SPRING REBOOT - BODY MIND AND HOME

Hi! 

My name's Tim and I founded Habitmakers after I saw the impact support and accountability could have on my 27-year-old self. 

As a boy, I'd worshipped my father, who had been a charming bandleader. He could really entertain an audience, make them laugh and make them listen. I wanted to be able to do that, but even though I could play music, I was far too shy to even attempt to command an audience. 

But I was in luck, at one of the self-development seminars I attended in those years, I found what for me was a golden key. I overcame my fear. 

But what remained was putting my dream into practice. And that would require, well, about a million things to fall into place.

At the end of the seminar, it had been suggested that we pair up and support each other. Gavin Wilson was my 'buddy' and we would call each day. I promised to do two things to achieve a slightly terrifying goal I'd set myself. 

The goal? To create a 100% excellent one-man music show. The measure would be that at end the audience would stand on their chairs and scream and chant for more.

I had so much to do. I didn't even have a working guitar. 

I set up a habit and Gavin asked me each morning if I did it. My habit was to do two things each day towards creating my one-man show.

I had to search for sound equipment. I fixed stage lights. I built a stage. I took every conceivable step towards creating a 100% fantastic show. I found a venue that would give me each Friday night, though I didn't realise until later it was frequented by trainee soldiers letting off (lots of) steam.

With Gavin's support I kept at it, until the first night came and I sang my heart out. But at the end of the show, they didn't stand up. They didn't want more. And I was crestfallen. 

As I look back now, I think that's the moment I would have quietly quit on myself, settled for less than my goal, and just muddled on. 

But the next morning when I called Gavin he simply asked: "What two things are you going to today then?"

And so I sat down and scientifically rearranged my set of songs, so they'd build up to a crescendo of energy. 

And the next Friday night, it happened. First they clapped with a song, then they stood, then in the last song, up they got, screaming, shouting and chanting for more.

And the funny thing was that after word got round. People came to my Friday night show because that's what people did at the end. 

But I was changed. I would play live many more times, to many more chair-standing ovations. 

But I also found I could apply what I'd learned in all sorts of places. From interviewing Tony Blair for BBC Radio, to being asked to run a European data business, to joining the executive team organising a billion-dollar acquisition. 

It was a good change. Like feeling expanded: more me, a little more spine in my back. And I felt happy that I'd faced my fears and gone for it.

As I began to understand my purpose in life was to grow and support others to grow, I felt it would be a wonderful thing if more people had someone by their side to support them to grow. 

The result would be a world that was a little more satisfied, more aligned with what they cared about. Happier. So I created Habitmakers so people seeking a positive change have a team behind them.