The Good Listening To Show: Stories of Distinction & Genius

Embracing Light and Darkness: Career Progression Consultant Simon Bergenroth's Journey of Faith & Purpose on the 15th Anniversary of his Father's Death by Suicide

• Chris Grimes - Facilitator. Coach. Motivational Comedian

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Have you ever pondered the question of how to embrace both light and darkness in life? In our latest episode, we join Simon Bergenroth, the MD of 3Hats, as he shares his journey of faith and resilience on the 15th anniversary of his father's death. Simon's inspiring story takes us on a journey through his struggles with bipolar disorder, the influence of his guardian angel, Christina Bruns, and his departure from the West Midlands. 

This episode explores Simon's path to finding purpose amid adversity and how his faith has helped him celebrate life. Through his executive coaching and advising business, Simon guides his clients to discover new opportunities by looking both backward and forward. You'll hear his thoughtful insights on parenthood, the beauty of different cultures, and his appreciation for the natural world.

Simon's vision of shining light into the dark places of the world is as intriguing as it is inspiring. He shares his dream of creating a global agency, 'LIGHT', dedicated to illuminating the world's darkest corners. Towards the end, our conversation touches on Simon's perspective on legacy and his aspiration to be a 'weapon of mass salvation'. Tune in to hear this powerful story of resilience, purpose, and the human spirit. This isn't just another podcast episode; it's an invitation to explore a life lived in light and darkness.

Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.

Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW wherever you get your Podcasts :)

Thanks for listening!

Chris Grimes:

Welcome to another episode of the Good Listening To Show your life and times with me, chris Grimes, the storytelling show that features the clearing, where all good questions come to get asked and all good stories come to be told, and where all my guests have two things in common they're all creative individuals and all with an interesting story to tell. There are some lovely storytelling metaphors a clearing, a tree, a juicy storytelling exercise called 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, some alchemy, some gold, a cheeky bit of Shakespeare and a cake. So it's all to play for. So, yes, welcome to the Good Listening To Show your life and times with me, chris Grimes, are you sitting comfortably here? Then we shall begin. Get in quite literally, and get in linked in See what I'm doing there. Welcome, welcome, thrice. Welcome to another very exciting episode.

Chris Grimes:

Here is a LinkedIn live of the Good Listening To Show stories of distinction and genius, the show where I invite movers, makers, shakers, mavericks, influencers and also personal heroes into a clearing or serious happy place of their choosing to share with us their stories of distinction and genius. And today I'm delighted to welcome the wonderful Simon Bergenroth, md of Three Hats, dot co dot, uk. Welcome, welcome, thrice. Welcome, simon Bergenroth. Wonderful, so the sound of one man clapping there. So, house Morale, watch your story of the day please. Simon Bergenroth and, by the way, I am aware supremely that this is a very profound day that you've chosen to record. I know we'll get onto that as well. But first of all, just, house Morale, watch your story of the day.

Simon Bergenroth :

Story of the day is that it's the 15th anniversary of the passing of my father, a great man, don Brett Bergenroth, who sadly took his own life. Oh gosh, yeah, it was. It was a. It was a big shock and actually for the last 14 years, you know, around Halloween this time has normally been quite difficult for me, for obvious reasons. But actually, you know, given my faith, you know, I'm a very kind of kind of strong, kind of Christian in terms of my views. You know, I kind of have been sort of going through a process, I would say year on year. We're actually a lot of the kind of anger and tension and things and kind of challenges I've had around it have been resolved. So so I'm actually going trick or treating with my son, josh, who's eight years old tonight. I've never been trick or treating before and I'm really looking forward to it. I'm armed with lots of lollies and things like that and, yeah, it feels like a real celebration of life this year, which is really exciting.

