It’s never too late to change... trust me I’m a salesman. So said the invitation to a recent men’s curry night organised by a team at Saint James Church in Gerrards Cross, near London. Mark, a successful business man, described how as a result of a ‘wake-up call’ in his life he decided to reinvent himself.

Mark Bingham has been self employed for 25 of his 46 years and is a co-leader of Secondsight, an employee benefits company. Both Mark and his company have won numerous awards. At the men’s evening he spoke about his desire for personal change and how he wanted to strike the right balance, particularly between work and family. Mark was open and direct about the need to find direction in life. He described how he spent some time reviewing his life and setting goals for himself in five key areas: work, wife, family, health and giving. His guiding principle is to be a man after God’s own heart.

he spent some time reviewing his life and setting goals for himself in five key areas

It was clear from the feedback that Mark had struck a chord with many of the hosts and guests that evening. Maybe as a result of the summer heat or the World Cup numbers were down a bit (the events usually attract 50-60 men keen to socialize over a curry and a pint as well as hear a variety of speakers on interesting issues). 34 had signed up leaving a few tables free in the restaurant which were filled by a group who had no knowledge of the evening. They were encouraged and invited to join in and listen to Mark. Afterwards one man asked whether we were ‘extras’ brought in by their company owner! The group were the management team of a local company and had been planning company change all day. They couldn’t believe what a ‘coincidence’ this was, and were even more astonished when they heard that our next men’s curry night is to be on November 15th, the same date as their next management planning day.  Coincidence?!?