There has never been a time in history where men are expected to be everything a man used to be and at the same time fulfill the many demands of today’s fast paced world in which they have to up their game in order to feel a sense of belonging, emotionally connected, loved, accepted and unleash their greatness that is within that is essential to living an Influential Gentleman’s life.

You may have noticed how the changes and the vast amount of information we are subjected in our daily lives influence our behaviors, thoughts, emotions, and daily habits. 

How in the last 20 years there has been an exponential rise in helping women cope with these fast shifts, demands and the changes that come from living in the 21st century. Yet, how there are only few good quality programs out there that help men through those changes that come from living in the 21st century in which in order to be loved, successful and claim a social status they are expected to dress like JFK, speak like Alan Watts, lead lice Lincoln, work out like a Spartan, forgive like Mandela and party like Sinatra.

Whether we admit it or not, we have become like commodities, we are being measured by how well we dress, how successful we are, how well we cope with change, emotions, and our ability to adapt and resolve complex problems fast. 

So how do we then rise to this level of evolution where we as men thrive, feel secure in ourselves, are breadwinners, love ourselves and are emotionally balanced, stable, and mature? 

Imagine what your life would be like if you learnt how to truly unleash your potential? 

Inside of ourselves there is everything we want: strength, conviction, love, depth, solidarity, decision, focus, confidence, and sheer determination in the loud, ringing tone which punctuates their delivery.

So what makes us access our own greatness? 

You may think now, if it was so easy everyone would do it. .... But, really why don't they?

It took me years to accept and acknowledge me and that each person is unique, unique in their set of values, experiences, thoughts they generate, beliefs they have, and the filters that sort out the billions of bits of information that we receive through our five senses each and every day.

Having worked with thousands of clients to help them in their journey to unlock their true potential in 8 key areas of life: emotional, physical, spiritual, mental, love, relationship, business and financial, I found that the words " When the time is right", "Its hard", "I WILL" , "I Won't" and " I Can't" were what stopped them from living in the present and unlocking their true potential.

I spend years in living in the past or in the future, I  learned the art of living in the present and now help others in their journey to minimise their time thinking about the past or future and focus them in the present moment.

Journey within is about helping you to transform your psyche, your emptions, your  spirit and embrace the art of transparent communication. 

What do I mean Journey Within? Let me start with one of my favourite quotes from Dalai Lama: " The transformational transparent conversations we record offer you the opportunity to listen to powerful dialogues full of life wisdom and insights from all my guests which support and empower you to embrace change and move through your fears to experience new perspectives, new ways of seeing and engaging with the world."

In 2008 I went through massive changes in my life, personal as well as professional life. Having been made redundant i spent some time to think, evaluate my life and the direction i wanted to take. I noticed within myself that I was predominately functioning from a foundation of lies and fear. I realised that I was lying to me, my family about the man i was, i was living in fear about being truthful about who i was. I was living two worlds, in one i was the "straight loving son" and in the other " i was the gay man living and enjoying life to the fullest", because of my fear i created two separate personalities each requiring a lot of energy to manage. 

A journey within is about connecting to the full essence of what it means to be a human being. It’s about taking responsibility to look within yourself and inquire into the deepest questions you have about your unique indescribable gift of life. It’s about truth and no longer upholding lies within and without. 

When we observe within we often notice we are functioning from unconscious actions and using old operating systems in the way we view the world. It’s not easy reprogramming conditioned habits and addictions. It’s not easy taking responsibility for our actions. 

I love nothing more than transparently sharing the insights I have picked up through direct experience to support others to thrive and blossom while I know this serves the evolution of humanity. 

Do you wake in the morning knowing there are obstacles ahead of you that are stopping you from truly living a happy, joyful and successful life? 

No wonder, in today busy and extremely demanding world we are so busy with dealing with what life through's at us on daily basis that we tend to forget what truly matters to us. 

Let me ask you a question, when was last time reviewing your life and asking yourself who are you, what do you want from life and what's in your way? Take a moment as you read this and write down the answers to these 3 most important questions that if you want to overcome any obstacles that hold you back that you should know the answers for. I coach many clients on getting their life back on track, to overcome their limiting beliefs, and create the breakthroughs quickly and easily so that they can overcome the obstacles they might be facing. Today, i would like to share 12 obstacles that many of my clients face that holds them back from living the life of their dreams

One of the main questions that i hear over and over again during my coaching sessions or from friends, family or when i am out and about is how to make more money and be more successful. 

It really is is simple, in this article i will share with you my secrets on how i created the success, freedom and lifestyle i now enjoy. Just like everything else in life, it starts with making a decision to be successful and have a great relationship with money energy, once you have made that quantum jump in your mind, you will start to attract the right people, the right resources, and the right opportunities to make this happen. Have trust in yourself, and let the flow of this energy embody you. 

I used to work in IT, few years ago i realised there was so much more i wanted to do and bring into this world. I made the decision to embrace my true gifts and start working with a range of individuals who were experiencing lack of self confidence, direction, and had no clarity on where they wanted to be or go in life. I founded The Velvet Journey to help men who experience issues that resulted from lack of self confidence, bullying, rejection, and deep rooted limited beliefs. I planned the vision two years before and  once i started to put all the energy into this vision the successes followed, more and more i was attracting men  that needed my help to overcome their personal and business issues. 

If you are wondering right now about wanting a great, easy, and a better life, you are most likely aware that big changes are difficult, and take time, but having spend over 10 years in the personal development industry there are many easy steps you can take right now. Take many steps, even small ones, and pretty soon you're getting somewhere. Just like when we first learn how to walk, step by step, and the more we practice the better we get at it.