Simon Bergenroth :

And it comes on a day, obviously, this wonderful, fabulous, majestic kind of invite that you gave me to come on to the show and I thought it was appropriate to do it on the 31st of October 2023, you know, given that that anniversary, and I've been I've been working with someone called David Reed from a company called because Brands Matter all around kind of looking at really supercharging my business three hats, which is a kind of executive coaching, mentoring and advising business. So we've just been kind of working in and around my flat you know various walls and scribbles on the walls and ideas and thinking around how I can take three hats to the next level, because I've had a very successful first year and I'm actually looking at a triple projection in terms of revenue for next year. So David's been helping me with that and you know it's been a good day. So so that's the summary.

Chris Grimes:

Wonderful summary. And you are, if I may say, on the crest of a wave, of a perfect combination of wonderful conviction, energy, strong faith, which you've already alluded to and passion and a desire to help. And so, just if people don't have the reference of what three hats is, you know that horrible, clunky sort of networking question that we all face what do you do then? What's your best way of answering or avoiding what three hats do then, in sort of in a bish-bash-bosh way.

Simon Bergenroth :

Well, we work with senior executives, so generally C-suite and board members, and you know I could kind of go in. Oh we do. You know the process of coaching and you know have one to one sessions and different things. But I think the analogy of helping clients either individuals or teams, you know entire boards to effectively build bridges. Now what does that mean? What that means is that what we do with clients is that we, you know, imagine you're on one side of a river and I live in South Queensbury in Edinburgh, absolutely stunning part of the world. You know, as I look outside from my home office, there's three bridges the fourth rail bridge, the fourth road bridge and the Queensbury crossing.

Simon Bergenroth :

And really it kind of boils down to the fact that you know, I come alongside a client and say it's an individual, maybe someone in the C-suite, that wants to move up to being a chief exec. What I do is I stand at the water's edge with them and I invite them to be curious about looking behind to their life and their education and their career and what's led them up to that point. Then we do a bit of a 360, we look around at the kind of current environment. You know what work. They are doing what they've enjoyed, what they don't enjoy, and doing a little bit of an audit and understanding of where they stand. And then the really exciting part comes where you start looking over the fourth. You start looking over the canyon and the space and you look to the distance and you kind of go okay, so many options. You know in terms of where my career could go or where this organisation could go, or where I want to go personally and really kind of excel in my career and I work with someone to really define that. What does that look like? Was that feel like? Was that think like? You know, bringing in kind of NLP techniques that some of your viewers might have heard of, but making it really visceral and clear.

Simon Bergenroth :

Now, once you've done that, you're obviously kind of on one side. You've got to get across there. So why not build a bridge? Let's work together. Let's pull in specialists and I'm incredibly well networked, so you know whether it's brand strategy, you know whether it's. You know marketing, you know whether it could be anything that that client needs.

Simon Bergenroth :

I can kind of use my network to pull in that resource. I've got other associates that work with me and we build a bridge together. Now, sometimes you can use a bit of a military bridge, those bridges where they can build them very quickly and that might suffice, but generally for lasting impact you generally need to take a bit of time. You know, the Queets Free Crossing took about seven or eight years to build in £1.6 billion to actually produce. So you know, for a project of that scale and size you need to take time. But we work together collaboratively, we build that bridge and then the most exciting and fulfilling part is obviously celebrating success. When you get to the other side you look back and you go look what you've done, and that is. That is, in a nutshell, what I do.

Chris Grimes:

And I love the topographical references there about being on the water's edge. You made me think of being a ferryman or a boatman as you guide people across. And also thanks again sincerely for choosing today of all days, because, as we know, you know this is. I know Grandpa Donne Josh has never met him, but this is a really profound day where obviously his, through your spirituality, his memory is living on and you'll be trickle-treating with the front of you.

Simon Bergenroth :

I mean it's amazing. You know his spirit lives through me and there's so many things that you know I kind of think now with my business and you know I basically being really grafting, since I was made redundant and then had to decide what to do all the way through and then I got to October and then everything has exploded. So my emails are exploding, people want to work with me. You know things that I thought I was going to be thinking about in 10 years time, like Scotland Highland Retreat for boards to go away and obviously improve performance. You know I'm actually meeting with the Chief Exec of Visit Scotland in a couple of days time. Lovely guy called Malcolm Ruffhead and I worked there for a number of years, used to be the market manager for the Americas, which is a key market, you know, in terms of high net worth individuals, and they love Scotland, they love the ancestry, you know the kind of diaspora and things like that. So all of that is basically being accelerated, so it's really exciting time.

