and superstardom with her roles in the Star Wars movies and lived happily ever after. Perhaps Fisher herself wishes her life had been so streamlined, but it wasn’t so for the daughter of two famous parents. Fisher was raised in mid-century Beverly Hills. She was forced to witness rather early how fleeting relationships in Hollywood could be, her parents ending their marriage when Fisher was only two. Her father left her mother for her mother’s friend, Hollywood icon Elizabeth Taylor. For the next several years, Fisher was torn between her parents, with her mother falling prey to a financial predator in the form of her next husband. Fisher found an outlet in performing, often landing roles alongside her famous mother, actress Debbie Reynolds. Just a few short years out of drama school, Fisher caught her big break, winning the classic role of Princess Leia in the first Star Wars film. However as she found success, the unsteady ground upon which her childhood was based returned in full force. During the production of the first trilogy of Star Wars films, Fisher, by her own admission, was using drugs much too often. She slowly realised that she was becoming addicted to cocaine, among other drugs. Alcohol and drug abuse exacerbated her bipolar disorder for decades. But Fisher managed to land roles in several movies and television series throughout the 80s, 90s and 2000s. Through it all, Carrie Fisher never succumbed to hopelessness, always finding her way through to the lighter side of life.
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LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN HEARING BETWEEN THE NOTES
At the time of Ludwig van Beethoven’s birth in late 1770, many children died in infancy. Indeed, four of Beethoven’s infant siblings did not survive. His grandfather already a musician of note during that era, Beethoven had much to live up to. It was suspected by his father, who was his first instructor, as well as by other teachers, that Beethoven was born with prodigious musical talent. He was quickly rushed into the world of musical preparation, relentlessly studying and practising even as a young child. He became assistant organist to the royal court when he was a teenager, and all appeared to be going well for young Beethoven in his fast rise. After his mother’s death, he took care of his siblings while his father lapsed into depression. Beethoven spent his early adulthood in his hometown, giving piano lessons when he could and making connections in the form of lifelong friends and financiers. As his home life fell into further disrepair at the hands of his father’s declining health, Beethoven escaped into music, willing his deep well of talent out for the world to see. After his father’s death, Beethoven moved to Vienna, rubbing elbows with and performing for nobility. As the prominence of his name grew, Beethoven’s legend began to form. He was often mentioned in the same breath as Mozart, cementing his elite status. Enjoyment of his fame and hard fought fortune was not to last, as Beethoven began to go deaf when he was still in his twenties. As was his way since birth, Beethoven fought his way through his cruel-twist-of-fate hearing disease to become one of the most, if not the most iconic musician and composer in history.
WEALTH & RICHES | ROCKY ROAD TO SUCCESS
ROSALIA MERA
DESIGNS ON SUCCESS
Rosalia Mera was not meant to be a success. She was a female born in Spain at the end of World War II. She was also not meant to end her life with a net worth of more than $6bn. Mera however had different designs on how she would live her life. The mid-1950s was not the ideal time for driven young girls to make a mark on the world. Indeed, Mera dropped out of school when she was only eleven. It was after some time working as an apprentice at a local fashion retailer that Mera knew she had found her calling. Hard work did not intimidate the then-pre-teen, as clothing designs and patterns began to flourish in her mind, seemingly without effort. Not many knew it at the time, let alone Mera herself, but she was beginning to display outward signs of her inner prodigy. As the years passed, Mera’s talent grew stronger. Subsequent to marrying, she and her husband began to craft elegant gowns and intimate wear, zeroing in on the tastes and flavours of what Mera knew women wanted. As demand for their apparel grew, Mera and her husband launched their first storefront, named Zara. The company was almost an instant success in the mid-1970s. Today Zara is one of the most globally recognisable fashion brands, with its parent company holding a valuation of more than $100bn. Rosalia Mera passed away in 2013, having also established herself as an influential philanthropist. Her legacy as the world’s richest female entrepreneur will live forever as a message to do-it-youselfers all over the world.
