When I was younger,
I'd often get myself into trouble and have to stand in the corner of a room.
Or I'd have to help dad with the gardening -
trimming lawn edges of which I didn't give a monkey's about.
But during the time I was bored cutting the lawn edge,
during the time I was stood head down in the corner of a room,
I learnt things I wouldn't have learnt before.
It wasn't about my punishment,
It was about what I saw during the time I thought would be unbelievable dull.
While out gardening, I observed a small spider.
It was spinning a remarkable web ready for its nest of eggs to hatch.
A spider, just getting on with life, doing the best for its offspring.
No matter how big or small, all creatures are just going about their business,
making the most of their time on earth.
While I was stood in the corner of a room,
I started to notice the paintwork on the wall,
and how the wooden skirting boards joined together.
It got my mind intrigued.
What is the purpose of a skirting board?
Are there different shapes?
It got me wondering how other things where put together, too.
My interest in product design was born.
It took me a while to figure out that actually,
nothing in life is ever wasted.
Time stood waiting for the next tube train to come along.
It's never wasted.
Time listening to a long, boring conversation.
It's never wasted.
Time waiting for someone who doesn't show up.
It's never wasted.
Of course, there'll be more interesting and exciting ways
for time to be spent.
But we'll always go away from a situation, an experience, a moment,
and learn something.
The world is our school.
Everything in it is our teacher.
We live in a huge classroom that's constantly teaching us, constantly challenging us.
The people we meet, the relationships we have, the jobs we take, the places we live.
Everything that's put on this planet is here to teach us something.
Everything that life throws at us has come along to test us.
How we choose to react is completely up to us.
What we choose to take away is completely up to us.
We have the power to turn a negative experience, into a positive one.
It shapes us, it shapes who we are.
I've come to understand that life isn't about just getting to the good stuff.
Life is also about getting to the bad stuff.
Going through the bad stuff.
Learning how to deal with the bad stuff.
And then finally, what we take away from the bad stuff,
the bad that will enrich our lives,
for the better.
