Martin Parnell's Blog

The Flowers of Cochrane

info@martinparnell.com (martin.parnell) — Fri, 15 Sep 2023 14:37:00 GMT

A couple of weeks ago Sue and I were talking about our back yard and an idea came up…. Why not make two raised beds, one for flowers for Sue and the other for veggies for me? Now, we have what’s called a “Maintenance Free” (Not!) garden, mulch with shrubs and trees so there’s lots of room to install these beds.

Next stage was the design. First port of call was talking to our Rotarian friends Chris and Kirsten. They have a couple of excellent raised beds which gave us some ideas. Next, I googled “Building a raised bed” and You-Tuber “Gardener Stan” gave me all the dos and don’ts of building one of these boxes. Time to hit the road. Saturday morning, we headed off to Spray Lake Centre pool and after a session of the warm water therapy we left the building and meet Janet working on a huge raised garden. There are two of these in the fore-court of the centre and they are magnificent. Janet is not only the Centre’s gardener but she is also a fitness instructor….what a great combination job. She gave us lots of excellent advice and suggested we head over to “Anything Grows”, where the Centre get their plants.

In “Anything Grows” we meet Aaron. He was a great help and shared with us ideas on what flowers and veggies to plant and when, the correct soil mix and how to prevent weeds. All this talking was thirsty work so Sue and I decided it was time for a coffee. We headed over to Good Earth and as we made our way to the coffee shop we couldn’t help noticing the beautiful flower boxes all along the side walk. These are throughout Cochrane and are maintained by the Town of Cochrane Maintenance Staff. Next time you’re walking around down town check them out.

The final stop was Home Hardware. My design was for two boxes that were a 4 feet long x 2 feet wide x 2 feet high. This would require 12 lengths of 6 inches x 1inch by 8 foot planks and 2 lengths of 4 inch x 4 inch of pressure treated lumber. The yard guys loaded the timber into the jeep and home we went.

The next morning the power tools came out and construction commenced. It didn’t long to cut everything to size (measure twice…cut once!) and put them together. And that’s where we are today. Aaron from “Anything Grows” suggested to wait until spring before we plant so there’s no rush to add the soil. So now I have the Fall and Winter to decide what to plant. Any thoughts?

The Meerkat Archers - A Fable

info@martinparnell.com (martin.parnell) — Mon, 31 Jul 2023 09:52:00 GMT

In early June I went on a 3 day silent retreat to Mount St. Francis Retreat Centre in Cochrane, Alberta. It was an opportunity for reflection and contemplation in a beautiful woodland setting in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. My objective for the three days was no objective. I took no devices and the only communication tools were a pen and a notebook.

The first night I went to the extensive library at the Retreat and picked a book at random…..The Art of Dying by Patricia Weenolson. The next morning I walked to the end of the garden and leaned over the fence. There, 40 feet away, was a massive black horse. I have a fear of horses after being thrown off one as a child. This time I decided to stand still and see what happened. After a few moments the horse slowly ambled over and I was able to stroke its nose.

On the second evening I had an idea for a story and here it is: One morning, two Meerkats Fo Cuzed and Aym Luss decided to head to the archery ranch. Fo Cuzed had been training for weeks and wanted to impress Aym Luss by hitting the bull’s eye. Fo Cuzed took up a bow, pulled the string to its maximum tension and let the arrow fly. The arrow sliced through the air and “thunk”, it hit the red circle, just 2 inches from the golden bull’s eye. Fo Cuzed was gutted. “I worked so hard but didn’t achieve my goal”. Fo Cuzed kicked the ground and threw down the bow.

Then it was Aym Luss’s turn. Picking up a bow and arrow, Aym Luss put a blind fold on, spun around three times, did a somersault and then let the arrow go. Pulling the blindfold off Aym Luss saw the arrow fly high up in the air and land in a field of wild flowers. Aym Luss was thrilled. Having never tried that move before there were no expectations on the outcome.

Fo Cuzed and Aym Luss left the range and, arm in arm, started to head home. Aym Luss told Fo Cuzed it was a great shot and should be proud. Fo Cuzed replied that it had been great hanging out and was impressed with the move Aym Luss had attempted.

This just goes to show that “Sometimes it’s good to be Fo Cuzed and sometimes it’s good to be Aym Luss”.

And sometimes it good just to take a little bit of time for yourself.

Cavalry FC - The Beautiful Game

info@martinparnell.com (martin.parnell) — Mon, 03 Jul 2023 17:38:00 GMT

Sue and I love our football (soccer). As a boy I would go to Plymouth Argyle, in Devon, England with my Dad. From the age of 15, Sue would go and support her favourite team Bournemouth, in Dorset, on the South Coast. She would sometimes take her little brother along with her. The highlight for me was in 1973 when Dad took me to the Plymouth vs Santos game and I got to see the incredible Pele play. There were 36,000 in the stands and it is a night I will never forget. A highlight for Sue was when Bournemouth were promoted to the English Premier League in 2015. This team had gone from the bottom of League 2 and near bankruptcy in 2009, to playing, 6 years later, in the top football league in the world.

Like any supporter of a sports team, you will always stick with the team you were brought up with however we don’t always live where your teams are. Being in Cochrane Sue and I wanted to get our football fix and have found just the team to support…….Cavalry FC.

On May 5, 2018, Calgary was one of four cities accepted by the Canadian Soccer Association for professional club membership. Cavalry FC was announced on May 17, 2018, as the second team to officially join the Canadian Premier League. The club's name, crest and colours were all revealed at the event at Spruce Meadows, while Tommy Wheeldon Jr. was announced as head coach and general manager. Plans to renovate existing facilities at Spruce Meadows, included a soccer-specific stadium, with a capacity of at least 5,000 seats.

On June 26, 2019, Cavalry FC qualified for the 2019 Canadian Premier League Championship by winning the inaugural CPL Spring Season. The following month the “Cavs” became the first CPL club to defeat a Major League Soccer team in the Canadian Championship by upsetting the Vancouver Whitecaps in 2019, over two-legs.

The last game Sue and I went to was at 3.00pm on Saturday June 24^th when we watched Cavalry take on York United. Spruce Meadows is a great venue for these games and on that day it was the annual Pride Match. The first 4,000 attendees received a bandana and there were lots of games for the kids. In an exciting game Cavalry beat York United 2-1.

So, if you’re looking for some “footy” action then head over to Spruce Meadows and catch Cavalry FC.

Go Cavs Go!

Classrooms Without Walls

info@martinparnell.com (martin.parnell) — Wed, 31 May 2023 16:55:00 GMT

Education is one of the most powerful tools that can transform lives and uplift communities. Unfortunately, not everyone has access to quality education, especially in conflict zones where students face numerous challenges. However, one person who is making a difference in this regard is David Falconer, the Founder and Executive Director of Classrooms Without Walls(CWW).

David Falconer's volunteer work began in March 2022, soon after Russia invaded Ukraine. Witnessing the impact of conflict on students' education, David immediately volunteered to support Smart Osvita NGO, a Ukrainian non-profit organization, to coordinate an international volunteer program to deliver online lessons in English. The support David received from volunteers like retired Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, the Smithsonian Institution, the Royal Tyrrell Museum, the Edmonton Public Library, Winspear Centre, and teachers and non-teachers from around the world inspired him to start CWW, an organization that currently offers free online schooling to students living in conflict zones.

By partnering with organizations such as Smart Osvita NGO, Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan, Ocean Wise, Edmonton Public Library, OverDrive, Monash Virtual School, and hundreds of volunteer teachers, CWW is providing a lifeline to students who have been forced to abandon their education due to conflict. By offering free online schooling, CWW is breaking down barriers and providing access to education to those who need it the most. Most important, CWW is letting students in these countries know that the world has not forgotten them and that they can continue to dream, and set goals.

Currently, CWW offers three programs for volunteers to join, Teachers for Afghanistan, Teachers for Ukraine, and Teachers for Myanmar.

Classrooms Without Walls (CWW) is actively seeking volunteers who are willing to offer their free time to teach various elementary and secondary school subjects, including ESL (English as a Second Language). Volunteers are also invited to share their hobbies, gifts and talents with students, such as teaching them how to draw, learn magic tricks, and more. By making education fun and engaging, CWW is creating an environment where students can thrive and learn in a safe environment. There are also other opportunities to support CWW such as updating CWW's social media, becoming an online host, and general organization support.

All volunteers are provided with an online introduction and training.

If interested, please contact, cww@classroomswithoutwalls.ca

200 Articles for the Cochrane Eagle

info@martinparnell.com (martin.parnell) — Fri, 28 Apr 2023 17:15:00 GMT

On March 2^nd 2011 my first article was published in the Cochrane Eagle and it was about running (no surprise there). Here is part of it “So, before you try an ultra-marathon, I suggest you run a marathon, before that a half marathon, before that a 10km and before that a 5km. If you’re a new runner, then progressing from a 5km race to a marathon should take three years. Yes, I’ve heard the stories and watched the results from people who want to tick a marathon off their bucket list in six months….don’t, it’s not a pretty sight.

Take your time, let your legs get used to the run / walk. People will say that run / walk isn’t “running”, you have to run all the time or you’re not a runner. Not true. If you want to achieve your running goals and be injury free then run / walk is the way to go.” Looking back that is still pretty good advice.

A lot of water has flowed under the bridge since then. Cochrane has almost doubled in size from 17,500 to 34,000 and there’s no sign of it slowing down. However, it still has that small town feel. You can walk down Main Street and bump into friends or sit on a bench next to the hotel and listen to someone playing the piano.

Cochrane is where Sue and I have lived since 2005 and we love having visitors. Last week our son Calum was over from Wales and we headed off on a road trip to Waterton Park. He’s into wild life photography and over the three days he captured photos of herds of bison, elk, deer and a playful fox.

Over the last 12 years I’ve been fortunate to share my stories with readers of the Cochrane Eagle. Having a local newspaper is so important and every Thursday I look out my front door and there is the latest copy. Then, I make a cup of tea, grab a couple of shortbread biscuits, settle down and read it from over to cover. Cochrane is about community and the Eagle is the glue that holds it together.

I look forward to continuing to share stories from the not so little town on the Bow in the foothills of Canadian Rockies. Huge thank you to you and the Cochrane Eagle and yes, there will be more articles on my running adventures.

Secret 3K - Unlocking the Power of Women and Girls

info@martinparnell.com (martin.parnell) — Wed, 05 Apr 2023 10:56:00 GMT

On March 8^th at 3.15pm I lined up outside Ecole Notre Dame des Vallees School in Cochrane, Alberta with 77 students, teachers and parents. We were all there for the 6^th Secret 3k Run / Walk. This school has participated every year and as we counted down from 10 we headed off along the pathways of the mighty Bow River.

A little bit of background on this event. In 2015 for the first time ever, a marathon was held in Afghanistan, a marathon that both men and women were able to participate in but they had to keep it a secret. Why? There are still places in the world where women are not allowed to run or walk outside. However, a community in Afghanistan courageously carved out a new way forward for the next generation. By creating safe races they helped to create a safe place to run and walk.

The day before the Cochrane School visit, Kate McKenzie, co-founder of the Secret 3k and I visited Windsong Heights School in Airdrie and after talking to the students completed the Secret 3k with them. On the evening of March 8^th I headed into Calgary and completed another Secret 3k. The wind was biting cold but everyone was in good spirits as they ran and walked along the pathways under the lights in Calgary. A little earlier in Ottawa, daughter Kristina with partner Josh and grand boys Nathan and Matthew did their Secret 3k along the Rideau Canal earning hot chocolate and cookies.

The event took place across Canada and around the world with 1,200 participants plus 31 School and youth groups from 11 countries. In fact over the 6 years that the event has been going there have been participants from 27 countries involved. This year was a record for fundraising with $30,000 going to the Afghan Sports Trust, 261 Fearless, an organization founded by Kathrine Switzer, the first woman to run the Boston Marathon and Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan.

It’s never too early to look ahead to the 7^th Secret 3k. This will take place on Wednesday March 6^th 2024. I went on the registration site (www.secret3k.com ) this morning. You can choose to register for one of the marquee sites across Canada or have a virtual event with you and your friends anywhere in the world. There is also Secret 3k gear and you can donate to one of the partner charities.

So why not join us for the 7^th Secret 3k and together we can make a difference by empowering women and girls through education and sport.

Having a Plan B is the Key

info@martinparnell.com (martin.parnell) — Sun, 30 Oct 2022 15:26:00 GMT

I love running! I started in 2002 at the age of 47 and until 8 months ago was still going strong. Then I had a pain in my lower abdomen and had to stop. The diagnosis…..a hernia. Well, in the current health care climate this is not a quick fix. My doctor sent in a request for an assessment by the surgeon and I’m still waiting for the date. My running schedule was suddenly in the garbage can so what was my Plan B? I started walking but was looking for something to get my heart rate up. The answer: biking.

Checking in a dark corner at the back of the garage I found my road bike. It has been a while since it saw the light of day, however, after pumping up the tires and oiling the chain it was ready to go. My plan was to complete the “Horse Creek Loop” over the summer months. The route took me from my home, across the tracks, up Horse Creek Road South to the 1A. Then west to Grand Valley Road, north to RR280, east to Horse Creek road and south back to the 1A. This was my old marathon route and in total is 45km. Summer came and went and by Oct. 31^st I had completed “41” Horse Creek loops for 2039kms.

As mentioned, the other activity I started to get back into was swimming. Heading down to Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre I was keen to get back to the lap pool. The problem was sometimes there were no lanes available. Time for Plan B! Instead of heading home and complaining that there were no lanes I took a sharp right and went into the warm water therapy pool. There I used the foam dumb-bells, swimming against the jets and aqua-yoga (make sure you take a breath). I read up on how beneficial warm water therapy exercise was and decided to turn my hot tub into a warm water therapy tub. I hear you ask “was that complicated to do?” The answer….NO. I just turned down the temperature from 105F to 95F and voila, a warm water therapy tub.

There you have it. Sometimes things don’t work out so don’t stress out, just look for a Plan B. It may end up being better than your Plan A.

About the Author

Martin Parnell is the Best-Selling author of MARATHON QUEST,RUNNING TO THE EDGE and THE SECRET MARATHON-Empowering women and girls in Afghanistan through sport. He speaks on having a “Finish the Race Attitude – Set Goals, Overcome Obstacles and Achieve Outstanding Results” and has written for, or been covered by CNN, BBC, CBC, The Huffington Post, The Globe and Mail, The National Post, Runners World, Men’s Journal, Canadian Business, and Maclean’s.

In a five year period, from 2010 to 2014, Martin completed 10 extreme endurance “Quests” including running 250 marathons in one year and raising $1.3m for the humanitarian organization Right To Play. In 2016 and 2018 he ran the Marathon of Afghanistan in support of Afghan women and girls running for equality and his film “The Secret Marathon” was released in late 2019. Find out more about Martin at www.martinparnell.com and see what he can do for you in the long run.

Running Stories: 88 Extraordinary Stories by Ordinary People who Run

info@martinparnell.com (martin.parnell) — Wed, 19 May 2021 17:55:00 GMT

Over the years I’ve been asked to write a number of book reviews. Recently, I received the following email:

Hello Martin,

As the global pandemic sees a surge in people taking up running, a new book showcases remarkable stories from people using the sport to overcome adversity and experience positivity in their lives – including battling disease, fighting drug addiction, and coping with domestic violence. There are over eighty fascinating and often moving stories captured in 'Running Stories'.

I wondered if you might like a review copy of our book RUNNING STORIES and be able to share the news with Canadian media and runners?

Thank you very much

Andrew Roberts

I contacted Andrew and two weeks later the book arrived. The authors are Jerry Lockspeiser and Andrew Roberts and they are members of the Serpentine Running Club in London.

Right off the bat I loved the way the book was laid out. The introduction highlighted the six broad themes: Running got me through, Running Journeys, Racing Tales, The Competitive Spirit, It’s about other People Too and It makes me Feel Good. That was followed by “10 Questions New Runners Ask” and “Running Words and Phrases”.

This is a perfect start to your running journey. Then we entered the heart of the book, 88 stories of runners from all walks of life. People overcoming challenges, people helping each other. All ages, all sizes, all speeds….People who started early, people who started later on. It didn’t matter.

Each individual story gave me inspiration and hope. A number of the contributors had got their running start through the The Running Charity , an organization that is transforming the lives of vulnerable young homeless people through running and 100% of the authors revenue from sales will be donated to this charity.

I finished the book in two days and was overwhelmed with a “Can Do” feeling. This book opens a doorway and allows people to take that first step and not look back.

To get a copy of RUNNING STORIES go to www.amazon.com or any reputable book shop.

I am now looking forward to Running Stories Part 2: The Next 88 extraordinary stories by ordinary people who run.

About the Author

Martin Parnell is the Best-Selling author of MARATHON QUEST and RUNNING TO THE EDGE and THE SECRET MARATHON-Empowering women and girls in Afghanistan through sport. He speaks on having a “Finish the Race Attitude – Set Goals, Overcome Obstacles and Achieve Outstanding Results” and has written for, or been covered by CNN, BBC, CBC, The Huffington Post, The Globe and Mail, The National Post, Runners World, Men’s Journal, Canadian Business, and Maclean’s.

In a five year period, from 2010 to 2014, Martin completed 10 extreme endurance “Quests” including running 250 marathons in one year and raising $1.3m for the humanitarian organization Right To Play. In 2016 he ran the Marathon of Afghanistan in support of Afghan women and girls running for equality and his film “The Secret Marathon” was released in late 2019. Martin’s next book THE AGELESS ATHLTE – Age is just a Number will be published on September 28^th 2021. Find out more about Martin at www.martinparnell.com and see what he can do for you in the long run.

National Make a Book Day - Everyone has a Story

info@martinparnell.com (martin.parnell) — Thu, 06 May 2021 13:30:00 GMT

I was looking for inspiration for this month’s column so I decided to use the mighty Google and see what holiday’s occurred on today, Thursday May 6^th.

Well, I was certainly spoiled for choice. I found the following holidays and observances: International No Diet Day, National Beverage Day, National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day, National Crepes Suzette Day, National Day of Prayer, National Day of Reason, National Nurses Day, National Tourist Appreciation Day, National No Homework Day, and National World Password Day.

However, the one I decided to go with was National Make a Book Day which is part of National Family Reading week.

I started making books as a youngster on my summer holiday travels. Our family had an Aunty Tettler living in the Black Forest in Germany and Mum and Dad and us six kids would head off on a road trip to visit her. Each sibling had a journal and we would write a daily entry about our adventures and stick straws, napkins and ticket stubs into the book.

My book endeavours continued and in 2005 I completed a cycle trip across Africa. Each night in my tent I’d write my blog in a leather bound journal given to me by my daughter Kristina. At the end of the trip I made up a manuscript of the entries plus photos and sent them into Lulu.com. They printed off 25 hard copies of “How do you Eat an Elephant – One piece at a time”. My family all knew what they were going to get for Christmas.

Since then I have had three books published by Rocky Mountain Books: “Marathon Quest”, about running 250 marathons in one year; “Running to the Edge”, about raising 1.3m for the children’s charity Right to Play and “The Secret Marathon”, Empowering women and girls in Afghanistan through sport. My fourth book “The Ageless Athlete – Age is just a Number” is scheduled for release on September 28^th 2021.

Here are three keys to writing a book:

Pick a subject you’re passionate about. Write from the heart.
Chunk it down. Tell yourself that you only need to write for 10 minutes. Once you get going you’ll be surprised how you can keep going.
Write first, edit later. Just get the words down.

So remember: everyone has a story and a book in them.

About the Author

Martin Parnell is the Best-Selling author of MARATHON QUEST and RUNNING TO THE EDGE and his final book in the Marathon Trilogy, THE SECRET MARATHON-Empowering women and girls in Afghanistan through sport, was released on October 30^th 2018. He speaks on having a “Finish the Race Attitude – Set Goals, Overcome Obstacles and Achieve Outstanding Results” and has written for, or been covered by CNN, BBC, CBC, The Huffington Post, The Globe and Mail, The National Post, Runners World, Men’s Journal, Canadian Business, and Maclean’s.

In a five year period, from 2010 to 2014, Martin completed 10 extreme endurance “Quests” including running 250 marathons in one year and raising $1.3m for the humanitarian organization Right To Play. In 2016 he ran the Marathon of Afghanistan in support of Afghan women and girls running for equality and his film “The Secret Marathon” was released in late 2019. Find out more about Martin at www.martinparnell.com and see what he can do for you in the long run.

Guinness World Record #6: London Marathon

info@martinparnell.com (martin.parnell) — Tue, 30 Mar 2021 17:56:00 GMT

In 2020, one of the outcomes of COVID was that we switched from in-person to virtual races. Instead of heading off to locations around the world we had the opportunity of participating in these events virtually. I tackled a virtual 1000km run across Tennessee, virtually climbed Mount Everest with my grandson Nathan, daughter Kristina and wife Sue and ran the virtual New York, Boston and London Marathons.

A week ago I received a pleasant surprise…..A Guinness World Record (GWR) certificate. This was GWR #6 and was for “The most users to run a remote marathon in 24 hours is 37,966 and was achieved by the Virgin Money London Marathon (UK) on 4 October 2020”.

Now, I’ve have a long history with Guinness World Records. In 2010, after completing 250 marathons in Marathon Quest 250 I had set up “Quest for Kids”, an initiative to complete 10 Quests in 5 years and raise $1m for the humanitarian organization Right To Play. I was looking for an event to follow up Marathon Quest 250 and had put out a call for help on Facebook to see if anyone had any ideas. A week later I heard back from Julie Arnold, Event Coordinator for Netball Alberta. Julie thought it would be a great idea to set a GWR for the longest game of Netball. I agreed with her and in mid-September 2011 a group of 16 participants played netball for 61 hours in a gym in Calgary.

One of the players on Netball Quest 61 was Shawn Cable. Shawn had played for the Calgary Roughnecks and he suggested the longest game of Lacrosse. In late April 2012, 42 participants played 24 hours straight in Lacrosse Quest 24 for GWR #2. Next up was indoor soccer. I chatted with Lucy Lovelock from the Cochrane Rangers. We both love soccer and so TriOil – Soccer Quest 42 was born. In early October 2012 two teams lined up on the turf at Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre (SLSFSC) and 42 hours later GWR#3 was set.

GWR #4 was set in mid-January 2013 and it was my favorite. Hockey Quest 500 was a collaboration with Reid Kimmett and the Kimmett Cup. In total 374 participants played 10 minutes each in a hockey game that lasted a total of 9 hours and again this was held at SLSFSC. The cool thing was that half the players were aged between 6 and 12 years old. During the last event of “Quests for Kids”, GWR #5 was set on October 3^rd 2014 at Dublin Heights Elementary and Middle School in Toronto. This was for “The most players (160) in a Ball Hockey event”.

Finally, the certificate for the London Marathon GWR #6 has arrived. In fact another runner from the Cochrane Red Rock Running Club also became a GWR holder for this event. Huge congratulations Sue Wall.

So, it’s almost 7 years to the day between the setting of GWR #5 and #6. The question is…..will it be another 7 years before GWR #7 is attempted and what would it be?

Any ideas?

Road Trip: 94 Take the Cake Café and The British Banger Company

info@martinparnell.com (martin.parnell) — Tue, 01 Dec 2020 09:53:00 GMT

Once in a while you have to hit the open road and take a trip. In the past Sue and I have been to Tofino on the west coast of Vancouver Island; Yellowknife, NWT and St. John’s, Newfoundland. However, in this time of COVID-19, we decided to go a little closer to home…..Okotoks, Alberta.

On a recent Friday morning we headed down the 22 to Bragg Creek. From there it was on the back roads to Millarville / Turner Valley / Black Diamond and onto Okotoks. Our objective was to visit an establishment we have read about in a local magazine….The British Banger Company.

We’re not that familiar with Okotoks so before stocking up on Christmas goodies we decided to grab a coffee at a café we found on-line…… 94 Take the Cake Café. You know you’re at the right location when you see a sign “Gingerbread Street” and two Gingerbread characters are welcoming you in. The entrance way was up a path to a small house, then through the front door to another world.

Everything is painted white and out-lined in black. The floor, the walls, the table and chairs. It feels like you’ve entered a cartoon world. Hanging on the walls were pictures of Jack Skellington and his friends from the Nightmare before Christmas. The creative partnership behind 94 is Sherry and Krystof Lindenback. After enjoying our coffee and slice of carrot cake Sue I looked around the small shop and entranceway. There, hanging on the walls, were some beautiful wedding, birthday and anniversary cakes but my favourites were Sponge Bob Hamburger and Mickey Mouse.

Leaving 94 we headed around the corner to the British Banger Company. We had pre-ordered a number of British delicacies including Cornish Pasties, Steak Pies, Scotch Eggs and Cumberland pork sausages. Tim and Tracey welcomed us in. They owned a butchers shop in the UK and emigrated to Canada in 2009. In the early years of the business, they were able to take part in a Regional Sausage Competition and won 3rd place with two of our sausage flavours – Minted Lamb and Cumberland. After having a good look around their shop we said goodbye and headed back to Cochrane. It had been a good day out.

