Robert the Bruce's Year of Broken Pathways

Yes we're going to murky, murderous olde Scotland as I adapt this darkest of morality tales from the BBC series 'History of Scotland'. But of course I'm doing this in order to show again how the 'Year of Broken Pathways' works. Same as for Lennon, it will be the Bruce's 31st year from July 11th, 1305 to July 11th, 1306 we will be looking at. We are looking for fateful moments, that would have long term consequences and would take several years to resolve, at least until the next 'Revolution Year' (at age 36 - 1310/1311).

After the resignation of William Wallace in 1299, both Robert the Bruce and John Comyn (the Red Comyn) were made guardians of Scotland. It would be fair to say they really didn't like each other. A fight broke out in the same year at a council in Peebles and Comyn grabbed Bruce by the throat and almost killed him. It would be seven years till they met again.

In 1305 Bishop Lamberton had gone to the Pope to get a ruling that Scotland was independent and should have a King. At a meeting between the Bishop and Robert the Bruce, it was agreed he should take the crown, but the price for his silence was put at 10,000 pounds (a fantastic sum in those days). But the Bruce was not a prudent man. He organised a fateful meeting with the Red Comyn at Greyfriars Kirk in Dumfries, on Feb 10th, 1306. This was to discuss the future of the crown. Both had left their swords outside and met before the high altar. Robert would have told Comyn (in spite of his agreement to keep silent) that he is to be made King and this would not be taken well. Scholars will dispute what happened next. Did the Bruce always plan to murder him or did Comyn draw his dagger first? But for whatever reason a fight broke out and he stabbed Comyn, who was practically dead as a result. After the Bruce had left he received news Comyn was not dead. He sent an aide back to finish him off.

His hot temper had really got him into trouble big time. He had committed murder in a church and faced ex-communication. He fled to Glasgow Cathedral, where his co-conspiritor Bishop Wishart absolved him of blood guilt, because he had no choice. They were all in this up to their necks. He then figured his best bet was to have himself crowned King and he fled to Scone and did this on March 25th, 1306. Could there have been anything more fateful than this sorry tale of hot temper and ambition gone wrong? His sworn enemy Edward 1st of England hunted him down and with little Scottish support, he was forced to retreat to Dunaverty, on the very tip of the Mull of Kintyre. Then he put to sea and disappeared. His wife and child were captured and taken to a convent. It would be eight years before he saw them again.

What happened next became the subject of myth, with Sir Walter Scott basing his character on the hero of the novel Ivanhoe and writing a poem about him being in a cave with a spider, called 'Lord of The Isles'. But what happened after this was that in Feb 1307, he went to South West Scotland with a few hundred Irish/Hebridians, to learn how to fight the English. He didn't want Wallace's early death. In April he surprised 1500 English troops and forced them to flee and in May using trenches and better tactics, he beat 3000 English troops at Louden Hill. Edward 1st then died and the Bruce had no major opposition in Scotland for the next three years.

Do you imagine that he went about a peaceful existence or negotiated with rival families? No, this hot-headed man had unfinished buisness with the Comyn's and the Bailiol's. He simply couldn't rest until he had got rid of every last vestige of opposition. He went on a terrible rampage through Scotland, laying waste to one castle after another, along with the people and then he burnt their fields. In short he was a bloodthirsty tyrant. Then he got ill with a nameless mysterious complaint, which no medicine or doctor could cure, so he went to the highlands. Just when others thought him dead, he recovered and continued the slaughter. Can you see how this period of years of struggle in its own very different way, parallels Lennon's dragged out fight against deportation, including the 18th month 'lost weekend'.

It would not be until 1309, that he had crushed resistence everywhere and then the Pope lifted his ban of ex-communication and King Robert called his first parliament. He was not yet a hero to his people however and it would take more years, until his victory at Bannockburn, for this to happen. Is it any wonder that in his later life he did so many public acts of charity and building works for the church. Just like McBeth, he had blood on his hands and a desperate need to absolve his conscience. In the end they actually called him Good King Robert, but that is another story and I'll have to tell it another day.

