He was born in 1812 and his birthday will be celebrated on February 7th – 200 years to the day. We are all the product of the times in which we live. Dickens recorded with chilling clarity the vicious and violent world that he found in what was called a civilized country.

Yes, he knew what he was writing about, as he had seen the inside of prison at the age of 12. His father was sent to jail for debt and the family went with him. As a result, Charles was sent to work in a dirty rat infested factory to earn a living for the family.

It was the start of an amazing career, that I have written about in a personal way in a story published recently. Although having to leave school early in order to work, Charles Dickens developed his ability to write and expose the social injustices that he discovered.

Therefore, as we celebrate his contribution to literature, let us also remember the causes he supported, especially the protection of children in need and their development through education.

The answers and much more are in the new book called Amazing Musicians just published and available via Amazon and other outlets. It is part of the Amazing People Club Series.

We all have our favourite musicians  from rock, classical, blues, jazz, country or popular ballad performers. But, how did they become famous? Amazing Musicians provides a unique and original insight into the lives of popular artists like Ella Fitzgerald, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, louis Armstrong and many more.

It does so through virtual interviews. The great artists travel through time and I tell  their stories, as if they had written them personally.

The great classic composers also feature with Wolfgang Mozart, Ludvig Van Beethoven, Johann Strauss, Pyotr Tchaikovsky. They all had fascinating lives and great  stories to tell.

These any many more inspiring stories are at Amazing People Club.

As a result, the British Government decided to send convicts there and establish a new colony. Arthur Phillip, a sea captain, was given the task of leading nearly 1500 people across 10,000 miles of ocean to a land inhabited by many aboriginal tribes. Their way of life was changed on January 18th 1788, when eleven ships arrived.  Half of the 1500 people were convicts and the rest were mainly military marines and administrators.

Governor Phillip moved the colonists from Botany Bay to Sydney Cove to live on the edge of  the magnificent harbour, where the Sydney Opera House now stands. On 26th January, we will celebrate Australia Day. This is a national holiday signifying the 224th anniversary of the colonial settlement that started in 1788.

On our tour, Eugene Fernandez showed me the outstanding sites and  explained how Sydney had become an international city. It  hosted the Olympic Games in the year 2000. We also went to some of the iconic places, such as Bondi Beach. It was a marvellous day and I resolved to write a book about the city and those who made major contributions.

Amazing People of Sydney has now been published. It includes virtual interviews with Captain Cook, Governor Phillip. There is also  the story of a  convict, called Sussanah Holmes, who became the richest woman in the city. Many more stories are told,  including an interview with Banjo Patterson and other outstanding contributors.  So, a personal word of thanks to Eugene for taking the time to give me an excellent tour and insight into the city. I trust the book will reflect his enthusiasm for this beautiful city on the Pacific Ocean.

Regards, Charles Margerison – http://amazingpeopleclub.com/

What do Henry Ford, Coco Chanel, Thomas Edison and Helena Rubinstein have in common? They all became multi – millionaires without going to a University or a Business School. So did Richard Branson and Steve Jobs. Bill Gates had the opportunity to do the courses at Harvard, but chose get into business action and learn from experience.

I have researched the lives of over 500 amazing people. Most of them succeeded via a path of self development through action and experience. No doubt, they met people on life’s road who helped them, but they all took their opportunities to make the best of their talent. Great innovators, like Leonardo, Gallileo and Michelangelo, were given guidance, but then they put in hours of effort to master their crafts.

Business entrepreneurs are renowned for learning on the job and developing their talents through case examples. Hoteliers like Césae Ritz  and John Willard Marriot had no formal training, yet they developed major businesses. Helena Rubinstein and Coco Chanel built their retail empires by action learning.

Professor Reg Revans  wisely developed this term to describe the processes of learning with and from others. We need more of it in our fast paced world. Too often, we do not make time to form the relationships and ask questions that produce meaningful sharing and comparing,

So, in 2012, I am publishing stories on the lives  of people were successful at Amazing People Club . In addition, we are launching Opportunities Management, for those who wish to develop their talents. It will focus on how to use action learning as the basis for success.

 What are the categories in which you have resolutions for 2012? For example, do you have plans for travel, for self development and education, for healthy eating, for your hobbies and for your work?

One of my resolutions is to develop and write a course on how to find and take opportunities. Having studied over 500 amazing people like Mozart, Columbus, Michelangelo, Montessori and others, I noted that they have one thing in common. They all took their opportunities. When they found something they could do well they focused on it and achieved success.