This wasn’t a big trip and we didn’t see any mind blowing sites. However, it was just nice to get out of the house for a break. And the pay-off…….we had bangers and mash for supper!

Completing the virtual “Marathon Triple Crown”-Boston, London and New York

info@martinparnell.com (martin.parnell) — Tue, 27 Oct 2020 18:06:00 GMT

At 8.00am on Sunday October 25^th I was at the start line of the virtual New York marathon with running buddies Paul and Wayne and the temperature was -25C (-31C wind chill). In fact, this morning Cochrane, Alberta was colder than the North Pole!!!! I wore 5 layers on top, 3 layers below, smart wool socks, Salomon Gortex trail shoes, gloves, huge mitts, a beany hat, toque and a ski mask. The only area that was exposed to the elements were my eyes.

Thirty minutes into the run my water bottles were frozen solid. I ran with the New York Road Runners (NYRR) app and at every five kms I would hear a group of spectators cheering me on. The three amigos arrived at the half way point and Sue was waiting for us with coffee, chewy bars, and bananas. The first half had been brutal and it took us 3:00:25.

The weather was improving and the temp had reached a barmy -12C (-15C wind chill). I removed one upper layer and one lower layer and switched my trail shoes for a pair of runners. Running buddy Wayne stayed with Sue and Paul and I headed off to tackle the second half. Things were going well until the 30km mark when my NYRR app died due to the cold and then at the 37km point running buddy Paul blew a knee. We walked it in for a 6:08:46 finish time and the final leg of the virtual "Marathon Triple Crown" (Boston, London, New York) was completed. As one journey ends another one begins.

So it is with Tobias Weller’s next challenge. Tobias is 9 years old and has Cerebral Palsy and the super power of Autism. He has just achieved his goal of run / walking two marathons and raising £150,000. Now he is taking on another challenge.....to use his "Super Trike" to cycle a marathon. His fund raising page has just opened so let's give him a turbo start: https://bit.ly/2TrkfJ0

GO Tobias GO!!!!!!!!

The Great Virtual Everest Charity Climb – The Summit

info@martinparnell.com (martin.parnell) — Tue, 21 Jul 2020 11:20:00 GMT

Mountaineer Martin (aged 64) and Nanatuk Nathan (aged 11) are climbing Mount Everest, 200 stairs per day. It will take them 95 days including 4 Camp rest days.

This is their journal:

Day 88 of 95: Friday, July 10^th 2020 (Elevation 28,100 feet: Stairs 16,800: Vertical height climbed 10,625 feet)

Mountaineer Martin:

Last night, I had a call from K2 Kristiana on the satellite phone: “I just wanted to check in and let you know that me and my kids are still climbing towards the summit. After reading your update 2 weeks ago we decided to rework our pace so we could finish on July 17. We will be reaching Camp III today (we are at 11,404 steps). We are enjoying this challenge and although some days we don't climb together, we all have been accountable to each other.

My kids, Twist-Lock Teague (15) and Leavittation Lucia (12), are definitely faster than I am but I am confident that I still have better endurance! My husband used to work at the Calgary Science Center and he hosted a talk by a man who had climbed Everest. Every once in a while my husband will shout out a fact or anecdote he has remembered while we are climbing. Twist- Lock Teague (who is my facts and figures guy) figured out the pace of the man who has the record for fastest Everest climb and we realized that he climbed Everest at a faster pace than we are climbing.” Great job Winter’s family. See you at the top.

Today is the start of the “Killer Kramp” virtual Everest climb. Climbers have been acclimatizing at Base Camp and they left at 8am for the 8 day challenge.

Day 93 of 95: Wednesday, July 15^th 2020 (Elevation 28,725 feet: Stairs 17,800: Vertical height climbed 11,250 feet)

Mountaineer Martin:

Over the last few days Nanatuk Nathan, Sherpa Jyamchang and I have received many messages from climbers starting up the mountain on their “Killer Kramps” (8 days) and “Everest Extreme” (4 days) challenges. The last seven days of climbing have been very difficult. We are all under oxygen and are getting very little sleep. Nanatuk Nathan has been wearing his Everest socks, using his hand warms and enjoying a Twinkie each night. We are getting very excited, only 2 days to go before we reach the summit……one step at a time.

Nanatuk Nathan:

For my birthday I got an awesome gift of super warm Everest socks from Nana Sue. They are coming in handy because it is never warm any more. Climbing is getting harder, but I know the harder it gets the closer we are to the end. There are only 2 days left but with little sleep I know it will feel like much longer. I wonder how we're getting home? Hope we don't have to climb back down!"

Day 95 of 95: Summit Everest: Friday July 17^th 2020 (Elevation 29,028 feet: Stairs 18,200: Vertical height climbed 11,429 feet)

Mountaineer Martin and Nanatuk Nathan

Sherpa Jyamchang woke us up early and we had breakfast. It was time for the final push. As we started to the top we could see a worm of light slowly moving up a dark wall. It was the headlights of climbers flickering in the dark. It was completely silent. Nobody was talking. We climbed and climbed, waiting the first ray of dawn. It was desperately cold and there were some very icy parts. The ice axe and crampons barely cut into the ice.

We reached the Balcony and Sherpa Jyamchang gave us all new oxygen bottles. Ever upwards, we reached a small plateau of the South Summit and there – just around the corner – was Everest summit itself! Continuing on, as we pushed towards our goal, Sherpa Jyamchang helped us over the final challenge………The Hillary Step. Finally, we reached another white edge, but this time it didn’t continue. Looking over the edge, there was a slope down instead. This was the North side of Everest.

Nanatuk Nathan, Mountaineer Martin and Sherpa Jyamchang had reached the summit.

Funds are being raised to Support the Sherpa's. They have lost their jobs and livelihood with the closing of Everest on March 15^th. Donations can be made at https://ca.gofundme.com/f/HighHimalayan

Thank you.

About the Author

In a five year period, from 2010 to 2014, Martin completed 10 extreme endurance “Quests” including running 250 marathons in one year and raising $1.3m for the humanitarian organization Right To Play. In 2016 he ran the Marathon of Afghanistan in support of Afghan women and girls running for equality and his film “The Secret Marathon” was released in late 2019. Find out more about Martin at www.martinparnell.com and see what he can do for you in the long run.

The Great Virtual Mount Everest Climb – Birthday Boy

info@martinparnell.com (martin.parnell) — Tue, 07 Jul 2020 14:23:00 GMT

Mountaineer Martin (aged 64) and Nanatuk Nathan (aged 11 today!!!!!!) are climbing Mount Everest, 200 stairs per day. It will take them 95 days including 4 Camp rest days.

This is their journal:

Day 78 of 95: Tuesday, June 30^th 2020 (Elevation 26,850 feet: Stairs 14,800: Vertical height climbed 9,375 feet)

Mountaineer Martin:

Leaving Camp IV we looked down on the Tibetan plateau with its vast brown plains, white glaciers and the other alpine giants – Kanchenjunga, Lhotse, Makalu – in the distance. One step at a time, Sherpa Jyamchang lead Nanatuk Nathan and myself higher and higher. We didn’t talk a lot and were happy to follow his routine: climb six steps then rest for 10 seconds, climb for six steps then rest for 10 seconds.

Nanatuk Nathan:

Today we saw the Tibetan plateau, did you know it is the highest and largest plateau in the world? There are a number of rare animals living on the plateau including the Himalayan Red Panda. I thought that was pretty cool. I am not a fan of climbing this part as it is very hard to climb and stop all the time. I wonder what’s for dinner?

Day 81 of 95: Friday, July 3^rd 2020 (Elevation 27,225 feet: Stairs 15,400: Vertical height climbed 9,750 feet)

Mountaineer Martin:

Sherpa Jyamchang received a text from Base Camp saying that a number of climbers from all over the world had arrived and were getting ready to climb the mountain. Apparently “The Great Virtual Everest Charity Climb” had been organized. There are three events: “Killer Kramps” an 8 day challenge, “Extreme Everest”, a 4 day event and “Summit Screamer”, a one day World Record attempt. All climbers are aiming to reach the summit by July 17^th. It’s going to be busy at the top!

Nanatuk Nathan:

Each night, in my tent, I listen to stories told to me by Shepra Jyamchang. He has shared with me tales of when he was a boy and how he started to learn to climb the highest mountain in the world. Sherpa Jyamchang loves animals and my favorite story of his is when he and a friend came across one of the rarest animals in the world, a Himalayan Hedgehog. This animal is normally only ever seen at night on a full moon. I love Sherpa Jyamchang’s stories.

Day 85 of 95: Tuesday, July 7^th 2020 (Elevation 27,725 feet: Stairs 16,200: Vertical height climbed 10,250 feet)

Mountain Martin

It’s a very exciting day today. It’s Nanatuk Nathan’s 11^th birthday and as we climbed I told him about what I did on my 11^th birthday. My dad had given me a soccer ball and we went out into the garden for a “kick-around”. Sherpa Jyamchang told us that on his 11^th birthday he climbed to Base Camp and looked up at the mighty Everest thinking “One day I’ll climb that mountain”.

Nanatuk Nathan:

What a day! Mountaineer Martin and Sherpa Jyamchang had carried birthday presents for me all the way up the mountain. They included a Swiss army knife from Mountaineer Martin, hand warmers from Klemheist Knot Kristina, Everest extra warm socks from Sherpa Sue, a box of Twinkies from Crampon Charlie and the best surprise of all……..a birthday cake Sherpa Jyamchang had made for me. That night, in our tent, as we all ate cake and had hot chocolate, we talked about the final push up the mountain.

Funds are being raised to Support the Sherpa's. They have lost their jobs and livelihood with the closing of Everest on March 15^th. Donations can be made at https://ca.gofundme.com/f/HighHimalayan

Thank you.

Onward and upwards.

About the Author

In a five year period, from 2010 to 2014, Martin completed 10 extreme endurance “Quests” including running 250 marathons in one year and raising $1.3m for the humanitarian organization Right To Play. In 2016 he ran the Marathon of Afghanistan in support of Afghan women and girls running for equality and his film “The Secret Marathon” was released in late 2019. Find out more about Martin at www.martinparnell.com and see what he can do for you in the long run.

The Great Virtual Mount Everest Climb - Rope Work

info@martinparnell.com (martin.parnell) — Wed, 10 Jun 2020 09:02:00 GMT

Mountaineer Martin (aged 64) and Nanatuk Nathan (aged 10) are climbing Mount Everest, 200 stairs per day. It will take them 95 days including 4 Camp rest days.

This is their journal:

Day 50 of 95: Tuesday, June 2^nd 2020 (Elevation 23,600 feet: Stairs 9,600: Vertical height climbed 6,000 feet)

Mountaineer Martin:

On the morning of Day 48 our merry band of climbers had a celebration. We had reached the half way point of our climb up Mount Everest and Sherpa Jyamchang had brought us a treat: Pizza! However, there was no sitting around in our cozy tents, we had some climbing to do.

As we were leaving I got a text from my old buddy Crampon Charlie “Fell behind last week as I ran into Yabo the Yeti. He let me go after I gave him the entire box of Twinkies (which I think gave him a toothache). I plan to catch up and see you all at Camp III.” I replied “So happy that Yabo the Yeti ate the Twinkies and not you. Were there any Twinkies left?” to which Charlie answered “Sad to report that all Twinkies were lost to Yabo the Yeti but I escaped unscathed. I have requested an airdrop of Twinkies and am hoping they arrive before summit day. Will keep you updated on Twinkie resupply status.” Things were getting serious.

Nanatuk Nathan:

Today was a big day as it was halfway day for our climb. Sherpa Jyamchang helped us celebrate with PIZZA! I have no idea how he managed to get Pizza there but it was really awesome especially after so much climbing. I was surprised when I heard about Yabo the Yeti eating the Twinkies since I always thought they preferred snow cones. Hopefully he doesn't try to find the pizza.

Day 57 of 95: Tuesday, June 9^th 2020 (Elevation 24, 475 feet: Stairs 11,000: Vertical height climbed 6,875 feet)

Mountaineer Martin:

The next stage of our journey, heading towards Lhotse face, was one of the toughest. It required a number of rope ascents using ropes of dubious strength and changing carabiners between sections. Nanatuk Nathan proved particularly skillful with all things rope. Nice one buddy!

Nanatuk Nathan:

Halfway up the rope climb, as a skillful rope person, I saw that further up we went, the harder it was on the ropes. I heard a rumbling in the distance and new a fresh blizzard was setting in, it always felt like every time we caught a break there was always something new happening. No choice but to hunker down for a bit.

Funds are being raised to Support the Sherpa's. They have lost their jobs and livelihood with the closing of Everest on March 15^th. Donations can be made at https://ca.gofundme.com/f/HighHimalayan

Thank you.

Onwards and upwards.

About the Author

In a five year period, from 2010 to 2014, Martin completed 10 extreme endurance “Quests” including running 250 marathons in one year and raising $1.3m for the humanitarian organization Right To Play. In 2016 he ran the Marathon of Afghanistan in support of Afghan women and girls running for equality and his film “The Secret Marathon” was released in late 2019. Find out more about Martin at www.martinparnell.com and see what he can do for you in the long run.

The Great Virtual Mount Everest Climb – Camp II

info@martinparnell.com (martin.parnell) — Tue, 26 May 2020 13:14:00 GMT

Mountaineer Martin (aged 64) and Nanatuk Nathan (aged 10) are climbing Mount Everest, 200 stairs per day. It will take them 95 days including 4 Camp rest days.

This is their journal:

Day 36 of 95: Tuesday, May 19^th 2020 (Elevation 21,850 feet: Stairs 6,800: Vertical height climbed 4,500 feet)

Mountaineer Martin:

For three days and three nights Nanatuk Nathan, Sherpa Jyamchang, Baby Tahr and I made our way through “Porg Cavern”. Just as we were losing hope we saw the exit and headed out. We said goodbye to Baby Tahr and pushed on to Camp II. Arriving at the tent settlement I was handed a note by another Sherpa. It said “Made Camp II today (May 13^th). See you at Camp III. Best wishes... I have a box of frozen twinkies in my pack...we can all share them at the summit!” signed Crampon Charlie. I’ve known Crampon Charlie for many years. He is one of the top US climbers and is from New Jersey. He’s known for his crazy climbing gear and Father Christmas hat and beard. There was no time to lose. The next morning we left Camp II bright and early, next stop Camp III.

Nanatuk Nathan:

Once we left Camp II, we continued up Mount Everest. It started colder and colder the higher we went but we knew we had to push through. Three hours after we left Camp II we stopped for lunch, we had turkey sandwiches and they were delicious. An hour or so after lunch we started hearing some scary noises and saw a small avalanche starting on the mountain. Thankfully we were able to run out of the way.

Day 43 of 95: Tuesday, May 26^th 2020 (Elevation 22,725 feet: Stairs 8,200: Vertical height climbed 5,125 feet)

Mountaineer Martin:

This week I received two texts. One from Summit Steve and his family, who are heading up the mountain, and the other from K2 Kristiana. She said “My two youngest children (15 and 12) left base camp with me yesterday. We are planning to follow the step plan that is on the tracking sheet. After day one we had some sore legs (my 15 year old thought he'd start fast but realized that is not the best approach) but we are looking forward to the next 95 days! Our plan is to make a donation to Sherpa Jyamchang each time we reach a camp.” Great to have you all on board.

We started the long climb towards Lhotse Wall. Nanatuk Nathan, Sherpa Jyamchang and I are feeling the effects of the lack of oxygen. We climb 6 steps then rest for 10 seconds. One morning Nanatuk Nathan was making his way around an ice turret when he spotted a Himalayan Hare. Sherpa Jyamchang told him that this was an extremely rare sighting. It stood rock still with its ears pricked up then hopped away. Nanatuk Nathan is taking a break from the journal. It’s been a challenging few days and he’s catching up on his sleep, preparing for the next big push.

Funds are being raised to Support the Sherpa's. They have lost their jobs and livelihood with the closing of Everest on March 15^th. Donations can be made at https://ca.gofundme.com/f/HighHimalayan

Thank you.

Onwards and upwards.

About the Author

In a five year period, from 2010 to 2014, Martin completed 10 extreme endurance “Quests” including running 250 marathons in one year and raising $1.3m for the humanitarian organization Right To Play. In 2016 he ran the Marathon of Afghanistan in support of Afghan women and girls running for equality and his film “The Secret Marathon” was released in late 2019. Find out more about Martin at www.martinparnell.com and see what he can do for you in the long run.

Climbing Everest – The Valley of Silence

info@martinparnell.com (martin.parnell) — Wed, 13 May 2020 17:50:00 GMT

Mountaineer Martin (aged 64) and Nanatuk Nathan (aged 10) are climbing Mount Everest, 200 stairs per day. It will take them 95 days including 4 Camp rest days.

This is their journal:

Day 15: Tuesday, April 28th 2020 (Elevation 19,475 feet: Stairs 3,000: Vertical height climbed 1,875 feet)

Mountaineer Martin: The weather has been getting worse and Nanatuk Nathan and I have been making slow progress. Fortunately we are through the Khumbu icefall and heading towards Camp I. On our journey we have been joined by Sherpa Jyamchang Bhote. He has over 20 years of mountain climbing experience, including 7 summits of Mt. Everest! He told us that he runs a Nepal based climbing company that employees dozens of local Sherpa mountain guides and porters.

Nanatuk Nathan: After meeting up with Sherpa Jyamchang Bhote we continued up the face of Mount Everest. After a few hours it got colder the higher we went, and avalanches were able to happen at any time. Plus we had to watch out for Himalayan bears. On our journey up we saw a group of Himalayan Tahr blocking the path and we had to figure out a way around.

Day 22 of 95: Tuesday, May 5^th 2020 (Elevation 20,225 feet: Stairs 4,200: Vertical height climbed 2,750 feet)

Mountaineer Martin: The band of plucky climbers reached Camp 1 on Day 19. The Valley of Silence, as it is known, is a vast, flat area, deep crevasses and mountain walls frequently washed by avalanches. At night we listened to the deep, murmuring cracking sounds under our tents. The pounding headaches were torturing us but as we left Camp 1, early morning of Day 20, we gained the first close sight of the mighty Everest.

Nanatuk Nathan: After leaving Camp 1 we continued up Mount Everest with our Sherpa guide. I still had some fluff on my coat from the Himalayan Tahr we saw earlier. After a long climb we hit a rather nasty snow storm, it was tough but we pulled through. After it cleared it was beautiful and sunny.

Day 29 of 95: Tuesday, May 12^th 2020 (Elevation 21,100 feet: Stairs 5,600: Vertical height climbed 3,625 feet)

Mountaineer Martin: Things had been going well for Nanatuk Nathan, Sherpa Jyamchang and myself, however that was all about to change. On Day 26^th the weather went from clear and sunny to a complete white out. Fortunately we were roped together as we couldn’t see more than 2 feet in front of each other. Hour after hour we trudged on not realizing we had taken a wrong turn and were heading into the North Face of Everest. Suddenly, as the mist started to lift, we spotted an ominous dark shape, it was a huge cave. As we entered the mouth of the cavern we couldn’t believe what we saw!

Nanatuk Nathan: After entering the mouth of the cave, that I decided to call Porg Cavern, I opened Papa Martins backpack and took out a flashlight. When I turned it on I was startled by a baby Himalayan Tahr who had wandered off from its herd. After the little scare we continued on through the cave. After walking for a while we stopped for lunch and I shared some of my sandwich with the baby Tahr who was following us.

Funds are being raised to Support the Sherpa's. They have lost their jobs and livelihood with the closing of Everest on March 15th: https://ca.gofundme.com/f/HighHimalayan

Thank you.

Onwards and upwards.

About the Author

In a five year period, from 2010 to 2014, Martin completed 10 extreme endurance “Quests” including running 250 marathons in one year and raising $1.3m for the humanitarian organization Right To Play. In 2016 he ran the Marathon of Afghanistan in support of Afghan women and girls running for equality and his film “The Secret Marathon” was released in late 2019. Find out more about Martin at www.martinparnell.com and see what he can do for you in the long run.

Day 15 of 95: Climbing Everest – One Stair at a Time

info@martinparnell.com (martin.parnell) — Tue, 28 Apr 2020 13:29:00 GMT

Sir Edmund Hillary was a New Zealand mountaineer, explorer, and philanthropist. On 29 May 1953, Hillary and Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers confirmed to have reached the summit of Mount Everest. They were part of the ninth British expedition to Everest, led by John Hunt. From 1985 to 1988 he served as New Zealand’s High Commissioner to India and Bangladesh and concurrently as Ambassador to Nepal.

Hillary became interested in mountaineering while in secondary school. He made his first major climb in 1939, reaching the summit of Mount Ollivier. He served in the Royal New Zealand Air Force as a navigator during World War II and as wounded in an accident. Prior to the Everest expedition, Hillary had been part of the British reconnaissance expedition to the mountain in 1951 as well as an unsuccessful attempt to climb Cho Oyu in 1952. As part of the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition he reached the South Pole overland in 1958. He subsequently reached the North Pole, making him the first person to reach both poles and summit Everest.

Following his ascent of Everest, Hillary devoted himself to assisting the Sherpa people of Nepal through the Himalayan Trust, which he established. His efforts are credited with the construction of many schools and hospitals in Nepal. Hillary had numerous honours conferred upon him, including the Order of the Garter in 1995. Upon his death in 2008, he was given a state funeral in New Zealand.

Mountaineer Martin (aged 64) and Nanatuk Nathan (aged 10) are climbing Mount Everest, 200 stairs per day. It will take them 95 days including 4 Camp rest days.

This is their journal:

Day 15: Tuesday, April 28th 2020 (Elevation 19,475 feet: Stairs 3,000: Vertical height climbed 1,875 feet)

Mountaineer Martin:

The weather has been getting worse and Nanatuk Nathan and I have been making slow progress. Fortunately we are through the Khumbu icefall and heading towards Camp I. On our journey we have been joined by Sherpa Jyamchang Bhote. He has over 20 years of mountain climbing experience, including 7 summits of Mt. Everest! He told us that he runs a Nepal based climbing company that employees dozens of local Sherpa mountain guides and porters.

Nanatuk Nathan:

After meeting up with Sherpa Jyamchang Bhote we continued up the face of Mount Everest. After a few hours it got colder the higher we went, and avalanches were able to happen at any time. Plus we had to watch out for Himalayan bears. On our journey up we saw a group of Himalayan Tahr blocking the path and we had to figure out a way around.

Funds are being raised to Support the Sherpa's. They have lost their jobs and livelihood with the closing of Everest on March 15th: https://ca.gofundme.com/f/HighHimalayan

Thank you. Onwards and upwards.

About the Author

In a five year period, from 2010 to 2014, Martin completed 10 extreme endurance “Quests” including running 250 marathons in one year and raising $1.3m for the humanitarian organization Right To Play. In 2016 he ran the Marathon of Afghanistan in support of Afghan women and girls running for equality and his film “The Secret Marathon” was released in late 2019. Find out more about Martin at www.martinparnell.com and see what he can do for you in the long run.

Day 8 of 95: Climbing Everest – One Stair at a Time

info@martinparnell.com (martin.parnell) — Tue, 21 Apr 2020 13:32:00 GMT

Mount Everest is Earth’s highest mountain above sea level located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The International border between Nepal (Province No. 1) and China (Tibet Autonomous Region) runs across its summit point.

The current official elevation of 8,848 m (29,029 ft), recognised by China and Nepal, was established by a 1955 Indian survey and subsequently confirmed by a Chinese survey in 1975.

In 1865, Everest was given its official English name by the Royal Geographical Society, as recommended by Andrew Waugh, the British Surveyor General of India, who chose the name of his predecessor in the post, Sir George Everest, despite Everest's objections.

Mount Everest attracts many climbers, some of them highly experienced mountaineers. There are two main climbing routes, one approaching the summit from the southeast in Nepal (known as the "standard route") and the other from the north in Tibet. While not posing substantial technical climbing challenges on the standard route, Everest presents dangers such as altitude sickness, weather, and wind, as well as significant hazards from avalanches and the Khumbu Icefall.

Mountaineer Martin (aged 64) and Nanatuk Nathan (aged 10) are climbing Mount Everest 200 stairs per day. It will take them 95 days including 4 Camp rest days.

This is their journal:

Day 8 of 95: Tuesday, April 21^st 2020 (Elevation 18,600 feet: Stairs 1,600: Vertical height climbed 1,000 feet)

Mountaineer Martin (MM):

The first 8 days have been tough going for Nanatuk Nathan and me. We are tackling the Khumbu icefall which moves at such speed that large crevasses open with little warning, and the large towers of ice (called seracs) found at the icefall have been known to collapse suddenly. Huge blocks of ice tumble down the glacier from time to time, their sizes ranging from that of cars to large houses.

Nanatuk Nathan (NN):

Papa Martin (MM) and I are leaving base camp and continuing up Mount Everest. It was tough but we knew the only way was up. We were faced with huge snowstorms but Papa Martin (MM) and I are holding our ground. On our way up we also saw a snow leopard and had to find a way around it.

Funds are being raised for Support the Sherpas. They have lost their jobs and livelihood with the closing of Everest on March 15^th: https://ca.gofundme.com/f/HighHimalayan

Thank you.