So I hear you say:- "All well and good, but that is in the grisly middle ages. It's got nothing to do with me." 'Life Cycles' would say otherwise, but it's way too soon to get you to agree. You see it's all about the fateful moment in the 'Year of Broken Pathways', that then has implications for quite a few years to follow of uphill struggle. I'll be back next month with a tale from my own Australia. A tale of two 19 year olds, who made world headlines in the US in the area of crime. Who were they and why do I tell just one of their stories? Any correct answer will be published and lauded. Till then may the cycles always bring you good fortune.

John Lennon's 'Year Of Broken Pathways'

Hello again! As promised we are going to examine the life of John Lennon in just one 'Year of Broken Pathways'. This was the year when he was 31 years old, which was from 9th October, 1971 to 9th October, 1972. We are going to be looking for major direction change, that included fateful events and being somewhat 'out of control'. Matters would also take several years to resolve. This is the essence of the 'Year of Broken Pathways' and if it's a famous life, then the events can often be well known. In Lennon's case they actually made a documentary about it. Did you happen to see "The US vs. John Lennon"? If you did then you know exactly where I'm going.

In Sept. 1971 Lennon and Yoko arrive in New York. As Yoko says:- "John was in love with New York". It was regarded at the time as the centre of the creative world. John did not care what people thought about him, as long as he could get on the front page with the word 'peace'. However the problems that ensued with the government began when they befriended the anti-war activists Jerry Rubin and Abby Hoffman. He and Yoko saw them as fellow artists, but of course they weren't. They in turn saw Lennon as someone whose public profile would enhance their own cause. He became a pawn in their game. Things heated up when he offered to donate money to Bobby Seale, who was Chairman of the Black Panther Party. As a former FBI agent said:- "if you become his friend like this, you become the enemy of every law enforcement official/cop in the country". The authorities were terrified of him, he had so much sway:- "he had some intellectual force unlike types like Mick Jagger and others".

He then went ahead and demonstrated this power. Lennon sang a newly written song "John Sinclair", at the "Free John Sinclair" concert before 20,000 people and three days later the State of Michigan released him. Sinclair was co-founder of the White Panther Party, a prominent activist and was serving ten years for drug related offences. Do you think any of this government paranoia was known to Lennon at the time? Surely not, because this was all great fun for a natural rebel like him. He liked to be provocative. However his pathway was about to be changed forever. How could he have known that in July of the following year, 18 to 21 year olds were going to get the vote and his influence could imperil the Nixon administration.

His activist buddies hatched a plan to follow the Republican Re-Election rallies around the country and the next day hold a rally to preach against them, with of course Lennon up on stage to help draw a crowd. This would culminate at the Republican Convention in San Diego. When news of this leaked out Lennon became a political target. He realised his phone was being tapped and he was followed in his car. He became worried and frightened. Yoko said they knew it would have been very dangerous to appear in the rallies and they backed out.

In Feb. 1972 Senator Storm Thurmond suggested to Nixon that:-" deportation would be a strategic counter-measure" against Lennon and soon after notice was served to him. Because they were afraid of a big show trial, they used a former drug conviction in UK as the reason. Lennon knew why they wanted him gone, but he wanted to embarrass them over the reason:- "other pop stars have the same conviction, but come and go as they please.....because they don't speak out". Of course he simply could have left but he said :- "I like the place, this is where I want to be".

He hired an immigration lawyer, who kept on getting his stay extended, in what became a very complex case. With Nixon's re-election Lennon was marginalised and the FBI closed their file on him. However Immigration kept the case going for another two years. Lennon said:-" It keeps the conservatives happy something is being done and it keeps the liberals happy that I haven't been thrown out". His life became 'on-hold' and this coincided with the well-known 18 month 'lost weekend' with May Pang, Harry Nilsson and others in Los Angeles.....but that is another story and I'll tell it to you another time.

