Simon Bywater is the living embodiment of service and purpose.

At sixteen, inspired by the Falklands War, Simon surprised his family by joining the Royal Marines Commandos. He completed training and served as a Marine around the world for six years. He was looking forward to a new challenge with the Greater Manchester Police when he was informed while attending a friend's wedding that he was being deployed to Iraq as part of Operation Safe Haven. Simon may have only been in Iraq for four months, but it left its mark.

Given his experience in Iraq, a role with Greater Manchester Police in what was, at the time, the UK’s crime hotspot was always going to provide some significant challenges. 

Eight years of working on burglaries, robberies, and murders, finally took their toll, and Simon left the force. With his brothers' encouragement, he ventured into entrepreneurship, finding success with a car repair business and later as an insurance fraud detective.

Writing his memoir and investing in a property project in France provided perfect therapeutic outlets. The success of his memoir was significant and led to several documentary projects. However, busy as he was, Simon found the time to become an elected Councillor, which has seen him successfully serve his community for more than six years.

Simon has also added a care leaver mentor and a role with a grassroots football organisation to his roles. Despite his busy schedule, Simon finds time for his passions: cycling, motorcycles, and writing. The success of his memoir "Forced Out" led to documentary projects, further enhancing his multifaceted career while he continues to serve his community and pursue his passions.

Simon Bywater provides a perfect example of a life with purpose.

Find all of Simon's books on Amazon

Something with… is the official podcast of Something To Aim At... dedicated to purposeful living.

Website: Something To Aim At...
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Voicemail: Link on the website
Email: [email protected]


Music: The Two Regs

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Adam Hugill is best known for his 20,000 km around the world cycling adventure, but before he set off on what turned out to be a life-changing adventure, Adan was serving in Afghanistan with the UK military.

On the show, Adam discusses how he knew he wanted to serve in the Army from a very early age. He shares a little about his time in Afghanistan and how a book by Alastair Humphreys, Around The World By Bike, inspired him to replace ten years of military adventures with some cycling adventures. While it ended up being a solo trip, the first half of his journey was undertaken with his then-wife Lucile. 

Adam shares stories about his trip and discusses the differences between cycling with a partner and riding solo, the complications of trying to film a marathon cycling trip, and the pressure of maintaining a YouTube channel. He also shares his memories of being in New Orleans after 18 months of cycling and finally recognising it is time to head home.

Adam explains how he arrived home in  Beverley in the pouring rain to discover that it was election day and Boris Johnson was set to become Prime Minister. It was probably an omen of things to come.

Although Adam returned to the UK with a job lined up, he discusses the difficulties he encountered trying to assimilate back into a life more ordinary. He also talks about recognising that he was drinking a little more than was good for him and shocking his friends when he revealed that he was going to give up drinking.

Six years after his big adventure, Adam talks of finding happiness and contentment in Bournemouth and explains that he has found the balance he had been unconsciously searching for. 

He recently completed a mini tour of Southern California and, with a passion for swimming, has joined a sea swimming club and really could not be happier.

For anyone interested in cycling, adventure, purpose and purposeful living, Something with Adam Hugill is for you.

Use the link to view his YouTube channel.

Adam will be speaking at the 2024 Cycling Touring Festival (3-5 May). Use the link to learn more about the festival.

Something with… is the official podcast of Something To Aim At... dedicated to purposeful living.

Website: Something To Aim At...
Follow: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Telegram
Voicemail: Link on the website
Email: [email protected]


Music: The Two Regs

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The podcast now has a new name Something with... to reflect the focus on conversations with great guests. 
A new episode will be uploaded every Wednesday at 6 pm. 
In the coming weeks, I'll be speaking with adventurers, advocates, producers, academics and coaches. 
Because without purpose, there'd be no reason to get up in the morning.

Something with… is the official podcast of Something To Aim At... dedicated to purposeful living.

Website: Something To Aim At...
Follow: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Telegram
Voicemail: Link on the website
Email: [email protected]


Music: The Two Regs

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Josh Quigley is an athlete, cyclist, inspirational speaker, and a world record breaker, but to become these things, Josh had to overcome a mental health crisis, which in 2015 nearly ended his life.