Onwards and upwards.

About the Author

In a five year period, from 2010 to 2014, Martin completed 10 extreme endurance “Quests” including running 250 marathons in one year and raising $1.3m for the humanitarian organization Right To Play. In 2016 he ran the Marathon of Afghanistan in support of Afghan women and girls running for equality and his film “The Secret Marathon” was released in late 2019. Find out more about Martin at www.martinparnell.com and see what he can do for you in the long run.

How some Good News can Brighten your Day

info@martinparnell.com (martin.parnell) — Tue, 14 Apr 2020 15:48:00 GMT

My wife keeps a journal and, every Saturday, makes a point of including a “Good News Story” e.g. “Koalas are re-entering the wild after wild fires destroyed much of their habitat... ... Sydney-based wildlife conservation organization Science for Wildlife announced that four rescued adult koalas and one baby joey would, at last, be released back into the New South Wales national park Kanangra-Boyd.”

During these times of global fears in the light of the Covid-19 pandemic. I thought I’d try and come up with some other good news stories and quotes to lift our spirits:

In parts of America, people are filling their Little Free Libraries with cans of food and rolls of toilet paper.

“Life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.”
Charles R. Swindoll - Evangelical Christian pastor, author, educator,

In Morristown, N.J. — Nurses, doctors and staff at the local Medical Center were left in tears as a mystery man held up a sign to the hospital window thanking them for saving his wife’s life. As staff tended to a busy emergency room, the unknown man stood outside the back window of the emergency department, placed his hand over his heart and held the poster sign that read: "Thank you all in emergency for saving my wife's life I love you all."

“It is only in our darkest hours that we may discover the true strength of the brilliant light within ourselves that can never, ever, be dimmed.”
Doe Zantamata - author, artist, and photographer

Sophia Thomas, 8, from Southampton, England, was unable to celebrate her birthday as normal following the government’s announcement last week that people should stay home. So the people from her entire street assembled outside Sophia’s home to sing “Happy Birthday” to her on 25 March, whilst social –distancing.

“When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hang on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.”
Harriet Beecher Stowe - American abolitionist and author.

In Edmonton, Alberta, Cara McLeod turned her condo balcony into a stage to share the beauty of opera with her neighbours. McLeod, a soprano with the Edmonton Opera, performed to passersby who gathered while maintaining a safe distance from each other. She was inspired by the videos of Italians singing on their balconies and from their windows as that country began locking down. "Just seeing how, in such a stressful time, that people can come together and use music and raise their voices and have a light spirit even in the pain, was really beautiful," she said.

“When written in Chinese the word “crisis” is composed of two characters – one represents danger and the other represents opportunity.”
John F. Kennedy - 35th President of the United States

All 78 elephants at Maesa elephant camp in Chiang Mai were set free on as their owners scrapped the heavy wooden chairs that are tied to their backs for carrying tourists. Camp director Anchalee Kalampichit said this was the first time in 44 years that the elephants had not worn the seats at the start of the day. She said the park will now change their business to allow the elephants to roam freely in the grounds and operate as a place for visitors to observe the animals. They will never wear chairs again.

“Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today.”
Thich Nhat Hanh - Vietnamese Buddhist monk and peace activist,

A 90-year-old woman who contracted Coronavirus at a nursing home in Seattle has recovered. Geneva Wood, a resident at Life Care Center is now a beacon of hope, especially for people over 65. Health officials have said elderly people are especially vulnerable to the disease. Wood tested positive for coronavirus on March 6, her grand-daughter-in-law, Kate Neidigh said. When Wood tested positive for COVID-19, the family was "stricken, and in shock," and "mad," Neidigh said. Wood, however had a different outlook. "I'm going to fight this for my family and make everyone proud,"

I found this story posted by Mark Rice-Oxley on The Guardian website, March 27th. 2020: “Rolo, the dachshund has been so happy that everyone (in our household) is home for quarantine that his tail has stopped working. The vet told us that he had “sprained his tail from excessive wagging.”

And, if you feel the need for more good news stories, to brighten your day, why not check out the Sunny Skyz website www.sunnyskyz.com and Readers Digest Canada, website https://www.readersdigest.ca/culture/good-news-stories-world/

Stay well.

About the Author

In a five year period, from 2010 to 2014, Martin completed 10 extreme endurance “Quests” including running 250 marathons in one year and raising $1.3m for the humanitarian organization Right To Play. In 2016 he ran the Marathon of Afghanistan in support of Afghan women and girls running for equality and his film “The Secret Marathon” was released in late 2019. Find out more about Martin at www.martinparnell.com and see what he can do for you in the long run.

Personal Peak Quarantine Backyard Ultra

info@martinparnell.com (martin.parnell) — Tue, 07 Apr 2020 15:32:00 GMT

Early Saturday, April 4^th I was standing on my treadmill, in my basement, waiting for a race to begin. In total there were over 2,400 participants from over 55 countries and we were about to participate in an event the likes of which had never been seen before.

A couple of weeks ago, my wife Sue was listening to CBC when Dave Proctor, a Calgary elite Ultra runner was talking about an event that would connect the world. With the spring racing calendar being totally wiped out due to COVID-19 Dave was looking for something to pull the global running community together and he came up with the Personal Peak Quarantine Backyard Ultra.

Originally, Dave was planning a Trans-Canadian speed record for May, and his crew was going to be made up of the Personal Peak team. However, with the coronavirus outbreak, he had to cancel the attempt. Instead of letting his training go to waste, he decided to use it for a virtual race. Along with Personal Peak, an endurance training company, he organized the Quarantine Backyard Ultra and sent invitations to the world’s best ultra-runners. The event was also open to non-elite runners.

For the Quarantine Backyard Ultra, all runners had to log into Zoom. Racers had a choice between running on a treadmill or running outside as they had to complete a 6.706 km lap in less than an hour and prove it by showing the Zoom audience their GPS data if they ran outside or their treadmill screen inside. Then they could move onto the next lap with every lap starting on the hour.

Having had my Boston Marathon cancelled, I was looking for something to fill the space. I certainly didn’t want to waste my weeks of training. The other thing I wanted to do was to use the race as a fund raiser. I decided to combine the donations I raised from my Year End Run with the Backyard Ultra and see if I could hit the $10,000 fund raising target for the Boys and Girls Club of Cochrane and area.

So at 6.45 am MST and with 15 minutes to go, my hydration and nutrition were prepared and I set up my laptop so that the camera could view me on the treadmill. I then logged into Zoom. The screen was filled with 30 runners from around the globe, just a small fraction of the 620 that were in my starting group.

At 7.00am MST a bell rang and we were off. I decided to watch some TV and my friend Wayne suggested “The Kindness Diaries” on Netflix. I had set a pace of 7:30 minutes per kilometer and with 6.71 kms to run it took me 53:40. Now the goal I had set myself was to run a marathon (42.2 km) so if I ran for 7 loops (7 hours) that would give me 47 kms. The first 5 loops went well. I started to struggle on loop 6 and Sue told me that I was too close to the back of the treadmill. I was definitely having a hard time holding my pace.

I had toyed with the idea of doing 10 loops but on loop 7 I knew that was it. I didn’t want to get spat out the back of the treadmill and splatted against the back wall. At the end of the 7^th loop I got off the treadmill and logged of Zoom. That meant that I got a “Did Not Finish” (DNF). In fact every participant would get a DNF other that the winner.

Over the rest of Saturday I followed the event and learned about several of the participants. There was “The Living Room Guy” who ran around his sofa, “Coffee Shop Matt” who did loops inside a closed coffee shop and Anna who was running in Northern Sweden through the ice and snow. By 7.00pm that night there were 671 runners remaining.

Sunday morning, after a good night’s sleep I checked the You Tube live feed at 7.00 am MST. A total of 24 laps had been completed for 160km and 71 runners remained. Over the next 12 hours a number of the top contenders had pulled the plug including Dave Proctor who was dealing with a hip flexor issue. At 7.00pm MST, 36 loops were done for 242 kms and the final 14 remained. Time for another sleep.

Monday morning at 7.00am MST I checked the Personal Peaks Facebook page. A total of 48 loops had been completed, 322 kms covered and only two runners were still going. Mike Wardian from Arlington, Virginia was doing loops around his neighbourhood and Radek Brunner, from the Czech Republic, was running on a treadmill he had purchased a week before.

I checked the feed every hour and this epic battle continued until 9.00 pm MST. Mike and Radek had both finished lap 62 and were about to head-out on lap 63. The start bell sounded and Mike headed off. Radek was on the treadmill but wasn’t moving. For 2 minutes he stood there and then he started to run. However, the rules state that you must start running right away and Radek was disqualified. A very tough break.

Mike finished his lap in 31:05, his fastest lap of the entire race. Mike wanted to keep going to break the record of 68 laps but he was told that the rules required he could only do one lap after the other person had dropped out. In total Mike ran 422.3 kms over 63 hours and was awarded the grand prize: The Golden Toilet Paper Roll.

It had been an amazing event bring people together from all over the world in this very difficult time. There was a real connection that is so important in this time of social distancing and isolation.

And the cherry on top was that my combined Final Year End / Backyard Ultra fund raiser hit the $10,000 target for the Boys and Girls Club of Cochrane and Area. Now that is worth celebrating.

About the Author

In a five year period, from 2010 to 2014, Martin completed 10 extreme endurance “Quests” including running 250 marathons in one year and raising $1.3m for the humanitarian organization Right To Play. In 2016 he ran the Marathon of Afghanistan in support of Afghan women and girls running for equality and his film “The Secret Marathon” was released in late 2019. Find out more about Martin at www.martinparnell.com and see what he can do for you in the long run.

How to Entertain and Educate your Kids during the Coronavirus

info@martinparnell.com (martin.parnell) — Tue, 31 Mar 2020 13:58:00 GMT

Our Daughter, Kristina, is currently at home, with our two grandsons, Nathan (10) and Matthew (5), in Montreal. Every Sunday we Skype with them and they tell us about their week. These online visits are usually filled with news about what they have been doing both at home and at school. Now, however, it’s all about the activities they are finding to do whilst waiting out the coronavirus.

Our daughter has devised a daily schedule and helped them occupy their time with various activities. One of these is under the heading “Field Trips.” Kristina has been online and found some virtual tours which not only entertain the boys, but, at the same time, educate them. This week, we asked them if to tell us their favourites:

Nathan chose the International Space Station. He said he found it very interesting and took it upon himself to make notes about the tour. https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/suni_iss_tour.html

Matthew’s favourite was Ripley’s Aquarium. He thought it was “awesome” and told us about watching the octopus, sharks and sea turtles. https://www.ripleyaquariums.com/canada/

On the “We Are Teachers” website, you can find a range of tours for spring 2020, selected by teachers. https://www.weareteachers.com/best-virtual-field-trips/.

At Santiago Zoo, there are live cams showing a wide range of wildlife, including elephants, tigers, giraffe and polar bears and penguins.

Apart from the virtual “Field Trips”, you can find lots of activities on Pinterest, from Arts and Crafts many geared to specific grades e.g. Art ideas for Grade 1 to hundreds of printable work sheets for all Grades e.g. Maths work sheets Grade 6. You can also think of your own activities. Why not give your child access to a video camera and let them make up their own video tour of their bedroom or your home.

My wife, is setting them a 10 day Art Challenge. She will give them a list of ten words e.g. Yellow, Room, Big, Building, Food etc. and they have to interpret that word in whichever way they choose. It might be drawing, painting, cutting and gluing, using recycled materials or construction kits. They have to do one activity per day, for the ten days. It will be interesting to see what ideas each of them comes up with. She is also doing her own Art Challenge and will share her ideas with Nathan and Matthew – it’s a two-way thing.

If you have young child you can get them to practice skills like matching e.g. putting the socks into pairs, when they come out of the washing machine to counting e.g. setting the table for dinner “How many forks do we need?” and asking questions when you read them a story “How many animals can you see?” “Where did the bear go?’ “Why did the ............?” You get my drift.

It’s probably going to be quite some time before the kids will be back at school and I know many parents are trying to keep them occupied, whilst they, themselves, work from home. That’s when a daily schedule helps. If you set aside a time, each morning, to give you child activities to last a few hours, it can benefit you both. It will also help them to learn independently.

I know it must be much more difficult if the children are very young and I wish I had ideas for you, too. But I don’t. So, I found this article on the Make it website:

5 tips for effectively working from home during the coronavirus outbreak, when you have kids by Courtney Connley Published Mon, Mar 16 2020 she writes:

“As a result of the coronavirus outbreak, at least 69,000 schools across the U.S. have been closed or are scheduled to close, according to Education Week, which published a state-by-state map tracking school closures across the country. For thousands of parents who have been asked to work remotely, this means extra challenges when trying to balance the demands of work life and home life while coronavirus remains a concern.

Though many parents have had a “one off working-from-home day” when a kid is sick or the weather is bad, the reality of working remotely every single day alongside your kids will be a “steep learning curve” for a lot of people, says FlexJobs career development manager Brie Reynolds.

“I’ve been working from home full-time for about 10 years,” Reynolds, who has a 6-year-old and a 1-year-old, says. “I’m still just today learning what is going to work for us in the next few weeks.” Below, she, along with executive coach and author Julie Kratz and entrepreneur Patrice Cameau break down five simple tips for implementing an effective work-from-home set-up with your kids.

1. Create a schedule

As a mom of a 12-year-old, 2-year-old and 1-year-old, Cameau says setting a strict schedule that replicates that of a normal school day has been helpful to her. “I can’t focus on my work until I have them together,” says Cameau, who owns a content-creator studio in Hyattsville, Md., called CAMPspace. Her 12-year-old has been occupied with completing virtual assignments after his school closed last week, but Cameau says her younger two kids are more dependent on her attention. Each morning, she says, she has them wake up, eat breakfast and get dressed at the same time they would if they were going to daycare.

She tries to get the bulk of her work completed during her kids’ lunch hour, nap time and the down time she’s set aside for them to be on technology. “I’ll be honest, there have been days where my kids have been home from school, and I didn’t set a schedule,” Cameau says. But she has since learned from those experiences. “This is my first time ever doing something like this because I don’t know how long we’re going to be in this situation, so we need to just try to move the best way we can.”

2. Communicate, even more than you think is necessary

As someone who has been working remotely for a decade, Reynolds says communication is the No. 1 thing you have to be “cognizant of and thinking about all the time.” When it comes to work life, she says it’s OK to be transparent about the fact that you’re also juggling the needs of your kids, so your coworkers aren’t caught by surprise. For example, if you’re on a conference call, it’s acceptable to sometimes say, “Hey, just a heads up, I might have a kid walk into this room, and I will handle it and get right back to you.”

“On a regular basis you might not want to say that,” Reynolds explains. But during an unexpected work-from-home situation such as this, she says “it’s absolutely critical” to over-communicate. It can also be helpful to create a spreadsheet with your manager and the rest of your team, where you each outline your emergency contact information and your availability for virtual meetings. “You should come together and talk about what’s going to work best for everyone,” she says. “This might mean more frequent, but casual meetings, or it might mean fewer meetings altogether.”

3. Set boundaries with your children

On top of communicating with your colleagues, Reynolds says it’s crucial to set boundaries with your kids when working remotely, especially if they’re school-aged. Right now, she says, it may be helpful to allow your kids to watch more TV and play more games than usual in order to keep them occupied. In this event, Reynolds says, you need to explain to your kids that this is a special thing, and this freedom won’t go on forever. Outside of being more flexible about screen-time, Reynolds says you should also tell your kids when you need to be in “do not disturb” mode.

“With my 6-year-old, I had him do a little arts and crafts project where he made me a ‘stop’ sign and a ‘go’ sign for my office door,” she says. “He knows when he sees a ‘stop’ sign that he shouldn’t come in unless some big, crazy thing is going on. Then, if the green ‘go’ sign is there then he can walk right in.”

Kratz, who is the founder of Next Pivot Point a leadership organization for women, agrees with Reynolds. She says if you’re a work-from-home employee who doesn’t have a designated office space, then setting clear boundaries with your kids can be helpful. “You’ve got to have a place where you have private times,” she says. “That might be your bedroom, your closet, a guest room, your basement or wherever you can find a place where you can have uninterrupted, quiet space.” And to help keep this space quiet, she says, parents can use a system similar to the one Reynolds set up with her children.

“I always recommend to parents working from home to have a physical sign on the door with a thumbs up, thumbs down or whatever works as a signal for when you truly cannot be interrupted.”

4. Take breaks

Though you may feel pressured to overextend yourself while working remotely in order to prove to your team that you’re actually working, Reynolds says it’s critical that you carve out time to take a break. Nearly 90%of American workers say that taking a lunch break helps them to feel refreshed and ready to get back to work, according to the “Take Back the Lunch Break” survey released by global health and hygiene brand Tork. “Breaks are important when working at home,” says Kratz. She suggests that for every hour of focused work you complete, you take at least a 10 minute break to grab a snack, walk around or say “hi” to your kids. She also adds that a quick at-home yoga session, a hot shower or indulging in your favorite podcasts are other self-care things you can do when taking a healthy break from work.

When taking this time to unplug and reset, Reynolds says it’s perfectly fine to communicate to your boss with a message such as, “Hey, I’m going to be out of pocket for 30 minutes or so at 1 p.m.” She says speaking up when you need a break or extra support is important. And it doesn’t hurt to also offer support or coverage for another colleague who may need a break as well. “I think showing that you’re supportive and also you need support is something that we all have to do at this point,” she says.

5. Alternate shifts with your partner

If you’re in a position where both you and your spouse are working from home, Reynolds says alternating shifts with your partner can make working remotely a lot easier. “I got to work very early this morning, and [my husband] woke up with the kids and made breakfast and did all that sort of stuff,” she said. After breakfast, Reynolds said, she and her husband then switched shifts throughout the day, allowing each other to have uninterrupted work time. If switching shifts with your spouse is not an option, then Cameau, whose husband is not able to work remotely, emphasizes that a strict schedule and extra planning will be key to maximizing your day.

“One thing I do immediately when I wake up, in addition to following the schedule, is clean up all of their toys so that the living room is no longer a playroom,” explains Cameau. “For me, it helps to clear up space so that when I do have time to get work done while they’re napping, I’m not spending it trying to clean up toys.”

One thing I would like to emphasise is that you may think your child is just playing all the time, but most play activities can be an opportunity for learning.

Also, we all need time to play, so why not embrace the opportunity to play and have fun with them?

Stay Well.

About the Author

In a five year period, from 2010 to 2014, Martin completed 10 extreme endurance “Quests” including running 250 marathons in one year and raising $1.3m for the humanitarian organization Right To Play. In 2016 he ran the Marathon of Afghanistan in support of Afghan women and girls running for equality and his film “The Secret Marathon” was released in late 2019. Find out more about Martin at www.martinparnell.com and see what he can do for you in the long run.

Keep Calm and Read a Good Book

info@martinparnell.com (martin.parnell) — Tue, 24 Mar 2020 13:36:00 GMT

With the current COVID-19 pandemic affecting all parts of society, I thought I’d write a blog unrelated to business, but of a rather more general subject.

In these times of working from home and self-isolating, many of us have to look to how to fill our leisure times that doesn’t require contact with others. No more frequenting the gym, the cinema, our favourite restaurants and bars.

One activity that many of us enjoy but often wish we could spend more time doing is reading. Now may be the time to take advantage of more time on our hands and hit that book pile.

If, by any chance, you tend to read the same genre and are looking for something a little different, I thought I’d’ make a list and offer up some ideas. However, my wife, Sue is a more avid reader than I am and so I thought I’d pass this over to her and ask her to come up with some titles:

Sue’s suggestions:

Fiction

Title Author

The Cuckoos Calling Robert Galbraith
The Children Act Ian McEwan
A Complicated Kindness Miriam Toews
The Invention of Wings Sue Monk Kidd
Flowers for Algernon Daniel Keyes
The Child Finder Rene Denfeld
The Shadow of the Wind Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Deadly Virtues Jo Bannister
The End of the Line Stephen Legault
Perfume Patrick Suskind
Incendiary Chris Cleave
11/22/63 Stephen King

For murder mysteries, anything by Henning Mankell, Linwood Barclay or Michael Connelly.

Non-fiction

Title Author

Dead Wake Erik Larson
Isaac’s Storm Erik Larson
Seabiscuit Laura Hillenbrand
The Underground Girls of Kabul Jenny Nordberg
All Over But The Shoutin’ Rick Bragg
Mennonite in a Little Black Dress Rhoda Janson

Humour

Title Author

A Spot of Bother Mark Haddon
Blott on the Landscape Tom Sharpe
A Short History of Tractors in the Ukraine Marina Lewycka

Classics

Title Author

Tess of the D’Urbavilles Thomas Hardy
The Black Tulip Alexander Dumas
Gulliver’s Travels Jonathan Swift
The Hound of the Baskervilles Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Madame Bovary Gustave Flaubert
The Picture of Dorian Gray Oscar Wilde
The Stepford Wives Ira Levin

And so many more, it’s very hard to select just a few.

Hope this gives you a few ideas. Keep well and read on!

The Secret 3k – Safe Races, Safe Spaces

info@martinparnell.com (martin.parnell) — Tue, 17 Mar 2020 14:12:00 GMT

On Wednesday, March 4^th at 3.30pm a group of students, teachers and parents lined up outside Ecole Notre-Dame des Vallees School in Cochrane, Alberta. They were all there for one reason: To participate in The Secret 3k.

The Secret 3k, now in its third year, was inspired by film-maker Kate McKenzie’s documentary film “The Secret Marathon”, in which she and I traveled to Afghanistan to support that country’s first female marathoners. Since its inception, The Secret 3k has grown to become an international movement with 15 affiliated events across Canada and 12 countries participating around the world.

“While filming a documentary in Afghanistan” Kate said, “I was inspired by such brave women and girls who fought for equality and at times, risked their lives for the freedom to run outdoors. When I returned to Canada, I was struck by the stories of so many women who told me they didn’t feel safe to walk or run at night right here in Calgary.

The Secret 3k was launched to reclaim safe public spaces and champion gender equality here at home. We’re excited to have The Running Room and Girl Guides of Canada joining us for The Secret 3k because it will help us to reach one of our goals of making a difference here in Canada to promote safe and inclusive spaces and empower young people to be part of creating that change.”

About the Author

In a five year period, from 2010 to 2014, Martin completed 10 extreme endurance “Quests” including running 250 marathons in one year and raising $1.3m for the humanitarian organization Right To Play. In 2016 he ran the Marathon of Afghanistan in support of Afghan women and girls running for equality and his film “The Secret Marathon” was released in late 2019. Find out more about Martin at www.martinparnell.com and see what he can do for you in the long run.

As The Secret 3k was about to start at Ecole Notre-Dame des Vallees, one of the students did the count down from 10 and we were off. Everyone ran and walked at their own pace along the Bow River pathways proudly wearing their “EQUALITY” bibs. One kilometre in we spotted a herd of deer and a buck. Amazing. At the turn-around spot I waited for all the participants to pass then I headed back.

As the students crossed the line everyone cheered and gave each other hi-fives. They were thrilled that they had completed 3 km and done something to help others. In this case it was supporting three very worthwhile causes: The Girl Guides of Canada, Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan and the Marathon of Afghanistan.

As the students, parents and teachers headed off home they all said that they wanted to do it again next year.

The run / walk takes place during the week of International Women's Day and celebrates gender equality and creating safe and inclusive spaces. Next year's event will take place on Wednesday, March 3, 2021.

See you there.

How Solving a Problem can Inspire a Successful Business

info@martinparnell.com (martin.parnell) — Tue, 03 Mar 2020 18:43:00 GMT

I have just read an article, posted this past Wednesday, 26th. February, on the Love Money website, written by Natalie Marchant. It is entitled “Eureka moments that led to world – famous businesses. ”Eureka is a word, commonly used to celebrate a discovery or invention. It is an exclamation attributed to Ancient Greek mathematician and inventor. According to history, he reportedly proclaimed "Eureka! Eureka!" after he had stepped into a bath and noticed that the water level rose.

This led him to realise that the volume of water displaced must be equal to the volume of the part of his body he had submerged. He then realized that the volume of irregular objects could be measured with precision, a previously intractable problem (This revelation is not what is known as Archimedes principle - that deals with the up thrust experienced by a body immersed in a fluid).

Marchant’s article takes this idea and applies it to the ways in which some people have had such a moment or a need to solve a problem, which has led to some of today’s best known businesses.

Marchant lists 20, in all, some of which are commonly known e.g. when IKEA's Ingvar Kamprad thought there was a market for a different kind of furniture, Sir Richard Branson was emboldened by the unexpected success of Tubular Bells, Airbnb's Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia came up with a business as a way to pay the rent and Microsoft's Bill Gates was inspired by a new computer to write a programming language. However, Marchant also explains the way in which other successful businesses got their starts.

I would like to share some of them with you: “Nissin's Momofuku Ando saw a quicker way to make noodles. His name may not be widely known outside Japan but he is credited for helping transform the global instant food industry. The entrepreneur was inspired to make pre-cooked instant noodles after seeing ordinary people queue for a hot bowl of the Japanese staple in post-war Osaka. He went on to found Nissin Food Products, famous for the Cup Noodle. He died 2007 aged 96 – two years after seeing his instant noodles sent into orbit on US space shuttle Discovery.

