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Is "right place, right time" ever really luck? Chris Dillon, aka "The WhatsApp Wizard", WhatsApp Automation expert and author of 'The World Doesn't Give A Sh*t About Your Business', joins me in The Clearing to unpack why it's the customer experience, not the lead, that decides whether people buy from you.

Chris's Founder Story starts with selling doughnuts in the school toilets and runs through nearly 20 years in marketing. He qualified as a football referee at 14, has refereed twice at Wembley, and spent six years DJing in Magaluf after landing with £50 in his pocket, walking into every bar on the strip twice in one day and landing a trial set that same night, within 30 minutes of the resident DJ handing in his notice.

About 6 years ago he realised generating leads was the easy part, turned to WhatsApp as the place people's attention already lives, and now takes that message to stages from India and Manila to Dallas.

His Clearing or serious happy place is "Mickey's Boat", the Disney cruises his kids can't wait for, and the feeling of giving people moments like that, whether he's teaching or on stage. We unpack desire paths, pattern interrupts, the QR code on the back of his phone, and the question "what's great about that?", learned from sales trainer Matt Elwell.

Along the way there's the 7 questions he asks his 6 year-old son every night, precious QPR games with his dad, and why your favourite restaurant is rarely the one with the best food. A story of true Distinction & Genius for anyone who believes small businesses can out-care the big ones.

If you enjoy the conversation, subscribe, share the show with a friend who runs a small business and wants their customers to feel looked after, and leave a review. What's the little touch your customers would remember you for?

Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.

• Show Website: https://www.thegoodlisteningtoshow.com
• You can email me about the Show: chris@secondcurve.uk
• Twitter thatchrisgrimes
• LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-grimes-actor-broadcaster-facilitator-coach/
• FaceBook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/842056403204860

Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW wherever you get your Podcasts :)

Thanks for listening!

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A life can look ordinary from the outside, right up until you hear the moments that quietly changed everything. I’m joined by Sue Garrett, a retired nurse, mother, grandmother, baker, music lover, and devoted wife, for a Legacy Life Reflections conversation that moves between laughter and real, lived tenderness. We start where Sue feels most clear headed: her garden near Leeds Castle, a personal “clearing” filled with books, soundtracks, and the kind of busyness that soothes rather than drains.

Sue traces how sailing arrived as an unexpected rescue after a painful divorce, sparked by driving her son to a YMCA club and being asked to update their medical certification. From there we widen into the people and patterns that shape a life: strict, loving parents; a powerful bond with her brother; and the long aftershocks of betrayal when the past remains close by at family events. Along the way, we pick up vivid details that make Sue’s story feel tangible: the “gaggle” of grandchildren, international babysitting, the joy of planning celebration cakes, and even a tightly run local gin club.

At the heart of our chat is rare dementia caregiving. Sue speaks with unvarnished honesty about Andy’s frontotemporal dementia, what it means to love someone when so much changes, and how she keeps showing up with music, coffee, chocolate, and presence. We end with the values Sue wants to leave behind and her determination to support rare dementia research so other families do not have to walk the same path in the dark. If Sue’s story resonates, please subscribe, share with someone who needs it, and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.

• Show Website: https://www.thegoodlisteningtoshow.com
• You can email me about the Show: chris@secondcurve.uk
• Twitter thatchrisgrimes
• LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-grimes-actor-broadcaster-facilitator-coach/
• FaceBook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/842056403204860

Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW wherever you get your Podcasts :)

Thanks for listening!

Send us Fan Mail

In this special Legacy Life Reflections episode, Chris Grimes welcomes John Morrison — with his family gathered in the room to bear witness. From the terrace of Henbury Golf Club, his "clearing" of 38 years, John traces a full and generous life: a strict, loving mother who called her children "the jewels in her crown of life"; a working life that ran from PE teacher to trusted financial adviser across 42 years; and the firm he built and has since passed to his sons, Dave and Andrew.

He pays a moving tribute to his brother Bobby, who lived with Down's syndrome and, in John's words, was "a totally fulfilled human being." He celebrates a lifetime of music — from Elton John and George Michael to a deep love of Lindisfarne — and reflects, with real emotion, on a family that sticks together in the face of loss. Warm, funny and deeply human.

In this episode:

- 38 years at Henbury Golf Club, captaincy in 2015, and life as a category-one golfer
- His mother, the matriarch who steered him into teaching — and "the jewels in her crown of life"
- A 42-year working life: seven and a half years as a PE teacher, then 35 in financial advice
- Teaching in Watford, a few doors from a young George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley
- An honorary degree, decades on, from the University of Gloucestershire (the old St Paul's College)
- A heartfelt tribute to his brother Bobby
- A life in music: Elton John, George Michael, 10cc and Lindisfarne
- Love and loss in the family, and the daughters-in-law who "make their own luck"
- The sales lesson that became a life motto: "Until you ask the question, the answer is always no"
- How he'd most like to be remembered — the poem "Afterglow"

Chapters:

00:00 – Welcome to The Good Listening To Show
00:55 – A special Legacy Life Reflections, with John's family in the room
01:25 – 38 years at Henbury Golf Club, and a category-one golfer
03:01 – Meet the family: Carol, Dave, Andrew and grandson Rory
11:55 – Shaper one: his mother, "the jewels in her crown of life"
17:00 – From PE teacher to financial adviser — a 42-year working life
17:44 – St Paul's College, and an honorary degree decades later
24:00 – Learning golf aged 12 on the Isle of Cumbrae
26:40 – Teaching in Watford, near a young George Michael
28:26 – Childhood sweethearts: 46 years married to Carol
31:37 – The move back to Bristol and a leap into financial advice
36:40 – Inspiration one: his brother Bobby
41:42 – Inspiration two: a life in music
50:35 – Inspiration three: family, and love in the face of loss
55:00 – The squirrels: the sea, and sport of every kind
58:35 – The unusual fact: saving a life on a banana boat in Crete
63:30 – Alchemy & Gold: at his happiest in Spain
65:40 – The cake: his mother's Victoria sponge
66:10 – The cherry: John Lydgate, and asking for what you want
69:55 – Heydays, and passing the baton to Chris Hughes
71:20 – How he'd like to be remembered: "Afterglow"

Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.

• Show Website: https://www.thegoodlisteningtoshow.com
• You can email me about the Show: chris@secondcurve.uk
• Twitter thatchrisgrimes
• LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-grimes-actor-broadcaster-facilitator-coach/
• FaceBook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/842056403204860

Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW wherever you get your Podcasts :)

Thanks for listening!