Good things come to those who wait
Just who does this man think he is?!
Simon Woodroffe is best known for being a bit of a Dragon – an original Dragon on Dragon’s Den – and the founder of the restaurant chain Yo!Sushi and furthermore, Yo!Hotel, Yo!House.
Apart from his huge success as an entrepreneur, he is an extremely good public speaker and someone who puts himself out to help others.
Going back in time he was a tremendous supporter of mine in my early years of giving talks entitled “How to Stay Sane is an Insane World”. He gave me great advice on content and presentation and that really made quite a difference to my morale going forward.
What many people don’t know is that in 2019 I tried to get a mental health chat show, Around the Kitchen Table, off the ground, and was lucky to be offered the opportunity of a pilot by Radio Four.
The following year, 2020 we recorded the pilot episode, and Simon had kindly agreed to be our guest. I had asked him to think about breaking eggs to make an omelette, i.e. please be open and candid, and he certainly was.
He’s a brave guy who talks honestly and openly about tricky subjects, such as abandonment, bullying, the whole gamut of sex, loneliness, addiction and low self-worth.
For whatever reason, the powers that be of Radio Four decided not to commission Round the Kitchen Table. Covid and lockdowns followed, and I moved to Wincanton in Somerset. Nine months later we set up Shed Talks.
After four years and 20 episodes of Shed Talks, we finally persuaded those powers-that-be to let us have the pilot and turn it into Episode 22 of Shed Talks.
This is a powerful episode which will help anyone trying to get over poor mental health, what they may deem as failure at work or on a personal level, whatever age they may be. This is an inspirational, no bullshit account of how to overcome a lot of adversity and reach your potential.
Simon Woodroffe OBE talks about being bullied and abused at boarding school aged 7. How low self-esteem, anger, bravado led to drink, drugs, loneliness. Then recovery via 12 Step Groups. Hope! Stage design for George Michael. Hooray then founds Yo Sushi!
Shed Talks Episode 22 available through Audioboom, Spotify, Google, Apple, YouTube.
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