In this episode, Josh talks openly about the challenges he has faced in life and how he rebuilt his life and become an inspiration to others. He talks about his road to recovery which involved several attempts to cycle around the world, consuming an enormous amount of self-improvement books, and how he recovered from a horrific accident in America that left him in hospital with multiple fractures and internal injuries. He explains why he felt such sympathy for the woman who nearly killed him and his attempts to trace her to say he had no feelings other than compassion for her.

Josh also shares his memories of walking the Camino Frances and tells us how this famous Spanish walk helped him understand who he was and what he wanted and did not want from life.

He tells us about having found cycling, he worked hard to become an elite athlete, and how he set world records for the greatest distance cycled in a week, unpaced, and set the fastest time for cycling the North Coast 500. Josh also shares his aspiration to compete as a pro cyclist in the Tour de France.

Josh is a remarkable individual and his story inspires others to face adversity, set goals, and believe in themselves.  We were privileged to speak with him and as with so many of our guests, he is open about the challenges he has faced and how he found the inner strength to overcome them and, in turn, become an inspiration to others.

You can find out more about Josh via his website and you can watch  Cycling Saved My Life on the BBC iPlayer until July of 2024.

Something with… is the official podcast of Something To Aim At... dedicated to purposeful living.

Website: Something To Aim At...
Follow: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Telegram
Voicemail: Link on the website
Email: [email protected]


Music: The Two Regs

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Bradley Chermside is an international bestselling author, copywriter, multi-award-winning singer, and entertainer.
He is perhaps best known for his memoir The Only Way is West which documents his walk across Spain on the Camino de Santiago, and the  El Camino de Santiago Pilgrims' Podcast, where guest share their pilgrim experiences.

In this episode of the podcast, Brad talks about life before and after the Camino, the resilience he found while walking, and how the Camino gave prepared him for the life challenges he faced during and immediately after the Covid pandemic.

Brad talks about how having a purpose shaped his life choices and explains how he knew when it was time to move on in life and knowing when it was time to stop one thing and start something else.

Talking of the future he envisages for himself, Brad's passion, mission, and purpose is to be the best author he can be. However,  now happily married, Bradley explains that he is also one hundred per cent committed to his wife and their future together.

Brad is a living example of someone who understands the meaning of purpose and purposeful living and we greatly appreciated his openness and honesty during our conversation.

If you want to know more about Brad, you can check out his website
You can listen to his El Camino de Santiago Pilgrims' Podcast via all good podcast sites, including Apple and Spotify
Not from Round Here; Memoirs of a Soft Southerner up North, Brad's new book is now available on Amazon

Something with… is the official podcast of Something To Aim At... dedicated to purposeful living.

Website: Something To Aim At...
Follow: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Telegram
Voicemail: Link on the website
Email: [email protected]


Music: The Two Regs

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Pete Olds is the current custodian of the farm that has been in his family since 1912, which now provides a home to 14,000 free-ranging hens.
On the show, Pete discusses life growing up on a farm and how he and his father found that for all the benefits of having a supermarket contract, they wanted to have more autonomy in the running of their own farm and its future direction.

Pete shares his passion for his farm and farming and talks about the pride he feels over the quality of his hens and their eggs. He also explains that by no longer being restrained by a supermarket agreement, the farm now supplies more than 120 local businesses.  Pete also talks about his commitment to rehoming his hens and explains how he rehomes all his hens locally and nationally in partnership with a fresh start for hens.

Use the link to learn more about Pete, his fabulous fowl, and the goings on at Cornhill Farm.
Use the link to find out more about Fresh Start for Hens 

Something with… is the official podcast of Something To Aim At... dedicated to purposeful living.

Website: Something To Aim At...
Follow: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Telegram
Voicemail: Link on the website
Email: [email protected]


Music: The Two Regs

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Having studied chemistry at university, Barry Prater became a researcher and scientist specialising in environmental pollution. Most of his career was spent at British Steel, where he was focused on research examining the impact on the environment of the steel industry. His dedication and determination to get environmental concerns across the industry resulted in his team at British Steel working at the cutting edge of environmental research. 

Taking early retirement in 2000, Barry lost his wife to cancer and had to take stock and work out how he could continue to live a purposeful life. He found that the answer lay in his old hobbies of birding and conservation. In 2007, with his second wife, Barry moved to Scotland and devoted his time to conservation issues. In 2022, Barry won an RSPB Nature Award for conservation work on the Northern brown argus butterfly. 

