A friend of mine has a young daughter. She is about 5 years of age and one weekend told him an amazing story. I was there and listened  as she recounted her experience. It all sounded very convincing. At the end of the story, my friend asked his daughter – is that story true”

‘No, I’ve just made it up’, she replied, and ran off laughing.

You may feel that you have heard the story before  – from politicians, bankers. financial advisers,and  lawyers!!

Lewis Caroll summed it up in his great book Alice in Wonderland when Humpty Dumpty says, ‘When I use a word, it means just what I choose it to mean’ – neither more nor less’.

So,  how can you find out what is true and what is not? In my work, as a psychologist, I have developed a model for Communication and Problem Solving. It is now being published and used both in schools and businesses.

It enables people to be clear on the key skills required to move from problems to solutions and discover what is true and what is false. The  Communication and Problem Solving Model outlines the main skills that need to be used for critical thinking to resolve issues.

Amazing people used these skills well to make their achievements. For example, Thomas Edison, the great inventor and businessman, focused on getting his teams to test ideas in a practical way until they got a product. Dr Louis Pasteur, set up a laboratory in his own home, where he could search for scientific breakthroughs. In the process, he discovered that bacteria were the cause of infections. They both used the process of problem solving that we can apply to our own work.

The Amazing People Club is publishing a course to develop communication and problem solving skills in both schools and business organizations. This will be available in July 2012.

If you can answer those questions you will be well on the way to gaining satisfaction in your work and life. For example, would Mozart have made a great painter or would Monet have been a great musician? They developed their special talents. Mozart toured the concert halls and royal palaces of Europe to display his abilities. They were the theatres for his achievements.

What are yours? It is no use being a talented footballer if you do not have a team to play for and a pitch to play on. The same is true of a scientist if the person does not have a laboratory.

The Types of Work Model developed by Team Management Systems is very helpful to gain an understanding of ones work choices.

As I research the lives of amazing people, it is clear that those who succeeded found or developed the theatres were they could perform and achieve.

So, look at your situation. Does it provide the best theatre for you to develop and perform. If not, then look around and find out where you should be. Is it time to change your job, maybe to change the place where you live and maybe a time to fit your work to your personality rather than the other way round.

One thing I know from my work with Team Management Systems is that if you choose your work to align with your work preferences you are going in the right direction. It will mean that what you do gets closer to what you like.

What are they listening to? Is it the news, a favourite programme, their music or a phone call? No doubt, it is a mixture of all, but one thing they may be listening to is a podcast, or audio content  via pre-recorded or streamed information. It is increasingly the way in which young people prefer to gain information. There is indeed a revolution going on, as audio podcasts grab the attention of the new generation.

I was asked to make some podcasts on the amazing people that I have written about in the Amazing People Club Series. So, I started with some short ones. Talking about my visit to William Shakespeare’s house in the UK was interesting, as imagined him being there waiting for me to interview him. The one on Michelangelo was also fun. I imagined what it would be like to meet him in Rome while he was painting the Sistine Chapel and to get his views on the project.

As the Olympic Games are taking place in 2012, I recorded some podcasts on the amazing people, like Charlotte Cooper, Sonja Heinie, Jesse Owens and johnny Weismuller who won Olympic events.

At the Amazing People Club, we have embraced the new technology. We have made a number of podcasts, via our team of Henry and Marion Andersson .The podcasts have now been published.

I hope you find them of interest.

Walking through Stratford-on- Avon, in England, on a bright summer’s day, I saw a sign. It said – William Shakespeare’s Birthplace. Arriving at the front door, it was as if I had flown through more than 400 years of time. He was baptized on 26th April in 1564. So, he is  448 years old.

I use the present tense because we still attend his plays and read his poetry and use his many sayings. His legacy lives on. Indeed, his contribution to the British Government and the local Stratford  tourist trade runs into the millions of pounds each year. So, William Shakespeare is alive and well, in a virtual sense at least.

That is what I discovered when I went inside his birthplace. As I imagined, he was sitting on a sofa. I mentioned my interest in writing about the life stories of amazing people. ‘ Will I make your list?’ he asked and laughed.

Therefore, I put some questions to him about his marriage,  his career and experiences of life in London. The virtual interview was an amazing event. As a result, I have become Willliam Shakepeare’s ghost writer, so to speak. His story is now published by The Amazing People Club.

I hope you like what William had to say. It has now been included in the published stories,including the audio version.