What is stopping you having A Better Life Today?

It's easy just to look, or simply don't follow our desires with the required actions, right? Start looking for specific ways to make your life better, and to improve yourself. Even if you don't accomplish anything immediately, you are preparing yourself. Thinking about change sets your mind and your motivation in motion. We can learn and observe how nature handles this, once a seed is planted it will grow.

Communicate?Not having good communication skills can have a  negative effect on our well being, can lead to frustration, anger, arguments, the feeling of being disconnected and not being able to express love.

Men with the ability and confidence to communicate effectively are more likely to successfully negotiate  anything they want. Lacking the confidence to say ‘no’ to the things we don’t want can lead to sabotaging of living a happy, fulfilling and successful lives.

Communication is more than the words we speak. Communication is about who we are and how we express ourselves and relate to the world. Communication is the message we deliver through non-verbal as well as verbal means. Communication is the ultimate expression of who we are.

Let me share with you my 4 top secrets  i use constantly to help my clients to communicate their wants and needs from place of love. Experiment with these ideas to begin to experience communication with love and life more powerfully.

This post is written for Gaydio and to help its listeners to help them overcome post Easter holiday blues, get you all motivated and inspired.

Let me start with my favourite quote:

“Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.” ~Dalai Lama

Personally, I don't I don’t dwell on things I can’t control, I have realistic expectations of myself, I've learned overtime that trying to change things or situations presented to me from the outside world including people is futile, and overtime I’ve come to appreciate some of my flaws and simply choose to live my best life and be present in the moment. But sometimes, melancholy finds me.  Like a thick fog that threatens to shroud a picturesque skyline, it creeps up seemingly out of nowhere until I can no longer ignore it, after all i tell myself enjoy it.

Beating the post-holiday blahs happens to even the most enthusiastic, devoted, successful entrepreneur. It's Tuesday, Easter bank holiday already behind us, and for most of you in spite of your best efforts, you have lost momentum and are off your game.

It’s a well-known fact that the holidays bring on the blues. According to the National Mental Health Association, reasons for feeling blue around the holidays range from fatigue to financial limitations to tensions in personal relationships.

What an we do coping with work after coming back off holidays? There is a lot to deal once the time of calmness, relaxing, eating, feeling free passes, we have to deal with our mental clutter, our fears, relationship problems, social and family demands, and all de deadlines at work, the e-mails , the meetings, etc. 

You go into your office, you stare at the pile of work, the unanswered emails, the phone calls you know you need to make and it all looks so overwhelming. The rush of the holidays, out-of-town guests, extreme highs or lows in business volume and suddenly, you are behind in everything. Worse yet, you aren't really motivated to get started again. Many of us half-heartedly begin with something and then quit early and feel lousy about ourselves.

But going to back to work after a long vacation is never really easy. It takes an iron hand to drag you out of your bed in the morning of Monday. So here are the tips that I hope could help you motivate yourself to go back to work with a positive attitude.

Admit it, you don’t want to go to work…

It has been the longest day-off so far. Your mind is still anchored on Easter Bank Holiday, and you refuse to believe that Tuesday is back to reality. No matter how workaholic you are, you still value time for a break, either for a week or several days. We deserve and our body and mind needs a break from time to time to re charge, reflect and rest. If you continue to adhere or attach to your work 24/7 you’ll never succeed. We need a hiatus or hibernation for us to get another supply of energy and detoxify ourselves from stress, pollution and negative vibes.

But, as I have done it many times in the past, I’ve learned not to let all the above take over, personally I have adopted one belief to help me with this: for every problem in my life there is a great solution and during that journey of finding it i am going to be playful, curious and be happy that the opportunity was presented to me to learn and experience life. Like everything else in life it’s not easy to do at first but, as always, a little effort goes a long way, practice makes perfect.  

Here are my 12 Secrets to get yourself back in the groove, excited again about your work,  business, or simply your day to day life.

As an entrepreneur as well as having coached over 1000 individuals both on personal and professional level, there are certain steps you must do in order to accomplish your goals so you can have the kind of business and life you have dreamed of having. From managing your own self, relationship to managing a team to handling clients - and everything in between - it can be easy to lose complete control of your day. We all have the same 24 hours available each day; what makes a difference between someone who is living their life and they are successful to someone who is not is only one thing, that is how you chose to use those 24 hours that's makes the difference.

From the point we go to sleep, to wakening up, doing our day to day routine, going to work, meetings, client services, and a To-Do List a mile long are frequent daily tasks in today’s fast pace life and in the world of running a business. The key is find an effective way to handle our daily routine to stay focused and on track to achieve your goals in the shortest amount of time and the least amount of effort.

Here are my 12 Secrets to staying focused and on track to achieving your goals:

I'm writing today to focus your awareness on the source of your actions. Awareness is the state or ability to perceive, to feel, or to be conscious of events, objects, or sensory patterns. In this level of consciousness, sense data can be confirmed by an observer without necessarily implying understanding. 

More broadly, it is the state or quality of being aware of something. In biological psychology, awareness is defined as a human's or an animal's perception and cognitive reaction to a condition or event. As human beings, we operate daily reflecting a wide range of emotions with a multitude of motivations fuelling our behaviours. 

All too often, we react emotionally to what others say or do. If our reactions are preceded by the emotions of fear, anger, or sadness, we forfeit our ability to act with personal power and effectiveness in lieu of a knee-jerk response. This reaction is all too often sourced in fear and low self-esteem. We may focus on what's wrong with us and our lives or fear being controlled, hurt, or taken advantage of.