Midweek Inspiration

13 years ago, me and 3 friends organised a charity fundraiser for Water Aid. The challenge was simple, me and my friend Dave had to get to Newquay from Sheffield for free using public transport, whilst our friends Cal and Paul had to do it on push bikes.?

Letters were written to all the major bus, coach and train companies in the build up to the trip. Premier Inn had agreed to provide free hotel accommodation along the way and Jet 2 had given us free tickets to fly back from Newquay. What could go wrong!

The 2 day journey from Sheffield to Bristol had gone exactly as planned. Buses were on time, trains ran smoothly with some very generous train conductors helping us along the way. It was leaving Bristol where that all changed.

Heading to a smaller station just outside Bristol (to avoid the ticket barriers) we board the train to Exeter knowing this was the one journey we hadn't managed to secure a free ticket for. As we head off into the Somerset countryside, the strict ticket conductor approaches. Long story short, we are kicked off at the next stop. We've seemingly failed, a train conductor on the Bristol to Exeter train decided a bloke dressed as a toilet and his mate raising money for charity couldn't travel for free and should be kicked off in rural Somerset. This followed by a local bus driver (1 of only 3 buses from where we found ourselves) insisted on charging us ￡4 to take us back to civilisation. This ended up being the only money we'd spend getting to Newquay.?

In hindsight, we didn't fail. The success came in achieving something with people who continue to care deeply about and inspire one another.?

One lesson I've learnt is we succeed when we have people on the journey who inspire one another and know how to have a good time.?

I've made the mistake of not always inspiring people, life can knock that ability out of you. This year I made the decision to invest time in meeting people who inspire me and create a space where I can inspire others.?

Would love to connect with more people who inspire the people I'm connected with on here and also people who are having a tough time and don't quite realise how inspiring they are.?