Inspirational Insights with James Ketchell

05 Jan Inspirational Insights with James Ketchell

Motivational speaker, James Ketchell, is a professional adventurer and record-breaking aviator. He has over a decade of expedition experience and has experienced stratospheric highs and crushing lows. James shares his insight into what he believes are some key areas to be working on in 2023 to make it a successful year.

Consistency

As a teenager and into my early twenties, I struggled immensely with being consistent. I was constantly up and down, having weeks and months of super focus, then months of laziness and procrastination. Effectively taking two steps forward and two steps back, not really make any progress, just treading water; the ups and downs were often exhausting. The only thing I was consistent at was not being consistent!

I looked at other people who appeared to be doing well, and thought that perhaps they were smarter than me or had something special. As I matured, I realised it was nothing to do with being smart or special, it was in fact being consistent and showing up; getting the work done when you didn’t feel like it; and managing the days when you don’t feel like showing up. I now consider myself to have a fair bit of life experience and am fortunate to know many successful people, who are all very consistent. They have bad days like everyone else but those bad days don’t turn into bad weeks or months.

Discipline

This is all about having the ability to do things that you don’t want to do. To achieve great things, you have to be able to do things you don’t like or want to do. Motivation is not to be confused with discipline; that will come and go most days. To achieve great things, you have to be able to suffer through the pain of getting there. I have not met anyone who has achieved great things without some form of suffering, before they reach their goal. More often than not, you have to do something to make yourself feel like doing it, which takes discipline.

Resilience

The ability to move on. There is a saying I’m sure all of us have heard before, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” I personally do not agree with this statement. Everyone will have things happen to them that are not fair, just or pleasant, but you have to be able to move on from these situations. We all know someone who can’t let past experiences go and it effectively cripples them.

A sense of urgency

We’ve all heard people say, “I would do that but I don’t have time!” When I flew a small aircraft solo around the world in 2019, I was exhausted almost every night, having flown long days, but I had taken money from sponsors, and simply couldn’t say, “I don’t have time to do the things I said I would do.” The schedule was tough; I was filming content, editing videos and doing absolutely everything that was involved with the project after long periods of intense  concentration flying an aircraft.

After a few weeks, it just became the new normal; when you see how much a successful person can achieve in a day, you will be amazed! Having a sense of urgency is key to getting things done and capitalising on opportunity. There is no such thing as having “no time” – when you want something badly enough, you’ll make time for it.

Health is wealth

As you move into your forties, I believe it becomes easier to get ahead financially, but it is not easier to stay in shape. Looking after your health, prioritising time to exercise and consuming a balanced diet is, in my opinion, a key element to living a successful life. The benefit of being fit and in shape has such a profound effect on mental health and wellbeing for me, it’s now a non-negotiable way of living on a daily basis.

Inspirational insights – a few other quick areas for thought….

• Don’t be sad it’s over, be happy that you experienced it.
• Learn to be happy on your own.
• Take ownership of all areas of your life: nothing changes if nothing changes. Never blame circumstances or people for your current situation.
• Focus on what you can control and accept you sometimes have no control over certain situations.
• Develop a positive mental attitude – what you believe you can or can’t do are both usually right.

To put the above into context, I never thought as a twenty-year old man that I would have achieved the things I have. I’d been fired from jobs and didn’t have an ounce of confidence and ambition. It is entirely possible to become the person you should be, want to be and can be. It’s commonly known that a human being’s happiness is generally related to making progress towards some kind of goal.

Motivational speaker

James is an established keynote speaker and has spoken all over the world, inspiring audiences with his story and lessons learned from a life of adventure. Feedback includes: “This was a highly entertaining and enjoyable presentation that was also truly inspiring.” Nebulas Solutions.  Do get in touch with us here at The Right Address to discuss James contributing positively to your next event or to book other motivational speakers London – info@therightaddress.co.uk Tel +44 (0)1895 827 800