World Foods founder John Mackey became inspired by the power of organic eating after dropping out of college and becoming a buyer for a vegetarian co-operative. He and his then-girlfriend Renee Lawson Hardy decided to open their own natural grocery store in the ground floor of a house in Austin, Texas. The pair then teamed up with fellow store owners Craig Weller and Mark Skiles, began selling meat, beer and wine to expand their clientele, and Whole Foods Market became a resounding success.

Sara Blakely, was selling fax machines when she had the idea that prompted her to found shaping underwear firm Spanx. Having bought an expensive pair of white trousers, she wanted a seamless look so she took a pair of tights and chopped the feet off to wear underneath. Realizing that the improvised undergarment flattered and smoothed her shape, Blakely took the $5,000 she had in savings to create a patent and founded Spanx, now a leading underwear brand.

Not a vast amount is known about the notoriously reclusive chief of UK-based online gambling site Bet365, Denise Coates. What is certain is that her gamble on in-play betting markets changed the face of the bookmaking industry. In 2000, while working for her father, who ran a chain of betting shops, she set up Bet365 after realizing that every minute of play was a possible gambling opportunity. Coates is now worth an estimated $8.1 billion (£6.7bn), according to Forbes.

Nick Woodman dreamed up the idea of the GoPro camera after a surf trip to Australia and Indonesia in 2001. He needed a camera to document his trip, and strapped one to his arm. But Woodman soon realized that he had to make the camera, its casing and the strap all in one, so knocked up a prototype using his mother's sewing machine and a drill. GoPro is now the world's leading action camera brand, selling 11 million units in 2017 alone.

Toms CEO Blake Mycoskie founded his shoe business after traveling to Argentina in 2006, where he met a women working with a voluntary group distributing shoes to children. But he realized that this charitable giving model was unsustainable as children soon grew out of them. So he set up Toms and came up with the "One for One" business model, which saw his company donate a pair of shoes for every pair sold. Toms has now given away more than 86 million pairs to children in need worldwide.

WhatsApp co-founder Jan Koum was born in Ukraine before moving to the US as a teenager. He went on to work as a computer programmer at Yahoo! with Brian Acton, but the pair left in 2007 and spent the following year traveling. Both were also turned down for jobs by Facebook. But it was in 2009 when Koum bought an iPhone and realized the App Store was about to spawn an entire industry that was the turning point. The pair went on to develop WhatsApp, which they sold for $19 billion (£16bn) to none other than Facebook in 2014.

Pinterest CEO Ben Silbermann came up with the idea for the virtual pinboard app while working at Google. But he wanted to build products, not just look at spreadsheets, so he quit – and then the economy collapsed. He eventually teamed up with a college friend and they built catalog app Tote. The pair then move on to building Pinterest, with Silbermann explaining: "I'd always thought that the things you collect say so much about who you are." The app now has more than 322 million monthly active users.”

If you have an idea that comes to you, out of the blue or is the result of successfully solving a personal problem, don’t be afraid to try turning it into a business. There may be hundreds, if not thousands of people trying to solve that same problem and, not only could you be helping them, but helping yourself to become a successful entrepreneur.

About the Author

In a five year period, from 2010 to 2014, Martin completed 10 extreme endurance “Quests” including running 250 marathons in one year and raising $1.3m for the humanitarian organization Right To Play. In 2016 he ran the Marathon of Afghanistan in support of Afghan women and girls running for equality and his film “The Secret Marathon” was released in late 2019. Find out more about Martin at www.martinparnell.com and see what he can do for you in the long run.

How Changes in the Workplace may Affect Employees

info@martinparnell.com (martin.parnell) — Tue, 25 Feb 2020 09:47:00 GMT

Over the past few days, our town of Cochrane, North West of Calgary, has been experiencing a Chinook. One of the most striking features of this weather phenomenon is the Chinook arch, a band of stationary stratus clouds, which can look like threatening storm clouds, although they rarely produce rain or snow but can crate stunning sunrises and sunsets. So, what is the definition of a Chinook?

According to L.C. Nkemdirim, in the Canadian Encyclopaedia online, posted February 2006: “In Canada, the Chinook belt lies almost exclusively within southern and central Alberta. The wind occurs in every season, but it is more distinctive and numerous in the winter, when the unseasonable warming it brings differentiates it from the normal cold winter weather.

A Chinook is a warm, dry, gusty, westerly wind that blows down the Rocky Mountains into the eastern slopes and the western prairies. The Chinook, a native word meaning "snow eater," belongs to a family of winds experienced in many parts of the world where long mountain chains lie more or less at right angles to the prevailing wind.

In south-western Alberta, one in 3 winter days is a Chinook day; its frequency drops to one in 5 in the northeast. The maximum daily temperature anomaly associated with the wind ranges from +13°C in the northwest to +25°C in the southeast. The temperature rise at the onset of the event is abrupt and steep; an increase of 27°C in 2 minutes has been observed.

In Scientific terms “The warmth of the Chinook is derived primarily from 2 non- mutually exclusive sources. Firstly, the replacement of arctic air (the mean temperature at Calgary's elevation is -24°C) by maritime air (-2°C) improves surface temperatures.

Secondly, if the down slope flow occurs following a loss of moisture through precipitation on the windward side of the mountain, the heat used to change the water into vapour (latent heat) is returned to the air parcel and warms it. The down slope flow leeward of the mountain warms the wind further, reducing its relative humidity sometimes down to 25% or less. Wind speed ranges from 16 km/h to 60 km/h, gusting to 100 km/h.

The Chinook melts snow, dries soil, desiccates vegetation and is a factor in soil erosion. Most people appreciate the Chinook because it is a pleasant break from the frigid winter temperatures characteristic of the region. However, a significant minority complain of discomforts ranging from headaches and earaches to depression and attempted suicide.”

So, if you live in Alberta, you could define a Chinook as a warm wind that blows in, unpredictably, from time to time, causes changes for a while and then leaves.

Sounds a bit like some of the people who might appear in you workplace.

Apart from customers, a visiting dignitary or someone from head office, there are several ways in which the general flow of the workplace may be affected, by people who come and go, including part-time workers, multiple job holders, and those in short-duration jobs. Sometimes, production activities may require the bringing together of groups of individuals specific projects. Stages of projects change and this may require the addition of temporary staff or the letting go of those surplus to requirements.

Certain types of work exhibit high pace of job and worker reallocation. There is more opportunity for “job hopping”, for promotion and other types of career opportunity and workers are more geographically mobile. Additionally, it may not be just the people who come and go that are causing the most significant changes in the workplace, they can also occur with the constantly advances in technology.

In a paper published in 2017, on the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine website, entitled Information Technology and the U.S. Workforce: Where Are We and Where Do We Go from Here? We are told:

“Technological advances can create enormous economic and other benefits, but can also lead to significant changes for workers. IT and automation can change the way work is conducted, by augmenting or replacing workers in specific tasks. This can shift the demand for some types of human labour, eliminating some jobs and creating new ones. Information Technology and the U.S. Workforce explores the interactions between technological, economic, and societal trends and identifies possible near-term developments for work. This report emphasizes the need to understand and track these trends and develop strategies to inform, prepare for, and respond to changes in the labour market.”

If you are a part-time worker, changes can be particularly stressful, as you may not be there, when changes are implemented. On theBusiness Daily website, onMay 25, 2017, Chad Brooks considers this in a study based on surveys of 1,500 U.S. adults who were employed full or part time or were self-employed. The article is entitled Change in the Workplace Stresses Your Employees Out Most and states:

“While employers usually enact change to improve the workplace, new research shows it can actually have the opposite effect. A study from the American Psychological Association (APA) found that organization changes, such as restructuring, budgetary modifications, new IT or human resources systems, or new leadership, can lead to employees who are overly stressed, have less trust in their employers and have a greater desire to find new jobs.

Change is quite common in most workplaces. Half of the U.S. workers surveyed have been, currently are or expect to be affected by organizational changes in the next year. Employees impacted by change are more than twice as likely to suffer from chronic stress. Specifically, 55 percent of employees experiencing recent or current change reported prolonged stress, compared to just 22 percent of those who had no recent, current or anticipated change

In addition, workers experiencing change were also four times as likely to have physical health ailments – which could be any symptom, including headaches, stiff necks, dizziness or shortness of breath – as those who didn't face any workplace changes. They also ate more and smoked cigarettes more during the workday than they did outside of work.

Mental and physical health issues aren't the only problems organizational change causes. The study found that U.S. workers who reported recent or current change were more likely to have work-life balance conflict, feel cynical and negative toward others during the workday, and have lower job satisfaction and significantly less trust in their employers.

The research also revealed that employees experiencing change are more than three times as likely to look for a new employer in the coming year compared to those with no recent, current or anticipated change.

Change is inevitable in organizations, and when it happens, leadership often underestimates the impact those changes have on employees," said David Ballard, head of APA's Center for Organizational Excellence, in a statement, "If they damage their relationship with employees, ratchet up stress levels, and create a climate of negativity and cynicism in the process, managers can wind up undermining the very change efforts they’re trying to promote.

The research found that the negative feelings could be attributed to a level of scepticism employees have in their employer when change is enacted. Nearly 30 percent of all the workers surveyed said they believe management has a hidden agenda for instituting change, with 31 percent saying they believe employers have different motives and agendas for enacting change from what they say publicly. Additionally, 28 percent believe organizations try to cover up the real reasons for changes.”

Whether the changes that take place are short-lived, like the Chinook or having a longer-lasting impact, people react to change in varying ways.

For some, the appearance of a Chinook is an opportunity to throw off those winter layers and embrace the warm air. For others, it can bring on a debilitating headache.

One thing we do know, as in a change in the workplace, that Chinook is going to occur at one time or another; it’s just finding our own way to deal with it.

About the Author

In a five year period, from 2010 to 2014, Martin completed 10 extreme endurance “Quests” including running 250 marathons in one year and raising $1.3m for the humanitarian organization Right To Play. In 2016 he ran the Marathon of Afghanistan in support of Afghan women and girls running for equality and his film “The Secret Marathon” was released in late 2019. Find out more about Martin at www.martinparnell.com and see what he can do for you in the long run.

Running around the World – All 40,075 Kilometers

info@martinparnell.com (martin.parnell) — Tue, 18 Feb 2020 12:59:00 GMT

Sometimes you take a leap of faith and you have no idea where it’s going to lead. You make a decision that takes you out of your comfort zone and things are never the same again.

This happened to me on Friday, December 20^th 2002. It was a snowy day in Sudbury, Ontario and in the late afternoon I got a call from my brother Peter. After some small talk he came to the reason he called……… he wanted to challenge me to a marathon. Without hesitation I accepted and hung up.

Now, the problem was I was 47 years old, over-weight and had never run. However, you never back-down from a challenge from a younger brother. That night I put on my tennis shoes, cotton pants, fleece top, toque and mitts and headed out. I ran one kilometer out and one kilometer back. It was terrible.

The next day I ran 2 kms out and 2 kms back and it was twice as bad. I realised I needed help so I joined the Sudbury Rocks Running club. Under the guidance of Vince Perdue and other members of the club, they taught me about what to wear, hydration, nutrition, electrolytes and pacing. My running journey had begun.

Fast forward to 6.00pm Monday February 17^th 2020 and I have just finished 15 km on the treadmill as part of my Boston 2020 training. Now, that was 17 years 59 days (6,298 days) ago and over that time I’ve covered 40,075 kms which happens to be the circumference of the earth.

So what happened between that snowy day in Sudbury and yesterday’s treadmill run? Well, here are some of the adventures running took me on with RUNNING THE WORLD BY THE NUMBERS:

2.0 km First run on December 20^th 2002
3.0 km The Secret 3k, Global
5.0 km Footstock 5 km, Cochrane, Alberta
10.0 km Terry Fox, all over Canada
12.0 km Grim Challenge, UK
16.0 km Gorilla run, Calgary
21.1 km Ottawa Half Marathon
42.2 km Calgary Marathon
42.2 km London Marathon
42.2 km Marathon of Afghanistan
48.0 km Yukon Arctic Ultra
80.0 km Fernie Ultra
82.1 km Golden Ultra
90.0 km Comrades Marathon, South Africa
100.0 km Rarotonga Quest, Cook Islands
106.0 km Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
126.6 km Boston (2004, 2008, 2010)
125.00 km Canadian Death Race
146.00 km Sinister Seven Ultra
160.00 km Lost Souls Ultra
193.00 km TransRockies Stage Race
1014.0 km South West Coast of England
10,550 km Running 250 marathons in one year
40,075 km Complete Running the World on February 17^th 2020

So the first spin around the earth is done and it’s been a blast. Time to turn around and head back the other way. Who know what challenges and adventures there will be on the return journey.

About the Author

In a five year period, from 2010 to 2014, Martin completed 10 extreme endurance “Quests” including running 250 marathons in one year and raising $1.3m for the humanitarian organization Right To Play. In 2016 he ran the Marathon of Afghanistan in support of Afghan women and girls running for equality and his film “The Secret Marathon” was released in late 2019. Find out more about Martin at www.martinparnell.com and see what he can do for you in the long run.

The Boys and Girls Club of Cochrane and Area

info@martinparnell.com (martin.parnell) — Tue, 11 Feb 2020 13:02:00 GMT

Fund raising for the 2019 Year End Run / Walk for the Boys and Girls Club of Cochrane and Area came to an end on January 31^st. In total $9,250 was raised for “The Club” towards a target of $10,000. Donations came from across the community including Footstock Weekend, Downunder Travel, Rotary Club of Cochrane and Fenton Automotive.

Also, a huge thank you goes out to the sponsors who included the Town of Cochrane, Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre, Cochrane Eagle, Cochrane Times, Ink’d Graphics, IMPACT Magazine, Cochrane Red Rock Running Club, Cochrane Library and Patsy’s Place.

The Boys & Girls Club of Cochrane & Area (BGCCA) is a non-profit organization that serves youth and families throughout Cochrane and surrounding area for over 25 years. During critical out-of-school hours, BGCCA offers a safe space where children and youth can explore their interests, develop their strengths, and realize positive outcomes in self-expression, academics, healthy living, physical activity, mental health, and more.

In the 2018 Annual Report, Jill Bilodeau, Executive Director, stated that “At a glance, 2018 was our biggest year in terms of growth and expansion of our locations, programs, services, and the community we serve. As promised in 2017, our club increased its capacity while continuously providing standard, quality service to our dedicated community.

After realizing the need of the community for a dedicated youth space, and with the overwhelming support of the community - we fostered The CLUB. The CLUB symbolizes more than a hangout place - it embodies our mission to provide youth with a safe, supportive place where new opportunities, positive relationships and confidence are found.

As the first teen space in Cochrane and area, we are devoted to providing youth with services and support such as Life Skill Workshops, LGBTQ2S+ support, musical expression, all year outreach programming, tutoring, drop-in, and of course themed parties. We are especially thankful to the community for assisting us in providing youth with an inspiring place to face some of the most difficult challenges during their vulnerable years. We are grateful for each individual and organization involved in creating a vision for The CLUB. “

In 2018 there were 531 visits to The Club by Cochrane and Area Youth. In 2019 this figure had jumped to 2038 visits.

It is very clear that the job is not done and I’m very pleased to announce that the “New Year’s Eve Martin Parnell Walk / Run” will take place on Thursday December 31^st 2020 at the Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre. It will be hosted and run by the Boys and Girls Club of Cochrane and the funds raised will allow them to continue to support the local youth into the future.

About the Author

In a five year period, from 2010 to 2014, Martin completed 10 extreme endurance “Quests” including running 250 marathons in one year and raising $1.3m for the humanitarian organization Right To Play. In 2016 he ran the Marathon of Afghanistan in support of Afghan women and girls running for equality and his film “The Secret Marathon” was released in late 2019. Find out more about Martin at www.martinparnell.com and see what he can do for you in the long run.

Why Choosing the Right Name will Make You more Memorable

info@martinparnell.com (martin.parnell) — Tue, 04 Feb 2020 12:48:00 GMT

I was browsing through the MSN UK website and came across this story about a baby rhino, born in Pembrokeshire, West Wales: The first rhino to be born in Wales is looking for a name – and the public is being asked to help. The young Eastern black rhino was born at Folly Farm Adventure Park and Zoo on January 16 to first-time mum Dakima after a 15-month pregnancy.

Now staff at the zoo have asked the public for help coming up with a suitable name for the calf. In a Facebook post, they wrote: “He’s the first rhino to be born in Wales and we’re very proud of this. So, we’re after some name suggestions with a Welsh theme. “This can either be a Welsh word or a Welsh name (we’d love to hear the meaning behind it).” Among the names being suggested were Glynn, Rhion and Llwyd, which means grey in Welsh.

It reminded me of a blog I posted, in June 2016, entitled From Gerry to Humperdinck, it’s all in the name. The blog was all about choosing the right name for anything from a baby to the title of a book or a business. So, I’m reposting it here, for anyone who didn’t read the original:

An item, on MSN UK, reported that a woman, in England had been banned from naming her baby daughter Cyanide. One can only imagine the problems it might have caused until the girl reached an age when she could, if she wished, opt to be called something different. On CBC Radio, recently, a lady phoned in and mentioned that she was listening along with her grandson, Beowulf. Now, personally, I think that’s a fantastic name and, for me, conjures up an image of someone who is strong and adventurous.

Gerry Dorsey was an English singer who, in the 1960’s couldn’t get a record deal. He changed his name to Engelbert Humperdinck and soon after was signed by Decca records. He had several top-selling hits in both the UK and the US. This got me thinking about names and how we can make judgements based on hearing them. This can apply to people, objects and businesses.

There is a whole science devoted to choosing the right name and how to market it. Numerous articles have been written about the way the right name can quickly be adopted into our culture. It’s interesting how certain brand names become so familiar that we instinctively know what someone is talking about, when we say them e.g. Kleenex, Hoover, Jacuzzi, Thermos, Trampoline.

When the first Starbucks opened in Seattle's Pike Place Market, in 1971, it didn't sell coffee drinks, just beans. The founders considered naming it after Captain Ahab’s boat, from the novel Moby Dick, but, according to a Starbucks spokesperson, changed their mind when a friend tried out the tagline "Have a cup of Pequod." and, instead, named itafter Captain Ahab's first mate, Starbuck.

The most difficult choices I’ve had to make, when naming anything, have been deciding on the titles of my three books and how to brand my business. I decided it would be best to create a tag line that relates to what I’m best known for, which includes completing numerous endurance events, running 250 marathons, in one year and is aligned to my promise statement i.e. “Set Goals, Overcome Obstacles and Achieve Outstanding Results.” After much deliberation I came up with the tag line ‘”Finish the Race Attitude” and the book titles MARATHON QUEST, RUNNING TO THE EDGE and THE SECRET MARATHON.

What names strike you as “perfect” for a particular product or service? Do you use a tagline that reflects something about you or what you can deliver? Remember, it’s all in the name.

If you have a name that you think might be appropriate for that baby rhino, send your suggestion to info@folly-farm.co.uk or contact them via Facebook.

About the Author

In a five year period, from 2010 to 2014, Martin completed 10 extreme endurance “Quests” including running 250 marathons in one year and raising $1.3m for the humanitarian organization Right To Play. In 2016 he ran the Marathon of Afghanistan in support of Afghan women and girls running for equality and his film “The Secret Marathon” was released in late 2019. Find out more about Martin at www.martinparnell.com and see what he can do for you in the long run.

How to Deal with Sickness in the Workplace

info@martinparnell.com (martin.parnell) — Wed, 29 Jan 2020 12:25:00 GMT

Recent news headlines are focussing on the corona virus, which originated in the Wuhan China. At the time of writing, 132 people are dead and more than 6,152 cases have been confirmed in mainland China and there are more than 90 confirmed cases in 19 places outside of mainland China. The World Health Organisation is monitoring the spread and we all hope that a cure can be found and, with proper action, its spread can be contained.

In Canada, this time of year is called “flu season.” Influenza activity often begins to increase in October and November. Most of the time flu activity peaks between December and February, and it can last as late as May.

Now, the prospect you, or one of your workforce, being infected with the corona virus is probably pretty remote. On the other hand, many people may be susceptible to contracting flu and should take time, at home, to recover, in order to prevent the risk of contaminating colleagues.

Unfortunately, most of us will get sick, at some time or another, whether it be due to the flu, a common cold, something more serious or we may need to take time off due to an injury. Most companies will have a sick leave policy, so that employees know what procedures to enact when they need to take sick leave. Employers should be supportive and enquire as to any support they may be able to give to a sick employee.

So, how do you deal with the issues of sickness in the workplace?

It’s a tricky subject, but I found a post by Gabrielle Lis, on the Return To Work Matters website entitled Top ten ways to reduce sick leave, she includes advice and provides some food for thought. Her “top ten” are as follows:

Have clear policies and procedures regarding work absence. Employees should know who to contact, how contact should be made (for example, whether text messaging, emailing or calling is appropriate) and when notification of absence must be made (for example, by 930am on the day of absence). There should also be clarity regarding requirements for medical certificates and methods for dealing with habitual absenteeism. Fairness and consistency are important. If you want people to respect the system, it has to be worthy of their respect.

Offer tangible support to those with an injury or illnessthat requires more than a day or two off work. Send a card from the whole team. Make a phone call and ask if there’s anything the organisation can do to help. Let the person know that they’re missed and appreciated. Most people feel vulnerable when they’re sick or sore and a kind word can do a world of good. Pragmatically, it is also likely to increase the person’s desire to return to work.

Switch on supervisors and managers to the most effective ways of managing and reducing sick leave. Help them understand that focusing on LTIs (lost time injury) alone will not achieve the results they want. Supervisors and managers who extend empathy, support and trust to workers tend to see better outcomes than those focused on meeting their KPIs (key performance indicators) at all costs.

Make allowance for non-medical leave and flexible working arrangements, to enable people to balance their personal life and work without resorting to “sickies”. For example, studies have shown that sick leave rises during school holidays, when parental responsibilities compete with work responsibilities. Where appropriate, allowing parents to work from home as required during these periods can assist them to keep an eye on their kids while also ensuring the job gets done.

Have a positive working environment. People are much more likely to take a “mental health day” if they dread going to work. Happy workplaces are ones in which employees are listened to, workloads are achievable and fair, and social support is encouraged. When the workplace is a happy place, workers will want to be in it!

Address any concerns regarding job security. Workers who feel that their job is not secure tend to take more sick days than those who believe themselves to be in stable employment. Dealing with issues around job security in an honest and supportive way is the best option if their concerns are justified. If not, make sure they know it. A sense of security reduces sick leave.

Don’t let conflict fester in the workplace. Workplace conflict, including personality clashes, bullying and conflict between supervisors / managers and workers can be harmful if it is not dealt with quickly and effectively. Not only can festering conflict lead to short term absences. It can also contribute to stress claims and other psychological injuries, which tend to be complex, long-term and expensive. Actively manage conflict, and offer mediation where appropriate.

Acknowledge good work with verbal praise and / or financial rewards. No one likes to feel unappreciated. When people perform well, let them know. A person who feels engaged with their work, a person who knows them self to be valued, is less likely to take time off unless they really need it.

Be accommodating. Sick leave karma can work for you or against you. On one hand, making modified duties available to someone temporarily unable to perform their regular duties reduces their need to take time off work. On the other hand, making a fuss about allowing someone two hours away from their desk to attend a psychologist’s appointment increases the chance that they’ll take the day off work next time rather than broach the subject again. When it comes to sick leave, you get what you give.

Don’t let breaches of your policies and procedures slide. People also need to understand that there are consequences associated with taking advantage of the system. Habitual absenteeism and other breaches should be dealt with swiftly, predictably and fairly. “

So, the most important action to take would be to have a policy in place so that all employees are aware of your company regulations with regard to sick leave and to ensure that every employee is made aware of its contents.

It’s also important to remember that, although you don’t want employees calling in sick when they are not, you don’t want them coming into work if they are genuinely ill.

Chris Fields, an HR professional, with more than 13 years of experience as a former practitioner and current HR consultant, who has been listed by the Huffington Post as one of the “Top 100 Most Social Human Resources Experts to Follow on Twitter”, addresses this in his article Sick but still at work? – The real cost of “Presenteesism”, on the eSkill website, March 2014.

He writes that “Presenteeism” is when sick employees come to work: the act of being present when you probably shouldn’t be. He states that “Presenteeism may not be as honorable as you think—it has its costs.”

He goes on to write: If you search the Internet for “sick at work” or “presenteeism” you will find several articles saying that as many as 90% of employees go to work that they are sick or even contagious. Employees who are present while sick risk infecting other employees and their families, which only continues the cycle of illness and lost production. In short, presenteeism ends up costing the company more money in lost productivity than absenteeism.

So why does this really happen?

There is plenty of research reflecting the fact that sick employees cost millions in lost productivity annually. Absenteeism is such a concern that many employers do not offer leave-of-absence or time-off benefits, which means that if an employee does not show up for work, he or she will not be compensated and/or could be reprimanded. Financial statistics claim that most workers only have enough in savings to last one month. So missing work is not an option without paid leave. Other companies offer paid time off, yet their employees feel the need to show up when they’re sick anyway. All of these factors lead to presenteeism.

