By Ben Golding

Paratroopers

Most of you don’t know I’m from a town called Colchester in Essex, not a huge surprise, but I don’t really sound like an Essex lad or an extra from TOWIE. Luckily my Father beat that out of me from an early age. “Speak properly and be respected.” He used to say, that along with “Manners cost nothing” and the threat of my Grandmother smashing my hands with a rolling pin if I didn’t keep my nails trimmed has kept me in good stead. Nonetheless I digress, in Colchester we play host to a large army barracks which homes the paratroopers. These guys are tough as old boots and superlative as fuck. Other than making certain pubs ones to avoid on a night out, I feel the Paratrooper spirit has bled into the fabric of the town. 

So I’m approaching SCA like a Para, first one in, last one out. I get in at 8:30 almost every morning, ready to work, fired up for a days graft. This isn’t some #humblebrag, I’m just using it as an example to illustrate dedication and stick-with-it-ness. (That’s a real word, honest.) 

One of my favourite directors Joe Carnahan has a great insight into creative labour; he knows he is not the best, most brilliant director, but he puts in the hours. He credits his success to sheer tenacity and grind; be the one who works harder than others and you’ll be success. That’s a great insight and one that has been echoed by some of the mentors already, Pete Cain keeps telling us “You think you’ve got it, but push it some more, see what happens.”

That’s the Para spirit, never give up and never give in. 

I’ll wrap things up with one last insight. I was at the gym a few years ago, and couldn’t help but see a woman going hell for leather at every excercise. I had to ask her what was driving her. “I’m working at 100%” she answered, “things get a lot easier when you realise most other people aren’t working at 100%.” That’s really stuck with me since, and it’s something I am trying to carry through to this year. Are you working at 100%?