Dear Reader, To dream big, to give it a go. When asked questions like: why do you run, what motivates you, or how do you do what you do - I think the answer is pretty simple. I believe there are 2 routes in life. There’s the route of ’NO’, and the route of ‘YES’. Let’s start by stating the obvious - if you’re reading this, you’re likely in the tiny percentage of human beings that are undeniably more fortune than others. For starters, you can read this without even thinking about it. That also means you have your sight, a connection to the internet, and therefore bank account, and a home address, and a device to read this on. I would bet you can probably walk to the fridge or shops and put food in your mouth whenever you want to as well. You likely have the freedom to pray to your god, pick a holiday, get an education, grab some medicine if you're sick, or just pick what socks go well with an outfit. My point here, is that we are all so unaware of how privileged we are. That is what motivates me. I'm obsessed with being present and valuing my time on the planet. Let me throw a few heart wrenching stats at you to illustrate my point. 1) Every year over 2 million children die before their 5th birthday because they don’t have enough food. 2) Only 20% of humans alive today will ever leave their own country. 3) 1.2 billion people live in extreme poverty - they survive on less than $2 per day. Our lives are so easily consumed by the day to day that we forget to zoom out. We get trapped by societal norms and instant gratification that we lose sight of how unfathomably lucky we are. Our privileges are made up of freedom, opportunity, and time. I therefore choose the route of YES. Yes to investing my time on the planet wisely, Yes to taking responsibility of the opportunities I have, and yes to using the freedom I could so easily take for granted - the freedom of choice. If I’m lucky enough to get to the point in life where I’m old and grey, chatting with my grandchildren, I want to know I’ve woken up every day and not just been aware of my fortunes, but acted on the freedom and opportunity that I have. I want to live exploring  every inch of the planet, To do what I can to help others, and to have exhausted every ounce of my potential. I want to challenge myself beyond comprehension and to leave the planet knowing I did everything in my power to make the best use of my time. To love, and be loved, to work hard, to value my days, and to spend as little time as possible in the so called comfort zone. I believe that it’s the crazy things, the things that no one else is doing, and the things that we’re afraid to do… which are exactly that which leave a positive mark on the world. Through adventure, through daring endeavour, I choose YES. I didn’t always have this view. I was once trapped behind a desk in a busy finance job, blissfully unaware that life was passing me by. It wasn’t until I had a chat with a random man in the middle of the desert that life was quickly pulled into focus. This moment changed my life forever. This random chap was called Kev. We were running the famous 260km race in the middle of the Sahara - The Marathon des Sables. We were chatting as strangers after a long slog in the heat. He dropped the bombshell that he was recently told he may only have 2 years to live. Terminal prostate cancer. We were slogging it out in the desert for many days, and so we had a chance to chat further. He shared with me what it’s like to be told he may never see his boy turn 11. He said, Nick, whatever you do, don’t wait for a diagnosis like I did. This was Kev’s way of explaining he had been living assuming that tomorrow would exist. He, like so many of us were fumbling from one day to the next assuming that the sun would rise and he’d there to see it. The words “don’t wait for a diagnosis” have echoed in my mind ever since. 3 weeks later, I quit my job, and did everything I could to live by Kev’s council. Foolish, shortsighted, mad, maybe. But I dreamt up a plan to raise some cash and awareness for Prostate Cancer UK. They are the leading charity fighting prostate cancer in Britain. This plan involved taking on a big running challenge. Needless to say 2 years later, I’d planned an audacious attempt to try and run a marathon in every country in the world. I thought it was maybe big enough to get some press. It seemed to work. Everything I have; the world records, the books, documentaries, the business, the travel, the charity, brilliant friends all over the world, the day to day of running life. It' all thanks to a chap called Kev. He taught me that we really don’t know how lucky we are. Did you know, the average person lives for 29,747 days? If you subtract the time spent sleeping, working, commuting, driving, waiting, tidying, scrolling, and all the mundane necessities of life - it works out that we only really have about 5,000 days to make our mark on the world. How will you use yours? Running has changed my life. I've been fortunate enough to transform my hobby into a career, and therefore I owe a debt of gratitude to Kev, to running, the path that led me to it, and those around me who ushered me in the right direction. Thanks to running I've travelled the world, I've sat on the lip of volcanos, I've swam with whales, I've seen every country on the planet. Most of all, this journey opened my eyes even further to the privileges we all so easily take for granted,, I learnt that today is the most precious thing any of us experience. Dream big, value now, open your eyes to your privileges, and take action. Your time is now. ​ Run well, ​ Nick