Nixon resigned over Watergate and was replaced by Gerald Ford in August 1974. Ford had little interest in continuing the battle against Lennon and his deportation order was overturned in 1975,  at the same time as his 35th birthday and the birth of his son Sean. He called this the happiest day of his life.

This example meets every criteria of  the 'Year of Broken Pathways' and its consequences, which take almost all of the rest of his 12 year cycle to resolve. It's fateful, it's important and it's life changing. It's happened to me and it's happened to you. But heck, John Lennon was just one guy I hear you say. And you know what, you're right! One swallow does not a summer make. I'll be back next month with another great story from murky, murderous old Scotland. Until then :- "may the cycles always bring you good fortune".

Introducing "The Year Of Broken Pathways"

                                               
                                                    
                               THAT'S  LIFE


            "That's life, that's what all the people say,
             You're riding high in April, shot down in May....."


If you read too many motivation gurus and attend their high-priced seminars you'd believe perfection was easily within your grasp. You know:- "all your dreams can be realised, it's just up to you....(once you follow my system that is)" etc,etc. But we all know that isn't how life goes. It's not all a bed of roses. Honestly you should save your money and just buy a Frank Sinatra CD.

No, a good analogy for how life goes is a game of poker. Now I reckon I'm a pretty good local venue player and I've got a track record to prove it. Eight times end of season winner in 3 different poker leagues. I read the books, I watch it on TV. You'd think all I had to do was turn up and win. But that's not how it goes at all! I get long periods of no good cards. I get frustrated and then I explode internally when some lesser player outdraws my better hand. Oh the bad beats! They all hurt. Sometimes I swear I'm never going to play this stupid game again. Poker players can't remember their wins, but they can tell you all their bad luck stories.

Well I'm afraid that's life in general. Some wonderful highs and long periods of average and then a few moments we'd rather forget. A few meltdowns, a few run-ins, a few set-backs. We've all been there and it doesn't matter how stellar your overall performance may look. Now I want to take you back in time to when I sat across the desk and talked to people about their careers and lives. Thousands of people for almost 20 years when I ran my own management consulting practice. That's where 'Life Cycles' comes from. It's from real-life case history evidence. I didn't go to India to become enlightened or receive a special spiritual message. I can't tell you why 'Life Cycles' is so accurate. I can only tell you that it is. And my terminology isn't that mystical either. You know the 'Year of Revolution'  is so-called because that's exactly what I observed happens to people. It's a revolution in their lives once every 12 years. That's the first lesson.

OK, so now I'm ready to introduce the second major term used in 'Life Cycles' analysis. You see when I thought about all the observations I made on the 12 year upheaval, I also began to look closely at whether there was any other year that correlated with important change. What I observed was that one year stood out in many people's lives and that was the year seven years after the 'Year of Revolution'. This time I observed a major change in direction that represented a challenge in people's lives. No, this was not merely 'having a bad day or a bad run' or a one-out drama. This was more fundamental and usually required a lengthy response over the next several years to accomodate. Once again the feeling was that:- "we are not fully in control".

The theme for this was challenge (and that can be equally for good or ill) and a change of direction. I termed this year  the 'Year of Broken Pathways'. Once again it's not such a mystical notion, it says exactly what it is. OK, so the same applies to this year as to the 'Year of Revolution' :- "show us the evidence!" That is exactly what I aim to do in a series of articles, beginning with the life of John Lennon.

Lastly, I know you're all wondering what this year equates to in age (unless you're good at maths). It equates to the ages of 7 and 19 and 31 and 43 and 55 etc. It represents the second major plank of 'Life Cycles' theory. Don't worry you're going to get familiar with it. Until we meet again :- "may the cycles always bring you good fortune".

