Pinned ·16 May 2022 · Veterans · 160 views · 4 likes
I have pulled together a number of resources that are aimed at veterans and the wider military community that sit beyond the reach of the charity sector. All of them are free or are recommendations for books and they have all been developed with the Three Principles as their guide.Online resources· Peace for Veterans is a free online course created by a wonderful lady and colleague, Judy Sedgeman· The Missing Link for Veterans is a series of video recordings of five people reading S
Pinned ·4 November 2021 · Resources · 1,600 views · 10 likes
Ideas and concepts have shelf lives. They fit the world order for a period of time and either evolve or get replaced by new ideas and concepts. We see it all the time, there’s nothing new there. These concepts are usually trying to describe something not fully known or understood and, as a result, have assumptions built into them. Over time, those assumptions get forgotten. We take those ideas as gospel truths and we stop questioning them. Well the Three Principles are a concept. On paper
Pinned ·26 April 2022 · Resources · 1,569 views · 6 likes
On my journey in to the Three Principles I have read a number of books, watched a number of videos and attended some amazing conferences and training events. The following are some of my favourites.BooksSydney Banks has to take the top spot as that is where it all started. However, I wasn’t ready for Syd when I started… I now love these books and have read them all a number of times:o The Missing Linko Second Chance and its sequelo In Quest of the Pearlo The Enlightened Gardener and it
Pinned ·20 September 2018 · Veterans · 572 views · 10 likes
With Monday 10th September marking World Suicide Prevention Day across the globe, I have been asked by Just RIFLES to put pen to paper on my thinking around suicidal thoughts, both from the perspective of someone having them and what to do if you suspect that someone else might be having them. While I personally haven’t had suicidal thoughts, I have supported a number of people who have been experiencing them, or who have attempted to take their own life, and have thankfully been unsuccessful.
Pinned ·22 April 2021 · Veterans · 178 views · 7 likes
I have been lucky enough to work with four other wonderful human beings over the last couple of years. We came together around a common interest - a strong desire to reduce the mental suffering on veterans across the globe.Over a two year period Dr Bill Pettit, Judy Sedgeman, Brad Gallup, Ofer Meyer and I met monthly on Zoom to record Sydney Banks' book, The Missing Link. It was a very simple idea - read the book and reflect after every couple of pages on what we saw and how that might be usef
14 March 2025 · Resources · 13 views · 0 likes
If we think about it, we've all been blessed with some wonderful teachers who have helped shape our lives.It's something I've been reflecting on recently and the list is too long to share here. However, I will call out a couple that are front and centre in my mind at the moment.🙏 Shazia Govindji is my coach at the moment. Shazia is more than that though, we have been friends for a while and I love the care and compassion she brings to our professional relationship. Together we have created some
9 March 2025 · Resources · 31 views · 0 likes
This is a post I wrote in January 2025, and feels fitting to reshare it here in the blog as it also marks the first day of the new website. I hope you enjoy it...This isn't a New Years resolution post, it just happens to be just after New Year.Like most committed professionals in their field I invest time, money and effort into my continual professional development. The next phase of that starts in earnest tomorrow with a new coach, Shazia Govindji (yes coaches have coaches).I realised that I'd
22 August 2024 · Veterans · 6 views · 0 likes
🎂 Simplicity in Mind celebrates its third birthday next week!🏅 Today it was announced that Simplicity in Mind has been granted the Armed Forces Covenant Employer Recognition Scheme Gold Award!For those of you that have been watching my journey into self-employment, that I posted about "Day 1" and announcing that Simplicity in Mind had signed the Armed Forces Covenant. Well what a difference 3 years makes…I set out to deliver on two fronts that supported each other:👨💼 40% Working with coachi
7 September 2022 · Interviews · 128 views · 3 likes
A few months ago I was honoured to be interviewed by Esmond Baring for his Privileged Man Podcast. We had an amazing conversation around some deep and potentially tricky subjects in a very open, light hearted and playful way.Esmond is a fellow coach and exponent of Sydney Banks Three Principles, who runs an online men's circle. Like me, Esmond is hoping to normalise conversations about how we feel in an effort to shine a light on the mechanics of the process in the hope that the feelings we ex
1 September 2022 · Resources · 470 views · 3 likes
Well I can’t quite believe how swiftly the last year has skipped by; how much I’ve learned about business, about service, about my clients, but mostly about myself.When I announced that Simplicity in Mind was becoming a full time venture this time last year, I had little to no idea of where it would be at this point. Yes, I knew where I was starting from, I had an idea of what I would like to achieve, what my target market was, and an idea of where to go for help and advice. But did I know wha
13 June 2022 · Veterans · 79 views · 7 likes
It’s exciting and humbling to be recognised by an awarding body for doing what you do, especially after only being in full time operation for 8 months.On 27 April 2022 I attended the Scottish Veterans Awards in Edinburgh. It was amazing to be sitting with so many other veteran run organisations and to hear what they are up to across Scotland. While I knew that Simplicity in Mind had been nominated for an award, I did not expect us to be awarded the Gold for Health and Wellbeing.Awards are not w
7 June 2022 · Interviews · 73 views · 4 likes
