Help yourself

That title is not to be misconstrued - I'm not condoning 'thiefery' and 'robbing', what I'm saying is - help yourself because chances are no one else is in a hurry to do it for you, and you're probably the person best placed to do so.

I'm not turning into a self-help guru either so don't worry I'm not changing my career from international man of mystery to incense-burning hippy or shouty motivationalist. It's just that I heard something the other day which struck a chord with me and it got me thinking (remember those heady days of youth when you never bothered with all this thinking malarky?)

I was at a learning skills seminar and the speaker said that your learning is down to you, don't wait for someone to come along and offer up a course to you that might progress your career - decide for yourself what you want and go and help yourself (that's where the title came from see... now it's making sense)

Do you believe that one day you will win the lottery? The chances of winning the average top prize of £2 million in the UK lottery is 14 million to 1, so let's face it, you're not going to win are you? I'm even less likely to win as I don't enter... There's a little Charlie Bucket in all of us trying to get out but again that was a child's story made up by Roald Dahl (who was a genius but also a mentalist), and who believes that chocolate factories really exist?!?. Huh? Oh yeah, right - sorry got a bit carried away... ahem. You stand considerably more chance of being hit by lightning - about 1.2 million to 1*

* As an aside if you're reading this and you've ever been struck by lightning I'd say the chances of you doing that AND winning the lottery would stretch to the squillion bejillions to 1 so save yourself a quid, it's not like you're a lucky sort anyway - you got struck by lightning FFS!

Soooo, by hoping that one day 'It could be you' (pointy finger - deep voice), you are again putting your future in the hands of a third party instead of getting on with sorting out your own 'fortunes'. It's the easy option to get someone else to do it for you.**

** There are of course situations when it is pertinent to let someone do it for you - as a woman my wife has done a very good job of giving birth to our two children, I quite simply wouldn't have attempted it.

Have you ever fancied a girl? (if you're a girl reading this please email me details...) you probably have, but what did you do about it? At school, or even in later life, you may have got your mate to drop massive hints, you may have sent a note. More recently a text or a mention on Twitter or FaceBook? There you go again - allowing 'third parties' do it for you - your mate, the note, the phone, the PC - why didn't you tell them face to face? ***

*** I'm not taking moral high ground here, I'm trying to recall if I ever asked a girl out face to face without some 3rd party influence and I think the answer may be no...

We might get there in the end, we might not, but the maxim of "if you don't ask you don't get" is one that seems to have a lot of truth to it, wouldn't you agree?