Life Cycles-The First Lesson

This is a different post. I'm not featuring any famous or well-publicised people as teaching devices. No, this is a time for reflection on my previous eleven posts. Oh and of course it is a time to tell an unknown story.....my own! You know the vast majority of Revolution Year events happen in seemingly less significant ways. But that's only because our lives aren't written about much. It doesn't mean that my life isn't interesting as is yours. All lives are interesting! All Revolutions touch the person concerned in a fundamental way.

OK, so what happened to me when I was 36? Was I a bit like Napoleon? You don't think so? Read on. Leading up to this birthday I had been a management consultant employed by an international firm with a well-known pedigree. I had started to take a real interest in the largely unknown field of outplacement. Unknown at the time in Australia that is. Back then there were only two providers one in each of our two biggest cities. I put forward a business plan for our firm to get into it, including pinching a dissatisfied member of the rival firm's team. But I had a major problem in organisation life. I was too much of a 'one-outer', not a good 'brown noser' and my director told me "no" and said:- "that's like retreading old tyres". Then to my horror I saw a newly arrived older consultant, lunching this same director and announcing:- "I'm going to set up outplacement complete with an overseas study tour and a budget".

Well I was furious and discussed it at home. My wife said:- "Why don't you just go into business yourself". And very soon after with little preparation I did. I felt pretty let down by the whole thing. It was my "Trafalgar" moment. There I was doing bits and pieces of work when a colleague from another firm, who had gone into business at the same time told me of a colleague of his, in executive search, who was a friend of the principal of the leading UK outplacement company. Talk about six degrees of separation! I was put in contact with this person, who it turned out wanted to establish an Australian franchise. Well I had to dig deep and put my house on the line, but guess what I did and the rest as they say is history.

It was to be the start of my major career as I built the business from nothing to be a major player in this emerging market. And yes bigger than my old employer's operation. Such a moment has not happened before or since in my life. I answered the call and I won my own personal "Battle of Austerlitz". When I was in the middle of it, it didn't feel comfortable and it was definitely fateful. I wasn't in control. Now don't tell me any other theory can adequately explain this. It simply can't.

So what is the first lesson? Think about it carefully. It's in twelve parts (one for each post). Not a wasted word. In fact the whole blog symbolises the theory. Don't worry I'll teach you how later.

OK. The Year of Revolution is something you get every twelve years. It starts with birth (the greatest revolution of all) and happens again at 12,24,36,48.60 etc. Often the important mid-life age of 36 features strongly and sometimes 24 and 48, but and listen closely:- " all Revolutions are equal". They all involve important change ushered in through upheaval. At this time fateful events occur and we are not fully in control. They are symbolically equivalent to re-birth. You do not have to die to come to the next incarnation. You get a version of it when you're alive.

I know this is new and different and that people generally like the stories but are not sure of the whole theory. Well I didn't come across this to hide it under a bushel. No I came to share it with you all. This is not "the wisdom of the ancients". You are receiving it right now in your lifetime, from one of your peers.

My next post commences the next cycle, which will be full of interesting stories and lives of celebrities in meltdown and of course your next icon. Stay tuned and until then:- "may the cycles always bring you good fortune".

Napoleon-The Ultimate Revolution

We're going back in time and I want you to experience the whole thing. Put on an overcoat, line up some toy soldiers, put your hand inside your shirt, play some military music and turn your baseball cap sideways. Now look at yourself in the mirror. Yes, you are Napoleon! I want you to feel what he felt. He is the embodiment of Life Cycles. Once you know his story you will forever know the theory.

It's 1805 and Napoleon turned 36 on 15th August. So we're concerned with events taking place from then till 15th August 1806. Now who knows their history? If I was to have talked with Napoleon on 20th October 1805 he would have told me of his grand plan to break the British naval blockade and then to mount a huge invasion across the English Channel and so capture the island nation and rule the seas. He was in fact so confident of victory he had commemorative medallions struck beforehand. His combined French and Spanish fleet under Admiral Pierre Villeneuve was numerically superior. It would take a bold move by the British to put it under pressure.

