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JEREMY’S JOURNAL Business blogging by publisher Jeremy Corner of Blue Eyed Sun.
New Challenges Jeremy Corner, owner of greeting card publisher Blue Eyed Sun, takes on new challenges.
Inset: Taking on new challenges can help you grow. Below left: Jeremy and pals training up for the Gobi Desert Challenge. Below right: A fractured wrist didn't stop Jeremy at PG Live, but he had a little help from his retail friend Andrea Pinder.
It easy to stay safe in life and to avoid taking on new challenges. We can often become complacent, especially when we are scared of failing, getting hurt or losing what we already have. The truth is: change is inevitable. Even if we do nothing, we can still fail, get hurt and lose everything. To be successful in business and make the most of life you have to get comfortable with taking on new challenges. You have to get used to the difficulties, the unknowns and the pain. You almost need to look forward to them so that it becomes habitual and forces you to grow. I currently have four new challenges that are testing my comfort zone:
The Gobi Desert I have spent the past six months learning how to ride a motorbike, gaining my licence, training on an off road KTM bike and improving my physical fitness in order to take part in a 1,500 km enduro motorbike ride across the Gobi Desert. The trip with friends is self-funded and supported.
I am raising funds for the Christina Noble Foundation, which helps street children in Mongolia. Ulaanbaatar is the coldest capital city in the world with temperatures dropping to -30°C in the winter and destitute children living in appalling conditions in sewers and air conditioning ducts just to try and keep warm. All of my own challenges pale in significance to what these kids have to endure. I'm looking forward to seeing what we can do to help them with the funds we raise. If you’d like to be involved see the link on page 69. My journey to Mongolia has not been without its challenges. First I had to overcome my fear of motorbikes. My grandfather was left disabled by a motorbike accident in his late teens. As a teenager myself, the first and only time I got on a motorbike I crashed it within 10 minutes of hiring it and then crashed twice on the way to the hospital to get myself stitched back together. I was terrified the day I took my CBT (certificate of basic training) in January. With practice I have learned to love riding a motorbike, and I really love off-road dirt biking.
Everything about this challenge has stretched my comfort zone, physically and mentally. Recently, I suffered a further set back by fracturing my wrist during training. Making this trip about something more than me drives me to complete my journey there. I also cannot wait to see the stars in the desert at night! Having a purpose and goal that excites me has kept me going, even through the difficult times.
The Giftware Association As well as being on the Greeting Card Association (GCA) Council, I am honoured to have been elected as the new chairman of the GA. It's a trade organisation founded in 1947 with a rich history of contribution to the heart of our industry. Most famously it birthed Spring Fair and Autumn Fair as well as creating the ever-popular Gift of the Year Awards. I'm excited to be working with our new deputy chairman, Henri Davis, and our new vice-chairman, Gert Schyberg, our experienced team of dedicated volunteers on the National Committee, our knowledgeable BATF board, our talented chief executive, Sarah Ward, and our hardworking in-house GA Team. PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE
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