Touching zero

New beginnings

Posted from Tim’s blog at www.touchingzero.com

“This one goes out to the man who mines for miracles
This one goes out to the ones in need
This one goes out to the sinner and the cynical
This ain’t about no apology

This road was paved by the hopeless and the hungry
This road was paved by the winds of change
Walking beside the guilty and the innocent
How will you raise your hand when they call your name?

We weren’t born to follow
Come on and get up off your knees
When life is a bitter pill to swallow
You gotta hold on to what you believe “

(Bon Jovi, ‘We Weren’t Born To Follow’)

A lot of people have asked me what I am doing these days – and, actually, that’s a really, really good question. So I thought I would answer it on my blog – partly, because people are interested to know, partly because it actually is an interesting answer, and partly because writing it down locks the answer in for me – in fact, I know that even as I write, I a discovering more nuances of my truth and my purpose – what I want to do, what I bring to this party called ‘life’. So here goes (I wonder what I will discover as I write this!)

First of all, it has been quite a tough process getting here. There have been a lot of changes and disappointments over the last 12 months or so – some endings of partnerships, different friends, different locations, different jobs, different mentors. I moved away from my sons when I moved to Birmingham, a choice which I have resisted for many years – and of course the long term illness and death of my mother has had a real impact on my life too. I’ve spent 12 months of my life helping to build something which will probably never see the light of day. There have been many ways in which I have disappointed myself – where I have let myself down.

In some ways it’s been quite a raw, painful year – and yet there have been many joys too – some incredible friendships, some wonderful experiences. In particular, the people in my life have been incredible, wonderful, amazing – and I have felt such love and such compassion from so many, many people. And there have been those that have continued to raise the bar – to hold me to a higher standard.

One of the huge things for me over the last year or so has been dealing with my own self confidence and self belief – looking at what I really believe about myself, about what I am capable of, about what’s possible. I’ve had to smash through so many limiting beliefs, so many world views, so many things that I’d let creep into my personal beliefs. As I wrote a couple of years back “There is only one barrier – the limits we place on ourselves”. And I have come to experience that in my own life – that, as Henry Ford said, “whether we believe we can or we can’t – we are right”. And now, I’m realising just who I am, just what I can do – and I want to help other people get to that place too.

So it’s time to write a new chapter, or in the words of Jon Bon Jovi “You’ve gotta live before you die”. Or, perhaps more eloquently, from Mark Twain “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did so. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

In February 2010 I decided to retire to allow me to concentrate on what I could give back to the world. For me, that’s mainly going to be through my writing and through workshops and events. I’ve taken a lot of time out to really understand what my purpose is – what I bring to the world. I know that will evolve as time goes on, but my conviction is that my gift to the world is to teach and lead people through my writing and speaking – to help people see how awesome they are, to help them to connect to their true power and to the true universal power inside them – and to help them experience true freedom.

You see, I long to see the sons and daughters of God truly come into their own. As I experience and demonstrate love and power, as I bring the presence, the peace and the power of the Universe, of God, to others, then they too will discover how incredible and awesome they are. I want to help them to reconnect to their Truth so that they can experience the wonder of who they truly are, and to understand their gift and their uniqueness.

As cricketer and missionary CT Studd wrote in the early 1900s “I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of Hell.” And, honestly, for all of us, ‘hell’ is where we fail to see our own glory, where we don’t live up to our amazing potential.

To support that mission, I’ve got some fabulous ideas for books and other products that will be available on line and through regular retail channels too. I’m also working on introductory and flagship workshops that will integrate my unique understanding of God, New Spirituality, power, energy, attraction, heart, science, neuro-linguistic programming and the science of the mind, teaching through the power of story, myth and metaphor to provide the keys that will help unlock people’s lives – to give them the tools that will help them truly live.

For me that’s incredibly exciting stuff. I really feel as if I have “let my heart catch in the wind of God”. I don’t know exactly what it means yet. I have some ideas… enough to get me really excited. But I know that something truly incredible, truly awesome, truly exciting is just around the corner. The adventure is unfolding even as I write… even as Bon Jovi belt out on my sound system “We weren’t born to follow – you’ve got to stand up for what you believe”.

Part of the adventure is a plan to travel the world later this year – to go and see some magical places, to learn from amazing people. To give up my home, my security, and to see what happens as I travel the world. As my brother once wrote in my birthday card “Stand by the ocean often, always looking outwards to sea, never lose the thrill that rises from the pit of your islander’s stomach and – if you get a chance – jump in!”

I want to create something truly amazing – and I am expecting that my friends will hold me to it – to remind me, to encourage me, to hold me to a higher standard. And for my part I promise to step into leadership, to start to give back something to the world – to create a legacy, to make a difference. As I wrote to myself last year, “Always take the shot, always make the play, always make the jump, always follow the dream.. And never wonder ‘what if…”‘.

So, here goes. Time to jump in. Time to experience all that life has to offer. Time to throw myself into the hands of God, and see what she does. Time to trust – or, to remind myself “Do not forget love. It will bring you all the madness you need to unfurl yourself across the universe”