Barefoot, a manifesto

I believe that the trappings of a consumer economy are trapping us. I believe we are bogged down under our possessions that they possess us rather than us possessing them. I believe that we need to strip away the good in order to achieve the excellent. I believe that enlightenment is only possible by stripping away everything that we do not need. I believe there to be elegance in simplicity. I believe lazy thinking and indiscriminate action are to blame for almost every one of our problems. I believe that genuine connection with my children is the most important and amazing thing I can do with my life. To bring them up to be reflective, passionate, responsible members of the world. I believe we need to reconnect with nature in order to live life to the fullest. I believe that we do not need to shun technology altogether but we need to be more selective. Yes use, social media, but with precision, to add value, to ourselves and others. Not mindlessly scrolling in a habitual manner. If it does not change you, if it does not move you. It is only a distraction. I believe we are happiest when we know that what we own, do and think about bring us immense value then we live a much more content life. I believe that in order to achieve this you must know yourself intimately and you must love yourself as much as you love anyone else in your life.

I believe that you become a reflection of your mind. What you achieve in real life must first be achieved in your mind. People are the average of the five people they spend the most time with. I believe fear is the single biggest cause of procrastination and inaction.

I want to teach people that they do not need the volume of possessions that they own. That the majority ‘good’ possessions block their ability to use the few ‘great’ possessions as tools to facilitate an extraordinary life. I want to change people’s perceptions of themselves to allow them to truly recognise who they are, what their strengths are and what they need to have, do and think in order to make themselves most happy.

I want to spend my life outdoors with my boys. Sharing experiences with them and helping them understand themselves and the people around them. I want to teach them meditation and I want to teach children around the world skills to help them stand proud yet humble in the world that they create. I want to create a toolkit to give teenagers a way of navigating through their ‘hormone-ravaged’ years and come out the other side stronger, stable and reflective individuals who truly know who they are and what their purpose here is. I want to show other parents how they can spend time with their children enjoying the wonders of nature right on their doorstep and to realise how such simple shared experiences can be epiphanies in their relationships. I want to inspire dads to see how they can change their habits, routines, lifestyles and careers to achieve more of what they want in life while enhancing their relationships with all those around them. Career and family are not a dichotomy that are mutually exclusive but can be, initially balanced, then enhanced through honest reflection and fearless action.

If a possession does not serve you then it is a waste of your time / energy.

We arrive on this earth with nothing and we leave with nothing. Our only meaningful legacy are the lives we touch along the way.

Our breath impacts so many aspects of our lives and is a tool vastly under appreciated.

We need surprisingly little to be happy.

‘When would now be a good time?’ – Tony Robbins – Procrastination, fear prevent us from taking action, do it now.

Make your bed – Celebrate the small wins.

Be grateful – You cannot hold any negative emotion if you are grateful for what you have.

‘Will this matter a year from now?’ No, it won’t. Stop worrying about it.

‘Define your fear’ – Turn the abstract into the concrete and its power over you will diminish.

Anger does more harm to the vessel that carries it than the person it is focused on.

You cannot worry about what other people think – They are so self-consumed that they won’t be thinking about you anyway.

You will regret far more things that you didn’t do than things that you did.

The mind and body are linked, one inevitably influences the other. You need to move both.