Red Cars - ATP Members 2.0

Paying Attention to Your Surroundings and Conversations (Video Below)

This is a free "micro course" taken from the main website. I have made it public in the hope that at least some of it gives you motivation to take action in whatever it is that you want to do in life. If after watching, you'd like to join the family at ATP Members, please go here and I look forward to seeing you inside!

Motivation

If ever I needed motivation to make drastic changes in my life, this was it from 1997...

All the motivation I needed!

The image above shows the exact moment I pulled the wrong handle on my parachute back in 1997. This cut away the main parachute leaving me with just the reserve which I had difficulty finding. I eventually did...just 4 seconds from impact and this event led me, along with the death of a fellow skydiver just a few weeks earlier, to making a life-changing decision which you will see in Red Car number 2 in the video below.

This micro course is all about spotting and acting on opportunities as soon as they appear. In the clips I show, I am simply sharing 7 of my own life experiences over the past 30+ years to motivate and encourage you to stay aware of your surroundings and learn to spot those opportune moments.

You may even learn a little about me and why I created ATP Members…

Back Story

At the time of my first experience below, I was young and had been in the corporate world for just a couple of years. I was already asking myself “is this it?“. I was already looking for something more exciting, there must be more to life than this.

By the time the second opportunity came around, I was at a bit of a crossroads.

After living with friends for 9 years, enjoying motorbikes, nights out, summer/winter holidays and all manner of experiences together, they had all left. Married, settled, sorted. I found myself searching for something.

That’s when I went back to the drop-zone in Kent where I had done my first and second charity jumps 5 and 10 years earlier. I got in with a great bunch of people from all walks of life (bankers, pilots, cartographers, bikers!) and for 2-3 years we had a ball. Not only did I get my motivation back...

We all had something in common…a lust for life!

(The last image above was taken from a video clip as I left the plane during my first skydive cameraman training jump)

We divided our time skydiving in Kent and Nottingham as well as taking a fantastic skydive holiday in Empuriabrava, Spain together. Still, the finance job I was in bored me to tears so something had to change. Then, after personally having a series of skydive malfunctions (one very close call and one dead friend), came Red Car number two in the video below…

Video Timeline

Introduction: 00:00 - 02:06
Seize the Day/Ski Train: 02:06 - 06:37
What the Hell/Gran Canaria: 06:38 - 09:22
Seize the Moment/Marbella: 09:23 - 12:13
You're Fired: 12:14 - 15:03
Don't Procrastinate: 15:04 - 21:25
Any Work Mister: 21:26 - 25:30
Summary: 25:30 - 26:18

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Sh*t Happens

Whilst everything above sounds peachy, every now and again life throws you a curve ball or two.

Between 2014 and 2017, a series of life events knocked me/us for six. Multiple deaths in the family, family illnesses and more. I took some time out.

I used my time off work to create a video (below) for my wife who had really been through it, but in reality it was just as much for me. It was something I made to slam home to me what was good in our lives and the times we had with the children, and to think of better times to come. This was the best form of motivation I needed to get back on track. Family.

And this is why I love photography and video and always have…the memories they record are priceless! In the video below, there are no cinematic clips, no fancy techniques, no drones. Just family video. For me it is perfectly imperfect!

I enjoy helping people especially when it comes to photography, video, drones and websites. ATP Members was created to bring people together, to form friendships, business collaborations and more. If you haven’t already, I hope you decide to join us and become a member!

Everything Happens for a Reason

I am a great believer that everything comes to you at the exact time it is supposed to. The trick is to notice those moments and make the most of them.

Since filming this, my 20 year old son (currently doing part of his business degree in Germany) has tentatively started his own marketing agency with a friend. They plan to build it up until he completes his degree at which point they hope it will be a full time business for them both.

My daughter is actively looking to pursue a football (soccer) scholarship in the U.S. They have both been playing since the age of 5 which is strange as I have never really been into football other than playing the odd match : )

I guess elements of my creative wife and my adventurous self must have rubbed off on them somewhere along the line!

Wherever you are and whatever you are doing when opportunity knocks, pay attention. If you are not in a position to act at that very moment (you are driving, you have no connectivity etc), make a mental or physical note and take action at the earliest possibility. Procrastination may cause that opportunity to vanish into the annals of time before you know it.

Parable of a Drowning Man

A storm descends on a small town, and the downpour soon turns into a flood. As the waters rise, the local preacher kneels in prayer on the church porch, surrounded by water. By and by, one of the townsfolk comes up the street in a canoe.

“Better get in, Preacher. The waters are rising fast.”

“No,” says the preacher. “I have faith in the Lord. He will save me.”

Still the waters rise. Now the preacher is up on the balcony, wringing his hands in supplication, when another guy zips up in a motorboat.

“Come on, Preacher. We need to get you out of here. The levee’s gonna break any minute.”

Once again, the preacher is unmoved. “I shall remain. The Lord will see me through.”

After a while the levee breaks, and the flood rushes over the church until only the steeple remains above water. The preacher is up there, clinging to the cross, when a helicopter descends out of the clouds, and a state trooper calls down to him through a megaphone.

“Grab the ladder, Preacher. This is your last chance.”

Once again, the preacher insists the Lord will deliver him.

And, predictably, he drowns.

A pious man, the preacher goes to heaven. After a while he gets an interview with God, and he asks the Almighty, “Lord, I had unwavering faith in you. Why didn’t you deliver me from that flood?”

God shakes his head. “What did you want from me? I sent you two boats and a helicopter.”

Still Selling After 20 Years

Admittedly it’s only small amounts but the photos mentioned in the Red Car video above are still selling after 20 years! The images below were taken in 2004 and this is just a couple of examples from one agency (Adobe Stock). The sales keep coming in so it's enough motivation for me to continue shooting and uploading stock, especially video. It's a kind of small pension you can hand down.