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Glen Smith | Council Estate to C-Suite

@csuitechronicles

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Writing a book about . . . Being Normal
Discipline, Work, Life and Everything in Between

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Motivation is bollocks!

I’ve been writing and fine tuning this part for a while now and the more I think about it, the more convinced I am. Motivation is great when it turns up, but the problem is, it’s about as reliable as the British weather!

Some mornings I genuinely want to hit the gym and sometimes I can’t wait to sit down and write. Then there are days when work fires me up and I’ve got more energy than I know what to do with . . . and then there are the other days when the alarm goes off and I’d rather stay in bed. The gym can go do one, the notebook can wait, and whatever inspirational quote Instagram has decided I need that morning can definitely (fill in the blank or blanks).

Those are the days that matter. Not because we need to become some sort of discipline machine who never rests, never changes plans and marches relentlessly towards our goals while drinking a protein shake, but because if something genuinely matters to us, we can’t rely on always feeling like doing it.

I’ve spent most of my working life turning up, getting on with things, making mistakes, learning and trying to do a little better the next day. Nothing particularly extraordinary about that, which is pretty much the point of the book. Most of the worthwhile things we achieve don’t come from huge bursts of motivation. They’ve come from doing fairly ordinary things, fairly consistently, for a fairly long time.

Not very sexy I know and won’t sell many motivational courses but it works!

Chapter 2 . . . Discipline Over Drama . . . Still fine tuning it as I dip into Chapter 3 . . .

#BeingNormal #disciplineoverdrama by @csuitechronicles

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a day ago

Sunday Mornings . . . Part II

I’ve always loved mornings but there’s something special about Sunday mornings and that small pocket of time before the messages start arriving and the world remembers you exist.

I like to drink a glass water, put on some good music, have a little stretch, grab a coffee, and spend ten minutes trying (unsuccessfully) not to think about anything. These days it’s bit of sun on the terrace or a cafe round the corner but if a lazy morning under the duvet is your thing, I enjoy those moments just as much.

We’re constantly encouraged to optimise everything, morning routines included, and if you believe the bollocks that’s plastered all over social media, by 7am we should have meditated, journalled, exercised, visualised our future, plunged ourselves into freezing water and built a small technology company!

The truth is, I do meditate, journal, exercise, visualise and turn the shower to cold at the end, but . . . sometimes I just want a coffee, and Sunday is the perfect day for that!

Routine doesn’t have to be extreme to be useful. Every now and again it’s a few simple things that make you feel good, done often enough that you stop having to think about them. Maybe that’s enough.

Sunday soundtrack 🎵
Make Friends With the Morning by Stereophonics

Why? It would have been crazy not to use this one eventually!

#BeingNormal #SundayMornings by @csuitechronicles

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6 days ago

Seville . . .

When I first had the idea of writing a book, I would often think about the process and imagine sitting somewhere quiet, staring thoughtfully out of a window while occasionally producing something profound. It turns out it’s mostly scribbling things into a notebook while wandering around places like this.

Something read or remembered over a coffee, an idea walking down a street, or something someone says or does that sends my mind somewhere completely different . . . and more often that not, a paragraph that seemed brilliant the night before and considerably less brilliant the morning after.

I’m flitting between working through and fine tuning Chapter 2 whilst building out Chapter 3 at the moment, and being here in Seville has reinforced something I’m trying to say in the second chapter . . .

Discipline doesn’t have to mean sacrificing your life to achieve something. It can simply mean keeping something important moving while you’re living it.

So, I’ve written a little, walked a lot, eaten extremely well, explored, laughed, and achieved absolutely nothing productive for big chunks of my time here . . . exactly as it should be!

Writing it as I live it!

#BeingNormal #DisciplineOverDrama #WritingABook taken in Sevilla by @csuitechronicles

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10 days ago

Sunday Mornings . . . Part I

A freshly made juice, some music, an open notebook and no particular rush to be anywhere.

I wanted to start sharing a little more of the process of writing this book. Not the polished bits once I’ve convinced myself they’re brilliant, but the actual process. The half-written paragraphs, the ideas that arrive at inconvenient moments in time, and the sentences I love on a Saturday and think are complete bollocks by Sunday morning . . . and everything happening around it.