Articles like "Why Your Sick Co-worker Insists on Coming to Work" on CBS News suggest that the reason is two-fold. On the one hand, companies do not offer paid time off to cover illness or the amount offered does not cover the amount of time needed to recover, so employees come to work when they’re sick. The second point the article makes is that many sick employees practice presenteeism because they have deadlines that no one else in the company can handle.”

In conclusion, he suggests “Companies need to do a better job of educating their employees about the cost of presenteeism, and letting them know that it’s best to take the time they need to get better, rather than come to work and risk the health of their fellow co-workers. Ideally your employees should be able to take time off without fear of losing their job, being excluded from major projects, disciplinary action, or losing out on pay.”

Inevitably, employees will get sick or injured, from time to time, but one thing businesses can do is to promote a healthy lifestyle and mental well-being. Also, be prepared. Just because one employee is off sick, you should have ways to deal with their workload, in their absence. For further information see my blog “Flu Season – How to Sub for an Absent Employee” posted October 2016.

About the Author

Martin Parnell is the Best-Selling author of MARATHON QUEST and RUNNING TO THE EDGE and his final book in the Marathon Trilogy, THE SECRET MARATHON-Empowering women and girls in Afghanistan through sport, was released on October 30^th 2018. He speaks on having a “Finish the Race Attitude – Overcoming Obstacles to Achieve Your Full Potential” and has written for, or been covered by CNN, BBC, CBC, The Huffington Post, The Globe and Mail, The National Post, Runners World, Men’s Journal, Canadian Business, and Maclean’s.

In a five year period, from 2010 to 2014, Martin completed 10 extreme endurance “Quests” including running 250 marathons in one year and raising $1.3m for the humanitarian organization Right To Play. In 2016 he ran the Marathon of Afghanistan in support of Afghan women and girls running for equality and his film “The Secret Marathon” will be out in late 2019. Find out more about Martin at www.martinparnell.com and see what he can do for you in the long run.

Running Shoes are like a Business - They have to be the Right Fit

info@martinparnell.com (martin.parnell) — Tue, 21 Jan 2020 19:54:00 GMT

Being known as someone who does a lot of running, I am occasionally asked to review running shoes, before they hit the stores. Such was the case, last week. The editor of a Calgary-based fitness magazine sent me a pair of shoes, asked me to try them out and write a review.

After I had given them a good workout and was making notes about what I would write about them, it struck me that the points I look at, when writing a review of running shoes, could also apply to what one might consider, when setting up a business:

Are they the right size? - I am a size 11 neutral.

Deciding on the size to which you wish to grow your business may seem a no brainer. Doesn’t everyone want their business to grow as large as possible? Isn’t that a sign of success? Well, that may certainly be your goal, but it’s not necessarily right for everyone. The size of your business could influence many things. Ask yourself: Do you want to have the responsibility of a large premises, bigger staff/ workforce. Do you want to have to deal with the demands of a great range of customers? Maybe you would prefer to have a smaller operation, work for yourself, work from home or not want to have to deal with a number of staff.

Are they comfortable? - When I first hold the shoes, I feel inside for ridges or rough spots in the stitching. Then I put them on and see if they are wide enough in the toe box and make sure the laces are not rubbing.

When you are setting up a business, you need to feel comfortable in what you are offering. Do you have the right skills to cover all aspects of the business? If not, do you have the right staff to provide those skills? Do you know enough about the way to run a successful business? Have you set achievable goals? Have you secured enough funding to see you through the initial set-up period?

Is there enough support? - Once the shoes are on my feet, I look for a certain amount of cushioning in the shoe, they need to be not too sloppy, but not too tight. What I call the Cinderella effect!

When establishing a business, it’s a good idea to put some support mechanisms in place. These can be in various forms. For example, look at businesses similar to yours. Are they flourishing or failing and why? Do you have a good team to cover marketing and promotion, who can deal with social media? Do you have all the equipment you need and someone to service it, if it fails? Do you have someone to help with technology, keeping it relevant and of value? Is your website current and informative? There are numerous websites that give constructive advice on setting up a business. Also, look for local business groups and attend their meetings.

Are there hot spots? - When running in new shoes, I’m always aware of any hot spots that may occur, places on the shoes that cause irritation or discomfort.

When starting a business, it’s not always easy to foresee problems, but it’s a good idea to consider what could go wrong. One idea to help you with this is to talk to people, let them share their experiences. Ask about issues that may have arisen when they first started in business. Do they have any advice to give? Be prepared. If I have an issues with the shoes, I either pause or deal with it (maybe my socks have wrinkled or a lace has come untied) or stop altogether (nobody wants a blister form new shoes!). I’m not suggesting you give up on your idea for a business, but you may want to rethink your approach and take more time before launching yourself in to the business world.

Do they feel right? - The shoes have not only to fit well, but they have to feel right. They have to give me confidence when I’m running, put a spring in my step, not feel like a dead weight, and be right for my running gait.

When a client considers using your business, they may be looking for a range of requirements. You have to be able to reassure them that you are “the right fit” for them. If that’s not the case, be honest. Don’t make promises you can’t keep, as that will be your downfall. Have confidence in what you have to offer. Be well prepared to deal with their enquiries. If you don’t know the answer to something, make sure you find out and get back to them straight away. Make them fully aware that you are prepared to work hard for them and have a professional approach.

All of the above apply, not only when I’m reviewing a new make of running shoe, but also if I’m in a store buying a pair. At these times, there are two other aspects I consider.

Price – For me, the comfort and support I get from a pair of running shoes is of utmost importance, but I also have to consider value for money. There are some pretty pricey shoes out there, but they’re not necessarily the ones for me.

Don’t overprice the product or service you have to offer. Be prepared to be flexible if a client has budget restrictions, maybe you could offer them a repayment option or offer a consultation rather than the whole service. At the same time, don’t sell yourself short. If you value your worth, others will, too.

Looks – What the shoes look like isn’t of great importance to me, but there’s no doubt that, when I initially approach those rows of shoes, in the sports shop, some have greater appeal than others.

Obviously you want to make your business appeal to new clients. Make sure your product or service is packaged in a way that makes it stand out. This is where social media and your website can boost your business. Ask satisfied customers to post a review. Keep current and use tools to advertise your business that provide clear, precise information on what you have to offer.

Whether I’m out for a 10km training run or racing in the Boston Marathon, the shoes have to be right.

It’s not the size of your business that matters, so long as it’s the right fit for the clients you wish to attract and the level of growth and success you wish to achieve.

About the Author

Martin Parnell is the Best-Selling author of MARATHON QUEST and RUNNING TO THE EDGE and his final book in the Marathon Trilogy, THE SECRET MARATHON-Empowering women and girls in Afghanistan through sport, was released on October 30^th 2018. He speaks on having a “Finish the Race Attitude – Overcoming Obstacles to Achieve Your Full Potential” and has written for, or been covered by CNN, BBC, CBC, The Huffington Post, The Globe and Mail, The National Post, Runners World, Men’s Journal, Canadian Business, and Maclean’s.

In a five year period, from 2010 to 2014, Martin completed 10 extreme endurance “Quests” including running 250 marathons in one year and raising $1.3m for the humanitarian organization Right To Play. In 2016 he ran the Marathon of Afghanistan in support of Afghan women and girls running for equality and his film “The Secret Marathon” will be out in late 2019. Find out more about Martin at www.martinparnell.com and see what he can do for you in the long run.

How to Embrace Retirement with a New Sense of Purpose

info@martinparnell.com (martin.parnell) — Tue, 14 Jan 2020 13:04:00 GMT

The New Year is a time to look to the future and many of us will be setting new goals, personally or professionally. We will look forward to the challenges they will bring, despite the trepidation we may feel. For others, it may be the year when they are looking to leave the workplace and face another kind of challenge, the one of being a retiree.

To call it a challenge, may seem like an odd turn of phrase. To some, not having to go to work every day may have the appeal of an extended vacation, all the time in the world to do exactly as you please, not be accountable to anyone, not to have to face that daily commute.

Of course, that’s all true, but there are other aspects to retirement that should be planned for, if you want it to be beneficial to both your physical and mental well-being.

It may sound great to have all that time to do as you please and you may see it as gaining your freedom. But what about when the “holiday” feeling has passed and your days stretch before you, waiting to be filled?

What about the things you lose? You will no longer have a schedule, no colleagues to bounce ideas off, perhaps your social life is diminished or you have less money to do the things you’d like to do.

Preparing for retirement is not an easy thing to do. None of us knows how it’s going to affect us, but it is something we should all consider before that “last day” arrives.

One thing you can do is to carry on a practice you will have used in the workplace i.e. set yourself goals. This will entail using strategies such as scheduling, budgeting and time management.

Even if you have a partner, you can feel somewhat isolated, especially if they are still working or have pre-established routines, some of which may not include you. Of course this is an opportunity to share activities, but your partner may feel this is something of an intrusion. These are things worth discussing.

If your partner is still working, his can be a bone of contention. They will still be carrying on as usual, whilst you now have your freedom from work. Be supportive, look for opportunities to help them in as many ways as you can. Are there chores you can take over? Can you help them with their work. If your partner is running a business offer to do some volunteering in that business to help out when the pressure’s on.

Speaking of volunteering. Look for ways to support your community. Volunteer for the local food bank, see if your local senior’s home could do with some help.

I heard a wonderful story, on CBC radio, just thetheir day, about Betty Wilson, who goes into Belvedere Park School, Calgary, every Thursday, to read with the children. Betty will be 101, next month.

Retirees can often experience a feeling of loneliness and isolation, which is not good for their mental health. Volunteering, or finding a part time job, has the added benefit of being connected to other people.

Volunteering will provide sense of purpose a person can feel by committing to charitable causes. It’s not only going to boost your psychological well-being, but it could improve your cardiovascular health and lower the risk of hypertension, too.

Studies show that seniors who incorporate a low to medium level of volunteering in their life report more satisfaction with life and fewer symptoms of depression than those who didn’t volunteer.

There are also organisations, such as Rotary, that offer friendship, connections and the chance to get involved in projects that benefit your community.

If you have an existing hobby or find you now have the time to start one, why not look for local groups that focus on that activity. Join a class and try something new, most community libraries can tell you where to find out about these things and many will provide workshops, talks, book readings etc. and are sometimes free to attend, especially helpful if your budget is now somewhat limited.

It’s also important to keep active. Look at the opportunities around you. Explore your local area by taking walks; join your local sports center or YMCA. Dig out your swimming gear or invest in a pair of snowshoes. Look for activities that are free or inexpensive, so that you do them more regularly.

Retirement can be a challenge, if you’re not prepared. You may feel a loss of identity or self-worth. But, perhaps if you consider some of the things I’ve mentioned, it may not seem so daunting and will provide you with the opportunity to experience new thing, find a purpose and lead to many years, feeling fulfilled and happy in this new phase of your life.

Look to the Future Now so that in the Future you Succeed

info@martinparnell.com (martin.parnell) — Wed, 08 Jan 2020 10:28:00 GMT

It’s that time of year when many people are making predictions about the future and several business websites have made their own, with regards to what trends to look out for, in 2020. In a post for FORBES, one of their council members, Marc Emmer, President of Optimize Inc., talks about of Top 12 Business Trends For 2020, including:

“Streaming Wars.

What happens when four S&P 500 companies launch a product into a crowded sector at the same time? A streaming war. According to Bloomberg Businessweek, the average consumer will subscribe to three to five streaming services. From my perspective, this could be bad news for Netflix, which had the first-mover advantage but is now subject to new competition from Disney+, Apple, Amazon and others.

Tech under Attack

Once the darlings of Wall Street, tech stocks are under fire. In Europe, Facebook, Apple, Netflix and Google are under attack by EU regulators over privacy, and here, we're seeing some politicians propose antitrust action. In 2020, the California Consumer Privacy Act will come into play, which I believe could be a preview for what is to come at the federal level. Look for more breakup talk during the presidential election.

AI Protects the Universe

Adversarial machine learning is being used to combat cybercrime. According to a Capgemeni Research Institute study, 61% of enterprises said they are unable to detect breaches without using AI. In 2020, AI’s most important application will be to protect us from hacks. Given its extremely high cost, I predict that AI as a service will emerge as a product used by smaller companies that can’t afford it.”

Businesses’ Role in Social Change

Perhaps at no time in history have businesses been more in tune with their responsibility to protect the environment, ensure equality and advocate for social issues. While many start-ups and social enterprises have long sought out double and triple bottom-line results, there is a sea change underfoot where more traditional businesses are seeking out their purpose beyond making a profit.”

Now these, along with his other 8 predictions, Emmer sees as being of significance during the coming year and they certainly make interesting reading.

However, if yours is a small business, you may ask how they will apply to you.

Therefore, you might want to consider what Kalin Kassabov,CEO of ProTexting.com, has to say, in the post entitled 5 Small Business Trends to Leverage in 2020, in the Inc. This Morning newsletter, published on 27th. December 2019. Kassabov makes the point that, although every small business may be unique, “If you have a small business, it's essential to keep up with the latest trends in technology, marketing, customer service and other areas that affect your business.” This will enable you to live up to customer expectations.

Kassabov reminds us that “A customer in 2020 is likely to be someone who uses mobile devices, orders many products online, is environmentally aware, enjoys social media and reads customer reviews before making decisions. If you want these customers to choose your business, you have to understand how they think.”

So, here are his list of trends that may affect your small business, in 2020:

“1. Customers prefer businesses that are green and socially responsible.

Customers are increasingly looking to patronize businesses that follow sustainable, green and socially responsible practices. As Gallup reported earlier this year, younger customers of the millennial and Gen Z generations are especially concerned about such values.

Some of the ways you can demonstrate your commitment in these areas include:

Use local products as much as possible. For example, restaurants and food-based businesses can source foods from local farms.
Minimize packaging. Stores should encourage customers to use their own bags. Use recyclable materials for packaging.
Use green cleaning products.
Patronize green vendors and services.

2. Customer reviews will be more important than ever.

Online reviews are not a new trend, but they are becoming more crucial all the time. Customers trust reviews over ads or any other content businesses create themselves. It's absolutely essential to have your business listed on sites such as Google My Business, Yelp and others that are relevant to your business.

The best way to get positive reviews is to provide great products and customer service. Beyond that, it helps to nudge your customers and gently remind them to leave reviews -- whether you do this in person or via email or social media.

3. Traditional businesses are learning to leverage e-commerce.

When you think of e-commerce, you probably think of Amazon and other online retailers. The fact is, however, that many brick-and-mortar businesses are learning to profit from the e-commerce revolution. This can be a way to expand your business without the need for more physical space. Here are a few examples of how traditional businesses can expand online.

If you have a restaurant, you might bottle your signature salsa, curry sauce or salad dressing. You could write an e-book of recipes or the history of a certain type of food. Salons can sell beauty and haircare products. A gym might sell supplements and workout gear.

If you don't create your own product, you could sell your favorite products as an affiliate. Affiliate marketing is an option for many businesses. No matter what type of business you have, you can either sell your own products or find products on Amazon (or another platform) to sell to your customers.

4. Businesses will use mobile marketing in several creative ways.

Mobile is one trend that will surely grow in 2020 and well into the future. Small businesses can take advantage of the popularity of mobile in a number of ways. For example:

Use geo-targeting to provide targeted ads to customers who are close to your business.
Create an app for your business. You can then send out promotions and the latest news to everyone who has the app.
Leverage SMS or text message marketing to stay in touch with customers. With permission, you can send texts with your latest offers.
Accept mobile payments. Many customers appreciate the convenience of being able to pay via mobile using platforms such as Google Wallet, Apple Pay, Visa Checkout and others.

5. Stories and livestream will dominate social media.

If you haven't been using Facebook or Instagram stories and livestream video, you're missing a couple of the major social media trends of the last few years. On sites such as Facebook, the main challenge is getting seen by your audience.

Rather than simply posting on your news feed, share stories on Facebook and Instagram. Livestreaming on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube is a powerful tactic for more visibility and engagement. When you post this type of ephemeral content, you can connect with your audience in a spontaneous and authentic manner.

You don't need to create long presentations. The best strategy is to check in frequently and provide the latest news so you consistently touch base with your customers.”

None of us can know, with certainty which particular trends will affect us, but it’s good to have some ideas to ponder over as we enter the next decade. I hope this blog has given you something to think about. As the old saying goes, “Forewarned is forearmed”.

Wishing you all continued success in the years ahead.

About the Author

Martin Parnell is the Best-Selling author of MARATHON QUEST and RUNNING TO THE EDGE and his final book in the Marathon Trilogy, THE SECRET MARATHON-Empowering women and girls in Afghanistan through sport, was released on October 30^th 2018. He speaks on having a “Finish the Race Attitude – Overcoming Obstacles to Achieve Your Full Potential” and has written for, or been covered by CNN, BBC, CBC, The Huffington Post, The Globe and Mail, The National Post, Runners World, Men’s Journal, Canadian Business, and Maclean’s.

In a five year period, from 2010 to 2014, Martin completed 10 extreme endurance “Quests” including running 250 marathons in one year and raising $1.3m for the humanitarian organization Right To Play. In 2016 he ran the Marathon of Afghanistan in support of Afghan women and girls running for equality and his film “The Secret Marathon” will be out in late 2019. Find out more about Martin at www.martinparnell.com and see what he can do for you in the long run.

The Decade by the Numbers

info@martinparnell.com (martin.parnell) — Sun, 29 Dec 2019 16:46:00 GMT

As 2019 comes to an end so the clock ticks over into 2020. With this comes the end of a decade: 10 years / 3652 days. It seems like a heartbeat ago that I was standing on a road outside of Cochrane, Alberta, at 9.00am on January 1^st 2010 at the start line of Marathon Quest 250.

When we arrived at Highway 1A and Horse Creek Road, a group of friends from the Cochrane Red Rock Running & Tri Club were there waiting for me. They had decided to run the first marathon with me, it was -30C and I was pleased to see that the temperature hadn't stopped them. Mayor Truper McBride and some other town councillors were also there, as were news reporters from the Cochrane Times and Eagle and crews from CTV and CBC.

Mayor McBride said a few words and Sue took some photos. In one of them, my five running mates and I smiled madly for the camera. My friends were smiling because they had one marathon to run and were feeling excited at the start line. I was smiling because that is what you do when someone says, "Say cheese!" Even now, when I look at that photo, I remember what I was really thinking: "What the hell am I doing?"

So let’s see what happened between then and now with “The Decade by the Numbers”:

1 Grandchild: Matthew age 5

2 Health scares: a clot on the brain and a stroke

3 Books: Marathon Quest, Running to the Edge and The Secret Marathon

4 Film Festivals: Cinefest, Edmonton, Zonta and Calgary Underground

5 Guinness World Records in Netball, Lacrosse, Indoor Soccer, Ice and Ball Hockey

6 Afghan women and girls running the 2016 Marathon of Afghanistan

10 Year end Events: Right To Play, a Playground, Free to Run and Boys & Girls Club

16 Minutes in TEDx YYC “Life is a Relay” presentation.

17 Countries participated in The Secret Marathon 3k in 2019

19 Minutes in “The Ageless Athlete” documentary

21 Hours to climb Mount Kilimanjaro (19,340 feet)

64 Years old on December 19^th 2019

77 Minutes in “The Secret Marathon” documentary

250 Marathons run in one year

1,014 Kilometres run along the coast of England in 25 days

27,340 Children given the gift of hope from the $1.3m raised for Right To Play.

28,218 Kilometres run in 10 years (7.73 kms / day)

As the next decade begins I’m looking ahead to see what’s coming next. On April 20th I’m running the Boston Marathon so it’s time to crank up the training program. This means heading out on a new journey, one step at a time.

About the Author

Martin Parnell is the Best-Selling author of MARATHON QUEST and RUNNING TO THE EDGE and his final book in the Marathon Trilogy, THE SECRET MARATHON-Empowering women and girls in Afghanistan through sport, was released on October 30^th 2018. He speaks on having a “Finish the Race Attitude – Overcoming Obstacles to Achieve Your Full Potential” and has written for, or been covered by CNN, BBC, CBC, The Huffington Post, The Globe and Mail, The National Post, Runners World, Men’s Journal, Canadian Business, and Maclean’s.

In a five year period, from 2010 to 2014, Martin completed 10 extreme endurance “Quests” including running 250 marathons in one year and raising $1.3m for the humanitarian organization Right To Play. In 2016 he ran the Marathon of Afghanistan in support of Afghan women and girls running for equality and his film “The Secret Marathon” will be out in late 2019. Find out more about Martin at www.martinparnell.com and see what he can do for you in the long run.

Martin Parnell’s 10th and Final Run Walk

info@martinparnell.com (martin.parnell) — Mon, 16 Dec 2019 08:47:00 GMT

All good things must come to an end and so it is with my 10^th and final run / walk on December 31^st.

Looking back, it was on Dec. 31^st 2010 that I completed my 250^th marathon of that year. Marathon Quest 250 was in support of the humanitarian organization Right To Play (RTP), raising $322,000 and giving the gift of hope to over 6,000 vulnerable children around the world.

On that day, a group of us lined up outside The Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre and at 9.00am the gun went off. The route was “out and back”, along the Bow river and turning around at the old trestle bridge. The temperature was -27C but that didn’t stop hundreds of participant running distances from 2kms to 50kms.

That was the start of the Annual Dec. 31^st Run / Walk at the Sports Centre. From 2011 to 2014, the year-end events were in support of RTP but with the completion of the “Quest for Kids” initiative (10 Quests, 5 years, to raise $1m for RTP) I decided to support another deserving cause. In 2015 funds were raised for the “Sue and Martin Parnell Playground” built for Boma Africa in the village of Mto wa Mbu in Tanzania. Not only was a playground provided but also a giant bouncy castle, and classroom resources for the Lindsay Kimmett Kindergarten.

The 2016, 2017 and 2018 year end events were in support of Free To Run, an organization that uses adventure sports to develop female leaders in regions of conflict. Funds raised from those three years allowed Afghan women and girls to enjoy kayaking, camping, figure skating and ice hockey for the very first time.

Over the years there have been a number of highlights and lowlights. The highlights include the 62kms run by Ellie Greenwood over the 6hr event day in 2012, the running streak set by Hiro Watanabe from Edmonton who has run 50km every year and the support of hundreds of boys and girls, parents and grandparents who have come out and completed the 2km Cookie run at the end of each event. The one lowlight was in 2018 when the temperature hit -48C. On that day a number of us ran the loop however it was reported in the Calgary Herald that the penguins at the Calgary Zoo had to be kept inside because it was too cold.

Finally to 2019 and the Dec. 31^st, 10^th and final year end run / walk and this time we’re bringing it home. We decided to support a local organisation and one that has always been close to my heart is The Boys and Girls Club of Cochrane and Area. All of the funds collected from the run will go towards operations and programing at the CLUB. The CLUB is a youth exclusive division of the Boys & Girls Club, which provides teens a fun, safe space to hang out, do homework or seek support.

So save the date: Tuesday, December 31^st 2019 at the Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre. Come on down between 8.30am and 3.00pm. Run / walk the 2km loop to 50km, it’s up to you. Registration is on the day with a donation at the event. If you can’t make it and what to help then click on: www.martinparnell.com and hit the big red “DONATE” button.

This event is for everyone and you may even see a penguin.

About the Author

Martin Parnell is the Best-Selling author of MARATHON QUEST and RUNNING TO THE EDGE and his final book in the Marathon Trilogy, THE SECRET MARATHON-Empowering women and girls in Afghanistan through sport, was released on October 30^th 2018. He speaks on having a “Finish the Race Attitude – Overcoming Obstacles to Achieve Your Full Potential” and has written for, or been covered by CNN, BBC, CBC, The Huffington Post, The Globe and Mail, The National Post, Runners World, Men’s Journal, Canadian Business, and Maclean’s.

In a five year period, from 2010 to 2014, Martin completed 10 extreme endurance “Quests” including running 250 marathons in one year and raising $1.3m for the humanitarian organization Right To Play. In 2016 he ran the Marathon of Afghanistan in support of Afghan women and girls running for equality and his film “The Secret Marathon” will be out in late 2019. Find out more about Martin at www.martinparnell.com and see what he can do for you in the long run.

The Ageless Athlete-Age is Just a Number

info@martinparnell.com (martin.parnell) — Mon, 09 Dec 2019 09:17:00 GMT

In the fall of 2017 I was reflecting on my year of running and it had been a tough one. It had started off in late May with the Calgary Marathon 150km ultra. This was to celebrate Canada’s Confederation and I could see no better way to celebrate than to run multiple loops around downtown Calgary.

The race started at 6.00am under the Olympic Arch at Eau Claire Market and things went well for the first six 10-km loops but, as darkness fell, I started to feel cramping in my calves. Running at night is very different from running during the day. The light played tricks with my eyes and time seemed to speed up. I kept going but, try as I might, when I hit the 95-km mark I knew I had run out of time. I was really disappointed. I had not finished, but in the end, I was just happy to head home.

