A real ‘pinch me’ moment: insights from Andrew Reynolds
How to create more ‘can life really be this wonderful’ moments
A few years ago I met up with a businessman called Andrew Reynolds (pictured right) at a lunch meeting for mail order businesses here in the UK.
He told me that he was frustrated that many of the buyers of his courses (which teach you how to make money in mail order or the internet) don’t take any action, and wanted to know what he could do to help them. “I know how to support these people to take action,” I said to him, and explained about the work I have been doing with my clients: the CDs and newsletters I had published, and the seminars and teleconference calls I had run. Andrew asked me if I’d share my insights at his upcoming conference in front of 2,200 people, and I agreed – even though I’d never spoken in front of more than 100 people before.
A few months later I turned up at Wembley Arena in London, and I was the first speaker to present after Andrew’s opening speech. After my 60-minute presentation, a whole load of people in the audience came up to one of the tables in the entrance hall and bought my main CD set, so it was a profitable venture.
As a consequence of this I got a call from Mal Emery (pictured right), a very sharp businessman in Australia, and he invited me to give a 60-minute talk at his 1,000-person event in Sydney which I did several weeks later.
An invitation out of the blue
So I was delighted when I got a very posh invitation in the post from Andrew to attend his 50th birthday party.
He was holding it at Hampton Court Palace, a 500-year-old former royal palace south west of London (King Henry VIII’s wife, Jane Seymour, gave birth to Prince Edward, the future King Edward VI there) – and my jaw dropped when I read on the invitation that Sir Elton John would be playing a private concert for us!
A couple of weeks later I arrived at the venue dressed in my dinner jacket with dickie bow tie, and arrived at the security entrance. Sir Elton had stipulated certain conditions, so I presented my passport as proof of ID, and the guards checked that I had no mobile phone or camera.
I said hello to Andrew inside, and after drinks all 150 or so guests were led outside to watch a truly spectacular firework display: one that was light years ahead of ones that my wife and I have taken our children to see.
We then had the most amazing multi-course meal, followed by a speech from Andrew. He told us that 10 years earlier he celebrated his 40th birthday in a small Greek restaurant. He was a salaried employee and he hated his job. He decided at that meal that he would set up his own mail order business. Now here he is 10 years later. He said that over the last few weeks he had had a number of what he calls ‘pinch me’ moments: times when he wanted to pinch himself to check if he really was wide awake and that it wasn’t a dream. As a child he remembered looking through the railings of Buckingham Palace: it seemed like a different world – yet recently he was driven through the gates to attend a party there. He had another pinch-me moment when he shook hands with Prince Charles, and he seemed to choke and stutter his words as he introduced another ‘pinch me’: Sir Elton John. From out of the wings walked Sir Elton, who sat down at his piano and started to play.
A moment to remember
As I’m typing this I can feel the raw emotion coming back, and I’ve got goosebumps again. It’s not easy to be objective, but I was in awe as this man played and sang his most famous songs. Between songs he chatted playfully, then dedicated a song to Andrew’s daughter. She and Andrew walked onto the wooden floor in front of Sir Elton and started to dance.
My wife at the time wasn’t able to come with me to this party, and I wasn’t going to pass up a great opportunity, so I looked round, spied a single woman, asked her to dance, she agreed, and we and many others joined Andrew and his daughter on the dancefloor.
A few songs later I was standing just 3 feet from Sir Elton singing the chorus to Circle Of Life along with many others, he looked me in the eyes, held my gaze, and smiled. Magical.
Insights
Andrew has made many millions of pounds over the last 10 years, starting from nothing. He had a dream, he transcended his limiting beliefs, and he took action. There are many people I know who feel that money is bad; that if they earn more money then others will earn less, and so on. And these erroneous beliefs get in the way. What are your limiting beliefs about money? Take time to list these out, and let me know what they are, and I’ll show you how to get rid of them.
Andrew’s money has given him more choices in life: he’s kept some, given some away (to charities including The Prince’s Trust, set up by Prince Charles), and treated his friends and family with this party to show his appreciation. He paid US$1,000,000 to have Sir Elton perform for an hour. (We guests discovered this as, despite the secrecy and Andrew telling us all not to mention that Sir Elton would be there, news of the party and the price Andrew paid were leaked to the UK’s top-selling tabloid newspaper, The Sun – which led to 689 stories on the internet!) Notice if you have any judgement about the price that Andrew paid Sir Elton, let alone the cost of the marquee, food, fireworks, etc. Listen to what the voices in your head are saying, write them down, and determine whether these thoughts are judgements, limiting beliefs or unhelpful. Getting them out into the open is an important first step to freeing yourself of them. What are the choices that you are making in your life on a day-to-day basis? What would you like to change today – and what would you be willing to do differently to make that change happen?
The power of practice
Many years ago Sir Elton began to learn to play piano. I bet that he played really badly back then, but he kept going. Other people around the same time fantasised about playing piano, started taking lessons then gave up because they didn’t get good enough fast enough, or they preferred to play football or didn’t want to go out in the rain to go to a lesson. Having a vision and taking consistent action will create miracles in your life. Where could you put in more practice or get more coaching? Perhaps you could invest your time in coaching with me, or go to writing classes.
Give people what they want
Sir Elton played all the favourites: most of them were decades old, and he played them so well and with such joy and selflessness. He could have said, “I’m bored with those songs now: I prefer to play a lot more of my newer songs” as some performers do. Where could you adjust what you are selling – or even what you talk about in casual conversation, so that you appeal to more people, and address their core needs?
What about you?
What have been the ‘pinch me’ moments in your life? Maybe the birth of a child; a particular concert; your wedding day; winning a race. Take time to list these down and refer to them often – especially when you’re feeling uninspired and listless. Revisit one of those moments now. How did you feel at that moment? There is only now, so take that feeling and notice what level of it you are feeling right now out of 10. So if you said ‘in love’, you would ask yourself these questions…
How ‘in love’ do I feel right now out of 10? Is it okay if this level increases? And more? And more?
Notice how you feel now compared to how you felt a few moments ago. The thing is, there is only now, so you can feel that feeling again as strongly as you did before: just connect as best you can to the memory and allow the feeling to intensify. Now check if you feel more inspired and in love with life than you did before. It’s what you truly deserve to feel right now.
What are your comments on this article? Let me know below… (I’ll also send you an exclusive ebook and mp3 that’s not on this site or available in any other way apart from submitting a message.)
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