Adrian Kirk - Pieces of the Possible

PIECES

of the

POSSIBLE

PIECES

of the

POSSIBLE

How to commit to change

ADRIAN KIRK

Copyright 2013 Adrian Kirk

The moral right of the author has been asserted.

Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside those terms should be sent to the publishers.

Matador

9 Priory Business Park,

Wistow Road, Kibworth Beauchamp,

Leicestershire. LE8 0RX

Tel: (+44) 116 279 2299

Fax: (+44) 116 279 2277

Email:

Web: www.troubador.co.uk/matador

ISBN 978 1783069 194

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Matador is an imprint of Troubador Publishing Ltd

This book has been several years in the writing, mainly because running a business has lead to it being side-lined. Also, the version you read here is the second version. It was initially written in what I refer to as a telling style; where the reader was merely being told what to do. Having put it to one side for a year, when I came back to it I realised I wasnt a fan as a reader of this style; so I decided to create a story as a vehicle to convey the message. This added several years to the process and meant I needed to learn at least the basics of story-telling and character development. Along the evolution of this book I have received support and advice from many people; but most significantly from my good friend Anthony Hewson, who has been invaluable in steering me as a writer.

Preface

Thank you for picking up Pieces of the Possible, hopefully youve either read it or are considering reading it; maybe youre just flicking through wondering what its about. Whatever your reason for reading this page let me explain why I wrote the book.

After many years of working with people to develop their presence and communication style in a corporate environment I realised there was a key area restricting them from becoming what they could be: and that was their willingness and commitment to create personal change. This was when I developed the Mindset Principle, which in essence gave me the impetus to write Pieces of the Possible. Put simply, The Mindset Principle states that our thoughts generate our behaviours and our behaviours create the outcomes we experience. How we think influences the experiences we have.

Pieces of the Possible is not written to hand hold you through practical application tips to creating change; moreover my aim is to empower you to choose what you want and commit to making it happen.

I believe the biggest step forward in making change happen is the decision to make it happen. Once we have decided were going to make something happen we tend to do what it takes to make it happen. And that is why you will read the words choice and choose all the way through Pieces of the Possible; because it is entirely about what you choose.

Reading Pieces of the Possible may prove uncomfortable for some of you as you reflect on the choices you have made to date. Just as our main character, Tom, stays with his discomfort, I encourage you to stay with your discomfort; it is part of the journey to letting go of how things have been and enables you to open up new possibilities.

At the back of the book I have distilled the key principles as a quick reference guide for those of you who prefer overview descriptions.

Waking

Light pulls me from the depths of sleep, stirring me like a fluorescent bulb flickering to life. The inside of my eyelids dapple as a mosaic of white and orange hues permeate their membrane. I am so heavy with relaxation it reminds me of lounging on a beach with the sun caressing my face. Wallowing in the comfort of my snatched oblivion I inch towards consciousness; the longer I keep my eyes closed the longer I can maintain this blissful moment. But, not knowing where I am or what time it is, curiosity gets the better of me and I ease my eyes open. Immediately a bright light shoots in and blinds me. I turn away, raising my hand, closing my eyes tight to protect me from the glare. The light rebounds around my head, shocking me wide awake. A few seconds pass before the light in my head fades and I dare consider opening my eyes again. But I want to know where I am and what the light is. I use my hand as a shield as I open my eyes slowly, taking my time to get used to this invasion. The light is bright but I become more familiar with it and move my hand away hoping to see what the light is. There is nothing ahead of me but a bright white space. I look around but cant make anything out; there is nothing but whiteness surrounding me. Where am I?

A yawn stretches my mouth wide, juddering my body loose. I rub my eyes in an effort to focus them, hoping Ill find something to identify where I am; but I can make nothing out. Im confused. What is this place? Suddenly a noise fills the air. Its so intense I wince from the pain in my head, my hands shielding my ears. Its the deafeningly clear sound of metal crushing and glass shattering: of a car crashing. The noise stops as quickly as it came. I am frozen, my hands up to protect me, just inches from my cowered head. I stare intently into the nothingness ahead of me, wondering what just happened; and then it comes to me. The accident! Instantly images flash before me. Im driving through fog, ahead I see a cars brake lights shining back at me like red eyes. Trying to avoid a collision I steer sharply into the empty lane on my left, but everything happens so quickly Im unable to complete the manoeuvre and cant avoid clipping the car in front. Everything spins; noises scream at me: the thud of metal hitting hollow metal, of breaking glass and rubbers attempt to maintain a grip on tarmac. Im transfixed as I recall the details. The action stops; everything is still and silent; until out of the fog, two white beams bear down on me. Theres a desperate screech of tyres as a car careers towards me trying to stop. The lights grow large and clear; I brace myself for the impact, raising my arms to cover my head as the car runs straight into the side of my car. The noise is the same intense sound of collision from a moment ago. Then, just as before, everything stops abruptly and I am left with my arms around my head, my body curled to one side, knees towards my chest. Once again, all around me is white. I stare into the space ahead. Fuck! My heart pounds as adrenalin courses through me. Im shaking and disoriented.

I turn to look behind and see nothing but an expanse of white. Squinting, I try to make out the edges of the room Im in, something to tell me where I am, but there are no shapes, lines or forms to be seen. There appear to be no walls and no ceiling. Perhaps Im not in a room! To add to my confusion, there are no sounds either. I appear to be in a void of some kind. I look down, but instead of seeing whatever I am reclining on, there is nothing; Im suspended. Confused, I check my body and see that Im wearing what looks like white pyjamas. I scan my arms and legs trying to make sense of how Ive come to be wearing this outfit. But no memory comes to fill the gap. I was in the car, the accident happened and now Im in this strange place, wearing pyjamas. I wriggle my toes to see if I can move them, to check if Im awake; they respond clumsily. I stare at my hands, moving from one to the other, turning each over, front then back. There are no marks or scratches. In fact, as I continue the scan of my body, there is no sign of injury at all; no bandages and no sign of blood. I am in one piece; everything moves as normal. My confusion deepens.