Chris Grimes:

I can't hear the word diaspora without thinking of Russell Del Gleesh as another profound Scottish bit.

Simon Bergenroth :

Russell's a great guy. I've actually just rejoined as a member of SBN because I joined previously and actually a lot of you know even Helen Byers you know who obviously kind of passed the ban. He actually instigated the associate contract with a company called LHH that I work with at the moment. You know the power of networking should be underestimated and I love it. I've always loved networking.

Chris Grimes:

It's my great pleasure to curate you through. Then, the journey of the Good Listening 2 show. There's going to be a clearing a tree, a lovely juicy storytelling exercise, which actually I got from another brilliant fellow, scott Dave Stewart from Fresh Air Leadership. It's called 54321. We've had five minutes, simon Bergenroth. And, by the way, we must get into what's the derivation of Bergenroth. You'd maybe think of the good burgers of Bergenroth. Oh yes, it's a Viking tribe or whatever it would be.

Chris Grimes:

Anyway, there's then going to be it's four things that have shaped you, three things that inspire you, two things that never fail to grab your attention. Oh, squirrels, you know what never fails to grab your attention? And then a quick, your unusual fact about you. We couldn't possibly know about you, simon, until you tell us. Then there's going to be some alchemy, some gold, a couple of random squirrels, a cheeky bit of Shakespeare, golden baton and a cake, Hurrah. So it's all to play for. And don't panic, mr Manor, you don't have to do all in a one-er. I'm going to curate you through the gateposts of that as we go through. Thank you.

Simon Bergenroth :

Thank you for that.

Chris Grimes:

I'm assuming you're going to probably say a bit more about your dad, because that's so extraordinary. You know the story behind the story there that he also took his own life as well. So in what we're about to talk about, you know, I'll be very interested to see if Grandpa Don comes up again.

Simon Bergenroth :

If it's helpful to other people to share my story, then I'm more than happy to do that.

Chris Grimes:

So let's get you on the open road. First of all, what is where? Is a clearing or a serious happy place for you? Simon Bergenroth, md and founder of Three Hats, where do you go to get clutter free, inspirational and able to think?

Simon Bergenroth :

My happy place is in the mountains. I've done a lot of skiing and snowboarding so I've kind of been to the Alps and the Dolomites and the Pyrenees and various places. Now I live in Scotland. I've actually climbed just over 60 Munrose. So those are mountains, over 3000 feet and there's 282 of them. And when we were kind of preparing for this podcast I kind of thought, okay, maybe Ben Nevis, because it's the biggest one in the UK and obviously in Scotland. But actually it's a place called Peek Blanc, which is a mountain in the French Alps, it's in Alpe d'Huez, and apparently when you get to the top of it which I did on one occasion and there was actually a cloud inversion which is my favourite when you've got the clouds kind of in the valley, you can't kind of see the bottom and it feels like you're in heaven and apparently you can see one fifth of France from the top of Peek Blanc. So that's where our conversation continues.

Chris Grimes:

I love that. I'm just letting that hang there. Peek Blanc, in the French Alps, and, as you've said, aka heaven to you in your memory, which is fantastic. Here we are then. Thank you so much. So I'm going to arrive, rather comically now and existentially, with a tree, a bit waiting for Goddow-esque to shake your tree to see which storytelling apples fall out. How do you like these apples? And this is now your answers to the construct, and thank you for thinking about this before we spoke, where you've had five minutes to have thought about, first of all, four things that have shaped you, simon.

Simon Bergenroth :

So four things that have shaped me. Certainly my faith is number one. I was brought up in a Christian household. I was baptized.

