As an international speaker on charisma and energy I recognise how important it is to walk my talk. How can I share my powerful messages if I then go and ignore what I advocate for others? One of my guiding principles is that our mind and body is totally connected. You can't have a thought without it showing up in your physiology. The way you move your body affects the way you think and the way you feel. So ten days ago I took a 'less that flattering' look at myself in the mirror and asked myself the question "what does my body convey to others?" Through my eyes I looked overweight, a bit wobbly in places and my pallor seemed to lack radiance. I looked run down and realised that this wasn't the impression I want my audience to have of me before I even open my mouth to speak.
In that moment (and I've always been a bit impulsive) I decided to book a Personal Trainer to help accelerate my body into a glorious charismatic shape – full of vim and vigour and vitality. Knowing how controlling I am at times I requested a PT who would push me and not allow me to wimp out of the exercises that were too exhausting to even think about, let alone do. Enter Paul who happens to be exactly the same age as me. He looks supremely fit, is very approachable yet I see the glint of steely determination in his eyes! Within 5 minutes of scheduling my sessions he persuaded me to invest in the gym's heart rate monitor so he could see how much effort I was putting into everything!
Have just completed my first week and – I can barely walk! Muscles that I didn't even realise I had are throbbing and given that I'm doing 5 sessions a week I have to now accept stiff and aching muscles as a way of life. The fact that I shuffle around the house these days like a little old granny and feel permanently hungry is an experience in of itself. Yet my heart and my head is determined to really work at this and Paul is a genuinely nice man who seems to know just how much I have left in my tank!!! We now tackle the heavy weights by imagining helium filled balloons lifting them. My burning quads are now instructed to feel 'ice cold' and he plays the Rocky theme tune on his phone when I’m rowing. Whilst my body is in major shock, my mind is strong and my intention very clear. Already the gradually increasing power in my body feels good as if I am competing with negative demons and we are in head to head combat. I know I'll win because I am feeling the negativity weaken into submission with every session I complete and ‘survive’. Watch this space as I've done 'before' photos (not a great advert for my brand) yet I'll only show these when I can celebrate my new emerging muscular physique!!!
On a lighter note I spent an enjoyable hour being interviewed for a US dating site for men who wanted to know how their listeners can increase their charisma and attract more women. Actually my message is the same whether I'm working with CEOs or lonely hearts – just be yourself! When you accept that you are wonderful just as you are, you radiate an energy that compels people's attention. No tricks, no gimmicks just pure authenticity with a large dose of self worth. As we grow older, many of us have learned to surround ourselves with protective walls to stop us from getting hurt. The thicker these walls the more disconnected we become from our core authentic self. Being charismatic requires you to dismantle your wall so your energy switches from isolated silo to connected collaborative.
That's why I am embracing the pain in the gym and allowing myself to look like a complete wimp – after all if I can still smile at the world then good things tend to happen!
