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And just like that, it’s 2024! On behalf of all at Pro Mobile and HH Publishing, I’d like to wish all of our writers, readers and advertisers, a happy and prosperous new year. Last year was a big step in the right direction, something of a return to normality. The huge issues with equipment supply eased and whilst Covid didn’t go away, it wasn’t the headline-driving pandemic that it still was in 2022. And that absolutely crazy backlog has finally eased.
For me, it also felt like a transformative year. Steve and I launched and ran the first UK Photo Booth show in four years and we can safely say it was a huge success (thanks to the many Pro Mobile readers who attended), and we also launched the first ever Pro Mobile Focus & Retreat. Since 2012, I have had the good fortune to build a fabulous business which provides a fair amount of work for a number of DJs.
In addition my wife, Michelle, has built a photo booth business that keeps her more than a little busy. A core part of this journey has been conferences, trade shows and expos. I have always attended them because it felt like the right thing to do, I could never put my finger on why – I didn’t particularly have any one reason which stood out. But I recently found out!
Like many DJs I know, a radio is always on whenever I’m driving but after a long and loud gig, I prefer to listen to podcasts. And I recently listened to an interview from the series ‘Diary of a CEO’ with Dr Robert Waldinger who is the director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development. This study is the world’s longest study on human happiness – it’s an incredible listen, you can find it on any podcast platform.
Anyway, very long story short, the main finding of this study is that the one thing which makes us humans happiest, and by some distance, are relationships. It’s not money, fancy cars or huge homes. I think all of us know this in any case, but there was also an enlightening part of the interview which felt like a bit of a revelation.
Dr Bob, as I hope his friends call him, talked about a study in Chicago where train passengers were asked to do one of two things on their morning commute. One group was asked to do what they always do, read a paper, listen to music, whatever they normally do.
The other was asked to spend the journey talking to a stranger. Before getting on the train, the second group were easily the least happy of the two.
They were all very uncomfortable about spending their usual quiet time trying to talk to someone they didn’t know. Can you guess which group had much higher happiness scores at the end of the journey? Of course, you can. It turned out that by taking themselves out of their comfort zones and engaging with someone they didn’t know, the previously unhappy cohort had a much better outcome.
All this tells me that spending time with colleagues I know, and some I don’t, will make me a happier person.
This is why it's so important that we get as many people as we can to Focus & Retreat. We have now moved all speakers and the Pro Mobile team to another, nearby, venue. This has freed up some rooms, so if you want to increase your happiness, become better informed, make new friends, share time with some old ones, speak directly with some of the suppliers who make and sell the equipment you use, you know what to do – book now at:
https://retreat.promobile.org.uk/
Why not set yourself up for the year ahead? Do it now before you miss out!
For me, it also felt like a transformative year. Steve and I launched and ran the first UK Photo Booth show in four years and we can safely say it was a huge success (thanks to the many Pro Mobile readers who attended), and we also launched the first ever Pro Mobile Focus & Retreat. Since 2012, I have had the good fortune to build a fabulous business which provides a fair amount of work for a number of DJs.
In addition my wife, Michelle, has built a photo booth business that keeps her more than a little busy. A core part of this journey has been conferences, trade shows and expos. I have always attended them because it felt like the right thing to do, I could never put my finger on why – I didn’t particularly have any one reason which stood out. But I recently found out!
Like many DJs I know, a radio is always on whenever I’m driving but after a long and loud gig, I prefer to listen to podcasts. And I recently listened to an interview from the series ‘Diary of a CEO’ with Dr Robert Waldinger who is the director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development. This study is the world’s longest study on human happiness – it’s an incredible listen, you can find it on any podcast platform.
Anyway, very long story short, the main finding of this study is that the one thing which makes us humans happiest, and by some distance, are relationships. It’s not money, fancy cars or huge homes. I think all of us know this in any case, but there was also an enlightening part of the interview which felt like a bit of a revelation.
Dr Bob, as I hope his friends call him, talked about a study in Chicago where train passengers were asked to do one of two things on their morning commute. One group was asked to do what they always do, read a paper, listen to music, whatever they normally do.
The other was asked to spend the journey talking to a stranger. Before getting on the train, the second group were easily the least happy of the two.
They were all very uncomfortable about spending their usual quiet time trying to talk to someone they didn’t know. Can you guess which group had much higher happiness scores at the end of the journey? Of course, you can. It turned out that by taking themselves out of their comfort zones and engaging with someone they didn’t know, the previously unhappy cohort had a much better outcome.
All this tells me that spending time with colleagues I know, and some I don’t, will make me a happier person.
This is why it's so important that we get as many people as we can to Focus & Retreat. We have now moved all speakers and the Pro Mobile team to another, nearby, venue. This has freed up some rooms, so if you want to increase your happiness, become better informed, make new friends, share time with some old ones, speak directly with some of the suppliers who make and sell the equipment you use, you know what to do – book now at:
https://retreat.promobile.org.uk/
Why not set yourself up for the year ahead? Do it now before you miss out!
The full review can be found in Pro Mobile Issue 123, Page 6.
