As the audience watched in mild confusion, Clive walked in with a large suitcase. He tried to make it look light but it wasn’t! He had just arrived in London to give a presentation at the Pete Cohen Speaker Academy and had lugged this suitcase down from Derbyshire
Clive Asked the audience if they new what might be in the suitcase after he loudly dropped it to the hard floor. Someone joked ‘bricks’ to which he replied that only a nutter would bring a suitcase of bricks down to London and that he’d return to the suitcase shortly. He then asked who in the audience would be interested if he had a way to solve some of their deepest problems or to help them realise their hopes and dreams. Most hands were raised.
Clive apologised and explained that he would not be able to do that, but would be able to share his experiences and hopefully inspire a few of them. He had someone check the weight of the case and they confirmed it was indeed incredubly heavy.
Clive asked again what might be in it, someone suggested books and clive agreed that would be a better thing to have in there. Clive explained that he wasn’t entirely sure of the nature of the contents but that the reason why he bought it down was important. Someone guessed that it might be my baggage and I was able to confirm that it represented all the things that hold me back and weigh me down.
On opening the suitcase, Clive revealed it was full of bricks and explained how each brick that was there could represent unresolved issues, problems, misplaced beliefs, fears, or even unrealised hopes and dreams.He talked about how he wasn’t entirely sure what some represented as he hadn’t taken time to look at them all, but that overall many of them represented his need to find ways to effectively demonstrate that people can help each other to solve their issues and create positive changes.
He talked about how if we take the time to safely open our cases and talk with the right people about what’s in there that we can start to identify what might be the meaning of each brick and how we could then start to shift perspectives and take new actions.
Clive suggested that one way to do this is by transferring the message from the brick to something lighter and easier to refer back to, like a post-it note. This way, we can remove some of the weight of the problem, store the brick safely but take clearer actions to learn from the bricks message.
Clive also stressed the importance of surrounding ourselves with the right people and feeding our minds with high-quality information such as podcasts and audio books and talked about the merits of talking in relevent high quality clubhose rooms and how this might benefit people in many ways. such as seeing things in new ways, breaking patterns of reactions, and having the courage to open up and be vulnerable to explore things without judgement.
At the end of the presentation, Clive offered each audience member a brick to take home with them. However, he reassured them that if they did not wish to carry one back, it was not a problem, but rather an opportunity to reflect on whether they were carrying any of their own that they could start to resolve.
Clive finished on this poem
Bricks of fear and doubt,
Heavy on my shoulders,
Dragging me down,
Holding me back.
But with each brick,
I learn a lesson,
From others who’ve walked the path,
And shared their struggles.
The brick of insecurity,
Teaches me to believe in myself,
And to trust in my abilities,
To reach for my dreams.
The brick of self-doubt,
Reminds me to be kind to myself,
And to not let others’ opinions,
Define my worth.
The brick of past mistakes,
Shows me to forgive myself,
And to learn from my errors,
To grow and improve.
And with each lesson learned,
I shed a brick,
And my load becomes lighter,
My steps become stronger.
Misery turns into ministry,
As I share my progress,
And help others on their journey,
To shed their own bricks.
For in this process of growth,
We are all connected,
Supporting and lifting each other,
To reach our full potential.
Overall, Clive’s presentation was a powerful reminder of how we all carry baggage with us and how important it is to identify and work through it. By taking the time to understand the meaning of each brick, we can start to shift perspectives and take new actions that can help us live a more fulfilling life.