The following weeks I licked my wounds but decided to sign up for another race, the Golden Ultra in September. My coaching buddy Malc Kent had tracked my running parameters in the Calgary Marathon and he wanted to do the same at this race. The Golden Ultra was a three stage event which included a 1km mountain climb, a 60km mountain trail and a 21.1 forest route. I finished all three stages inside the cut off times but only barely.

I realized that I had reached a cross road in my running. I was getting slower and slower and it wouldn’t be long before making any of the ultra-cut-off times would be challenging.

I had a decision to make. Either I quit and take up another sport (Pickle ball?) or try and figure out how to shake up my running. I decided to give running one more shot and came up with a personal goal unlike any other. In 2003, at the age of 47, I had set personal bests times for the 5k, 10k, half marathon and marathon. Fifteen years later, in 2018, at the age of 62, I decided to attempt to beat those times. I called this challenge “62 beats 47”.

To help me take on this challenge I partnered with my running specialist buddy Malc Kent and together we embarked on a journey to see if we could turn back the running clock. Can an old athlete use the latest training methods and techniques and regain his former speed? “The Ageless Athlete” tells a story of how age is just a number. That we should not be constrained by what society tells us and that no matter what the outcome the human spirit will prevail.

On Wednesday, December 11^th check out the TELUS Original documentary “The Ageless Athlete” on Facebook and YouTube.

About the Author

Martin Parnell is the Best-Selling author of MARATHON QUEST and RUNNING TO THE EDGE and his final book in the Marathon Trilogy, THE SECRET MARATHON-Empowering women and girls in Afghanistan through sport, was released on October 30^th 2018. He speaks on having a “Finish the Race Attitude – Overcoming Obstacles to Achieve Your Full Potential” and has written for, or been covered by CNN, BBC, CBC, The Huffington Post, The Globe and Mail, The National Post, Runners World, Men’s Journal, Canadian Business, and Maclean’s.

In a five year period, from 2010 to 2014, Martin completed 10 extreme endurance “Quests” including running 250 marathons in one year and raising $1.3m for the humanitarian organization Right To Play. In 2016 he ran the Marathon of Afghanistan in support of Afghan women and girls running for equality and his film “The Secret Marathon” will be out in late 2019. Find out more about Martin at www.martinparnell.com and see what he can do for you in the long run.

When you Write, you Have to get it Right

info@martinparnell.com (martin.parnell) — Tue, 03 Dec 2019 14:03:00 GMT

On Sunday, December 1st, I attended a screening of The Secret Marathon film, at the wonderful, old, Globe cinema, in Calgary.

The film documents my trip to Afghanistan, in 2016, to run a marathon, in support of women and girls who are determined to have the freedom to run, in a country where their participation in sports is still, in most areas, forbidden. It was a wonderful evening; the film had to be shown on both screens, simultaneously, as there was such a huge demand for tickets. Thank you to all those who attended.

Just prior to the event, I received a message asking me if I would be travelling from Edmonton, to attend. Also, at the venue, someone commented to my wife that they hadn’t realised we had moved to Edmonton. We had not and remain in Cochrane, just outside of Calgary, where we have lived for the past 14 years.

All became clear when I read the Program Guide, which states that I am an “Edmonton – based marathon runner”. It reminded me of the of the film’s premier, at Cinefest, in Sudbury, Ontario. When the list of films to be shown was first released, it named ours as The Silent Marathon. We quickly got that rectified.

Now you may think that, in the grand scale of things, neither of these issues are of great importance. But, over the years, I have had many articles written about me and it’s surprising how often statements are made that are inaccurate e.g. my age, where I’m from, dates of events, names of organisations for whom I’m fundraising and what they do etc.

So, I asked myself, how is it that facts can be stated inaccurately, so many times?

In my mind, it is the job of the author of the piece to do the checking. If you are writing about a particular person, contact them and ask them for details or, even better, send them a copy of what you have written in order to check the facts, before it goes to print.

The same applies if you are writing about a company or any other issue. Contact someone in the know and get your facts right. When I write, I make every effort to do this. This is also one of the reasons why it is so important to give a credit to the author when you are quoting from someone else. Not only is it good practice to give them an acknowledgement for their work, but, if they have stated a fact inaccurately, it’s their responsibility, not yours.

When you’ve finished writing about anything, why not try this simple tongue-twister to remind yourself:

“Check your facts, before the fact-checker checks.”

There are many articles written on the subject of fact checking and “fake news” and how, in extreme cases, it can ruin reputations, smear companies etc. But, on a personal level, when I have read a piece and found it to be inaccurate, it makes me wonder about other work by the same author.

Get it right and people will trust what you have to say.

About the Author

Martin Parnell is the Best-Selling author of MARATHON QUEST and RUNNING TO THE EDGE and his final book in the Marathon Trilogy, THE SECRET MARATHON-Empowering women and girls in Afghanistan through sport, was released on October 30^th 2018. He speaks on having a “Finish the Race Attitude – Overcoming Obstacles to Achieve Your Full Potential” and has written for, or been covered by CNN, BBC, CBC, The Huffington Post, The Globe and Mail, The National Post, Runners World, Men’s Journal, Canadian Business, and Maclean’s.

In a five year period, from 2010 to 2014, Martin completed 10 extreme endurance “Quests” including running 250 marathons in one year and raising $1.3m for the humanitarian organization Right To Play. In 2016 he ran the Marathon of Afghanistan in support of Afghan women and girls running for equality and his film “The Secret Marathon” will be out in late 2019. Find out more about Martin at www.martinparnell.com and see what he can do for you in the long run.

It's the Way we Interpret that Defines Results

info@martinparnell.com (martin.parnell) — Wed, 27 Nov 2019 07:39:00 GMT

Our son, Calum, was recently visiting from Wales. One weekend, he was telling my wife, Sue, about a friend of his who was taking part in the Newport (Wales) Photomarathon. This is a photographic competition with a twist.

Typically you have a set period of time to take a set amount of photographs, on specific topics in a set order. With prizes given on the best interpretation of these topics. Participants need a sense of creativity and an eye for a good photo! Photo marathons have proved popular around the world on every continent, with regular events in Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, the Czech Republic, France and Russia, as well as Wales. After the Photomarathon day, all the images are collated and printed and a panel of judges meet to decide the winners. Often, the photos will then go on show in a free public exhibition.

For this year’s competition, the subjects given were:

1. This is me now 2. Reach 3. Three is the magic number 4.Mirrored

5. The perfect place 6. People powered 7.Yellow 8.Heart of a lion

9. Space and time 10. A rusty ramshackle 11. Undercover 12. Make a change

Sue suggested it would be fun if she and Calum tried to complete the requirements of the competition, even though they wouldn’t be able to enter. And so they did. Calum has a great eye and imagination, his friend is more technical and Sue just snapped away and enjoyed the challenge. What struck them both, when they looked at their photos, as well as those that Calum received from his friend, was the way in which they had all produced such a wide range of images, on the same topic.

It’s often the case that a group of individuals can have very different takes on the same thing, whether it be something they’ve seen or read, or even instructions they have received. This is great when you are looking for ideas for a project, ways to approach a task or input to invigorate your business. On occasion, as in the photo marathon, this can lead to diverse and exciting results, but there are times when it’s very important that everyone interprets things in the same way. This is of particular importance, in business, if you want to work together, collaborate on goal setting or present a united front.

At these times, you cannot leave things open to interpretation you need to be precise and accurate in the information you give and make expectations clear.

For his article, Make yourself understood, for Smart Business, Curt Harler asks the question “How can a corporate executive reduce the chances of being misunderstood (or misunderstanding what is said) in conversations with employees?” For answers, he asked Robert Serum, vice president of Academics and International Programs at Northwood University, Midland, Michigan these are some of them along with Serum’s responses:

What is the difference between misinterpretation and miscommunication?
Suggesting a fundamental difference would be contrived at best. Some would suggest that miscommunication is a form of misinterpretation that falls into one or more of several defined categories, such as bypassing or polarization. Even in the field of art, many critics would say no interpretation is really wrong, and that, once published, the artist has no more interpretation authority than the critic. Humans have a unique ability to communicate across time and great distance.

Which is more prevalent and why?
If you accept the slight limitation above, then misinterpretation is more prevalent and miscommunication might be seen as a subset.

Is this because people miss inflections or body language?
Those are factors, but there are many examples of miscommunication that don’t depend on either. For example, you and I work together, and I invite you to lunch at the Holiday Inn tomorrow. You ask the time, and I say, ‘Let’s meet in the parking lot at 11:45.’ The next day, you are waiting in the company lot and I’m waiting in the Holiday Inn parking lot at 11:45. Nobody’s wrong, but nobody asked, ‘Which parking lot?’ We have completely ‘bypassed’ as sender and receiver.

What are the main ways communications go wrong?
Communication tends to go wrong because of unexamined assumptions. Both parties assume understanding was perfect and perhaps neither has asked, ‘What is going on here?’ Every form of miscommunication is exacerbated by data overload and the increasingly complex environments in which we live and work.

What can I do to be more receptive?
Ask questions out loud … and ask yourself follow-up questions. If you don’t know the answers, check back. And don’t forget eye contact.

How do you handle a case where it becomes obvious your worker did not really understand what you meant in a conversation?
Always take responsibility yourself, because you are one-half of every miscommunication. Your employee will be encouraged that you are comfortable commenting on your faults and will probably also take responsibility. Then ask the employee, ‘How could we have prevented this.’ If you don’t get a good answer, suggest one.

We mentioned e-mail. Does the Internet make it easier or more difficult for a supervisor to communicate clearly with employees?
Both. E-mail is a written record that you and others can re-examine when there is uncertainty. E-mail also adds dramatically to the numbers of direct communications most of us have every day — some of them to the other side of the globe. So the magnitude adds to both the better and the worse. On balance, I come down on the side of ‘better,’ but I worry that it can replace too much necessary face-to-face communication. Face-to-face communication almost always tells us more.”

So, in whatever way you may be communicating, whether it be spoken or written, it’s important to ensure that there can be no misinterpretation, otherwise, you may end up with results and responses as diverse as those presented at the Photomarathon and this may lead to confusion for both your colleagues and your clients.

About the Author

Martin Parnell is the Best-Selling author of MARATHON QUEST and RUNNING TO THE EDGE and his final book in the Marathon Trilogy, THE SECRET MARATHON-Empowering women and girls in Afghanistan through sport, was released on October 30^th 2018. He speaks on having a “Finish the Race Attitude – Overcoming Obstacles to Achieve Your Full Potential” and has written for, or been covered by CNN, BBC, CBC, The Huffington Post, The Globe and Mail, The National Post, Runners World, Men’s Journal, Canadian Business, and Maclean’s.

In a five year period, from 2010 to 2014, Martin completed 10 extreme endurance “Quests” including running 250 marathons in one year and raising $1.3m for the humanitarian organization Right To Play. In 2016 he ran the Marathon of Afghanistan in support of Afghan women and girls running for equality and his film “The Secret Marathon” will be out in late 2019. Find out more about Martin at www.martinparnell.com and see what he can do for you in the long run.

Time to Celebrate the Men and the Children in our Lives

info@martinparnell.com (martin.parnell) — Wed, 20 Nov 2019 18:19:00 GMT

Yesterday, November 19, marked International Men's Day (IMD) - a day that has been celebrated for more than two decades.

According to The Telegraph newspaper: “Each year, International Men's Day shines the spotlight on men making a difference and the issues men face globally and IMD can be an important catalyst to opening up discussion around the unique struggles facing men. While it is not currently recognised by the UN, requests for an IMD date back as far as the 1960s and according to organisers its purpose is to "encourage men to teach the boys in their lives the values, character and responsibilities of being a man."

Falling on November 19 every year, IMD is celebrated in more than 60 countries worldwide including Singapore, Australia, India, the UK, the US, South Africa, Haiti, Jamaica, Hungary, Malta, Ghana, Moldova and Canada. This date falls on the birthday of Dr Jerome Teelucksingh, a doctor from Trinidad and Tobago who relaunched International Men’s Day in 1999.

Dr Teelucksingh said in a statement: "International Men’s Day is observed on an annual basis by persons from all walks of life, who support the ongoing effort to improve lives, heal scarred hearts, seek solutions to social problems, mend troubled minds, reform the social outcasts and uplift the dysfunctional. IMD is designed to promote positive role models in society and develop wholesome individuals."

Each year IMD has a different theme, with last year's being 'Positive Male Role Models'. This year's theme is 'Making a Difference for Men and Boys'. Warwick Marsh, coordinator of internationalmensday.com, said the inspiration behind this year's chosen theme is wanting to 'promote the need to value men and boys' and to help make 'practical improvements in men and boy's health and wellbeing'.

In September, my wife and I had the wonderful experience of taking our 15 year-old granddaughter to her first International Film Festival. We spent Thanksgiving with our daughter and two of our grandchildren, in Montreal. On our return, one of our sons travelled from the UK and spent 2 weeks with us and, tonight, I’ll be on the ‘phone to our other son to chat about his new job and all things sport.

Our children and grandchildren are the most important things in our life. We share all their ups and downs, successes and disappointments, adventures and relationships and try to offer advice or sometimes just a listening ear. We are lucky. They are all in good health, have had or are having good educations and all have roofs over their heads.

Sometimes, we take a moment to remind ourselves how lucky we are that our children and grandchildren a have access to all of these benefits and be thankful. But, as we well know, it is not the same for all children. And I’m not just talking about children in third world countries.

Today, November 20th. is World Children’s Day. World Children’s Day was first established in 1954 as Universal Children's Day and is celebrated on 20 November each year to promote international togetherness, awareness among children worldwide, and improving children's welfare.

November 20th is an important date as it is the date in 1959 when the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child. It is also the date in 1989 when the UN General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child. It is 30 years since world leaders made this historic commitment to the world’s children, an international agreement on childhood.

It has become the most widely ratified human rights treaty in history and has helped transition children’s lives, around the world. WChildren's Day offers each of us an inspirational entry-point to advocate, promote and celebrate children's rights, translating into dialogues and actions that will build a better world for children.

This is a time to celebrate our children and a time to take some action to make a difference in the lives of other children, perhaps locally, nationally or internationally.

So, today, why not look for an opportunity to celebrate the men and the children in your life?

About the Author

Martin Parnell is the Best-Selling author of MARATHON QUEST and RUNNING TO THE EDGE and his final book in the Marathon Trilogy, THE SECRET MARATHON-Empowering women and girls in Afghanistan through sport, was released on October 30^th 2018. He speaks on having a “Finish the Race Attitude – Overcoming Obstacles to Achieve Your Full Potential” and has written for, or been covered by CNN, BBC, CBC, The Huffington Post, The Globe and Mail, The National Post, Runners World, Men’s Journal, Canadian Business, and Maclean’s.

In a five year period, from 2010 to 2014, Martin completed 10 extreme endurance “Quests” including running 250 marathons in one year and raising $1.3m for the humanitarian organization Right To Play. In 2016 he ran the Marathon of Afghanistan in support of Afghan women and girls running for equality and his film “The Secret Marathon” will be out in late 2019. Find out more about Martin at www.martinparnell.com and see what he can do for you in the long run.

How to Make Preparations for the Future of your Business

info@martinparnell.com (martin.parnell) — Tue, 22 Oct 2019 09:41:00 GMT

My wife and I have just returned from Montreal, where we enjoyed Thanksgiving, with family. We spent hours in the local parks with our two grandsons, enjoying the sunshine and the beautiful trees with their array of changing colours.

Fall is definitely here and I was contemplating how this affects our business practices, particularly if you are self-employed or own a small business. I looked for articles on the subject and came across one in USA TODAY, by Rhonda Abrams, first published in 2017 entitled “6 ways to make the most of the fall season for your small business”, that provided some food for thought.

In it, Abrams provides some ideas on how to address this change in the season and how to prepare for the months ahead. Some of them you may well have already considered, but for those of you who took a late Summer break, or were looking for ideas to get you motivated, why not take a moment to read her suggestions:

“1. Start working on holiday sales

If your business depends on the Christmas season, it’s time for you to go to work with a vengeance. If you sell to retailers, go out there and get orders. If you sell to consumers, start working on your holiday buys and merchandising. If you provide a service that’s in great demand during the holidays, start working on your marketing. Customers are already making plans. These next three months are absolutely critical to the survival of your company all year long.

2. Attend or exhibit at trade shows

In my business, our largest source of new customers, including our largest customers, comes from people we meet at industry conferences. Trade shows bring together a lot of highly targeted customers in one place, and most of those who attend conferences or trade shows are looking for new solutions and open to hearing about your product or services. There’s a trade shows for every industry – there’s almost certainly one attended by your target customers.

3. Summer businesses – build a reserve

Start putting money away in two accounts – a reserve account for slow months and a tax account, just for the IRS. Next, get a good contact management program and enter the information of all your summer customers. Make sure they hear from you now (“Thank you for your recent business”) and a few times over the next few months.

4. Stay on top of suppliers

Fall isn’t only about you – your suppliers and vendors are also extremely busy this time of year. Make sure you communicate with your suppliers regularly so that you can insure your inventory and raw materials are there when you need them. And be sure to pay their bills on time, so they’ll fill your orders.

5. Develop an annual business and marketing plan

If Fall isn’t your busiest season, it’s a great time to plan. Get your staff (if you have one) out of the office or warehouse and think strategically about ways to grow your business and the steps you need to take. Even if you work alone, create a simple plan for the coming year. Remind yourself of your long-term goals. Why do you want to own your own business? Financial security? Time flexibility? Ability to use your skills? Remember and recommit to those goals.

6. Take Action

Taking action — almost any action — helps re-motivate you. So today, do at least one thing that moves you forward this Fall. Call one new prospect or an old one you’ve been meaning to reconnect with. Make a lunch date with a potential referral source. Fix one business issue that’s been nagging you for a while. Sit down and come up with some marketing ideas.”

Although this was written some time ago, the piece is still relevant. It’s always worth taking time to make plans and prepare for the future.

In her 6th. point, Take Action, Abrams tells us to take action and offers up some ideas. Why not try and do all of them, over the next few days and weeks? Then you’re really being pro-active and can feel you’ve made a concerted effort to be prepared.

About the Author

Martin Parnell is the Best-Selling author of MARATHON QUEST and RUNNING TO THE EDGE and his final book in the Marathon Trilogy, THE SECRET MARATHON-Empowering women and girls in Afghanistan through sport, was released on October 30^th 2018. He speaks on having a “Finish the Race Attitude – Overcoming Obstacles to Achieve Your Full Potential” and has written for, or been covered by CNN, BBC, CBC, The Huffington Post, The Globe and Mail, The National Post, Runners World, Men’s Journal, Canadian Business, and Maclean’s.

In a five year period, from 2010 to 2014, Martin completed 10 extreme endurance “Quests” including running 250 marathons in one year and raising $1.3m for the humanitarian organization Right To Play. In 2016 he ran the Marathon of Afghanistan in support of Afghan women and girls running for equality and his film “The Secret Marathon” will be out in late 2019. Find out more about Martin at www.martinparnell.com and see what he can do for you in the long run.

How to Enjoy guilt-free Time Off, when you're Self-Employed

info@martinparnell.com (martin.parnell) — Thu, 10 Oct 2019 18:20:00 GMT

Life has been pretty hectic, lately. I have travelled to Ontario for a Rotary conference, been to the Cinefest film festival, in Sudbury, for the Premier of *The Secret Marathon and, this past weekend, drove to Edmonton, Alberta, for the Edmonton International Film Festival, where the film received thePeople’s Choice Award for Best Documentary Feature.

On Saturday, I fly to Montreal for Thanksgiving with family and, the following week, I’ll want to take some time off because our son is arriving from the UK and, as he’s a keen amateur photographer, we want to attend the Dark Skies festival in Jasper.

This all sounds great and, so far, it has been. But, it’s unusual to have so many disruptions to my working life, in such a short space of time. Fortunately, I was able to combine visiting Sudbury, for Cinefest, with two Keynotes at Cambrian College, in the same city.

This is a strategy I’ve used before. If I am going somewhere, for any reason, I try to make better use of the time, even if I have to tack on a day at the beginning or end, and try to use it for business purposes. This is of particular benefit to me, as I’m self-employed.

When you are in this position, it can be hard to allow yourself time off. According to Kat Boogaard, in her article How to Take a Vacation When You’re Self-Employed, posted on the QuickBooks Resource Center website, “only 57% of small business owners planned to take a vacation in 2014” and suggests it’s because “Oftentimes, unplugging from your work seems like a larger hassle than it’s even worth.”

So, how do you take time off, without feeling guilty or facing the prospect that your business will suffer, when you are self-employed? Personally, I make sure I’m organised. I plan well-ahead and make a schedule for the time I’ll be away. I look at the hours when I’ll definitely need to concentrate on activities that are not work-related and then see where things work-related will fit in.

This works really well, when I’m just taking a few days, but what if you want to take a vacation, maybe 2 weeks in the sun, or heading for a campground with the family for some outdoor adventures? The same tactic can apply here, too. It’s all about planning, getting as much work done as possible, beforehand and being flexible.

Another thing you might consider is to employ someone for a few hours a week to keep on top of things for you. It might be basic work that may not need your level of decision-making, but can help keep the general workload to a minimum. It may seem easier said than done, but there is good reason for ensuring that you take time off and recharge your batteries, as Boogaard goes on explain, according to science: “Reaction times increase by as much as 40% following some time off. An annual vacation cuts the heart attack risk by 30% in men and and 50% in women.”

This is supported by Francine Lederer, a clinical psychologist, telling ABC News: “The impact that taking a vacation has on one’s mental health is profound. Most people have better life perspective and are more motivated to achieve their goals after a vacation, even if it is a 24-hour time-out.”

One of the added stresses of taking time off, if you are self-employed, is the notion that if you’re not working, you’re not being paid. You are not, technically receiving “holiday pay”. This is something else that Boogaard addresses: “Being self-employed doesn’t mean you don’t get any paid vacation time—you just need to figure out how to offer it to yourself.

One of the best ways to do this is to build it into your standard fees. For example, let’s say at the beginning of the year you decide you want to offer yourself two full weeks of paid vacation throughout the next calendar year. At that point, you can calculate how many working hours you’re losing and multiply that by an estimated cost per hour. Then, you can slightly increase your fees and prices throughout the rest of the year to make up for that lost time.

While significant price jumps usually aren’t recommended, spreading a small increase out across the remainder of your working time can help you take some much-needed time off—without feeling guilty about lost wages.

Many self-employed people also have begun diversifying their income streams with products—whether it’s courses, ebooks, physical goods, or something else entirely. After your initial time investment, these are a great way to earn some passive income while you’re on vacation.”

With Thanksgiving nearly upon us and other annual festivities on the horizon, why not start thinking about how you are going to take time to unplug and not feel guilty about spending precious hours with family and friends? After all, you can’t get those times back, once they’re gone.

*The Secret Marathon movie is about my trip to Afghanistan to support women and girls in their struggle to have the freedom to run and partake in sports. My best-selling book The Secret Marathon, which includes chapters written by the girls themselves, is published by Rocky Mountain Books.

About the Author

Martin Parnell is the Best-Selling author of MARATHON QUEST and RUNNING TO THE EDGE and his final book in the Marathon Trilogy, THE SECRET MARATHON-Empowering women and girls in Afghanistan through sport, was released on October 30^th 2018. He speaks on having a “Finish the Race Attitude – Overcoming Obstacles to Achieve Your Full Potential” and has written for, or been covered by CNN, BBC, CBC, The Huffington Post, The Globe and Mail, The National Post, Runners World, Men’s Journal, Canadian Business, and Maclean’s.

In a five year period, from 2010 to 2014, Martin completed 10 extreme endurance “Quests” including running 250 marathons in one year and raising $1.3m for the humanitarian organization Right To Play. In 2016 he ran the Marathon of Afghanistan in support of Afghan women and girls running for equality and his film “The Secret Marathon” will be out in the fall of 2019. Find out more about Martin at www.martinparnell.com and see what he can do for you in the long run.

How to Make your Organisation more Diverse and Inclusive

info@martinparnell.com (martin.parnell) — Tue, 01 Oct 2019 20:02:00 GMT

Each week, at the Rotary Club of Cochrane, a member is asked to speak for one minute on how they have been influenced by one of the aspects of the Rotary Four Way Test.

The Four Way Test:

Of the things we think, say or do

1. Is it the TRUTH?

2. Is it FAIR to all concerned?

3. Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?

4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?

This week, it was my wife Sue’s turn and she chose to concentrate on the 4th. point: Willit be beneficial to all concerned?

We have just returned from a Rotary Conference in Niagara Falls and the overriding message, coming from the leaders of Rotary is that all Rotary clubs need to focus on increasing membership. This is an area where our club has already introduced initiatives to address the issue.

Another aspect talked about, with regards to membership, is that it must reflect our community. This is certainly something that Sue and the other members of the Membership Committee are looking to address. As she said in her one minute talk, if we can make our club more inclusive and culturally diverse, it can only be beneficial to all concerned.

I believe this applies, not only to Rotary, but to all businesses and organisations. I wanted to find out how organisations go about achieving this and so I went to the HR.com website and found a whitepaper on this very subject, entitled Workplace Diversity and Inclusion: Emerging Awareness andBest Practices Report It is based upon survey of 450+ HR Professionals in Q4 of 2016.