YASIEL PUIG
NO PERMISSION NEEDED TO WIN
Yasiel Puig began his dream in humble environs in early 1990s Cuba. While his father was working in a sugar cane factory to support him and his younger sister, Puig became enthralled with the incredible hotbed of baseball that Cuba had become in recent decades. In many parts of the world, young children see athletes as powerful role models. In pre-millennium communist Cuba, Puig, who played baseball from the age of nine, grew up seeing local athletes make repeated attempts to defect from the island country so they might realise their dreams of playing professional sports on a much larger scale. As a teenager, Puig began playing for the national baseball team of Cuba. A wide-eyed, ultra-talented teenager travelling outside of his home country triggered a strong desire in Puig to play in Major League Baseball in the United States. Indeed, at a 2011 tournament in the Netherlands, Puig attempted to evade his handlers and defect from his home country. He was ultimately unsuccessful, but it would not be his last effort. Several attempts later, he was able to secure passage to Mexico via a notorious drug smuggling cartel. Puig’s baseball talents were well known in the region, and there were multiple attempts to ‘sell’ him to wealthy people. Yasiel Puig finally achieved his dream of not only defecting from Cuba, but also of playing major league baseball. In 2012, after much disappointment and heartbreak, the Los Angeles Dodgers organisation signed him. He was put through their training and development programme, playing for the Dodgers’ minor league teams before making his professional debut in 2013.
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Be Inspired
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CHANGE MAKERS
21ST CENTURY LIVING
Vloggers with a mission We live in a technological age and the opportunities that new ideas and developments bring to both our personal and professional lives are amazing. Discover fresh thinking and technologies that can enhance daily life.
Put your company in this space! To sponsor this page and be part of The Best You, email us at advertising@thebestyou.co
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LUXURY ABOUNDS Gadgets for gifting
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21ST CENTURY LIVING | VLOGSTARS
VLOGGERS
MAKING A DIFFERENCE At The Best You, we recognise those who are using their digital space to educate, empower and do good for others
Exclusive content and shots on iPad, iPhone & Android devices
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NATIONAL DEAF CHILDREN’S SOCIETY The National Deaf Children’s Society has launched its own YouTube channel where four deaf young people are vlogging about what it’s like living with impaired hearing, the challenges they face, funny and annoying things about being deaf and advice for other young people living with hearing difficulties. Watch Lucy, Ruth, Neil and Ahmad who regularly share their experiences through speech and signing to raise awareness.
Find out more about The National Deaf Children’s Society at https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL8D1ABC AD37FF582F&v=MhHKgCfhx2k
STEVE BOOKER In early November, vlogger Steve Booker set off on a cashless adventure to get from the top of the globe to the bottom without a penny in his pocket. His two-week adventure covered eight countries and three continents, starting in Norway. The trip was sponsored by PayPal which enabled Booker to book flights and activities, but taking the journey without any loose change meant he had to figure out how to do some things without traditional forms of payment.
Follow Steve Booker’s journey at https://www.youtube.com/user/stevebooker
HUMZA ARSHAD The creator of a YouTube series, Diary of a Badman, Arshad aims to use comedy to spread a positive message about being a Muslim. “I think a lot of Muslims and Islam in general are not portrayed in a positive light in the media, and it’s a shame,” said Arshad in an interview with WIRED.co.uk. “I wanted to do this project as a Muslim, to represent Muslims and get some positive PR.” Badman is a fictional character based on a young, stereotypical British Asian boy who thinks he’s a gangsta, and in his sketches, Arshad touches on themes such as arranged marriages, racism and family relations.
