In today’s episode of the Mastering The Life Podcast, your host Paul Lowe interviews Colin Slater MBE. Colin is an octagenerian gentleman who spent his life in broadcasting and more specifically, in the world of football. Colin shares his knowledge and insights about how to master life and his views on broadcasting and football.

Colin discusses how life has changed over the span of years. He also recalls the time when high blood pressure didn’t have any medicine. He also talks about the most important characters that he met during his lifetime. Listen now to today’s episode on life and how it is an ever-changing game.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

•         Insight to life in general. Change is constant in life, and Colin has seen a lot of change over the past decades. He mentions that change is development and therefore, moving forward; but it doesn’t always. Not all changes work for the better. They are not all for the benefit of society because they don't move the world forward. But he's seen changes pretty well in every part of the world in which he had moved and had his being. He cannot think of an area where he has not seen change. He recognizes that there had been enormous changes as a result of technical improvements over the ages. Where would we be today without such improvements?
•         Medical Advancement. Previously, having a gall bladder operation would have left a big scar - not now though. Recently, a friend of Colin's also underwent the removal of a gall bladder; this time by keyhole surgery and without the subsequent external bodily scar. That's a transformation for good. In the 1940’s Colin’s father was diagnosed with high blood pressure. He was advised to lower consumption of salt and very sparingly eating red meat. There was no medicine then, his father died when he was around 46 years old. Unlike now, there is already pretty much a pill for everything.
•         Life is complex. He is not saying that it's frighteningly complex or anything like that, but he does believe that - due to relationships with others - life can often become complicated. A good example being in the workplace; you don't always agree - or even like - colleagues but nonetheless, still have to deal with whatever challenges may be presented.  Not all people are co-operative; they're not all even-tempered and not everyone is on your side - but you have still got to deal with them for the benefit of your employers and for your own development as a character, as a person.
•         Bill Shankly. The man who created what Liverpool Football Club is today. They are Bill Shankly's Club.
•         Common trait of great people - be it in broadcasting or football - is never to be satisfied with second best - always wanting to do your best. Success in life, if it's not going to be a flash in the pan, a one-off, is not achieved by sitting-back and resting on your laurels. It’s achieved by very hard, dedicated work. People under-rate how much work goes in. These people haven't just achieved what they did achieve by chance or luck.  They don't ever do that. This breed of person, they always take it on and take it further, and that's what makes them stand out as outstanding people.
•         Principles. There is something interesting about people who joined boards of directors of football clubs. He’s known so many of them over the years. He’s known them well. And he’s known that they were undoubtedly successful in business, but they run their businesses to certain principles, and they were keen always to apply those principles year in year out. “That's got us where we are and we are going to stay with our principles. We're not going to be tempted away from them.” Colin thinks that's a very fine trait.
•         Life’s purpose. What he has learned in life, and what he tried to apply day by day, it is to give off his best in all circumstances, and he picked those words carefully because it means to give, means giving of yourself.
•         Voluntary sectors. The voluntary sector helps to keep Britain going. Two examples. One is the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and Saving Lives at Sea running entirely on voluntary subscriptions. Two is the British Red Cross who flourishes despite the problem of having to raise every penny for themselves. But these things only happen and were only able to achieve them because there are enough people in society, could do with more; but there are enough people in society who give themselves.
•         Poverty. An alternative to prosperity, is usually thought of and often is another 'P' and it is poverty, and we know what poverty is. Poverty is when you are scraping money together when you don't have enough money to do what really you need to be able to do. Values have changed. The value of money has changed remarkably. Colin started his working life with a weekly wage of 1 pound and 10 shillings. He knows what it is not to have enough money. He knows and remembers it. And he never allows it to leave him completely. Later on, you get more money and you can do more things like holidays, leisure time. But never allow yourself to forget those days in the past when you never had enough.
•         Things that you can’t control.  When you experience a situation that you cannot do anything about. Ask yourself. Can I do anything to change it? No, I can't. So just draw a deep breath.
•         Prosperity from Wikipedia. Prosperity is the state of flourishing, thriving, good fortune or successful social status, prosperity often encompasses wealth, but also includes other factors which can be independent of wealth to varying degrees such as happiness and health. Good health is prosperity. When you are unwell. You cannot function efficiently, and you cannot do well. Also, if you sat where other people sit, in terms of being in pain, being less comfortable living your life, and then you get to understand how they feel. So, a bit of suffering, that does that sharpen you up in recognizing that some people have that kind of set back and difficulty in all of their life and every one of their days.
•         Service above self. This principle that is hugely important. Service to others above self can sometimes cause inconvenience. So, service to society above self.
•         Words of wisdom for the young generation. When you are choosing your first job or an early job in your career, never think that money as the all-important factor that would convince you to take job A rather than job B. it isn't. What will really matter to your long-term success in life is whether or not when you join a firm, a company, whatever it is. Whenever you join, there is somebody there, who has the skill and the willingness to teach you the rudiments of the job that's something that money cannot buy.
•         Words of wisdom for those who are getting on in terms of years a bit. Every now and again, have a little review of where you've come from and where you are and where you want to be and are you content that you are on the right path? A little bit of audit of one's own life is no bad thing.
•         Words of wisdom for older people. when you get older, don't think, don't believe for a moment that this means that you have to be on the scrap heap.  No, you should still be for all your experience and knowledge greatly valued by the rest of society in a very positive way.

