Link4Change - Chris Ogle

A picture or a piece of art can tell a thousand words. Actually in this particular case a whole series of stories that join together… so where to start? This image is the result of a series of coincidences; or were they? The start it all began with a simple suggestion from a good friend +jean flower   that I talk to a person she had met +Tania Clarke . I don’t know what prompted that suggestion but possibly about belief systems or internal locus of control. However the connection was made. I met Tania and there was a whole ton of synergy. The raffle I attended a quiz where one of the choices was an hours consultation with Tania. I thought an ideal opportunity to find out more about what Tania did. If I was going to be able to recommend what Tania did, then I ought to at least know how it worked. The consultation A really interesting session. 30 questions no wrongs no rights… just a score of 5? … that means something but I’ll not go into that here… so… I was intrigued.

 This week has been one of reflection. I finally (after many years of searching) caught up with someone who had a huge influence over me in my late teens. Perhaps only now when the student is ready to learn have I been allowed to enter this persons life once more. The reason for the reflection is that my success has been met with great sadness too, as this wonderful lady passed away much too early in 2010. The family remains and it is with those that the memory will live on, more on this later... What this week has done though is make me take a look back at some of the key people in my life who have had a major influence over how I think. Not that they themselves taught me the lessons necessarily with words, but only through understanding the interactions with these people have I gained a deeper insight into who I am, the direction in which I should travel, and what I call my purpose for having been born. Of course as with most of us my early years were influenced by my parents

Well the Election of 2015 is now over and we have had the weekend to ponder the result and perhaps put into context what actually happened last Thursday when we went to the Polls. 66% voted who were eligible. Not a poor turnout but not a great one either. So what happened and where do we go from here? This was billed as the closest election for decades but the early exit polls suggested that a different story was about to unfold. Progressing through the night as the results came in it seemed that even they had been a tad conservative (excuse the pun). The Conservatives romped past the finish post with 331 seats. The biggest losers were the LibDems and Labour at the expense of the SNP in the main and Conservative gains. What is the analysis though? More calls for proportional representation although in truth this wouldn’t have affected the outcome by a huge amount. Looking at the results in the cold light of day I think they can be seen as a vote by people for change but that the

I have delayed writing this blog post for no particular reason it just hasn't happened sooner, although I intended to have it written weeks ago. This is the second of a two part Blog post looking at how capitalism; more of everything, focus on money, scarcity, competition and growth at all costs has served to disempower and enslave the vast majority of us. The previous blog ( which can be found here ) shares how capitalism negatively feeds our social anxiety, external locus of control and self esteem, leaving us apathetic and accepting of 'our lot', in a state of 'well this is how it is'... This post is about how those underlying factors of self esteem, external locus of control and social anxiety can be improved exponentially in an upward spiral if we focus on taking responsibility, people and relationships, and helping each other (giving without expecting return). This is the bringing together of 3 important components; Link4Growth as a platform for rebuilding

This morning was a very rainy blustery affair, but it was also our bi-weekly Link4Coffee meeting on the New Watford Market. Although there was multitude of different conversations I want to draw your attention to just one of them which was prompted by a question. Why is is that you don't get the full depth of what Link4Growth is all about from the website? Now, first let me explain how this question came to be asked. I met up with Francis (from The Dojo in Watford) on Wednesday at a Link4Coffee this past week. It wasn't the first time I'd met Francis, actually we had met at a Link4Coffee some 2 years previous. So why two years? ... Well maybe although the Link4Growth message may have been more or less the same for whatever reason, perhaps the timing was not right. What did stick was the name, Link4Growth, and hence, Francis re-appeared. But why now you might ask? Well, because Francis has made a decision that to get his CIC (community interest company) really flyi