Simon Bergenroth :

At the age of about 13 or so I gave my first preach after I felt God had kind of given me a word around unity and then the church I belonged to fell apart six months later and it kind of started off that way and then I fell away from the church and I guess in kind of biblical sense it talks about sort of going through the narrow gate, and it's a narrow path in terms of walking with Jesus. And yeah, I guess I came off that path and I lived sort of more towards the darkness, let's say the kind of light and dark which is important in terms of something we'll talk about later, in terms of another enterprise that I'm launching. And yeah, I mean broadly through my life, my 43 years, I've kind of had an equal balance of kind of being in church or reading my Bible and just doing all the various things to have that relationship with God, and there are so many different ways that you can do that, and then I've obviously kind of done my own thing and it's just really really obvious as I stand here today. I know which way I'm pointed, I know where my North Star is and actually, in terms of some of the struggles that I've had with bipolar, which I was diagnosed with when I was 37, I had a psychotic episode in Miami which was incredibly scary and obviously we don't have enough time to go into that.

Simon Bergenroth :

And again, I'm more than happy to engage with any of your listeners or anyone that wants to kind of know, but he's basically, I would attribute, kind of God and through Jesus and that's the kind of construct there have really just brought me to a place where they've reconciled all of the light things and all of the dark things and gray areas and everything in my life and brought me to this point where I now understand what my purpose is and for me that's around bringing light.

Simon Bergenroth :

It was actually a quote I've got up here which is you're here to be light, bringing out the God colors in the world, and that's something I live by and whenever I've done that, good things have happened and I'm just really really kind of glad that I've kind of reconciled things and again, that strong faith and community, because it's never just me, it's always a community of people and family that have encouraged me and always kind of pointed me back to the light, so to speak. But that drives everything. It drives who I am in business, who I am as a father, who I am in community, etc. So that's one element.

Chris Grimes:

So rock bottom was 37. And then, ever since then, you've now arrived where.

Simon Bergenroth :

now you've defined your purpose and a much clearer Absolutely and I strangely it might sound strange I think you know my diagnosis was a gift. I think it's a gift that I have. You know it's a chronic condition. You can't cure it. You can do medication, you can do talking therapies, lifestyle changes, wellbeing, you could be doing absolutely everything known to man and be on the right path.

Simon Bergenroth :

But again, the chemical imbalance or whatever goes on inside the mind, which they're still trying to figure out, can just push you one way or the other. You either go high, low, indifferent, and that's really hard, especially in terms of relationships, consistency and work and things like that. So it's a real challenge and I think my dad probably, you know it was either depression or potentially bipolar. Obviously there's a hereditary element that goes to it. But again, I think it's all a bit of a gift and you know there's a saying in the Bible that God uses all things for His goodness in the end and I truly believe that. And again, I'm living proof and I'm just so glad that the last kind of suicidal thought that I had, which was in Miami, which was a thought I believe came from the enemy. Again, you know I'm not pushing this on anyone, this is just my faith and belief. When I was most vulnerable, the thought came into my mind that it was my destiny to kill myself like my father did. That is not light, that is very dark, and I'm just so glad that the lady this lady called Christina Bruns, who used to be my line manager she was like my guardian angel, basically looking after me.

Simon Bergenroth :

Obviously, I got flown home early, spent 11 days in the psychiatric Edinburgh and from there it's been, you know a journey all the way through and even going back to when I left the West Midlands back in 2013,. The pastor of the church that kind of prayed over me just before I left said, just praying, that God gives you provision over the next four years, you know, for your next task. And I said to him at the end well, what does that mean? And he said I don't know. It was just something that I kind of felt when I was praying over you. And you know, lo and behold, did I realize obviously, four years on, that was 2017. And then my world obviously just went into chaos. Well, I think that was God's way of basically hitting the reset button. And then, ever since then, he's been building me up for his mission to help people through three hats. And obviously light, which is the kind of social enterprise charity not for profit that I'm currently in the process of launching.

Chris Grimes:

And, if I may ask, are you at peace with the rationale of what happened to your father versus then you almost history repeating itself, which you then avoided at the last minute with the psychotic episodes. So are you at peace with the rationale of it all?