Watch Badman’s World at https://www.youtube.com/channel/ UC4HIr9OKBX_yGjonR1uTiBw
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21ST CENTURY LIVING | GADGETS
DYSON V6 CORDLESS VACUUM CLEANER
THE WISH
LIST
YG ACOUSTICS CARMEL 2 No month of tech reviews would be complete without a nod towards the world of high-tech audiophile equipment. Ultra high-end loudspeakers often dominate spaces visually (making medium-size rooms unfit for anything other than listening). The Carmel 2, however, stands around waist height and sound every bit as good as larger speakers. They’re incredibly bright, the bass response has been significantly improved since the Carmel 1, and the sound staging is about as crisp as anything I’ve experienced. You’ll need to invest a good deal to get the most out of these speakers, but the result will be a truly breath-taking listening experience. Suggested retail price: £16,750
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The holidays have arrived, and with them our annual list of the season’s most drool-worthy tech. We’ve got something for everybody, but remember to put down the cool stuff over the holidays and engage on a more profound level with those around you
A cordless vacuum cleaner is a dream come true for those of us who are frustrated by the need to navigate a corded unit around table legs and chairs. Cordless vacuums have been with us for quite a while but, when compared with more conventional vacuum cleaners, simply don’t measure up. The Dyson V6 changes that. The power is more than adequate, and there is a ‘max’ button on the back of the handheld unit that quadruples the sucking power for when you’re dealing with particularly stubborn particles. The battery life isn’t exactly long at about 20 minutes (a quarter of that if you’re running max power). Instead of a bag, the V6 sends all the particles to a plastic canister. This means you can see what you’re picking up, so if, like me, you’ve ever vacuumed up a pair of earrings or something else that shouldn’t be going in the garbage, you’ll enjoy this feature. Perfect for small- to medium-sized spaces (especially if you’ve got a lot of hardwood flooring). Suggested retail price: £249
21ST CENTURY LIVING | GADGETS
TOMTOM BANDIT The action camera market is the site of some pretty serious competition. The GoPro is the market leader and finding a chink in its armour isn’t easy. TomTom thinks its done so with its Bandit and when it comes to shooting footage in a variety of ways, speeds, etc., it’s every bit as capable as the GoPro. Where it departs from the GoPro is in its editing features. With an easy-to-use app, the Bandit allows you to easily mark highlights from your videos and then, with a shake of your mobile device, it arranges these highlights into an easy-to-share video. This feature makes the Bandit the ideal action camera for those who would rather spend their time getting more great action shots than editing their footage. Suggested retail price: £249
LOGITECH G920
AUDI TT ROADSTER
Compatible with your PC or Xbox, the G920 is the ultimate in driving simulation. Its leather-wrapped steering wheel and stainless steel accents make it feel as though you’re in the captain’s chair, and the force feedback that comes to you through the device really makes it feel as though you’re nosing a performance sports car into tough corners. It rumbles and fights you all the way around the bend, behaving in every way like you would expect a real steering wheel to. Add the shifter (sold separately) to the unit for an even more realistic feel. The price tag (by no means small) should scare away the non-enthusiasts, but the hard-core racing fan in your life will enjoy this set-up like nothing else. Suggested retail price: £249
The third-gen 2016 TT (available in either Roadster or Coupe) is not only the most handsome of Audi’s TT iterations, it’s also loaded with space-age technology. On first glance, the cockpit feels like a throw-back, but as soon as the digital display (which replaces the instrument panel) lights up, you know you’re dealing with something special. The simplicity and elegance of everything demands no sacrifices. Everything from digital maps to voice-command media control is here, and everything works as well as you expect Audi technology to. For tech fans who have found fault with Audi’s proprietary MDI (multi device interface), the marque has responded by (finally) replacing it with the more common and convenient USB. As for performance, the TT pumps out 220hp, and reviewers have loved the lack of turbo lag and lightning-fast gearbox. There’s not many cars on the market that provide a top-down driving experience like this one. Neck heaters embedded in the seats combined with remote-controlled wind buffers in the back mean that you’ll be able to ride with the top down even when the evenings are still cool. Suggested retail price: £31,000
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