BEST MOMENTS

•         “Character is the bedrock of all who are and of our relationships, but you have to work at all those relationships.”
•         “Perseverance is a big word in what it entails, in what it means, and what it can do for all of us in life. Persevere - persevere to the end; not just for five minutes.”
•         “I don't know what it is that galvanizes such people because it may be different qualities in different people but they get galvanized wanting to reach the top, wanting to be hugely successful and never ever being satisfied with second best.”
•         “But it's around having a purpose, a light, a direction that we need to follow because if we don't stand for something, we'll fall for everything.”

VALUABLE RESOURCES

• Paul's Mastering The Game of Life Book...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Speaking-our-Hearts-Mastering-game/dp/1781332819

• Paul's Emerging From The Forest Book...Emerging From The Forest

• The Mastering Life Podcast...

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/mastering-life/id1421271122?mt=2

ABOUT THE HOST

Something that’s never been attached to Paul is the label ‘normal’ – for which he is immensely proud.  He definitely subscribes to being one of those mentioned – in the Steve Jobs quote:

“Here's to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes... the ones who see things differently -- they're not fond of rules... You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can't do is ignore them because they change things... they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

Paul Lowe is the founder of PaulLoweHEARTS – which has a three-fold purpose. 

Firstly, to help you make the transition from Pain to Purpose; secondly, to get your inspirational messages and stories out into the world and thirdly, to support charitable organisations in their development & fund-raising.

We achieve this by:

• Delivering our empowering Mindset For Success programmes
• Sharing your true-life inspirational messages and stories through our Mastering Life Podcast and our Speaking From Our HEARTS book series
• Utilising our significant charitable knowledge and experience.

Find Your Purpose – Make A Difference

Paul is totally committed to his HEARTS brand vision (an acronym) of:

‘Helping Everyone Achieve Results Towards Success’.

He has a long and distinguished track record of raising significant funds for a multitude of good causes; positively changing the lives of many disadvantaged children within the UK and globally – drawing on his colourful and wide-ranging life's experiences to help others do the same and achieve success in the game of life.

“Remember – Mastering Life Starts, By Embracing Our HEARTS!”

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ABOUT THE GUEST

Colin Slater MBE is an English Sports commentator; previously serving BBC Radio Nottingham.  He has reported and commentated on football matches at Notts County since 1959, initially writing match reports for ‘The Football News’ and ‘The Football Post’ before joining Radio Nottingham in 1968.  Prior to that, Colin worked as a journalist on local newspapers in Bradford.

He was awarded an MBE in 2001, not only for his contribution to radio, but also for his work with the Football Association and his role as the Deputy Chairman of the Nottingham Bench of Magistrates (NBoM).

Colin has covered over 2000 Notts County matches for Radio Nottingham, the milestone completed in November 2007, when Notts played Macclesfield Town.

In April 2017, he announced that he was to retire from commentary duties for BBC Radio Nottingham although he would remain as the station's Notts County correspondent.  Later that year, he was named as an Honorary Life President of Notts County Football Club, in recognition of his many years of dedication to the club.

He represents the Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham on the General Synod of the Church of England.