Stop - Unplug - Escape - Enjoy
The Fennel's Priory mantra consists of four words: Stop – Unplug – Escape – Enjoy. It's a four step process to a contented life. Nice and simple. Just stop for a while, unplug from the 'always on' world, then escape to a quiet place where you can enjoy doing the things you love.
I came up with these words back in 2006 while writing A Meaningful Life, the first book in the Fennel's Journal series. I needed a way to bring me back to a happy place that I called 'The Priory'. It was where, no matter what was going on in my life or troubling my mind, I could find peace and put my arms around the real me.
Two sides to the story
Everything I've created at Fennel's Priory is in support of one's true character. All that quiet country living, the gentle and sensitive reflections on life and one's love of nature, is real. It helps us to keep the balance when things elsewhere are troubled. Why? Because things elsewhere in my life were, for a decade, very troubled.
I rarely reveal both sides of my story and character (A Meaningful Life, The Lighter Side, and Book of Secrets are the exceptions), but I'm going to do so in this blog because one of my articles (see below) – written under my real name – has had a wonderful affect on the world that caused me to consistency follow the Priory mantra.
Two names, one person
You probably know me as Fennel. This is the nickname I was given in 1996 (click here for the story of how and why I got it). It's what almost all my friends call me. It's also my pen name and my way of staying true to the real me that existed before the pressures of adult life kicked in. The 'real and original me', therefore, is Fennel. But it's not my real name.
My name is Nigel. This is what I use for work – at least the jobs I do for big corporates and Government – when I have to get serious about some very serious things and wonder how a writer could end up with such responsibilities. (The reasons why I endure such a high-pressure environment can be read here.)
Keeping the balance
Having two separate identities enables me to keep the balance between work and home life. As the pressure from one side increases, so does the other side. Hence why I've written 14 books and 200 blogs in my spare time during the past 12 years.
Fennel, gently and with pen in hand, steps in to save me when Nigel is taking the punches of a brutal working environment.
Same message, different audience
'Nigel' also writes. I used to be a sales & marketing copywriter before finding my niche in writing sales proposals. This led to me managing the creation of those proposals, which became multi-billion-pound bid programmes, and then coaching others to do the same. Today I help individuals, teams and organisations in the bidding profession to perform to the best of their ability. And I write about this, too.
I write a regular column for a publication called Bidding Quarterly, or BQ for short, where I share my learning, observations and guidance about personal and professional development – especially about knowing one's calling, investing in what matters, staying true to one's values and doing things on one's terms. Sound familiar?
The current edition of BQ is themed around well-being and mental health: things I'm passionate about because I've lived and breathed them for so many years – seeing colleagues and myself suffer due to working in a relentlessly pressured environment.
Why I write so passionately as Fennel
Want to know what it's like to work a 100-hour week for nine years, suffer three breakdowns, compromise your integrity, nearly lose your wife, and have your 39-year-old teammate drop dead due to the same pressures you're facing? I've not held anything back, so brace yourself. And then remember to 'Stop – Unplug...' so that everything can be calm again.
You can read an online version of the magazine here, though please read the longer version of my article here on the sponsor's website. It gives a first-hand account of all the things that were going on in my work life that caused me to write so passionately as Fennel.
There are always two sides to a story. Now you know mine.
Fennel Hudson is a lifestyle & countryside author known for his Fennel's Journal series of books and as host of The Contented Countryman podcast.
For more 'behind the scenes' insights into his writing and life, please read his book entitled Book of Secrets.
Please also subscribe to the Fennel on Friday weekly email. You'll receive either a blog, video or podcast sent to you in time for the weekend.