We have devised a new pursuit here at Scott-Towers, which I thought I'd share with you, to see if you'd like to give it a try. It's really very simple, costs nothing and encourages everyone who takes part to be better, reach farther and become the best possible version of themselves. Our new pursuit is called Bring The Greatness, and here's how it works.

Before I begin, do you remember the BBC comedy series Bread, which ran from 1986 - 1991? For those of you too young, or just plain oblivious to remember the show, it centred around a tight-knit Liverpudlian family of scallies who all deposited the cash they had [ahem] “acquired” throughout the day into a ceramic chicken-shaped egg dish, in the centre of the kitchen table. Here's where my inspiration struck: instead of bringing the cash to the table each night, how about we bring the greatness?

How do we bring the greatness exactly? Well, in a variety of individual ways, as there is no one singular way to bring the greatness. Obviously, you can devise your own definitions of greatness, but here are a couple of examples we bring to the Scott table...

AT SCHOOL

At school you can bring the greatness by helping someone who was sad or friendless at playtime, to be happy and included in your game. You could get a sticker for reading well, completing lots of work, being polite, helpful and/or kind. Obviously, you can bring the greatness by achieving great exam and test results, being awarded certificates and merits, or by being selected for something exceptional. It's not all about trophies and hardware though, just as much emphasis is placed upon being the best version of yourself in any and all circumstances.

AT WORK

You can bring the greatness in your work environment in much the same way as the kids would at school, i.e.: playing nicely with others, respecting the space and opinions of your colleagues and completing a shed load of high-quality work on time every time. You could find new solutions to old problems, acquire profitable new business leads or surpass a target or goal of some kind. How about offering some added value to your company or clients, by going the extra mile and giving them more than they perceive themselves to be paying for? You can bring the greatness by enhancing every life you touch and every experience you encounter.

IN LIFE

In life, bringing the greatness would include any activity in which you offer unusually high levels of compassion, trust, love and loyalty; just because you can. By allowing the reciprocal gratitude, love and friendship to be your sole reward, you will actually walk away with so much more than just money. Random acts of kindness are too rare these days but are so hugely rewarding. I do wonder why we're not as addicted to them as we are to the likes of social media.

Another positive aspect of Bringing the Greatness to the dinner table every evening is how it encourages everyone to look up and keep looking up. It encourages us to see the good and seek the great – to think about how everything could be better, if only we'd notice and if only we cared enough to manifest the change. It's too easy to come home after a busy day and slide automatically into tired, grumpy and negative mode. What I am trying to promote at Scott-Towers is the focus on what was good, what was great and what will be better tomorrow. Chin up, look up and aim high, always.

JOY-SUCKING VORTEX

I believe that encouraging my friends, family and children in particular to acknowledge and evaluate the problems of the day, but not to be crippled by them is encouraging strength and resilience within them. We have never subscribed to the Ain't It Awful Club, simply because it's a joy-sucking vortex and an exercise in futility. Why waste the time and energy complaining, when the same time and energy can be better spent problem solving and improving? Life's challenges are more easily mastered with a positive mental attitude, fact, which is precisely why it is better to light a candle than to complain about the dark.

Our Bringing the Greatness dinner discussions also promote healthy family unity, communication, understanding, compassion and connection, where we love, support and empower each other - so why wouldn't we? The alternative to bringing the greatness is shuffling the slackness, i.e.: never achieving very much, going nowhere but being in a hurry to get there.

Surround yourself with the dreamers and the doers, the believers and the thinkers,

but most of all, surround yourself with those who see the greatness within you,

even when you don't see it yourself

Why not give it a go yourself, you can see how free and easy it is, and I hope you can see the numerous benefits it will afford you too? Stimulating dinner conversation is a dying art, so how better to restart it, whilst promoting a strong family connection with empowered and developing family members? It's a fun and positive activity, looking for ways in which you are Bringing the Greatness to your family dinner table every night, and it can only afford you positive results.