Bafoon Boris, Rueful Rishi and a Veteran on a mission

I recently came across a comment that Boris Johnson is a buffoon and Rishi Sunak must be rueful about the behaviour of many of his front bench MP’s.?

These proclamations have probably been fuelled by the recent third anniversary of Brexit which marks our break with Europe on 31 January 2020.

You can relax and stand easy because I’m not about to list the pros and cons of Brexit or who was the creator, instigator or even perpetrator of the event. Of course, if you fancy receiving more information on this front the media is littered with opinions, news articles and debates on the matter.

Instead...

I’d like to share with you a veterans journey I recently had the privilege of being a part of. It began when I was driving from home to visit a property which was being refurbished after a troublesome tenant trashed it (more of that at another time)

As I’m driving along on the open country road, I notice an elderly gentleman gesturing with his hand in a manner much like a hitchhiker. As I drive past, I notice his hand is indeed clenched with his thumb outstretched indicating he wants a lift.

Unfortunately for him, this is a fast-flowing road, so I am compelled to pass him by. As I continue my journey, I start to ponder why is he walking along such a remote road seeking to be picked up. As curiosity gets the better of me, I turn my car around and head back towards him. After a series of further manoeuvres, I conveniently position my car and ask, ‘where are you going?’ He replies, ‘Warrington’. ‘That’s more than 15 miles away and will take you quite some time to get there’ I retort, so I open the passenger door, asked him to jump in and away, we go.

As we drive away...

He tells me his name is Roger, and the purpose of his journey (his mission if you like) is he wants to visit his mother urgently. So urgently in fact that because he could not get a bus, or a taxi the only option open to him was to just walk there.

What is so urgent that you need to see your mum today, I thought, and then, as if he could read my mind, Roger explains that she had called him earlier that day to let him know she is dying.

On hearing his news...

I am moved by his commitment to get to see his mum whatever it took. As our conversation develops, I find out Roger is 80 years old, and many years ago he served with the Royal Army Service Corp (RASC). Which explains why walking 15 miles to visit his sick mother at the drop of a hat was done without question.

To put his military service into context, the RASC was the unit responsible for keeping the British Army supplied with provisions. His job was specifically transporting centurion tanks on massive low loaders around the country and organising the associated logistics.

So, travelling a mere 15 miles to visit his mother was easy to him.

Roger, now feeling more at ease with me tells me that on leaving the military he returned to his former role with his previous employer working in TV sales and repairs. During which time, he started a family and fathered three sons now aged 35, 31 and 27 years old.

As we continue talking...

I notice he keeps routinely reaching into his pocket, pulling out a folded piece of paper, gazing at it and then placing it back into his pocket. As we continue our journey together this routine is repeated time and time again. Finally, I enquire what the paper is, and he willingly opens it explaining it is his marriage certificate.

At this point I become concerned that Roger may well have some form of dementia.

As we enter Warrington town centre, and so as not to alarm Roger, I go along with his story and let him know he can call me when he has finished visiting his mother and I will pick him up on my way back home.

He thinks that is a great idea and says...

‘The only thing is Joe; I have left my phone at home, and I cannot remember where my mother is staying’

Becoming even more concerned for his welfare now I ask, ‘out of interest Roger, how much money do you have?” ‘None, Joe’ he replies.

Ok Roger, so let me get this straight… it’s getting dark, you are not sure where you want me to drop you off to visit your mother. You do not have a phone on you to call me or anyone else for that matter and you have no money.

Having established Roger was a vulnerable adult, I was certainly not prepared to abandon a fellow veteran in a town, friendly though it may be, without any sustenance, understanding of his location or means of transport.

‘Roger, what happens if I drop you here in the centre of Warrington and you realise you are not sure of your location. You have no means of communication with me, or your relatives and you have no money. How is that going to make you feel?’

I could see a daunting sense of realisation forming on his face and before he had the chance for real anxiety to set in, I broke the silence and said, ‘Roger, what about you stay with me while I carry on with my errands and when I’m finished, I take you home’

‘Will you do that for me Joe?’ ‘Of course, I will Roger’

I could see the relief move through his body as he sat back and relaxed in the warm comfort of the passenger seat in my car.

The rest of our journey together went exactly to plan. When we eventually arrived at Roger’s abode, he invited me in and proudly showed me around his home.

What was particularly interesting for me was the setup of the residential homes is exactly the same as the setup for the Lodges I want to build for veterans and their loved ones. I'll tell you more about the lodges, my vision and how you can help in a later edition.

As I bid Roger farewell, I left him my contact number and extended an invitation for him to call me next time he wants to visit his mum so I can give him a lift. He thanked and complimented me, and I continued my journey with an immense feeling of gratitude that I’d been able to help a fellow veterans achieve a happy outcome.

Before I left the residential site though, I also checked in with the site warden to let them know of Roger’s escapade and they informed me he has being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and is soon to be moving in with one of his children.

This whole and wonderful experience is something I felt compelled to share with you now because I believe it takes precedence over a lot of the negative stuff going on in the world right now.

It is so easy in our fast-paced lifestyle to forget there are many vulnerable adults out there who could benefit from an act of kindness. Whether that be just to give them one of your smiles and greet them with a happy hello or a gesture that may take longer like spending some time with them. It is so easy to do and can bring them so much joy.

So today...

How about spending some time committing to helping others who may be less fortunate than you and do your bit to make our world a better place to live in. You may be surprised at how much better it makes you feel too.

Talking about feeling good. The experience got me thinking about what I can do to help you benefit from my journey with Roger. After all, if we don't know where we are going, all the road leads there, don't they?

So, I have created a quick Top Tips guide to Setting, Getting and Achieving Your Goals

1. Determine where on your journey you are now

2. Decide where you want to get to

3. Sign an agreement with yourself on how committed you are to achieving this goal

4. Consider what resources you need to get you there i.e., funding, logistics, resources

etc.

5. Who do you need to be on your team. Consider whether you need in your team a mentor, coach, assistant, team member, supporter

6. Decide on how much time you can devote to this goal

7. Set milestones along the way. Creating the actions, results, and dates when they should be achieved

8. Set a start date

9. Then the final bit… START

To download your full Top Tips to Setting, Getting and Achieving Your Goals click here (oh and there's a bonus tip in there also)

Oh, and just one more thing…

As a Veteran on a mission, I always want to go the extra mile and help 1 million business owners and veterans achieve the financial freedom they desire, deserve and dream of. For every 10 copies of my Pathfinder Ultimate Success Programme purchased I am donating (via the charity Transformation for Veterans) a copy of the same programme free of charge, to a veteran so they can benefit from the life changing content too. I believe this is truly a win win. A win for you and a win for our veteran community. Click here to to order your copy

Finally...

Remember to watch out for my LinkedIn live when I will share with you my personal take on what I think is likely to happen going forward

Have a brilliant day #HABD

Joe

Joe O’Connor

PS: This year I’m launching a new monthly programme called ‘Money Mindset and Motivation’ To discover how to start & scale any business, get focused & get better financial knowledge, build an on point personal brand & create multiple streams of recurring income, then join the VIP waiting list here to be kept updated on the launch date. BONUS - you’ll be entered into a prize draw for a FREE personal coaching session with me (worth ￡1995)