The Story of Stuart and Frank: How You Can Achieve the Results You Really Want. Paul Browning
THE STORY OF STUART AND FRANK
How you can achieve the results you really want
PAUL S. BROWNING
Copyright © 2013 Paul S. Browning
The rights of Paul S. Browning to be identified as the author of this work have been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
First published in Great Britain in 2011 by: Stuart and Frank Books
Ness Horizons Centre
Kintail House Beechwood Business Park Inverness, IV2 3BW www.stuartandfranktraining.com
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the publisher.
Copyright 2013 Paul Browning,
All rights reserved.
Published in eBook format by eBookIt.com
ISBN-13: 978-1-4566-1750-9
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Stuart and Frank is a registered trademark.
This book is dedicated to making a difference in your life
“If you hold your VISION with a burning desire for long enough in your IMAGINATION and PERSIST with your PLANS on PURPOSE to completion, in spite of all opposition you will achieve all that you desire.”
Paul Browning 2009
FOREWORD
My Personal Life Journey
The date is Monday 22 February 2010. The time is 09:30. I look out of my office window. Snow which fell yesterday covers the ground with a glistening carpet of jewels reflecting the morning sun which is now well lifted above the mountain peaks and sits majestically in a clear blue sky. Mysterious footprints in the crisp snow remind me of the many birds and night time creatures that visit my garden to see if the feral cats, which we feed every day, have left any scraps behind.
I am at peace with my world and grateful for everything that I have been blessed and gifted with. I have completed around sixteen thousand words of the book you are now reading. I am looking forward with great excitement and anticipation to completing The Story of Stuart and Frank in a few weeks time, or in a few months time, I’m not quite sure. But what I am sure of is that the book will be completed and it will have a powerful message to tell.
The Isle of Skye is situated just off the west coast of Scotland. The island is on the same latitude as the Skagerrak which separates Denmark from Norway. It is equidistant from London and Iceland. In the summer time it is virtually the land of the midnight sun. The winters are cold, wet, windy and dark but the place has a certain magical, spiritual quality which is the reason I live here with my wife Diane, and our three cat friends, Romeo, Amber and Sam. It is the perfect place to write a book. It is the perfect place to live. It is the perfect place to think. It is the perfect place to reflect. It is the perfect place to live for the moment but plan for the future.
I love my world. I enjoy being Paul Selwyn Browning. I enjoy being me. But I have not always felt this way. For the first twenty-seven years, my life was a sort of roller coaster ride, peaks and troughs, successes and failures. And so it is, with some mild embarrassment and an apology that I invite you on a personal journey, my personal journey which began in the winter of 1947. I have not removed the objectionable parts from this journey; here you have it, the complete unexpurgated version!
Before I start my personal journey there is something I want you to know. I stop at various events in my early life and ask the same question, “Why was I so inconsistent in producing successful results?” Without question I have produced some phenomenal results throughout my life and that is great. But on the other hand I’ve also made decisions and evaluations which have resulted in lack, loss, misery and despair not only for myself but also for those nearest and dearest to me. “Why?” “Why up?” “Why down?” “Why was I so inconsistent in producing the results I really wanted?”
The book you are now reading will not only provide you with the answers to my questions, it may also provide you with answers to similar questions you’ve probably asked yourself. This book will explain to you why you do the things you do, why you are getting the results you are currently getting, but best of all, this book will introduce you to a world of power, possibility and promise. It will show you how to get the results that you really want, and on a consistent basis.
1947 was the year of the Pig! It was also the year Britain agreed to leave India. India and Pakistan were granted independence. It was the year that Howard Hughes flew the world’s largest aircraft on its maiden flight. Motor pioneer Henry Ford died at the age of 83 and Count Basie was in the charts with Shine on Harvest Moon. And on the 8 December at 72 Coppice Road, Paul Selwyn Browning made his chart appearance, the only son of Frederick William and Marjorie.
Dad was a painter and decorator, Mum worked in a cardigan factory and later as a shop assistant. It was just after the war and they didn’t have much money. Dad worked most evenings doing work for friends and relatives. He was very hard working, so was Mum. I recall that there was always good food on the table and I was dressed in the best clothes Mum and Dad could afford. As an only child I was loved to bits. When I cried I was comforted, when I was hungry I was fed, when I was cold I was made warm. Mum and Dad loved me as much as any parents could. But they could only give me what they had themselves. Physically and materially they gave me one hundred percent for as long as I can remember. As an only child I was given everything and protected, perhaps over protected from physical harm. But by the time I was ready to go to grammar school in 1959, as an eleven year old I was shy, timid and withdrawn. My inner voice told me I wouldn’t make it. I was scared.
My first report for term ending 23 December 1959 placed me seventh out of twenty-nine pupils in form 1C. I began my education at grammar school in the lowest stream but I was determined to do well. I decided that determination would have to compensate for my weak self-image and very soon I found myself working enthusiastically in every subject I was introduced to. I was no longer scared. I actually found myself enjoying my new school. I found it easier to make friends than ever before and I revelled in the attention and discipline I received from my form master and teachers. Through sheer hard work and determination I moved up a grade to form 2B the following year. By the end of term 21 December 1960 I was third out of thirty-two pupils. I was elated and so were my parents. I had found a new passion for music. I was a promising clarinettist and played in the school band and the school orchestra. I played rugby for the school against other schools on Saturdays. I loved athletics; especially cross-country running and I ran for the school in the county championships.
Then, probably unnoticed by me at the time things began to slip. My position in the form fell to tenth, then twenty-first then back up to tenth. B grades were disappearing in just about every subject and C grades appearing in their place. Here is what appeared in my report card for 23 February 1962: -
| English Language: | “I feel he is not working as hard as he could, or as he has done in the past.” |
| History: | “An inconsistent worker.” |
| French: | “Erratic.” |
| Physics: | “His work has deteriorated, there must be an improvement.” |
And that is how it continued for the next three years, sometimes up and sometimes down, never consistent. I had shown over my five year education that I could excel