In sound engineering there’s a concept called signal to noise ratio. It refers to the level of desired sound – the ‘signal’, such as an instrument – relative to the ‘noise floor’, which is the amount of hiss, or hum, or underlying undesirable sound. Part of the art of good

We get wrong-footed because we rely on the unreliable. What is truly, unerringly reliable? Not much. And you can choose to see that either as cause for despair, or a kind of liberation. All sorts of outrageous-seeming things have happened and will happen to me during my life. ‘Why me?’,

If you base your own behaviour on what other people are doing, you will never fulfil your potential. So there I was, getting annoyed with the person next door in my hotel banging and crashing about. I’d tried to be really considerate of the adjoining door in this room by

Would you have a better time if you stopped taking things so personally? Would you have a better time if you admitted that life will never be exactly how you want it, and so you might as well enjoy it anyway, in amongst the mess? Would you have a better

I love tigers – but I have no desire to have one in my life. I’m fascinated by documentaries about extreme mountain climbing – but have zero urge to strap on some crampons.  And although I have five godchildren and a stepdaugher, all of whom I adore, I have never