It all kicked off on March 21st 2017. That was the date the ink was drying on my book contract for “Where the Magic Happens” when Bloomsbury (who publish Harry Potter) decided they wanted to have a little bit of our magic.

I was in Annapolis in Maryland three weeks ago at the start of my book tour.

It was just after 9am.

I’d just crossed the road and was walking down the street.

I was stopped in my tracks by a large noise

Have you ever noticed that you read, watch and follow the same things week in, week out?

I did.

What that means is that you are at risk of not having diversity of thought. Of being exposed to different ideas. Different viewpoints.

I couldn’t be more excited that I’m flying to America this Friday for the launch of my book “Where The Magic Happens”. I’ve got a 3 week long book tour starting in Annapolis, then Washington DC, New York and San Francisco (and potentially a few other locations too).

My 5 year old recently reminded me what leadership is all about.

She had a friend over for a playdate. Her friend was struggling to understand how to play a game (it was Cat Bingo). She stopped what she was doing. She went to understand where he was stuck and to help him

We’re 50 days into 2018 (at the time of writing). Two weeks ago I noticed that my energy was flagging and I decided to reboot.

When I was 14, I repaired an abandoned dinghy and launched my first business catching and selling crabs and lobsters in South Devon.

I'd wake early to listen to the 5:50am Shipping Forecast to know what the weather would be and whether it would be safe to go to sea and put my fishing gear out. The sound of the shipping areas and the forecasts are incredibly evocative. Names like Dover, Wight, Portland and Plymouth became part of my growing up narrative.

Around September last year, we were struggling to get our kids to read regularly.

We’d tell them to read every day but without us checking up, the reading was patchy.

We had a simple idea.

Personal admission >> I find it challenging to carve out enough time to read everything that I want to stay current. Despite my best intentions to read for an hour a day, I find it pretty hard to do that.

When my kids are firing questions at me and all speaking at the same time, here's what I say to them.

"I can do one thing well or two things badly. You choose."