The Introduction states: “Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) continues to be a key focus for organizations, big and small. While attention to the topic appears to be widespread across the market, the motivations that lead organizations toward creating and maturing a D&I program continue to be unique.

The purpose of this study is to better understand why organizations establish D&I programs, how D&I leaders feel about their program’s current performance, and what initiatives are being undertaken to advance their programs. One element that may be driving organizations is a growing awareness that workplace diversity produces bottom-line benefits to organizations committed to inclusion.

We are also beginning to see an emerging landscape around the concepts of diversity and inclusion that is more complex than we might have anticipated.

Some believe that diversity alone is the primary goal, one that solving the issue of diversity doesn’t guarantee an inclusive culture. Diversity is about whom you hire, but inclusiveness is about a work environment of trust and involvement.

Gallup has found that the employee engagement elements most strongly linked to perceptions of inclusiveness are, “someone seems to care about me as a person,” and, “my opinions seem to count” can be measured in terms of workforce demographics. Others believe this point of view leaves out the equally important

topic of inclusiveness. A recent Gallup article, for example, states the following: “Our ability to reach unity in diversity will be the beauty and the test of our civilization.” - Mahatma Gandhi”

The paper is wordy and full of statistics and you might like to take a look at it, when you have time. However, for the purposes of this blog, I will share with you a piece from Sharon Florentine Senoir Writer, CIO..com, posted Feb 14, 2019:

Diversity and inclusion 8 best practices for changing your culture.

In it, Florentine quotes Sabrina Clark, associate principal at SYPartners, a consultancy that specializes in organizational transformation.

“A strong diversity and inclusion strategy can help your organization attract top talent and drive innovative results. Here’s how to launch a D&I initiative that works.

Research shows that even just the presence of physical diversity results in better performance and for companies that are data-driven, that extra performance boost can be extremely motivating,” Clark says. “It’s also the fact that companies that lack diversity are being called out publicly, and may even be losing business, not to mention falling behind when it comes to recruiting. Even Google is starting to show signs that their lack of diversity is affecting them.”

As 2018 research from McKinsey shows, greater diversity in the workforce results in greater profitability and value creation. The same holds true at the executive level, as McKinsey found a statistically significant correlation between diverse leadership and better financial performance. Companies in the top quartile for ethnic diversity at the executive level are 33 percent more likely to have above-average profitability than companies in the bottom quartile. When it comes to gender diversity, companies in the top quartile are 21 percent more likely to have above-average profitability than companies in the bottom quartile, according to McKinsey’s research.

While financial performance is a major driver of D&I strategies, some organizations launching diversity initiatives in the face of government compliance regulations or to address shareholder pressure, Clark says. “In the UK, for instance, companies are required to publish their diversity statistics; there’s also been increasing pressure from shareholders and boards,” she says.

Current employees and potential hires are also raising the stakes, says Jeff Weber, senior vice president of people and places at Instructure. “More and more, when we’re interviewing, candidates are asking what we’re doing about diversity and inclusion. And it’s not just diverse talent themselves, and it’s not just millennials or Generation Z — we’re hearing this from white, straight men in the Midwestern United States.”

Organizations are also realizing that making diversity and inclusion a business imperative will help them avoid tarnishing their reputation, Clark says. “They’re thinking ahead, which is great, about what kind of company they are, who they want to be, and what their legacy will be. It’s going to continue to be important, and the voices demanding it are only going to get louder,” she says.

SY Partners has been initiating these hard conversations and investing in diversity and inclusion right alongside its clients. The following eight best practices for diversity and inclusion guide not just SY Partner’s client consulting, but its own internal business strategies, Clark says.

1. Establish a sense of belonging for everyone

For each individual to bring their best self forward, a sense of belonging must first be established. Having a connection to an organization or group of people that makes you feel you can be yourself not only results in greater engagement and creativity in the workplace, it’s a psychological need.

But these changes take time, and they aren’t always linear, Clark says. “A client once told me that you don’t just fast-forward to belonging. You have to go through the hard work of focusing on diversity and creating that inclusive culture so you can get to belonging,” she says.

It’s not a one-size-fits-all approach, either — that’s why it’s so important to share best practices and be open to trying new things. “The good thing is that as you’re working on diversity, you can also work on inclusion, and vice versa. It’s all interconnected,” Clark says.

2. Empathetic leadership is key

Diversity and inclusion are often treated as a single initiative owned exclusively by HR. But for real change to happen, every individual leader needs to buy into the value of belonging — both intellectually and emotionally. Only when the entire C-suite steps up to own diversity and inclusion will a company’s D&I practices thrive.

“You have to make sure leaders are equipped to make the story their own, feel it within themselves and be able to explain why they care; why it matters, and why it should matter to their direct reports,” Clark says.

Part of this process requires tuning in to empathy; each person remembering a time when they were excluded, shamed, interrupted, and so on, so they can apply those lessons outwardly, she says. “Leaders have to feel it within themselves; then they can identify the relationship with feeling excluded or making others feel excluded. That’s a critical starting point,” Clark says.

3. A top-down approach isn’t enough

Top-down approaches drive compliance, not commitment. From senior leaders to frontline employees, every individual must see and understand their role in company culture. This means identifying differences in employee experience and values across the organization so that change can be made relevant for each person and knowing that lasting change must activate different parts of the system — top down, bottom up, and middle out — in different ways.

4. Quotas don’t automate inclusion

Hiring goals may boost diversity numbers, but this won’t automatically create an inclusive culture. Too often, leaders focus diversity and inclusion efforts disproportionately on the employee pipeline, but the employee experience continues far beyond an offer letter. To retain and nurture top talent, it’s critical to take an honest look at the end-to-end employee experience, with an eye toward creating conditions that promote inclusion on a daily basis and designing ways to measure the impact.

“What you must understand is that this emphasis changes everything,” Clark says. “From sourcing and recruiting to hiring, onboarding, to the daily aspects of work, team-building, culture, from successes and failures, performance reviews, succession planning, mentoring — everything.”

Organizations must adapt their processes to scale diverse and inclusive behaviors. For example, in meetings: Who’s invited? Who gets to speak and how often? Are you leaving out anyone whose input would be valuable?

“You have to look at everything through the lens of, ‘Have I created conditions where every person can contribute in their unique, meaningful way and feel safe and secure doing that?’ and if you find places where that’s not the case, having the courage to admit that and work to change it,” she says.

That also means understanding how your teams work best, and when tension and discord are actually beneficial. “Recognize that sometimes the easy and fast way is not necessarily the right way, and that sometimes teams function best when there is a bit of tension, disagreement, back-and-forth,” she says. “Obviously, you cannot let things devolve into personal attacks, but know the difference between a healthy, stimulating exchange of every person’s ideas and a situation where people are being disrespectful because of who another person is.”

5. Inclusion is ongoing — not one-off training

It isn’t enough to teach employees what it means to be inclusive. Like any form of behavior change, inclusion requires individuals to identify key moments in which to build new habits or “microbehaviors” (daily actions that can be practiced and measured). And when these habits are put into action in an environment that supports honest conversations and healthy tension, real change becomes possible.

“One way to do this is to identify change cohorts within the organization outside of the executive or management level,” Clark says. “Then, you equip them with the skills and information to help them champion change within their departments, teams, working groups. This is much more effective than one-off training sessions which don’t move the needle; you want people to incorporate these ideas and beliefs into their daily lives.”

6. Maximize joy and connection, minimize fear

People are wired to react with fear and distrust when their beliefs are challenged. While fear can be a powerful motivator, it also encourages people to narrow their perspective — the opposite desired effect for creating a more inclusive workplace. Finding ways to frame challenges through a lens of possibility — and elevating the power of shared experiences and storytelling to do so — creates greater potential for positive change.

“Then you can focus on creating moments that continue the momentum,” Clark says. “You need to not only point out where there’s room for improvement, but spotlight the moments of success and celebrate them. One of our clients decided to do a commitment tree; every employee wrote down their personal, individual commitment to diversity and inclusion, and they put those in a very public place so they could see signs of their progress and celebrate those.”

7. Forget ‘fit’ and focus on helping individuals thrive

The norms, power structures, and inequities in society can easily become embedded in an organization — optimizing to hire, train, and reward people who “fit.” Creating a culture where every individual can contribute their full potential requires investigating the systems and processes in your organization to uncover sore spots and blind spots, and then finding ways to reimagine them.

“‘Fit’ can be dangerous, because it can exclude,” Clark says. “You have to first be able to identify and bring to life your organizational values, mission and purpose, and define ‘fit’ so that it adheres to those. You have to define it differently,” she says.

8. Consider your brand

As in any transformation effort, brand and culture are intimately connected. The products and services you put into the world reflect your values — and your biases.

In the journey toward building a more inclusive organization, it’s important to consider the relationship between what’s happening inside and outside your company. What is your brand saying about who you are as a culture? In what ways is your employee base not congruent with your customer base? What experiences are being left out or misunderstood?

“We see the work with diversity and inclusion as a transformation that’s required here,” Clark says. “It’s not just an initiative or a program; it requires investment from the very senior-most folks to the newest person in the door, and it requires real behavior change. It’s about how the entire company operates and the individual ways of working, communicating, contributing and even just being in the world.”

Not only are these issues that need attention in the workplace, but for any organisation that aims to grow and reflect their community at large.

About the Author

Martin Parnell is the Best-Selling author of MARATHON QUEST and RUNNING TO THE EDGE and his final book in the Marathon Trilogy, THE SECRET MARATHON-Empowering women and girls in Afghanistan through sport, was released on October 30^th 2018. He speaks on having a “Finish the Race Attitude – Overcoming Obstacles to Achieve Your Full Potential” and has written for, or been covered by CNN, BBC, CBC, The Huffington Post, The Globe and Mail, The National Post, Runners World, Men’s Journal, Canadian Business, and Maclean’s.

In a five year period, from 2010 to 2014, Martin completed 10 extreme endurance “Quests” including running 250 marathons in one year and raising $1.3m for the humanitarian organization Right To Play. In 2016 he ran the Marathon of Afghanistan in support of Afghan women and girls running for equality and his film “The Secret Marathon” will be out in the fall of 2019. Find out more about Martin at www.martinparnell.com and see what he can do for you in the long run.

If your Message is Worth hearing, People will Listen

info@martinparnell.com (martin.parnell) — Tue, 24 Sep 2019 09:18:00 GMT

I am currently away from home and writing this from a hotel in Sudbury, Ontario. There are several reasons for me being on the road, the first being two days of Rotary training, followed by a three day Rotary conference, in Niagara Falls. Then a drive to Sudbury for the Cinefest Film Festival and, on Wednesday, I will be giving two Keynotes at Cambrian College, here in Sudbury.

One thing that all of these events have in common, is the way in which different facilitators, presenters, speakers and filmmakers have a message to convey. The way in which they share it is extremely varied. Some will just get up and speak, some will use technology, others will present workshops and the filmmakers use their art.

On looking back at all the events I have attended, the one thing that is evident is, if your message is worth hearing, the more people will listen intently, ask questions, take notes or give a positive response.

During the training sessions, I was able to hear about new initiatives, consider good practice and think about new approaches to the things I will be required to do in my developing role in Rotary.

At the conference, I was able to listen to speakers sharing their passion for Rotary, bringing delegates up-to-date with the great work Rotary is doing both locally, nationally and internationally. I was able to chat with other delegates and find out what is going on in Rotary Clubs in Canada and parts of the US.

At Cinefest, one of the top 5 film festivals in Canada, I was proud to be at the World Premiere of the feature documentary film, The Secret Marathon. This Canadian –made film, follows the story of a group Afghan women who are fighting for the right to be able to run, to have the freedom to play sports and my journey to support them. I wondered how the film would be received, would the message come across, how would the audience respond?

People had obviously been interested enough from what they had already heard, that over 400 tickets were sold for the event, held at the Sudbury Silver City Cineplex. This meant an additional screening had to be added and, at the end, the film received a three-minute standing ovation.

Which brings me to my up-coming events on Wednesday, at Cambrian College. I will be giving two different talks, Firstly, in the afternoon, I will speak to staff and students in a presentation entitled Ordinary to Extraordinary: How one person can make a difference and, in the evening, I will give a presentation to members of the public on the story behind the film and my book of the same title, The Secret Marathon.

I’m hoping my talks will go well. It’s up to me to engage my audience. I feel I have a message worth listening to. I will speak with passion and conviction and hope I can engage with everyone in the room.

So, if you have a worthwhile message to share then you have to ensure that its heard.

About the Author

Martin Parnell is the Best-Selling author of MARATHON QUEST and RUNNING TO THE EDGE and his final book in the Marathon Trilogy, THE SECRET MARATHON-Empowering women and girls in Afghanistan through sport, was released on October 30^th 2018. He speaks on having a “Finish the Race Attitude – Overcoming Obstacles to Achieve Your Full Potential” and has written for, or been covered by CNN, BBC, CBC, The Huffington Post, The Globe and Mail, The National Post, Runners World, Men’s Journal, Canadian Business, and Maclean’s.

In a five year period, from 2010 to 2014, Martin completed 10 extreme endurance “Quests” including running 250 marathons in one year and raising $1.3m for the humanitarian organization Right To Play. In 2016 he ran the Marathon of Afghanistan in support of Afghan women and girls running for equality and his film “The Secret Marathon” will be out in the fall of 2019. Find out more about Martin at www.martinparnell.com and see what he can do for you in the long run.

If you Have Baggage, make sure it’s the Right Baggage

info@martinparnell.com (martin.parnell) — Sun, 15 Sep 2019 14:01:00 GMT

On Monday September 16th, my wife, Sue and I are heading off to Ontario. During our trip, we will be attending a variety of events, from a Rotary Conference, in Niagara Falls, a speaking engagement and book signing at a college, to Cinefest film festival, in Sudbury. This is for the premiere of The Secret Marathon, a film that documents my first trip to Afghanistan, in support of women and girls who strive to obtain the freedom to run.

One dilemma, when traveling for various situations, is what to pack. We will be staying in different hotels and will be expected to dress business casual for most of the time, formal for two of the dinners and casual when visiting friends and, for the film festival, who knows? Our film is being shown on a Sunday morning, so definitely not “red carpet”.

One trick my wife employs is to base her wardrobe around one colour. When she went to the UK, for five weeks, last Spring, it was blue. This time, as some of the outfits need to be more formal, she’s opting for black. Another trick she uses is to take scarves and costume jewellery, so that, even if her whole outfit is black, she can brighten it up, very simply. So, a pair of black pants, a black dress, a pair of black culottes and all she need is a selection of simple tops and a couple of lightweight jackets.

For me, it’s a matter of how many shirts? I have two or three that require no ironing, so they are a must. If necessary, I can rinse them out and let them hang-dry overnight.

Also, for the Rotary Conference, I have a black polo shirt with the Rotary logo on the front – perfectly acceptable for daytime. Two pairs of shoes, one black, one brown will be enough to cover all contingencies (although, in my case, a pair of running shoes have to be in there, as well as my running shorts and a couple of tops).

When attending events, like a conference, you never know, in advance, what the temperature is going to be like, in the hosting hotel. I have sat for a couple of hours at a time either feeling too hot or very chilly. Make sure you feel comfortable in whatever you are wearing, be prepared to remove a layer, if necessary or add a sweater, just in case.

Sue always puts a lightweight shawl in her purse or carry-on, so as not to be caught out, if the temperature is on the cool side. Put one complete outfit in your carry-on, there’s nothing worse than arriving somewhere, only to find your suitcase has been lost or will be arriving the next day and you only have the clothes you travelled in.

Make sure whatever shoes you take are comfortable. Sue offers this advice to the ladies, in particular: “Those new heels might look and feel great, when you try them out in the store, or just wear them to dinner. But, when you have to stand around in them for an hour of “mixing and mingling, or it turns out there’s dancing after dinner, you might wish you’d stuck to something flatter or a wedge heel. I have a pair of little black, suede boots that have a low heel, but a cut-out design at the side, so I can wear them with pants, but they still look great with a black dress, for evening.”

A couple of plain tee-shirts are a good idea, they can be worn under a jacket or as an extra layer, if the temperature drops. I’m sure anyone who travels a lot will have far more advice than I can give and there’s always the debate as to whether rolling or folding is best.

Try not to fret too much, if you’re staying in a hotel, you should have access to a laundry service if you should need it and most hotel rooms will have an iron.

Main message? Keep it simple, be comfortable and don’t forget your toothbrush.

And finally here’s a tip from actor, Robert Powell: “When you get back from a trip, make a note of what you didn't wear. This will avoid packing it unnecessarily next time.”

About the Author

Martin Parnell is the Best-Selling author of MARATHON QUEST and RUNNING TO THE EDGE and his final book in the Marathon Trilogy, THE SECRET MARATHON-Empowering women and girls in Afghanistan through sport, was released on October 30^th 2018. He speaks on having a “Finish the Race Attitude – Overcoming Obstacles to Achieve Your Full Potential” and has written for, or been covered by CNN, BBC, CBC, The Huffington Post, The Globe and Mail, The National Post, Runners World, Men’s Journal, Canadian Business, and Maclean’s.

In a five year period, from 2010 to 2014, Martin completed 10 extreme endurance “Quests” including running 250 marathons in one year and raising $1.3m for the humanitarian organization Right To Play. In 2016 he ran the Marathon of Afghanistan in support of Afghan women and girls running for equality and his film “The Secret Marathon” will be out in the fall of 2019. Find out more about Martin at www.martinparnell.com and see what he can do for you in the long run.

How to Achieve Success by setting Targets and Goals

info@martinparnell.com (martin.parnell) — Tue, 10 Sep 2019 08:20:00 GMT

On Thursday September 4^th, one of our local newspapers, the Cochrane Eagle, published my latest monthly article, entitled “How a little support can help you achieve your goal.”

In it, I wrote about the importance of setting goals to achieve a desired result. In this case, it was the formation of a Stoney Nakoda Girl’s U-18, volleyball team, made up of young women from the Bearspaw, Chiniki and Wesley First Nations and their efforts to raise money to take them to the Alberta Indigenous Games, in Edmonton.

To achieve this, founder and Coach Joey Wesley set up a GoFundMe page and contributions were made by a number of groups and individuals including the Nakoda Youth Council, the Rotary Club of Cochrane, Banff Lodging Company and Communitea Café among others.

On the same day, as my article appearing, I read a piece by Doug Alexander, in the Financial Post, entitled HSBC Wins Title In Canada. It relates to the fact that “HSBC Holdings PLC’s Canadian bank has achieved something most financial firms can only aspire to: gender parity at its upper echelons.”

This struck a chord with me, as I saw it as an achievement in goal setting, which happens to be the focus of much of my writing. I also include it as an essential part of my workshop sessions, as I feel it’s an integral part of any undertaking if you wish to be successful.

I mentioned, to my wife, Sue, the coincidence of the two articles coming out, on the same day and she asked me a question “What is the difference between a goal and a target?” This made me pause for thought and led to an interesting discussion about how to define and differentiate the two.

I refereed to my old friend the Oxford English Dictionary and came to the conclusion that: a goal is “the object of effort or ambition, an aim or desired result” and a target is “something selected as an object of attention or attack”.

So, the way I interpret the two articles:

Joey Wesley’s goal was to form a volleyball team and take them to the Alberta Indigenous Games. His targets was to raise enough funds to get them there.

The goal of Sandra Stuart, Canadian chief executive at HSBC was gender parity, her target “requiring those in middle management and above to ensure their businesses were comprised of at least 30% women”.

This was no small task and Stuart began putting policies in place more than five years ago, in order to achieve her goal and, in the end, she achieved it by setting specific targets. Unfortunately, the article doesn’t go in to the specifics of those targets, which I’m sure would have proved enlightening, but it does tell us how important the practice proved.

In the Financial Post article, Alexander quotes Stuart as saying “The game- changer was targets” and goes on to explain that “if you hit them you got a green; if you didn’t hit them you got a red.” She suggests other CEOS should implement the same strategy “I wouldn’t be shy to put the targets in front of your leadership team and I wouldn’t be shy to have the discussion at the board.”

However, as I see it, whether setting a target or a goal, having something to aim at can only help you succeed in your endeavour.

About the Author

Martin Parnell is the Best-Selling author of MARATHON QUEST and RUNNING TO THE EDGE and his final book in the Marathon Trilogy, THE SECRET MARATHON-Empowering women and girls in Afghanistan through sport, was released on October 30^th 2018. He speaks on having a “Finish the Race Attitude – Overcoming Obstacles to Achieve Your Full Potential” and has written for, or been covered by CNN, BBC, CBC, The Huffington Post, The Globe and Mail, The National Post, Runners World, Men’s Journal, Canadian Business, and Maclean’s.

In a five year period, from 2010 to 2014, Martin completed 10 extreme endurance “Quests” including running 250 marathons in one year and raising $1.3m for the humanitarian organization Right To Play. In 2016 he ran the Marathon of Afghanistan in support of Afghan women and girls running for equality and his film “The Secret Marathon” will be out in the fall of 2019. Find out more about Martin at www.martinparnell.com and see what he can do for you in the long run.

At this Time of Year, make time to Review, Revise and Revitalize

info@martinparnell.com (martin.parnell) — Tue, 03 Sep 2019 08:17:00 GMT

As September comes around, once again, our thoughts turn to Fall activities. Whether it’s putting away your Summer wardrobe, raking the leaves or enjoying the sunflowers, it’s a new season and a time of change. Many people will be sweeping up the dead leaves and planting bulbs, in anticipation of Spring.

Sweeping away the old and thinking about things to come could be part of your Fall plan for the workplace. Why not take a look at where you are with some of your projects, goals, working practices, staffing structure and other aspects of your business and see if there are areas where you might get rid of some things that are no longer relevant, have run their course or never really took off.

It’s not necessarily a time for big changes, but you could look at this as a time to start planting some fresh ideas, thinking about where you want to be come next Spring, share ideas and mull over the direction in which you want to go. According to SunSigns.org, “The symbolism of September month focuses on refocusing our energies.”

Even if you don’t feel the need to make changes, it could be that you do need to just refocus your energy and regain some enthusiasm for what you are already doing. But, that may be easier said than done.

You may be fully committed to a particular project, but if it is one that is going to take some time to complete. I found a piece from the team at Liquid Planner on “How to Stay Motivated When You’re Working on a Never-Ending Project”.

Posted on February 14, 2019, it is full of ideas and I’ve highlighted some of them for you:

1. Focus on small, meaningful wins.

Bite-sized accomplishments are the key. Give yourself one meaningful task a day. To up the ante, make it something that stretches you a bit. It doesn’t have to be around the project either. Examples include having a conversation with your boss or team member that you’ve been putting off or talking to the customer about how to bring this project out of the sphere of infinity.

2. Make a game out of keeping the project aligned with business goals.

Big projects are like epic stories; it’s easy to forget the beginning of the narrative when you’re a year into it and there’s a lot more to write. Study the project schedule to see if the work completed and the tasks left to be done are consistent with the goals and deliverables agreed to on Day 1. Make sure your priorities are up to date, and if not, start communicating, updating, and reworking the project plan.

3. Cross tasks off your list!

If you’re waiting on dependencies, change orders, or decisions to be confirmed on the part of the customer or stakeholder, it can be tempting to rework an existing project task into the ground to keep yourself from being idle. Unless something really needs to be updated or improved upon, however, let it be and mark it done.

4. Reassess your goals.

If you’re facing a project stall, dipping back into your career goals and job commitments are always useful and could be inspiring. You might be able to cross off some, update them, or use them to help solve some problems or answer some lingering questions that exist on your current project. This exercise also reminds you of the big picture you’re heading toward as you get mired down in the details (or lack thereof).

5. Give yourself side assignments.

It’s important to feel like you’re accomplishing something every day, but when your project feels like it’s sprawling into no man’s land, it’s hard to get that satisfaction. Make yourself useful in other ways. See if you can contribute to other projects. Reach out to other teams or team members and see how you can pitch in. Offer yourself up as an objective eye or ear or to be an extra welcome resource. If you’ve ever wanted to be a mentor or volunteer in your professional field, this could be a great time.

6. Keep your team members challenged.

If you’re a manager, pay attention to the mood of your team. Keep their minds engaged by asking questions and delegating work that challenges people in their roles and prepares them for the next level of their career.

7. Learn something new.

If your enthusiasm is flagging or you’re feeling burned out, what would get you excited? Make a list and follow through. Ideas could include learning a new skill or training to become a leader or a mentor inside or outside your organization. Ask your manager for ideas. It’s hard to feel bored or restless when you’re learning.

8. Remember that long projects end.

When you’re in the middle of a big project (or any challenging experience), it feels like it will never end. But, it will! Even if it’s the worst disaster of a project you have ever experienced, you will walk away with something. If you look at work as a way to keep learning, growing, and developing, the truth is the difficult experience is the best experience you will ever have. Make it worth your while.”

Whether you are making a clean sweep, planning for the future or simply revitalising existing projects, this may be a good time to take a look at the state of your business and review your current situation.

