I’m not an elite sportsman. I’m not even first division. But I have learned how to punch above my weight.

Through hard work, drive and my geared approach to performance I have achieved extraordinary things, and have triumphed in some of the most extreme sporting challenges known to man.

I completed the Ironman, even though I was hopeless at swimming. I became a 3rd Dan black belt in Karate, having been as stiff as a board and unable to touch my toes (I still can’t!) And I ran the Marathon des Sables (‘the toughest footrace on earth’), 5.5 marathons in 6 days, in the Sahara Desert, even though I’ve never really been a runner.

I am living proof of what you can achieve with a meaningful objective, robust controls, a focused plan and the right mindset.

A love of sport

I’ve always loved observing top class sport and identifying the critical success factors. At the age of 15 I was asked to sit a basic tennis coaching award. Once I understood the framework of how to teach I immersed myself in learning everything I could about coaching until I had qualified as a Lawn Tennis Association Professional Tennis Coach and was in charge of a Scottish National Squad. I hadn’t even reached county level as a player, but was now teaching at National level.

Marriage, children and business took over and I ‘retired’ from tennis, but soon realised that the lessons learned could easily be adapted into business. When I set up my own Wealth Management business in 1998 I also fulfilled a lifetime ambition and took up Karate. Once again I adapted this learning and began to use the disciplines and eastern thinking in my business.

Knowing my objective

As a terrible swimmer, I wanted an event to motivate me to get better. In 2008 I took part in a sprint triathlon to raise money for Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centres. During one of my first swim sessions I had to be rescued by a local life guard after 40 metres in the pool! However this started me on quite a journey. Two years later I completed my first Ironman competition (2.4 mile open water swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run). I had a picture in my head of running across the finish line with my kids and this drove me through the 9 months of training and the event on the day. That picture now hangs proudly in my office. It proved to me that with the right mindset I could achieve anything.

Following this, I entered the Lanzarote Ironman – “where normal limits don’t apply”. A year earlier at a training camp I was constantly dropped by the cycling group. This made me determined to come back the following year and take on one of the toughest Ironman events. It was also to see if I was likely to survive in the heat as I had signed up for the ‘toughest footrace on earth’ – the Marathon des Sable the following year. When I first read about this race I thought it was fictional – who in their right mind would run 5.5 marathons in 6 days across the Sahara Desert carrying your own food, without sanitation, and with rationed water?

Pushing myself to the limit

In April 2013 I completed the Marathon des Sable. This was an amazing experience where you are stripped of all human comforts in temperatures reaching 52 degrees centigrade. I learned a lot about myself in the desert and the lessons from the training, the meticulous preparation before and during the event easily translated into tools for running a successful business.

Since then I have run a 53 mile ultra along the West Highland Way and completed a 10km river swim on the River Dart. My journey continues and I have a list of events around the world that I want to take part on as I continue to push the boundaries of my limits.

I truly believe that life starts outside your comfort zone.