Many of us waste too much time envying others instead of getting on with our own goals and dreams. This is stupid to put it mildly.

For a start, we would probably not envy others if we knew what their lives were really like.

Many young men envied and still envy Evis Presley but who wants to die sad, disillusioned and divorced at the age of 42?

Billy Connolly, the great Scottish comedian who now lives in California, tells an amusing story about misguided envy:

In World War I two men were squatting side by side over the only toilet available. This was a ditch in the ground full of sewage.

One of the men was constipated and had been there a long time.

His knees were painful from squatting down for so long and he had also developed back ache.

The unconstipated man squatted there for about one minute and then there were three loud splashes.

The constipated man said: "You're so lucky".

The unconstipated man replied:

"I'm not so lucky. That was my knife, fork and spoon."

The famous celebrities that we all admire and envy often lead miserable lives when they are not actually performing. Elvis was one celebrity who only felt alive when he was on stage.

Even if all celebrities lived amazingly happy lives both on and off stage, we are still wasting our time envying them.

Instead of envying others and focusing on their talents, why not spend time discovering our own abilities and making the most of these? Let's focus on what we can achieve with whatever talents we have.

These talents may well be far greater than we think. In fact, we probably need to focus on just one of them and develop that thoroughly before we move on to any thing else. Otherwise we will end up as the proverbial jack of all trades and master of none.

By focusing on one talent or one opportunity at a time and learning as much as we can and developing all the skills necessary to succeed in this area, we could well be astounded at the results we achieve. If, however, we chase after two rabbits instead of one, we may well end up with none.

When I first started studying the martial arts, I attended a Kung Fu class in the morning and a Shotokan Karate class in the afternoon. My Karate instructors told me to focus on Karate. If I didn't I would end up chasing two rabbits instead of one and would fail at both. They were right. I did not well at either style and eventually moved on to Taekwondo where I finally achieved my first black belt.

In business, many of us and especially me, chase after one opportunity after another or we read one course after another without actually following through on anything. We are then surprised that we are in debt and no further up the ladder to success.

To sum up, focus on your own potential and not the achievements of others and then focus on just one talent or opportunity of your own until you see some kind of a result.

John Watson

John Watson was born in Shanghai at the start of World War II on Dec 31st 1939

His father, a British civil engineer, was given the choice of working in the mines of Northern China for the occupying forces or going to a concentration camp. He refused to work for the invading forces.

As a result the whole family were imprisoned in a concentration camp in the middle of China in 1942. Eric Liddell (featured in the Chariots of Fire) the Scottish runner and missionary was imprisoned in the same camp.

In 1945 the family was rescued by American troops who were parachuted in. John's most treasured possession from this time is a plane made of bullets given him by one of the US soldiers. The tail parts have been lost but most of it remains. He also remembers being given a bottle of coca cola by one of the US troops and has been an addict ever since!

They moved to England and then, when John's father died, to the Isle of Man.

John went to school in the Isle of Man and then taught Physical Education at a prep school in Hertfordshire. Around this time he had three mystical experiences of contact with God.

He then studied English Literature at Cambridge University and later became an English teacher in South East London but, after 5 years, he did a diploma in Religious Studies and began teaching about religion full time.

After 33 years teaching in three London Comprehensive schools, John retired from teaching. He received several awards and commendations for teaching both religious studies and the martial arts. He still teaches martial arts after beginning training in karate at the age of 37. The style he now teaches is Choikwangdo, a brilliant self-defence and health oriented style founded by Grandmaster Kwang Jo Choi in 1987.

In his retirement he began studying internet marketing and continued his study of the psychology of achievement and self development. This has always been a key interest.

John plans on writing reports and books on both teaching and on achievement in general. He feels that many schools let their students down by not teaching enough about how to study (by using mind maps for example) and about how to set goals and how to start saving money for their early retirement!

John's main aim is to make the most of his own potential and to help others make the most of their's. He also wishes to pass on whatever he knows of the meaning of life and to discover more and share more about the truths behind the universe.