Simon Bergenroth :

Yeah, I'm never going to know exactly what was going through my dad's head at the time and I don't need to know. All I know is that I've got a loving father in heaven. My dad accepted Jesus into his life. You know, he's in heaven as far as I'm concerned. He's at peace, he's a paradise and I'll get a wonderful moment where we'll reunite at some point. But no, I'm at total peace, which is why I'm doing, you know, trickle treating and you know even my son's surprise, because he kind of knows that obviously it's a difficult time. But, you know, I think it's a time to celebrate his life and you know, I want to kind of honor him and kind of dedicate three hats and lights, in part, obviously, the wisdom that he gave me when he was alive.

Chris Grimes:

And also I'm so premium aware that your clearing is for you, heaven on earth, because you've described a peak which feels like because of the inverted cloud, Whereas again it's what's the peak called Blanc, peak, Peak block, Peak block. So it's like peak block is a bloke on LinkedIn we all need to connect with.

Simon Bergenroth :

Well, so it sounds a bit like plonker Rodney you plonker, rodney, you plonker.

Chris Grimes:

So that was a great first shape. What about the second thing that shaped you?

Simon Bergenroth :

So there are two gentlemen, one called Ian Humphries and another called David Poole, and they were the joint MDs for an agency that I joined in the West Midlands called Life Agency. Now they had a mantra that ran through everything that we did as an agency and that was question everything. And you know, I've carried that with me throughout my career ever since I heard it and just that, just that sense that you know, that curiosity, you know and I've, and it's something very much that you learn as an executive coach. You know, it's something that I really explore, like in the first session or two with a new client or a team. It's very much about, you know, let's just get curious. What's going on. You know we've got causes and effects and all the rest of it, and I think that question everything is just so powerful. And you know, there was actually a kind of leadership program that was developed by a guy called Tony Barton, I think from from Red Kite Consulting in the West Midlands, and the first kind of course that we went on in terms of looking at this question everything was around designing an alliance and it was really, really powerful and I've been using it in my business now and designing an alliance is essentially just having an open conversation, and some in coaching call it contracting, but I quite like designing alliance, basically saying how, how should we best work together?

Simon Bergenroth :

You know how do you like me to communicate to you? Do you want what? Whatsapp? Do you want email? You know, is it video call? You know what sort of things? What frequency would you like us to kind of contact? You know how do you want information. Do you do you want me to send you hard copies or do we save the planet? We do it electronically. You know what. What can we do to ensure that we both mutually and it's all about partnership get to a place where we both have mutual benefit? And again, that's something that I very much bring into the work of three hats certainly is going to be the the foundation stone really in terms of partnerships for light going forwards and you can see the through line of designing an alliance.

Chris Grimes:

If only the rest of the world, in these really troubled times, could remember to remember to design an alliance and find common ground and mutuality yeah, so that would be that. So number three comes next oh yes, cashier number three, please. I've got a comedy bell for this. We get all stuck.

Simon Bergenroth :

It's like oh, cashier number three, please, yes we used to live in a place called Hampton Wick. That's where I brought Hampton Wick in Surrey down in south west London and we had one of those for dinner. When dinner was ready it was ding, ding, ding, ding ding.

Chris Grimes:

I just have it. If we go down a rabbit hole, I've got cashier number four. So yes, it's a shapeage number three, please.

Simon Bergenroth :

So that would be. So. There's an author called Nancy Klein and she's written a couple of books, one called a time to think and one calls the promise. That changes everything.

Simon Bergenroth :

I won't interrupt you and Nancy is by far the single most influential kind of writer and thinker within the coaching space that I've had, because, at the end of the day, I think the greatest gift that I have to give to my clients is my presence, is level five, listening is to that point where and it's quite a challenge when you're doing it on zoom versus obviously face-to-face but getting to that point where you can kind of, you know, say those things that are unsaid, but you just pick up that vibration from someone, that energy, and that's really, really powerful because you know, for me, you know, there's been a couple of people I've said you know we're not the right fit for because I've just not got that energy connection and that's why chemistry calls are there.