But this is no ordinary year for him. No, he is in his major mid-life year of Revolution and upheavals and surprises are the order of the day. What happened next was extraordinary. At 11.00am on 21st October Admiral Nelson ordered his ships drawn up in two parallel columns, which was an unorthodox manoeuvre. Outnumbered and outgunned 30,000 men to 17,000 and with six less ships, they produced the greatest British naval victory ever at the Battle of Trafalgar. The French-Spanish fleet lost 22 ships without a single British ship lost.

Napoleon would never rule Britannia or the seas. He wasn't aware however that his enemies Russia and Austria were preparing an assault on France, if he had taken his army across the Channel. This defeat now left him the chance to adjust his strategy and turn on Britain's allies instead. A lesser man would have been crushed, but Napoleon was a military genius.

Can you not see how 'out of control' of events he was even though he quickly saw an opportunity. This is the Revolutionary upheaval par excellence. What happened next was even more extraordinary than Trafalgar.

Now we flash forward to Dec. 2nd 1805, and Napoleon and his grand armee are facing the combined forces of the Austrian and Russian Emperors at Austerlitz in modern day Czech Republic. Days before he had given the impression his army was weak and that he desired a negotiated peace. He deliberately weakened his right flank to encourage an attack. Meanwhile he ordered troops march 110 kms (70 miles) from Vienna in 48hrs. for support, which proved crucial. The Allies marched right into his trap. As soon as they left the Pratzen Heights, Napoleon ordered his troops waiting in the valley below under cover of a thick fog to advance. As he passed by, his troops waved their hats at the ends of their bayonets and their shouts of "Vive L'Empereur" gave the signal for the battle to begin. Suddenly the sun burst through the fog at 8.00 am to reveal Napoleon's troops on top of the enemy. This was the famous "Sun of Austerlitz". Books have been written just about this. Check it out some time.

It was to be Napoleon's greatest moment. What followed next was something very rare in military history :- a complete and total defeat of one army by another in one day. It would scare many a foe from ever taking the field against him. It effectively handed control of Europe over to him with the surrender of the Austrian Emperor and the flight of the Russian Emperor. Never a more career-defining moment than this!

Now consider this. With Life Cycles I don't require you to believe in what I'm saying. It's a well-established fact. It all happened at age 36 in his important year of Revolution. I have the theory based on other case histories, but I substantiate it against well proven historical and sometimes recent facts.

Why do I write of Napoleon? "What has this got to do with me?" I hear you ask. "Nothing - that's what! I didn't conquer Europe, I wasn't defeated by Admiral Nelson! I live in the real world for God's sake." Well I'm here to tell you're wrong! You better believe it. Every life has a 'Sun of Austerlitz' and a 'Trafalgar' moment in it. We all triumph from the ashes in our own way. I wouldn't say it if I couldn't find supporting evidence from a confidential survey of my friends and associates given in Chapter Ten. Their stories are your stories if you know what I mean. I'll share my story with you next month. Yes true as you are reading this I say that you will be "swept away" twice in a symbolic sense in your Year of Revolution. I say it clearly:- "You are Napoleon and he is you!"

And this wasn't because Napoleon was a bombastic Leo with this and that angle in the heavens. It wasn't because he had a life path number of 1 or because he manifested the outcome in a 'Law of Attraction' manner. They all require you to accept the unprovable. Do constellations affect our personality? Are numbers really magic? Can you simply wish it or will it so? You'll never get any proof!

I am a voice from the wilderness. I am new and I am different. I only exist because I offer you proof. OK, so if we examined Napoleon's previous year of Revolution at age 24 would we find evidence of a related kind:- namely a superior strategic military victory? You bet I can! And not only was it similar but it happened around the same time in that year as it did in his 36th year. If you ask me I'll do a separate blog on this.

No-one and I repeat no-one has ever analysed life this way before. Keep tuned in to the blog that will one day change the course of history. Next month I'm going to draw this together and may even talk about myself a bit. Until then:- "May the cycles always bring you good fortune."