Well, the party season is officially over, so may I wish everyone all the best for 2025.
At this time of year, people tend to look at the year gone past and how this year is going to be different. I admit I am one of those people.
2025 is going to be a memorable year, that’s it – I’ve decided!
Right at the top, my good lady and I will be celebrating 40 years of wedded bliss in October. So much so, we are not talking about doing something special on the day, but we are looking at doing the year.
That is going to be a work in progress, and putting that anniversary bucket list together, is going to be so much fun.
And when it comes to determination, I certainly have that in abundance.
In the past, I have always started with the best of intentions but circumstances, physical and mental health challenges meant that the end of the year resulted in me not coming close to my targets.
But that is not going to happen this year.
Right at the top, I have a book idea that originally started off as a film script but has now evolved as one of my biggest book challenges of my writing career.
Without giving the plot away, the story centres on American Football in Scotland, and with next year being the 30th anniversary of Scotland’s only gridiron side, the “Scottish Claymores,” winning the World Bowl in front of 30,000 at Edinburgh’s Murrayfield Stadium, there could not be a more appropriate time to release this story.
When I finished my last book in the Butlins Trilogy Series, it was the toughest book to write, mainly due to the pressure I was putting on myself in that after all the support I received from people after the first two books, I wanted to make the end to this series as perfect as possible.
But hindsight is a wonderful thing. And there is a quote that I heard last year that I now totally agree with, “perfection is overrated”.
When you talk about perfection, it is all about making zero mistakes. But I know with the written and audio version of my stories, they were anything but perfect.
But they were products that were the best version that I could deliver, and I am so grateful that those stories connected with so many people. They did not just enjoy them but also brought back so many special memories.
Things do not have to be “perfect in order to be special.” If there was anything I would take from 2024, it would be that phrase, which cropped up often on the recent series of “Strictly Come Dancing.”
The winner Chris McCausland astounded so many people with his progression through the series to emerge the clear winner with the great British public. It was anything but perfect, but with his partner, Dianne, they were trying to be the best version of themselves they could be.
Everyone would agree that they were not the best dancers in the final, but throughout the series, their journey connected with so many people. They believed in themselves, managing to find a way to deliver routines that they could be proud of.
Belief is the key word here. It was a rule that I used to live by as a kid. When I did Ballroom Dancing, I never regarded myself as the best dancer around, but I had the belief in myself that I could deliver a decent standard of performance.
I was never a fan of competition, there were people far better than me. The only person I was competing against was myself.
This earned me praise from various people, and in the end, it opened so many doors for me.
I suppose that it was when I went to Butlins that idea disappeared as I changed as a person, getting caught up in the high level of professionalism as a Redcoat, trying to be a performer and deliver the best entertainment the job needed.
When that ended, there were not many opportunities to prove myself and deliver things to a high standard. When I started broadcasting, writing and performing again many years, later, all I would think of is delivering zero mistakes.
I think that 15 years in Journalism did not help as mistakes were never an option.
All that did was create unnecessary pressure. I was not enjoying myself. That was why I did these things in the first place.
But it was through the writing course, I found myself on a journey of rediscovery, starting to enjoy being creative again. I looked at my books as a work in progress and I never expected them to be flawless, but they were stories that people enjoyed reading.
The reviews have not always been complimentary, they have been honest, and if they are constructive criticism, then that is the only way I can improve. As for the reviews of praise, they have been so humbling.
Being creative, is all about being organised, building things through layers and drafts. This has been clear in my radio shows – and a lot of editing. The fact that I am broadcasting for two stations (at the moment) tells me that I must be doing something right.
Also, through reconnecting with my Butlins Family, I have rediscovered my love of performing again.
When you are writing or performing, you must love what you do. And if you are relaxed doing the best you can and are having fun, there is a good chance that others will enjoy it as well.
You cannot ask for any more than that.
Who needs perfection!