However, last week, I was interviewed by Marion Andersson about my new Apple I book series called Amazing Olympic Stories. It was for a Podcast which has now been published at

In just five minutes, we covered a considerable amount of ground about the start of the Olympics and how they have developed into a world event.

Amazing Olympians

The largest sports show on Earth is close upon us. It is held every four years, But, how did it all start? As part of my interest in amazing people, I decided to travel through time to the days of the ancient Greece. I discovered that in 776BC – almost 3000 years ago – the Olympic games commenced. Held at Olympia, they were partly a sports event and partly a religious event to respect the Greek Gods who were reported to have lived on Mount Olympus. The Olympics were especially linked to Zeus, the Greek god of the sky and thunder.

Olympic Fever is in the air once again. so, I have conducted virtual interviews with amazing people who have contributed to the Olympics. Evangelos Zappos was a key player in re- starting the Olympic Games. They had been banned by the Roman invaders in 394 AD.  It took 1465 years before the modern Olympics were introduced again to Greece. Pierre de Coubertin then developed the international version in 1896. So, this year in London, we will see the tradition continued – but now as a major business event as well as a sporting competition.

Amazing Olympians provides the insight into how people have won their medals. For example, who won the first modern marathon? Who was the first woman to win a medal, but who did not receive a gold medal? Why was that?

The answers are available  in the  Amazing Olympians book version that is part of the series on amazing people.

Regards, Charles

The finances of Apple are so strong that the companies capital value is more than twice the size of Google. Also, in comparison, Microsoft, the maj0r tech company, has a market capitlization valued at about $250 billion. Apple Inc is approaching $600 billion. That is over six times the size of Amazon.com.

So, some days are more significant than others. The actual day the company was formed was April 1st. Those who have followed and invested in the organization were no fools. Indeed, they could claim to be amazing in their foresight and they would have been well rewarded over the past 36 years.

My interest in writing about Amazing Entrepreneurs is reflected in the book of that title, which is now published by The Amazing People Club.

In my travels to find amazing people, I have discovered that reputations count. For example, what comes to mind when you read the names of Casanova, Mother Teresa, Einstein, Lincoln, Marie Curie or any other name you choose. There are pluses and minuses in terms of what we think they did or said.

But are we correct in our judgements? I have been surprised to find that many of the people on my amazing list, have been pinned in the proverbial corner. For example, Cassanova has an anniversary this week. His name has become synonmous with love, sex exploits and the free life. Well, there was for more to him than that. He was a writer, businessman and adviser to the royalty and spoke several languages. What he did during the daytime was far more impressive than what he did at nightime.

Bernard Shaw said that his reputation grew with every failure. So, it depends on how you present you activities. Today, if you have a computer you can spread your image and reputation at the click of a finger.

But,  is reputation just a set of opinions that others have of you? Or, is it what you achieve, regardless of people’s opinions? The amazing people I have discovered were all achievers.

When did you last go to your local library? When did you last go to  a bookshop? I like both places because I like books. But, it is a long time since I went to my community library. Also, I am not visiting bookshops as often as I did.

The reason is that I have joined the Download Society. It is easier to press a few buttons and have a book arrive instantly to be read on my computer and also my E reader.

So, will libraries continue to exist in 5 or 10 years time Will book shops still be there? One things is clear, they number of libraries and bookshops will reduce.  New forms are emerging, such as multi media information centres.

In effect, people are carrying their own library and bookshop around with them in the form of a portable phone or i Pad type tablet. So, the publications for the Amazing People Club will now be written for those formats, rather than in standard book form. It is a major decision, but one that is part of the technology revolution that is changing people’s approach to the gathering and use of information.

Where have you learned most? Was it in the classroom or somewhere else? It is a very important question. If the answer is that you learned most outside of a classroom then what is the future of schools, colleges and universities?

The advent of computers and tablet machines means that knowlege can move. It is not necessary to go to a fixed place, such as a school. The arrival of the ipad and similar portable learning systems will change our pattern of education. The Khan Academy has shown what is possible via online learning.

So, the future of formal learning can be the café classroom. I have my French lessons, with a  friend from Paris,  in cafés. I also meet my books editor each week at a café. we review what we have learned and develop new products for The Amazing People Club.

Politicians need to march with the times and reduce the spending on buildings and put more funds into community learning by helping people with similar interests interact. A good example is Meetup.com Those with similar interests meet to share and learn from each other.

The future of adult  learning is action learning with groups of like minded people.