Thinktastic

HUMOUR IS GREAT FOR BUSINESS

‘If I can pretend to have your attention for just a few moments, my ex-husband, my new boyfriend and their divorce attorney are going to show you the safety features aboard this 737 800 series’
They listened, they laughed and they relaxed. Fear of flight forgotten. Commitment to fly again cemented for 9 out of 10 passengers. This was the start of Air hostess Marty Cobb’s comic version of the standard take-off announcement.

Marty works for South West Airlines who encourage humour in their mission statement ‘A warrior spirit and a fun- loving attitude’ She appeared on TV with Helen De Generes, when a passenger video went viral.

Does humour work? Yes.

As a baby we laugh 400 times a day, but over 35? That average reduces to 15 and more at weekends than weekdays.

Let's make laughter work again.

GREAT CONVERSATION I WAS HAPPY TO TAKE PART IN

Some big points raised...

ACEs Conversation Series 2021 – Relational Leadership Our ACEs Conversation Series 2020–2021 creates a space in which to explore a wide range of themes relevant to the Adverse Childhood Experiences movement. In ...

VA VA ZOOM TO LOVE

Every business, every third sector organisation and every public service needs to up its game. What do you think?

This is a determined mission to bring the love to employees and customers.

I am told that this event is selling out fast. It will be a cracking night and you will meet some stellar people.
Get in there.

Unlock your potential with Mike Stevenson An exciting opportunity for you to come along and listen to Mike Stevenson talking about his journey. From rough sleeper to award winning entrepreneur, Mike is a tour de force who surprises and delights in equal measure. Founder of Thinktastic, a company which specialises in motivational communicati...

Do you have a staff awayday coming up?

Then get Mike Stevenson to lead the event. No-one does this better. You will see spirits and confidence lift like self-raising flour and challenges turned into ideas.

Most frequent feedback phrase is: "We are still buzzing days later..." Don't delay and phone Mike for a chat about your ambitions: 07778 781846

EVENT PLANNERS

Make a date with me and I will truly ignite your audience. Enquiries and showreel at:

https://www.mikestevenson.net/

Where do you go for genuine and lasting inspiration?

Phil Lynott’s words marked a new phase in my life over 50 years ago

A doctor at Charing Cross Hospital had told me in April 1968 that I would be lucky to see the age of 22. Perhaps his words struck a warning or maybe, as my father later observed, “I simply craved a life on the cliff edge to thrive and survive.” What I do know is that end of July 1968 was the start of a life-changing chapter in my young life. I moved from my life on the streets of London to Dublin - replacing blanket with guitar, amphetamines with Guinness and sense of impending doom with new hope.

I had struck up a friendship with Nick, a Lebanese bongo player who suggested that we busk to support our new lives in Dublin. Over the next few days we practised day and night until we were ready for our first performance. We set ourselves on a paved triangle on Grafton Street, opposite St Stephen's Green, which offered a natural stage and a busy crossroad

Money and praise

I think the first song I sang was Hey Joe, quickly followed by ‘Not Fade Away’ and ‘To Love Somebody.’ After our opening songs I dared to survey the scene around us. It was extraordinary. We had drawn a large crowd and people were even getting off the buses to get a closer look at our performance. You can hardly walk the length of yourself in a modern city without encountering your first busker but in those days they were a genuine rarity, especially in Dublin. If they existed at all, they were usually playing a squeezebox or a fiddle. To our knowledge, no-one had ever stood in a Dublin street playing a guitar before, far less a bongo, and we became an immediate sensation and after a 40 minutes session we retired to Bailey’s Bar with more than £10 in our pockets. That’s £120 in today’s money

That night in Bailey’s we were introduced to two local rock stars – Phil Lynott and Brian Downey who had formed a new band called Thin Lizzy.

‘We saw you guys today, said Phil. ‘You were pretty cool.’

‘Yeah, that was great guys – a fantastic show,’ enthused Brian.

Such praise was just the confidence boost we needed. Had we known that it was coming from the lead singer and drummer of what would soon become one of the world’s biggest bands, our heads may well have burst. I liked Brian immediately. He was warm, chatty and curious while Phil was more aloof. Like me, he was of mixed race – an Irish mother and a father from British Guyana. I think we recognized that in each other.

Each day our performances were getting stronger. To entertain an Irish pedestrian audience you have to offer a combination of musicianship and performance. You learn to project your voice and maximise the acoustic potential of the guitar. I didn’t know it then but this was the best training imaginable for so much of what has followed in my life since. The challenge of entertaining passers-by and retaining their attention for a whole set is an enormous one. Yet, that is precisely what Nicky and I were doing. My voice was getting stronger by the day and our presence seemed to grow with each performance. Our notoriety as performers was getting us noticed. An Irish Times photographer turned up and we featured in the following day’s edition. People would come from miles around to see us perform and each night we had a choice of parties to attend.

That was 50 years ago. Much has happened since of course, but I will always look back on that time in Dublin as the start of my career as a performer. Now I speak but, the confidence to take centre stage and belt it out?

Dublin is where that is rooted. The tragedy is that I outlived Phil Lynott by 32 years.

What the last 50 years has taught me above all else, is this. No matter where you are in your life, your destiny is not carved in stone. Young people, respond so readily to this message and I want to tell my story, because it speaks to their anxieties, hopes and dreams and puts no time limit on them.