About the Author

Martin Parnell is the Best-Selling author of MARATHON QUEST and RUNNING TO THE EDGE and his final book in the Marathon Trilogy, THE SECRET MARATHON-Empowering women and girls in Afghanistan through sport, was released on October 30^th 2018. He speaks on having a “Finish the Race Attitude – Overcoming Obstacles to Achieve Your Full Potential” and has written for, or been covered by CNN, BBC, CBC, The Huffington Post, The Globe and Mail, The National Post, Runners World, Men’s Journal, Canadian Business, and Maclean’s.

In a five year period, from 2010 to 2014, Martin completed 10 extreme endurance “Quests” including running 250 marathons in one year and raising $1.3m for the humanitarian organization Right To Play. In 2016 he ran the Marathon of Afghanistan in support of Afghan women and girls running for equality and his film “The Secret Marathon” will be out in the fall of 2019. Find out more about Martin at www.martinparnell.com and see what he can do for you in the long run.

How a Culture of Volunteering can Benefit your Business

info@martinparnell.com (martin.parnell) — Tue, 27 Aug 2019 07:55:00 GMT

At the weekend, I attended the Cochrane Outhouse Races, a fun event that is held annually. Teams build outhouses and race them down the high street. Hundreds of people turn up to support and a lot of money is raised for charity. Of course, this wouldn’t be possible were it not for the many volunteers who put in countless hours to make it happen.

Volunteering is an activity that can be hard work, but has great benefits, you are probably doing something to support a good cause, you meet new people and you might even learn new skills. If you are in business, it’s a great way to get your employees to share an experience and for your company to “give back.”

A study from Deloitte revealed that employers who encourage and promote volunteering boost morale, workplace atmosphere and brand perception. The study was based on surveys of 1,000 full- and part-time employees who have volunteered over the past 12 months.

The research found that an overwhelming majority – 89 percent – of employees think organizations that sponsor volunteer activities offer a better overall working environment. In addition, 70 percent believe volunteer activities are more likely to boost staff morale than company-sponsored happy hours, with more than three-quarters saying volunteering is essential to employee well-being.”

But, how do you persuade your employees that volunteering can be beneficial?

For some ideas as to how to achieve that, Kenneth Waldman, on the volunteermatch website, 14. June 2016 suggests the following:

5 Ideas to Encourage Your Employees to Volunteer

Getting your employees to volunteer can be a challenging task. However, it can provide your company and your employees with many benefits that aren’t obvious right away. Employees may see volunteering as something that cuts into their time — either on or off work. In reality, volunteering represents a way of giving back to one’s community while strengthening relationships and building new skills, all of which ultimately improves the workplace and boosts employee engagement and retention.

In order to encourage your employees to participate, let them know what’s in it for them. After they volunteer the first time, you’ll have no trouble getting them to take part from then on. Here are 5 different ways you can encourage your employees to volunteer.

Give Your Employees Paid Time off from Work

If your volunteering initiative didn’t go over well with your employees the first time, or if you’re just starting out, consider giving your employees volunteer time off (VTO). They probably are not against giving back to their community — but they may be too busy, or have family obligations that keep them from volunteering. With VTO, they can volunteer for their favorite causes without impacting their personal schedule. It’s a great way to lead by example because you’re also giving back as a company, which won’t go unnoticed by your employees. In fact, they may be more inclined to follow suit. There are other ways of rewarding your employees as well, such as public recognition for all the good work they’ve put in.

Let Them Know about Different Volunteering Opportunities

As an employer, do your part and present your employees with a variety of volunteering opportunities they might find interesting. Check out VolunteerMatch.org for an expansive list of opportunities in your community. If you only offer projects which involve manual labor, not everyone will be able to participate. If you have a smaller team of employees, you can even get to know their skills and strengths outside the workplace, and plan volunteer activities accordingly. Try offering a healthy mix of short and long-term volunteer opportunities to keep them engaged.

Listen to Their Input

Once they’ve volunteered, your employees will feel fresh with new experiences, which means you’ll be able to gather valuable feedback and determine which causes they were most passionate about. Your employees might have some volunteering ideas of their own for future opportunities, or they might hear about some additional opportunities while they’re out in the field. Take note of that. If you let them choose to create their own opportunities, they’ll jump at the chance to do so and you’ll have a healthier, more satisfied employee working for you.

Assign Roles that Are Different to Those in the Workplace

If your employees are managed by their work managers when they are volunteers, it will just feel like more work. Instead, mix things up a bit and allow younger or less experienced employees to assume leadership roles — especially if they are volunteering on a project which is a perfect fit for their skills. They may appreciate the chance to prove themselves and learn what it’s like to take on more responsibility.

Let Them Develop New Skills

If you assign them to a project which requires learning new crafts and skills, they’ll be able to come back to the company with a brand new skill set that might come in handy in future volunteer opportunities or company projects. In addition to serving the community, volunteering can also serve as a free form of employee training.

When done right, employee volunteering can be beneficial for everyone, and that includes your company, your employees, and the community. Your local community will be thankful, and your employees will identify more with your company’s value and mission, ultimately creating a healthier working environment in the process. And, as an employer, you’ll have productive and satisfied employees which are constantly learning new skills, and that benefits everyone on the long run.”

You might like to take a look at the document The Canadian Code for Employer-Supported Volunteering. https://volunteer.ca/code-esv .

By volunteering and encouraging others to do the same, you can improve the lives of others, get a great sense of well-being and be an inspiration to friends and family.

About the Author

Martin Parnell is the Best-Selling author of MARATHON QUEST and RUNNING TO THE EDGE and his final book in the Marathon Trilogy, THE SECRET MARATHON-Empowering women and girls in Afghanistan through sport, was released on October 30^th 2018. He speaks on having a “Finish the Race Attitude – Overcoming Obstacles to Achieve Your Full Potential” and has written for, or been covered by CNN, BBC, CBC, The Huffington Post, The Globe and Mail, The National Post, Runners World, Men’s Journal, Canadian Business, and Maclean’s.

Prepare Well so You can Enjoy the Results

info@martinparnell.com (martin.parnell) — Tue, 20 Aug 2019 17:29:00 GMT

At 7.00am on Sunday, August 18^th I was at the start line of the Edmonton Marathon. The last time I ran this race was in 2009 so this would be my 10^th Anniversary. The morning was overcast with a misty drizzle and the temperature was 10C, just how I like it. I felt good.

In any race I set myself a number of goals. In this one I set three: the first was to beat the time I set 10 years ago, 4 hours and 10 minutes, the second was to come under 4 hours, and the third was to qualify for the Boston Marathon, which meant finishing in under 3 hours and 50 minutes.

Now it’s great to have goals but, in reality they are meaningless unless you’ve done the planning, prepared well and put in the work to achieve them. In this case it meant following a 12 week training program, running over 600 kms and completing a variety of sessions including running hills, tempo runs (marathon pace) , intervals of speed running and long runs.

It’s often said that finishing strong is the key to any race however you can’t finish strong unless you start strong and you can’t start strong unless you’ve prepared.

Another key element is race day preparation. I was up at 5.00am and had my usual marathon breakfast of oatmeal, banana and two cups of coffee. I prepared my four bottles of a mix of water and CarboPro, a pure complex carbohydrate which I take with me on the run. I also carry electrolyte tablets. This would ensure that my nutrition intake would be 250 calories an hour. Another important lesson: never try anything new on race day. I was ready.

At 6.30 am I left the hotel and joined other runners on the way to the start. I followed my usual warm up with a 20 min run and 4 by 100m strides.

John Stanton, the Founder of the Running Room was the race announcer and after O’Canada he started the countdown: 5...4...3...2...1 and we were off. I had spotted the 3 hour and 45 minute “Pace Bunny” and decided to run just behind him. Pace Bunnies are individuals who run the marathon at a steady pace and, if you can stick with them, they will bring you in on that time.

Things went well for the first half of the race, I followed my hydration / nutrition / electrolyte regime every 30 minutes and stayed slightly at the back of the pack behind the bunny. My pace was just over 5 minutes per kilometre and the cool condition stopped me from overheating.

However, the truth of any marathon is that it only really starts in the second half of the race. At km 25 I felt a knot in my right calf. I could only hope that it didn’t turn into all-out cramp. The bunny was moving away from me and my quads were tightening up. A friend of mine, Ray Zahab, said that marathons and ultra-marathons are 90% mental and 10% in your head. It was time to dig deep.

Before the race I had checked my emails and had a message from Zainab, the first Afghan women to have run a marathon. She had recently had a baby girl and named her Cedar, after a kind of tree that grows in Turkey, Canada and in the Himalaya. In Persian it means evergreen or eternal.

Zainab had inspired me to go to Afghanistan, in 2016, where I ran the 2^nd Marathon of Afghanistan, in support of the women and girls running for freedom and equality. Now Zainab and Cedar inspired me to push through the pain. I used the mantra “Zainab and Cedar, Zainab and Cedar” kilometre after kilometer and before I knew it I was at the 35km marker. I had taken 3 hours 4 minutes and 32 seconds, leaving 45 minutes to run 7.2 km. I had a chance.

The kms ticked by and with 1 km to go my legs were pretty much done. I looked at my watch and it was 3 hours 39 minutes and then it hit me, I could walk in and still come in under my 3 hours 50 minutes target. I was flooded with relief, but kept on running.

As I approached the finish line I could see the countdown clock at 3 hours 46 mins. I then looked to my right and saw my wife, Sue in the crowd, behind the barrier. I ran over, gave her a kiss and sprinted across the finish line: 3 hours 46 mins and 23 secs, made it by 3 minutes and 37 seconds. I was exhausted, but happy.

Staggering along the finishing chute, to get my medal, my body and the mind started to shut down. Sue met me at the exit to the chute and gave me a big hug. Job done. Boston here I come.

Whether you want to achieve a personal or business goal remember the words of Robert H. Schuller “Spectacular achievements must always be preceded by unspectacular preparation”.

About the Author

Martin Parnell is the Best-Selling author of MARATHON QUEST and RUNNING TO THE EDGE and his final book in the Marathon Trilogy, THE SECRET MARATHON-Empowering women and girls in Afghanistan through sport, was released on October 30^th 2018. He speaks on having a “Finish the Race Attitude – Overcoming Obstacles to Achieve Your Full Potential” and has written for, or been covered by CNN, BBC, CBC, The Huffington Post, The Globe and Mail, The National Post, Runners World, Men’s Journal, Canadian Business, and Maclean’s.

How to Embrace the Challenge and Enjoy your Promotion

info@martinparnell.com (martin.parnell) — Tue, 13 Aug 2019 18:13:00 GMT

Congratulations! All your hard work has paid off and you’ve been given promotion at work or even joined a new company, in a better job. Once the celebrations are over, however, the prospect of the responsibilities of your new role, can be daunting.

It will certainly mean that people will assume you have a great deal of knowledge and experience. That is most likely true, but now you have to put your skills to work and convince those around you that your new position is well-deserved.

One of the most important skills to have is time management. If this is not something that comes easily to you, why not make a list of all the aspects of your new role and prioritise.

In her article Shifting Expectations: How to Adapt to New Job Responsibilities, on the 99U website, posted Nov 29, 2011, Elizabeth Grace Saunders suggests a way to do that:

“First, write out all of the activities related to your job. Then, categorize each of them as an investment, neutral, or optimize activity:

Investment: Spending more time on these activities could lead to a significant increase in the benefits you receive. Example: A significant career-enhancing project that helps you grow your skill set.
Neutral: These activities give back as much as you put into them. Example: Billable hourly work, where you aren’t building out your portfolio or developing new skills.
Optimize: More time spent on these activities results in decreasing benefits. Example: Routine email or paperwork.

As you scan your completed list, you will want to:

Complete the “Optimize” activities as quickly as possible.
Limit the amount of time you spend on “Neutral” activities.
Maximize the time you spend moving forward on “Investment” activities.
Re-evaluate as necessary.”

It’s also important to learn how to delegate. Make sure you understand the roles of all of your colleagues and the skills they offer, in order to take full advantage of the pool of expertise available to you. Saunders addresses this under the section More Management:

“Increases in the number of people who report to you should mean that the overall output of your team increases, if you’re delegating properly. But more management responsibility also means, of course, that you have to “let go” of some tasks.

To understand how much of your time different staff members receive from you and what you can delegate to gain back time for your creative projects, try this type of assessment:

Make a mind map or list of all of the different people reporting to you.
Detail out what each one of these people needs to receive from you such as:

Monthly one-on-one meetings (1 hour/month)
Weekly feedback on their current projects (2 hours/week)
Emotional support when they have a setback (varies)

Brainstorm all they could give back to you. The possibilities are endless. Your list might include things like:

Absorbing regular maintenance tasks, which could be anything from managing social media to writing blog posts to prepping files to answering customer emails, and so on. (4-8 hours/week)
Completing a major research or archival project. (5 days)
Taking over leading a committee or a regular meeting. (3 hours/month)
Attending a professional conference or seminar on your behalf. (1-2 days)”

Depending on your type of work, you may find that you have to travel more or, if that hadn’t been an aspect of your previous job, it may be something else you have to adapt to. To limit the disruption of travelling for work, make sure your colleagues know when you will be away and that they are fully aware of what you expect them to do, during that time.

Allow time to prepare properly for any meetings scheduled or presentations you might have to give. Do you have all your information? Do the people you are visiting know what you may need? Are your travel plans all in place?

Also, if exercise is part of your regular routine, make sure you allow time for that on your trip. Do allow for time-zone changes and make sure people in the office and at home are aware, too. Let them know of best times to contact you and times when you will be unavailable. When you return, make sure you are quick to follow up on leads and submit any receipts.

Hopefully, your new job will be exciting, challenging and fulfilling, but if you feel it becomes overwhelming, seek help. There will be people who can support you and if there is skill that you feel needs improving or any area that you feel you are weaker, you can always ask for extra training.

For those of you who find yourselves in a managerial position, for the first time, I’ll leave you with some extra advice from guest writer Samuel Edwards, in the Under 30 network section of Forbes magazine, October 31st. 2016, in his post entitled 4 Things To Do After Landing Your First Promotion:

“When you launch your career, one of the very first goals you set for yourself is getting promoted. While it may take a few months, or even years, to get there, the day will eventually come when you’ll get notified that your hard work has paid off and that you’re moving up.

When you first get a promotion, the number one thing on your mind is how much more money you’ll make. Will it be a substantial pay raise or will you get just a small bump? Will you get a new office or will you remain in the same place?

But as these details get fleshed out, suddenly your attention will shift to your impending responsibilities: What are your new responsibilities? Who do you report to? What does your new schedule look like? And more.

What you’ll quickly learn is that, along with a promotion, comes a huge learning curve that goes along with a move up the corporate ladder. The key is to understand what you’re getting into and handle it gracefully so that everyone around you feels like it was the right decision. Specifically, heed the following advice:

1. Proceed With Caution in Managerial Positions

If you’ve been promoted to your first managerial position, you need to resist the temptation to move fast and put your mark on everything you touch. You’re going to take on a lot of new responsibilities – many of which you won’t have experience with – so surround yourself with other managers at the company and pick their brains from time to time. Go to them for help when you’re uncertain of how to handle a situation. One thing savvy and experienced managers will tell you is that you need to slow down.

As human resources expert Donald Nickels advises in PayScale “Try not to immediately implement changes unless they’re absolutely necessary. Change is made even worse when supervisors move in and immediately begin scrambling processes that may have been in place for years.”

2. Gain Some Quick Momentum

Your first few weeks will set the tone for the rest of your time in that position. Your boss will be looking for affirmation that she or he made the right decision, while your subordinates and peers will be evaluating your performance and whether they like your leadership style.

You should begin looking for some quick and meaningful “wins” as soon as you start your new position. “When you’re having one-on-one meetings with team members and your boss, try to find out what some of their major pain points are in their day-to-day jobs,” career blogger Celine Tarrant suggests. If you can discover ways to address these points of friction, you can gain some momentum and people will begin to rally behind you.

With assuming your new role, you’ll have to balance taking action and holding back. The key is to find easy opportunities to make adjustments that will please the greatest number of people while saving bigger, more controversial decisions for later.

3. Write Down Your Goals (Immediately)

As soon as you accept your new promotion, things will start moving pretty fast. You’ll be learning new things, meeting new people, shuffling your daily routines, and dealing with problems left behind from the individual who vacated the position. That’s why it’s important that you immediately begin thinking about your goals.

Let’s say you get promoted on a Thursday afternoon and your boss tells you that you’ll be starting your new role the following Monday. On Friday, the following day, gather as much information as possible about the new position, what you’ll be responsible for, and where different matters currently stand. Then, over the weekend, start to set some short-term and long-term goals – both for yourself and for your new position. These goals will obviously change over time, but having some sort of roadmap will help you tremendously when things inevitably get hectic.

4. Respect Everyone

Depending on your personality type and the unique situation that you’re in, getting a promotion may make you feel accomplished – and it should. But it’s vital that you don’t let this self-importance go to your head. If you want to have a successful career, you’re going to need more promotions down the road. The only way to avoid burning bridges – and to keep paving new ones – is to give a little respect.

“Treating anyone like they are beneath you because you’ve gotten a promotion will hurt you in the long run, "writes career bloggers Kate Matsudaira and Kate Stull. Even when others confront you with negativity, attempt to steer things in a positive direction.”

Whether or not you encounter teething problems, as you adjust to your new position, do remember, you were appointed for a reason. Embrace the challenge and accept that you have been chosen for this role because it is felt you are the best person for the job and enjoy the work and chance to prove yourself.

About the Author

Martin Parnell is the Best-Selling author of MARATHON QUEST and RUNNING TO THE EDGE and his final book in the Marathon Trilogy, THE SECRET MARATHON-Empowering women and girls in Afghanistan through sport, was released on October 30^th 2018. He speaks on having a “Finish the Race Attitude – Overcoming Obstacles to Achieve Your Full Potential” and has written for, or been covered by CNN, BBC, CBC, The Huffington Post, The Globe and Mail, The National Post, Runners World, Men’s Journal, Canadian Business, and Maclean’s.

It's not Just about the Money: How to Improve your Work Situation

info@martinparnell.com (martin.parnell) — Wed, 07 Aug 2019 11:09:00 GMT

On July 23rd. I posted a blog entitled “When the holiday’s over, how to improve your career.” In it, I suggested taking some time to evaluate your career path and increasing your wage.

At the end, I wrote that I would, in a future blog, write about other aspects of your working life that you might wish to improve on and ways in which to accomplish those improvements. So, here goes.

There are many factors that can affect people’s working lives. It may be that they don’t have support from family members, they are poor time-keepers, they can’t find childcare, the transit system is unreliable. These are very personal issues and those people need to look into ways in which they can fix these problems.

However, there are situations and circumstances that are based in the workplace that I want to address.

Some of them are factors that I have written about, in previous blogs, all of which can be accessed on my website, www.martinparnell.com and I’m going to reference them for you to read, at your leisure:

Firstly, if you have your own business, you may be anxious about returning from vacation, if you know that your business is failing: See March 14^th. 2018 How to diagnose and cure an ailing business and July 4^th. 2018 If your business isn’t growing, look for the root of the problem.

You may have great ideas that you want to share and feel that they would gain you recognition, but you don’t know how to go about it: See March 20^th. 2018 How to communicate in a way that is accessible to all.

You may find that you are miserable at work because, for one reason or another, a close colleague has left: See April 10th. 2018 How to deal with missing your work buddy, when they leave.

At times, you may feel overwhelmed by the task in hand: See May 23^rd. 2018 How to manage a mammoth task – see it as an elephant. You may find it difficult to accept change: See September 4^th. 2018 How to accept change and embrace the positives.

You may feel terrified of making a mistake: See November 7^th. 2018 How to be positive about making a mistake. You may be unsure as to the opinion of others with regards to you work: See January 9^th 2019 Why asking for feedback in the right way is of most value.

Hopefully, some of these ideas will help you address certain issues you may face with regards to work. But, what about more practical issues?

They may appear pretty basic and of no particular concern, to some people, but can have a large impact on others. I found this article on www.iofficecorp.com, that mentions some of these. The piece is aimed at management but, if one or more of them applies to you, I suggest you point them out to your line manager.

If you are a boss, it’s worth considering these issues and whether or not they are conditions that may be affecting your employees, written by by James McDonald on February 18, 2019, he quotes Kate Lister, president of Global Workplace Analytics, who recommends focusing on improvements in employee productivity, which can have a great impact on the bottom line. One of the most effective ways to do this is by reducing or eliminating poor working conditions:

“7 Poor Working Conditions That Hurt Employee Productivity:

1) Inadequate Space Utilization

Have you ever heard the term “set up to fail”? If your employees are lacking the space and resources to do their best work, you are doing just that. And it isn't just about allocating the right amount of space per person. Your employees need enough space to be able to work comfortably, but they also need the right mix of space to be productive. They need to have access to quiet spaces where they can concentrate on deep work,as well as common areas designed for collaboration. And they need an easy way to find and reserve these spaces.

2) Ineffective Workplace Technology

Workplace technology is one of the three most important elements that make up the experience, according to author Jacob Morgan. Technology that's slow, outdated, or ineffective is frustrating to use. And over time, that frustration can erode employee satisfaction and even push employees out the door.

A survey of 12,000 employees in 12 countries found that 58 percent of employees at companies considered to be "technology laggards" had negative feelings toward their employer.

Inefficient workplace technology also hurts productivity in a big way. Consider what happens when you're using outdated software for hosting meetings, for instance. At least a few times a week, you have to restart a conference call, log back in and get everyone back on track.

By eliminating this distraction and others, you give each employee an extra 18 minutes back each day. Multiple that by 500 employees earning an average salary of $85,000, and over the course of the year, this can add as much as $1.6 million back into your annual budget, according to an article Lister published in the January/February issue of Facility Management Journal.

3) Poor Lighting

If there's one element employees want more than anything else in their workplace design, its access to natural light. Poor lighting contributes to eye strain, fatigue and reduced productivity. On the contrary, access to plentiful light —especially natural light — can improve productivity.

In a survey by Future Workplace, 70 percent of employees said having access to natural light makes them more productive. Yet more than 33 percent said they felt they had inadequate access to natural light.

4) Inefficient Workplace Processes

Just as it's critical to evaluate workplace technology, it's important to take a hard look at your workplace processes and identify opportunities for improvement. Often times, management and employees will accept a process based solely on the assertion that “this is how it’s always been done.” But times change, and our customers and employees do as well.

Open up a dialogue with your team and ask the questions: “What workflow issues are slowing you down?” You’d be surprised at how much things can change with just a few simple tweaks and the automation of certain procedures.

5) A Lack of Workplace Flexibility and Balance

Times have changed a lot since the Baby Boomer generation entered the workforce. The modern workplace isn’t confined to four walls; it goes everywhere with us. In fact, gallup recently reported that 25 percent of Americans work between 45-59 hours per week, working on commutes or while waiting for dinner to be ready.

Unlike our predecessors, however, a work/life balance is critical. In Gallup's most recent State of the Workplace report, 53 percent of employees said a role that allows them to have a greater work/life balance is "very important" to them.

In the same survey, 51 percent of respondents said they would change jobs to have flexible scheduling in their work, yet only 44 percent said their current company offers it. A similar discrepancy exists when respondents were asked about having the option to work off-site at least part time. Thirty-seven percent said they would change jobs for that flexibility, but only 24 percent said their employer offers it.

You can help employees achieve a greater work/life balance by offering flexible arrangements whenever possible. It's also important to make sure workloads are manageable and encourage employees to use their paid time off. A well-rested workforce makes a big difference in both the quality and quantity of work.

6) Uncomfortable Working Conditions

It's difficult to concentrate when you're shivering or constantly fanning yourself to stay cool. Similarly, issues like broken chairs, wobbly desks or clanging pipes create poor working conditions that can become big distractions.

They keep your employees from engaging in the type of deep work that produces the best results. Over time, they can hurt morale and negatively impact the employee experience.

The good news is that you can easily address this issue by ensuring employees have an easy way to submit service requests via a mobile app.

7) A Toxic Company Culture

Your company culture directly influences employee engagement and productivity. In fact, much of today’s workforce will choose to move on to a new job if the workplace culture doesn’t meet their expectations.

Just like a bad attitude, a negative company culture is contagious. It lowers employee engagement and reduces productivity.”

Whatever the issue or condition is, that’s having a negative effect on how you feel about your working conditions, from dealing with a difficult colleague to having to sit all day in a chair that gives you back ache, do make an effort to address the problem.

Not only will it make you feel better about going to work every day, but you’ll feel the benefit of knowing you didn’t just put up with something that, with a little research and determination, can be fixed.

About the Author

Martin Parnell is the Best-Selling author of MARATHON QUEST and RUNNING TO THE EDGE and his final book in the Marathon Trilogy, THE SECRET MARATHON-Empowering women and girls in Afghanistan through sport, was released on October 30^th 2018. He speaks on having a “Finish the Race Attitude – Overcoming Obstacles to Achieve Your Full Potential” and has written for, or been covered by CNN, BBC, CBC, The Huffington Post, The Globe and Mail, The National Post, Runners World, Men’s Journal, Canadian Business, and Maclean’s.