So, what are your general and specific resolutions for 2012? Are they resolutions that will stretch you? If you achieve them what will you gain  – more money, better health, happiness?

A good starting point is to look at what you like doing and would like to improve. Then, outline how you will spend more time in an organized way doing those things. Research shows that people who have achieve a lot do so by learning from what they do and repeating the activity based on thier findings until their performance increases.

So, best wishes for the New Year and may you successfully seize your opportunities and achieve your resolutions,

Charles the Explorer

 People often ask me what I do for a living? The answer is that I search for amazing people and write up each of  their life stories in about 1000 words. Each story  fits into an audio recording of about 8 to 10 minutes. These are published by The Amazing People Club.

This year, I went to France and visited the house where Dr Louis Pasteur had his scientific laboratory in the small town of Arbois. It was like as if I had walk back 150 years into history. The lab, where he did the groundbreaking work on discovering bacteria and his preparation of vaccines against rabies and other nasty conditions, still stands. It is virtually  unchanged from the day he passed away in 1882.

On other visits, I have been to the house where William Shakespeare was born, and also visited the home of Charles Dickens in London. In Poland, I stumbled upon the place where Helena Rubinstein, the cosmetic millionairess, lived  in Krakow. It is now a hotel and I stayed there on my visit.

In Italy, I traced the journeys of Michelangelo and Galileo. On another visit to France, I found the home of Leonardo da Vinci in Amboise, where he lived for the last few years of his life as the guest of King Francois I of France.

That is how I meet amazing people. As result, there are now 16 books published in the Amazing People Series, plus many audios. In 2012, we will launch the online audio visual series. In addition, I will continue to search for more amazing people.

 Best wishes for 2012.

Charles Margerison

Henry Ford did it. Andrew Carnegie also. Helena Rubinstein achieved it. So did Coco Chanel. Thomas Edison summed it up as one percent inspiration and ninety nine percent perspiration. They all had one thing in common. They started in relative poverty and all became multi millionaires.

Therefore, I decided to find out how they were able to earn so much money. Using the biographical interview approach, I wrote up their stories, as if they had returned to tell of thier achievements. It is now published under the title of Amazing Entrepreneurs.

Due to the interest in the subject, I was asked to write a short E book version called Amazing Millionaires and that is now available at http://www.amazon.com/Amazing-Millionaires-Inspirational-Stories-ebook/dp/B004TSG8Y6/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1323515491&sr=1-1#_

It is interesting to note that few of the millionaires did well at school. Edison was called ‘addled’ by one of his teachers, mainly because he had a problem hearing. Andrew Carnegie worked in a factory from a young age. None of the millionaires went to a business school.

Their secret was learning from action. They turned conventional education on its head. They developed an idea, persuaded others to support them and learnt from their experience, especially their mistakes. Most of all they seized their opportunities.

 So, what are your resolutions for 2012. To what extent does becoming a multi – millionaire figure on your list. If it does, buy yourself two presents . Amazing Entrepreneurs and Amazing Millionaires are available online.

My hobby is to interview amazing people who have left us a legacy. So, I decided to interview Mark Twain for my book called: Amazing People of New York. He lived there for many years, although born in Hannibal, Missouri in 1835 and named Samuel Langhorne Clemens. He worked on boats along the Mississippi River before touring through the USA and overseas. He invented Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn and used Mark Twain as a pen name.

Now I have invented an interview with him which starts as follows.”They say that money does not grow on trees. It certainly seemed to grow near those on Wall Street, New York.’

It is Mark Twain’s birthday. I hope he would have appreciated my virtual interview as much as we all appreciate his books.

In the USA, it was supported by President Lincoln, in 1863, as an annual tradition. But, the date only became officially recognized as a national holiday in 1941.

Now, the Thanksgiving celebration is mainly a commercial festival and a reason to have four days holiday, as people usually take the Friday and then have the weekend also. So, the result is retail sales go up, as people buy presents. The hotel and travel industries make a lot of money. Restaurants and theme parks gain a boost. But, production goes down as everyone is away from work enjying themselves.

That is not good news when the USA is having a hard time paying its debts. So, for what do people give thanks? No doubt, they give thanks for time off work and the opportunity to meet friends and family. But, does Thanksgiving really mean anything of significance, other and extra holiday four weeks before Xmas when more holidays will once again slow production?

What should we give thanks for? Should the holiday be thanksgiving for our health? Should it be thanksgiving for peace? If we are going to give thanks then let us be clear on what it really means.