Barry is a genuine example of living a purposeful life, and his story will inspire and motivate you to look at where you can make a difference.

Something with… is the official podcast of Something To Aim At... dedicated to purposeful living.

Website: Something To Aim At...
Follow: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Telegram
Voicemail: Link on the website
Email: [email protected]


Music: The Two Regs

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In 1998 aged eleven, Lorika and her family were forced to leave Kosovo and walk into what we now know as North Macedonia to face life as refugees. From Macedonia, the family were placed in a tented refugee camp in Turkey.

Lorika was never going to let a war get in the way of her learning, and she even learnt some Turkish while a refugee there.

Once the war was over, she and her family returned to Kosovo. She excelled in her studies and amazed her parents with the idea of spending a year in the USA. Thus, at age 15, Lorika set off for Texas.

Lorika then secured a place in a private international school in London, where she completed a degree course in finance. She went on to secure a situation with HSBC Bank and was set to live her best life in London.

But life doesn’t always go to plan, and after her father suggested that Kosovo needed its talent living abroad to return home and help with the country's overall development.

Despite being very happy in London, Lorika knew she had to return and do her bit. With financial education and knowledge of banking, it was clear what she had to offer.

As time flies, it was ten years later when Lorika knew she needed a new challenge. With her interest in the environment and awareness of the importance of fashion in Kosovo, Lorika amazed her friends and business colleagues when she announced she would launch a slow fashion business.

With Kosovo probably the last place in the world where the environment was a topic of conversation around the dining table, Lorika had her work cut out. However, she knew she was right, and very soon, her company Punë n`Dorë was being showcased by the news media and covered in magazine articles.

The Covid pandemic may have temporarily upended her business and environmental plans. However, today, Punë n`Dorë are very much at the centre of business environmental action and recycling in Kosovo, and Lorika is an entrepreneurial role model.

Something with… is the official podcast of Something To Aim At... dedicated to purposeful living.

Website: Something To Aim At...
Follow: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Telegram
Voicemail: Link on the website
Email: [email protected]


Music: The Two Regs

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Just ten episodes in, we thought it would be a good idea to find out what we have learned.
We discuss the difference between having a purpose in life and living purposefully.  Given the podcast is about self-improvement and living purposely, we discuss how living purposely is just a little bit harder if you start a project dedicated to it.
We talk about why you should visit the Something To Aim At... website because we think it's the best way to find out what we are up to and also, find out about purposeful living. 
We sign off with an announcement about the changes we will bring to the podcast in the coming weeks.
It's a short episode, but there's a lot in it.

Something with… is the official podcast of Something To Aim At... dedicated to purposeful living.

Website: Something To Aim At...
Follow: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Telegram
Voicemail: Link on the website
Email: [email protected]


Music: The Two Regs

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From age five, despite his mother’s warnings, Nirjay was fascinated by the idea of acting. Later in life, he found it very much to his liking and considered himself a lucky actor – successful and always in work.

As the actor's life doesn’t always fit with family life, Nirjay moved into theatre management and then moved to the not-for-profit sector, becoming Chief Executive of InterAct Stroke Support.

With a supportive wife, a job he liked and excelled at, being acknowledged as a writer, and securing season tickets for Arsenal football club for himself and his children, Nirjay could have been forgiven for thinking he was living his best life.

After years of participation at his local Park Run, Nirjay confessed to his wife that he was a little annoyed that his 5 km times were slower than when he started. It was clear to his wife that Nirjay should see a doctor, so she made him an appointment.

At the appointment, the doctor referred Nirjay to his local hospital. He was told at the hospital that he was days away from a major heart attack and needed an immediate quadruple heart bypass.

Nirjay tells the podcast what it felt like to get such terrible news and how he forced himself to try new things, including cycling in London, taking on open-water swimming and learning to play the guitar. All of which allowed him to reinvent himself to live a more purposeful life. 

Use the links below to find out more about InterAct Stroke Support, and listen to the Right Side of the  Brain podcast.
Website:  InterAct Stroke Support
Instagram: instagram.com/insteractstroke
Facebook: facebook.com/interactstrokesupport

Something with… is the official podcast of Something To Aim At... dedicated to purposeful living.

Website: Something To Aim At...
Follow: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Telegram
Voicemail: Link on the website
Email: [email protected]


Music: The Two Regs

Thanks for listening