Why? I guess I’m beginning to realise that writing a book isn’t separate from life. The walks, the conversations, the music, the mistakes, the work, the relationships, and the completely ordinary moments are where most of the material comes from.

This morning I’m sitting here thinking how strange life can be . . . a normal kid starting from humble beginnings and now sitting at the top table of a bank, living in the Mediterranean writing his first book!

None of that was part of some master plan. It’s mostly just been a series of decisions, working hard, getting things wrong but always looking and moving forward . . . and somehow ending up here! Not bad really.

Anyway, back to the book!

Sunday Soundtrack 🎵

AKA… What a Life! by Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds

Why? Sometimes the title says it all !

#BeingNormal #SundayMornings by @csuitechronicles

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12 days ago

Routine and a good old-fashioned British sense of humour!

I’m sitting here working on another section of the book and realised just how much I’m enjoying writing it. Not the dramatic moments when an idea suddenly appears or when I sit back and think, “fcuk me, that’s genius”, (although there are obviously a lot of those . . . 🤪)

Mostly, I’m enjoying the routine of it. Turning up somewhere with a notebook and half an idea floating around in my head. Writing something, crossing it out, writing something else, and laughing at my own jokes. There’s something strangely satisfying about that.

We spend a lot of time reading about motivation and inspiration, but most things worth doing seem to be built in a far less exciting way. You turn up, do a bit, and then come back tomorrow and do a bit more.

Whether you’re writing a book, building a business, training for a 100km ultramarathon or trying to get rid of that final bit of fat that appears to have taken out a long-term lease around your waist, progress is mostly quite boring, and that is why you might as well have a bit of fun while you’re doing it.

Every post, every chapter and every one of the ridiculous number of notebooks I’ve accumulated along the way, have been built the same way. Show up. Do the work. Have fun. Repeat.

#BeingNormal #Discipline #HaveFun by @csuitechronicles

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a month ago

The Power of Routine

Why do so many people over complicate success? Searching for hacks, shortcuts, supplements, morning elixirs, and magic formulas when the truth is so much simpler, and that is that routine beats everything.

Routine isn’t glamorous and it’s not an inspirational quote or some mystical morning ritual. It’s the thing that keeps you moving when your head’s noisy, your mood’s off, or life’s throwing punches. Routine is the quiet engine underneath everything . . . the part no one sees, but everyone benefits from. It’s the thing that keeps you steady, sharp, and hard to knock off course.

Very few people struggle with ability . . . they struggle with consistency. They wake up late, rush around, check their phone before they’ve even opened their eyes properly, and then wonder why the day feels like a runaway train. Routine is the antidote to that nonsense. It’s the difference between reacting and responding, between drifting and directing, between hoping and executing.

The best part?

Routine doesn’t need to be complicated. In fact, the simpler it is, the better it works. It’s brushing your teeth, making your bed, drinking water before grabbing a coffee, moving your body, writing down your priorities for the day . . . doing the boring stuff well, because the boring stuff builds the foundation for the big stuff.

If you want to shift your life, shift your routine . . . one small action at a time.

#routine
#consistency
#identity by @csuitechronicles

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a month ago

Hydra has a way of slowing you down in all the right ways. It’s the kind of place that forces you to take a breath and look at where you are, not just where you’re trying to get to.

I’ve spent the last few days writing, walking, and paying attention, and it reminded me of something simple that applies to every goal, every journey, every stage of life . . . Sometimes the most important progress is the kind you make internally.

Not the big wins, the dramatic breakthroughs, or the moments you can post about. Just the quiet shifts, the clarity, the honesty, and the decisions you make when life slows down enough for you to see what actually matters.

Hydra teaches you that you don’t need a perfect plan, the “right moment”, or the motivation to strike. Sometimes you just need to get clear, take the next step, and keep moving.

Whatever you’re working on, give yourself permission to slow down, reflect, and reset. The world moves fast but your progress doesn’t have to.

