And your excuse today is?

If I may be so bold to assume that we have all done it, we've all had an excuse at one time (maybe more) in our lives.

We have been given a task that we dont like and so we find a way to escape doing it. That old favourite of mine, when we realise that we're a bit overweight and unfit, so we get the gym shoes out, but hang on is that my back hurting or it's raining and cold outside, I think I'll start tomorow instead and so the endless list of excuses goes on.

But there is one man who I have the privilege of knowing and who I consider my friend, who doesn't do excuses . His name is Jaco van Gass "There is no excuse"

This young, former paratrooper was serving with the British Army when in 2009 he was very badly hurt by an RPG (rocker propelled grenade) in a fire fight while on duty in Afghanistan. The injuries he sustained were considerable and included the loss of his left arm at the elbow, a collapsed left lung, shrapnel wounds to his left side, punctured internal organs, blast wounds to upper thigh, a broken tibia and a fractured knee. Jaco had 11 operations and intense rehabilitation and incredibly, he survived. Although his heart had stopped twice on the operating table, so technically he was also dead for a while, but he came back to us - thankfully!

But Jaco didnt feel too sorry for himself for too long, as he was put back together by  the incredible people of the medical world and he was back on his feet, ok let's face it, he was missing a few essential bits and pieces like an arm, fingers, hand, lack of sensation and significant loss of body muscle mass, but that was all the inspiration he needed to start to process, "what is it I can still do?"

Well what he can still do includes, attempted to climb Everest with other wounded ex-service men (missed the summit experience due to adverse weather, came off the mountain two days before 11 able bodied climbers died there), trekked unsupported to the North Pole with Prince Harry and a team of walking wounded (one ex-soldier with a broken back - yet he walked all the way to the North Pole in some of the most testing conditions anyone could face), he's recently cycled over 3000 miles across America and he has won gold medals at two Invictus Games on his road bike for Team GB.

There's a lot more to Jaco beside these few adventures, but let's face it, that more than most of us (which includes me) will ever achieve as we sit on our comfy sofa's watching yet another episode of Game of Thrones. Honestly I am in awe of Jaco and the many more like him, people who have faced untold adversity in their lives carrying terrible injuries, yet they don't use excuses in their life. Quite frankly it's humbling!

On Tuesday 10th October, I had the pleasure of welcoming Jaco back to the Bright Purple Academy in Edinburgh, it's from this venue that he started his public speaking career some 5 years previous and here he was back again and as charasmatic as ever!

With over 50 guests assembled, many on their first visit to the Academy, they were there to hear Jaco's story and he didn't disappoint. Graphic yes, when you've been blown up how could it not be, but inspiring, beyond doubt and at the end of his talk, it seemed like questions would never end. From talking to a group of assembled business people, Jaco was going on to visit a local school the next day, where he believed he would face questions such as "what is your favourite gun," but whatever audience this young man faces, he does with complete humility and honour. He was asked what it felt like to be a hero, his response, "I'm not a hero, those that were not lucky enough to return home are the real heroes" and for me, that says it all about this great man.

The world we live in today is a tough place for our young to grow up in. The pace of change is dramatic, stress levels are high (we're in Mental Health Week as I pen this and that says it all doesnt it?) and we are telling our kids that jobs they are being educated for won't exist, because AI will replace them all! They look to their heroes as the stars of YouTube, celebrities and reality TV for inspiration.

However I believe they could learn much more from Jaco's young life to date and the many other's like him, those who have fought adversity through their own trauma and who have developed those qualities and characteristics that enable them, not only survive in this mad world today, but to flourish within in it: 

Determination - Desire - Passion - Fight -  Respect - Tolerance - Humility - Adaptability - Internal Self Belief - No Self Pity - Looking To The Future Always and most importantly, Trust in themselves, their comrades, colleagues and friends that they surround themselves with.

Finally Jaco was asked in the Bright Purple sessions what code he lives by and here it is in a single picture below - I'm going to adopt it as my own code from now on and I know those, who like me listened to Jaco talk will be thinking, "I don't do excuse's anymore, because if he can do all this, what excuse do I have that's credible?"