Since December 1st 2004, I have written one article or potential article a day for my motivation web site. One or two of these have been upgraded versions of previous articles but so far, I have not missed a day.

I feel reasonably proud of this mainly because I am doing what I planned to do by making a daily effort. Occasionally I am extra proud of an article which I think contains some really useful or valuable ideas.

It is easy to check whether I have achieved my goal or not. I have either written the article or I haven't. Because of the daily effort I have now written at least 100 articles. Today is the 13th March 2005.

If I had sat down to write a 100 articles all at once, I would never have achieved that goal but with daily effort, a target of 100 is easily reached. I had not even realized that I had reached a hundred until I added up the number just now.

Heather Small, the singer and songwriter, was interviewed on TV in February 2005. She admitted to being nervous before the interview because she hates mediocrity and raises the bar high in everything she does.

She is always looking for the hero inside herself as in her song "Search for the hero inside yourself." We all have hero potential but this might take some looking for.

Her songs are full of motivation and encouragement to make the most of yourself. One of her songs is being used in association with the London Olympic bid. This song is already world famous. She sang it after her interview. It is called 'Proud'. The words go as follows:

"What have you done today to make you feel proud? It's never too late to try. Still so many answers I don't know. To question is to grow. So I step out of the ordinary. I can feel my soul ascending. Can't stop me now and you can do the same. What have you done today to make you feel proud? You could be so many people. Just make a break for freedom. What have you done today to make you feel proud?"

The song stresses daily action to make yourself feel proud. This may sound corny to some but it is pure wisdom to others. It is the daily actions which create the habits and then the character which is extraordinary and even heroic.It is also the daily action which gets huge amounts of work done.

The interviewers asked her how she motivates herself when writing songs on her own.

Again she admitted that on some days she did not feel like getting up let alone creating music but then some small thing like a smile from her son would make her day.

She feels that at the end of every day you should be able to look back on some good experience that makes you feel that life is worth living.

It is a great relief to hear motivating, tuneful, music and inspiring lyrics instead of the sentimentality, self pity, negativity and tunelessness of some modern music.

Heather was born and raised on a West London council estate. She battled with shyness and a desire to sing from an early age. She was captivated by the fire and inspiration of gospel music and was also influenced by '70s reggae and soul.

She joined her first group, the blues band 'Hot House' while still in her teens. Although their potential was never fully realised, Heather later joined a Manchester group called M People. They would go on to sell over 10 million records worldwide.

Now she is a solo artist. She has already made a great contribution to both the world of music and the world of motivation. She has done plenty to make herself and her family proud.

What have you done today to make yourself feel proud? Like King Arthur and his knights, who would not eat before some one had done a great deed, you and I could do something daily which would be worth mentioning at the evening banquet!

John Watson

John Watson was born in Shanghai at the start of World War II on Dec 31st 1939

His father, a British civil engineer, was given the choice of working in the mines of Northern China for the occupying forces or going to a concentration camp. He refused to work for the invading forces.

As a result the whole family were imprisoned in a concentration camp in the middle of China in 1942. Eric Liddell (featured in the Chariots of Fire) the Scottish runner and missionary was imprisoned in the same camp.

In 1945 the family was rescued by American troops who were parachuted in. John's most treasured possession from this time is a plane made of bullets given him by one of the US soldiers. The tail parts have been lost but most of it remains. He also remembers being given a bottle of coca cola by one of the US troops and has been an addict ever since!

They moved to England and then, when John's father died, to the Isle of Man.

John went to school in the Isle of Man and then taught Physical Education at a prep school in Hertfordshire. Around this time he had three mystical experiences of contact with God.

He then studied English Literature at Cambridge University and later became an English teacher in South East London but, after 5 years, he did a diploma in Religious Studies and began teaching about religion full time.

After 33 years teaching in three London Comprehensive schools, John retired from teaching. He received several awards and commendations for teaching both religious studies and the martial arts. He still teaches martial arts after beginning training in karate at the age of 37. The style he now teaches is Choikwangdo, a brilliant self-defence and health oriented style founded by Grandmaster Kwang Jo Choi in 1987.

In his retirement he began studying internet marketing and continued his study of the psychology of achievement and self development. This has always been a key interest.

John plans on writing reports and books on both teaching and on achievement in general. He feels that many schools let their students down by not teaching enough about how to study (by using mind maps for example) and about how to set goals and how to start saving money for their early retirement!

John's main aim is to make the most of his own potential and to help others make the most of their's. He also wishes to pass on whatever he knows of the meaning of life and to discover more and share more about the truths behind the universe.