#goals
#process
#discipline taken in Hydra, Greece by @csuitechronicles

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a month ago

Hydra has a way of stripping life back to the essentials. No cars, no rush, no noise . . . just stone paths, old stories, and a pace that forces you to slow down and actually think. It’s the kind of place where you can hear your own ideas again.

I’m here working on the book, and it reminded me that every goal, yours, mine, anyone’s, is built in moments like this. Not dramatic breakthroughs or perfect plans. Just quiet consistency, honest reflection, and the willingness to sit down and do the work.

This island has a long history of writers, artists, and thinkers who came here to create. Not because Hydra gives you inspiration, but because it removes everything that gets in the way of it. When life slows down, your priorities get louder.

Whatever you’re working on right now, the process is the same. Sit down, get clear, do the work, repeat.

Progress doesn’t come from big moments. It comes from small ones done with intention, and Hydra is a reminder that you don’t need the perfect environment to start, but when you find one, use it.

#goals
#process
#discipline taken in Δήμος Ύδρας by @csuitechronicles

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a month ago

Editing Chapter 2 . . .

As I dig into some of the lessons I learnt from boxing as a kid, I re-read the part I’m referring to as ‘Sweat, Leather and Respect’, and I’m reminded that no matter what you’re working on, the principles are the same.

Sweat is the effort, the hard work, the part nobody sees. The early mornings, the late nights, the repetition, the small habits, the moments you show up when you’d rather not.

Leather is the toughening. The friction, the setbacks, the knocks, the lessons that sting a bit. It’s the part where you realise progress isn’t supposed to feel comfortable.

Respect is the payoff. Not the applause from others, but the respect for yourself. The confidence that comes from surviving things, staying consistent, and proving to yourself that you can handle more than you thought.

Whatever you’re working on, be it fitness, career, mindset, money, relationships, healing, these three things apply. You don’t need a perfect plan and you don’t need motivation. You just need to keep showing up, learning from the hits, and carrying yourself with the standard you’re trying to build.

Your goals might be different but the process is the same. Sweat. Leather. Respect.

Which part are you in right now?

#sweat
#leather
#respect by @csuitechronicles

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2 months ago

Sweat is proof of discipline!

Not the quotes, not the hype, not the dramatic moments . . . just the hard work. The quiet, physical truth that shows up in your lungs, your legs, your breath, and your decisions.

It’s the run you start when you’d rather stay home, the stretch you do when your body feels tight, or the moment your legs burn and your mind tells you to stop. It’s the part where discipline becomes real.

Sweat teaches you things motivation never will. It teaches you routine, resilience and respect for the work, for the process, and for yourself.

Most people want the results. They want the confidence, the clarity, and the identity, but they skip the part that builds all of it.

If you’re working on something right now . . . your health, your career, your mindset, your life . . . remember you don’t need a dramatic moment. You just need to start . . . and then you need to keep going.

#discipline
#effort
#respect by @csuitechronicles

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2 months ago

Sweat is the part of discipline nobody glamorises!

It’s early alarms, hard work, noise, effort, and showing up before your excuses wake up.

I joined members of the Back Room Team at 6:30am for a class called Kickstart, described as “a total‑body, heart‑pumping session built around strength, conditioning, and cardio bursts.” . . . the kind of class that reminded me of the boxing gyms of my early years . . . loud, gritty, honest, and full of people who show up whether they feel like it or not.

This is the physical truth behind discipline. The part you don’t post for applause, and the part that actually changes you . . . Sweat teaches you routine, resilience and respect!

Coffee after the class, followed by a healthy breakfast, and then straight into a busy day. This is the journey behind the book and the work you don’t see.

This is SWEAT ! by @csuitechronicles

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2 months ago

The Discipline You Don’t See

Most of the discipline that changes your life is invisible. It’s the early mornings, the after‑work opportunities, the quiet standards, and the small habits you keep when nobody’s watching. People see results, but they rarely see the discipline that built them.

The truth is that drama wants attention, whereas discipline wants progress.

If you’re building something right now, remember this . . . the work you do in private is what shows up in public.

Stay steady, stay committed, and stay disciplined.

#discipline
#smallhabits
#identity by @csuitechronicles

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2 months ago