A Weekend in The Garden of Eden

Magic is a wonderful thing. For years I have been bamboozled by the mystic genius of the likes of Houdini, David Copperfield, David Blaine, Derren Brown and Tommy Cooper. The escapism to our imagination is a most wonderful thing.

This weekend, through a most serendipitous chain of events, I landed myself in the garden of Darren Eden. The venue may have been a hotel room but all sorts were blossoming within those who attended.

Darren has nurtured a community of magicians, showing them how to tap into their intuition.

The simplicity of his message is the power of it – focus on what you love and take all obvious steps towards it.

When you spend time with magicians, synergistic wonder occurs. When you look for love from external sources you give away your power. When you nurture it from within, by loving yourself, then magical things occur.

Watching magic in action is the best way to develop your own. I learned many things about my life during this weekend.

I learned that football is a wonderful metaphor for my life and there are so many obvious steps towards getting what I love that I'm almost embarrassed to admit that I hadn't seen them.

I have never been the greatest footballer but I have always loved the sport. I have been injured, hospitalised, beaten, kicked, punched and head-butted over the years. I have had more near misses than I can remember and suffered some humiliating moments. However, I have also experienced some incredible highs, raised my game, played some amazing football and inspired team mates to new levels, way beyond what I thought was possible. I have conquered adversity and played in some shocking conditions.

The fact is that I have always entered each new game as a new beginning. Like watching a different movie – I never know what I will be facing and how my character will be tested. I love the excitement, unpredictability and team dynamic that is offered. Most importantly, as I begin each new game I swiftly forget everything that has happened in previous games.

Because I love football, the highs and lows are part of the rich tapestry that is the beauty of sport, life and what I love. Transcribing the same mindset to my business has given me a quantum shift in thought process. Previously I had been letting tough learning curves affect my mindset at the beginning of a new day. From now on each new day is a new game and a new set of goals.

Through focusing on my business, which is something that I love, I'll now be starting each new day as a new game. My goal is a straight forward one – score more than I concede. If I don't – learn, move on and get ready for the next game.

Life is simple – focus on what you love and take the obvious steps towards it. Today's steps involve writing this as a reminder to myself that I will be playing for the rest of my life.