Misunderstanding of Post Traumatic Stress This is a conversation I had with Jason Shiers for his Misunderstandings of the Mind podcast in August 2021.While this can appear to be a very heavy topic, I hope we manage to shed some light on it in a light hearted and open way that looks at lifting some of the myths we can innocently buy in to. we look at the simplicity behind how all humans operate and experience the world moment to moment, without exception.I hope you like what we have to say and i
30 May 2022 · Resources · 49 views · 7 likes
Well I expect that has your attention, especially if you work in Financial Services! However, I’m not talking about the use of sensitive data linked to impending deals, that cheats the market. I’m talking about a resource that we all have access to, but either we aren’t aware of, or that we often overlook… an inbuilt information system that has our backs 24/7.This blog is a product of that system. I had no intention to write about this topic, but I got an insider tip at 02:00 on Sunday mornin
23 May 2022 · Interviews · 48 views · 4 likes
It's almost 18 months since I did this talk for How to Connect with Humans and I thought it was about time I shared it formally.It's a fascinating topic... as humans we like to know things and the feeling of not knowing can lead to feelings of discomfort, of self judgement, that we are inadequate etc... you get the idea - like me, I'm sure you will have experienced it!Well, during this conversation we unpick some of that. We look at the simplicity behind our design; why we might feel that way a
9 May 2022 · Wellbeing · 62 views · 5 likes
We live in a society that has an undercurrent of belief that mental wellbeing is something that is difficult to acquire, hard to maintain and should be guarded at all costs. Protecting ourselves from circumstance takes energy and effort and can take the form of withdrawing from contact with others, to putting on a brave face, or even being someone we think the world wants rather than being ourselves. From where I’m looking I can see a grain of truth in this innocent belief but, find it fundam
1 September 2021 · Veterans · 75 views · 7 likes
Today is a big day for me and for and for Simplicity in Mind. After 17 years in the British Army, 1 year with Amazon and 7 years with Abrdn I am now working for myself, doing something I love and hopefully helping people have a more comfortable journey through their own lives in the process.One of the biggest things to stick with me right from the day I started my training at Sandhurst was its motto, “Serve to Lead”. It has been something I have tried to live by and have been inspired by many
21 November 2020 · Resources · 26 views · 8 likes
This year’s theme of making a difference for men and boys has got me thinking; what is it about being male that looks so hard? Looking at it at its core, I believe that it’s all boils down to social conditioning, the labels we apply to what good looks like to be a man and to all the social and self-judgement that comes with it. If you look at the simple truth of it, when we are born, we have no concept of gender, race or any judgement about the differences we notice in each other. We just experi
31 August 2020 · Resources · 48 views · 7 likes
I was recently asked to do a talk for a Three Principles based group called "How to Connect with Humans" run by a lovely couple, Carolina Baker and Wayne Yates.They came up with the idea to run a series of talks during the Coronavirus lockdown and very kindly asked me to talk. I chose to talk about the common fear of being scared of doing the wrong thing and making things worse. It is a common misconception and one that I'm attempting to challenge gently in an effort to empower more people to
13 May 2019 · Wellbeing · 88 views · 7 likes
I write infrequently, but wish I wrote more. Thankfully, I’ve learned to be compassionate with myself so I don’t beat myself up about it… but what lead me to put pen to paper today?This week is Mental Health Awareness Week and I have been invited to do a couple of talks at work: one for Standard Life Aberdeen’s “Mind Matters” mental health network, and the other to some members of the Civil Service working for the Scottish Government. For ease I picked a topic that I hoped would suit both and
14 January 2019 · Interviews · 92 views · 7 likes
Before Christmas I was kindly invited to join Steve Adair in conversation for his "Men behaving kindly" podcast. Our discussion revolved around the struggle that we can some times get dragged in to discussing our thoughts with ourselves, or as Steve calls it, our "self talk".Steve published our conversation today. I hope that you enjoy our conversation and if you would like to discuss any of this with me please get in touch.Men behaving kindly - Steve Adair and Dave HillThe rest of Steve's pod
5 July 2018 · Veterans · 92 views · 7 likes
I've been helping former Riflemen of mine with PTSD for over 6 years now.Over the last 18 months I've been looking at how I can do a better job and reach a wider audience. I've just started a collaboration with a small military charity to do just that.In June 2018 Just RIFLES launched this web page to try and help those in need. Small steps, but we're travelling in the right direction.This is the link to the Just RIFLES page:www.justrifles.co.uk/about/get-help-now/ dave@simplicityinmind.co.uk
17 May 2018 · Wellbeing · 69 views · 7 likes
What a difference a thought makes: reflections on Mental Health Awareness Week 2018 (a blog written for Standard Life Aberdeen)
23 March 2018 · Interviews · 43 views · 7 likes
Christian is a fellow 3 Principles Practitioner based in Glasgow and she very kindly interviewed about how I came across the 3 Principles and what my plans are... this is the website discussed.
2 February 2018 · Resources · 105 views · 7 likes
I was asked to write an article for my employer to mark Time to Talk Day in February 2018. While I liked the concept, knowing what I know about the 3 Principles I added the more important part... and a time to listen.
24 September 2017 · Wellbeing · 46 views · 7 likes
I was asked to write this article by my employer to be shared in our company intranet for National Inclusion week in September 2017.
The hope was that by sharing individual stories we could create the conditions for others to come forward with problems instead of bottling them up.
