It’s the Vernal Equinox and thus the first day of Spring (and what a fab morning it is — but see the P.S. for a sobering message, because not everyone is gonna be seeing the world through such joyful eyes).

And what better way than start the glorious march into Yet Another Summer than with this from a fan on LinkedIN:

The tone of this, and the biz he’s in — he’s a painter and decorator — tells me we’re hitting the bullseye and spot on with our message and our targeting.

See, Connor and I are determined to drag the High Street kicking and screaming back into the 21st Century with good, old-fashioned old-school marketing.

Businesses lose out to out-of-town stores and the allegedly predatory only because they allow themselves to. It’s a bit like sitting in the tavern pissing and moaning into your watered-down Falernian while the barbarians howl and scream at the gate, you know?

But business owners who gird their loins and step forth to meet the threat with a straight spine and a stiff upper lip can quickly and easily be David to the competitions many clumsy, lumbering, and ham-fisted Goliaths.

As always…

… the choice is yours and you’re free to make any choice you like.

But you’re not free to avoid the consequences of your choices.

And SMART local businesses are choosing to join us in the Ground Zero initiative.

It’s gonna be happening anyway, Bubba, whether you’re with us or not.

Click here for Ground Zero details

Witheringly,

P.S. Two years ago today I was right at the end of my long trek back to Ireland after co-hosting the infamous Pot o’ Gold event in Cleveland with Dan Kennedy .

And, looking back, it was clear even then my mental health was in the shitter. 

Thing is, as recent events have highlighted, mental illness is a huge problem, especially among men.

And I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt the first step is to ask for help, because with rare exception, it won't fix itself, and it can all too easily get to the point where you no longer have the will or the wherewithal to fix it yourself.

Mercifully I've been spared depression, so the idea of harming myself has never arisen, but that's just luck on my part (because depression, as well as anxiety, goes hand-in-hand with Asperger's).

Look, the human brain is the most complex structure in the known universe. And as Emerson M. Pugh said, "If the human brain were so simple that we could understand it, we would be so simple that we couldn’t". 

So there's no harm or foul if yours starts to play up on occasion.

If you know something's wrong — get help. Since I first started writing about my own problems, at least four people have sought help themselves. That alone has made the whole thing worthwhile (I also find writing about it helps me understand it and myself better, too).

I lived very successfully (and largely obliviously) to my Asperger's for 52 years. As with many Aspies, I learned to hide and mask it all superbly until the point I burned out all my energy and couldn't do it any more. 

Then the symptoms came out, magnified, and without any control or energy to use the coping mechanisms I'd developed over the years. This is exactly what happened to me (in my case the major stressor was dealing with my suicidal daughter for three years. Paid off in the end, but I paid a high price for it).

But as soon as it became a real problem, I took a friend's advice and sought professional help.

Am I ever glad I did.

Contrary to popular belief, asking for help is not a sign of weakness.

Hubris, stubbornness, and a refusal to face facts and your own limitations ARE, however.

If you have concerns or issues with your mental health and you don't ask for the help you need, you're not being brave, courageous, strong, or heroic.

You're being fucking stupid.

Same’s true, of course, if you have bad shit going on in your biz.

Get help.

I can’t do much for your noggin except lend a listening ear.

But your biz?

That I can fix.

Click here for Ground Zero details