Simon Bergenroth :

But the people I really love working with are the ones that are open to that, that I give them their full presence, they give me their full presence back and they and we can build that trust and that security and that psychological safe space for them to go actually sigh, this is, this is what's going on. And it's quite interesting because I was talking to David when we were doing our kind of brand workshop today and I was talking to a medic that was doing the ILM7 and we were just talking about the power of having a session and then literally asking that that those two most powerful words in coaching anything else, and particularly in the medical field and the GP field he was saying often they would say oh, yeah, yeah, there's a lump or that there's something that's not quite right. So having that question at the end and always saying anything else or I take some finish with is there anything else you would like to think, feel or say and then leave it like that beautiful does Nancy Klein know that you hold her in such high regard?

Chris Grimes:

have you met her, or she's still with?

Simon Bergenroth :

us. I should probably reach out at some point.

Chris Grimes:

Nancy, if you've ever linked in, you've got a super fan here in Simon Bergenroth wonderful. So now I believe we're on to three things that inspire you, please. If there's any overlap doesn't matter. So we've done four things that shaped you. Now it's three things that inspire you, please so what inspires me?

Simon Bergenroth :

creation, nature, the outdoors, that that really inspires me, whether I'm, you know, wild swimming, which I haven't done a huge amount of but I've done some of whether I'm mountain biking on trails, whether I'm in the hills I've got the ock hills, which are just over from from the fall, from here. Obviously, the mud rose that I was talking about before. I'd really like to do some more sea kayaking. So, dave, if Dave is, you know watching this, I commented on a post that he had when he was out in his kayak and he was Dave Stewart, isn't it? Yeah, dave, sorry, dave Stewart, you know he's. He's found out some information about where I could store a boat that I'd happily do it, because there's not a room in my apartment, you know, with with everything else. So, so that would definitely be.

Simon Bergenroth :

You know, nature in the outdoors would be something to inspire me. Human beings inspire me, you know, just just the diversity of the world. You know I'd be fortunate enough to to travel reasonably well. There's, there's still places that I want to go, but you're going to places like Hong Kong and just feeling completely lost and out my depth and like what's going on and, you know, going to. You know, my brother lives in Tulsa, oklahoma, so, being out there, you went to Boston University, which which is where he studied. So Boston's a beautiful place, obviously. Lots of history.

Simon Bergenroth :

California, australia, you know, like so many different places, quite a few different places in Europe, because my first job that I landed with it, which was a real break in my career, was for BBC worldwide. So that was the commercial arm of the BBC where I used to. You know, for anyone that's of a certain age will remember top of the pops and you know tweenies and and telly tubbies and things like that. You know the office, top gear, all the rest of it. So I worked in Europe, middle Eastern Africa, and I looked after a couple of places. South Africa that is an amazing place, amazing people and, again, beautiful scenery and places like that. So, but yeah, just just people, you know there's everyone I believe is significant and has a gift, and you know I might be spoiling that the kind of quote for later, but you know the quote around it's Pablo Picasso, which is the meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give away love that beautiful.

Chris Grimes:

That's a great shape edge. Try influencing a third influencing thing my son.

Simon Bergenroth :

Yeah, josh, he is. As someone said to me, josh will teach you everything you need to know about being a father. And it's so true. I started to read the kind of you know, the prenatal or anti-natal book. I got about halfway through and I put it down and I said I'm just gonna, I'm an experiential learn, I'm just gonna get there's never a manual for your children.

Chris Grimes:

That's something we all learn quite fast.

Simon Bergenroth :

So it's amazing, like, how intuitive they are about what's going on, about how you feel. You know they are just, you know they're just beautiful there's, you know there's a part in the Bible that talks about, you know, god and kind of Jesus wanting to come to him with a childlike faith, you know, and it's just so powerful. And again it's the next generation, so we've got a, you know, see it as a responsibility to raise him. You know, I want to raise him as a gentleman, which is the way that I was raised by my father. You know, with my daddy was very, very busy. It's very, very successful businessman. He did travel an awful lot and that was one of the things that I kind of look back and say, well, it would be nice to have had a, maybe a little bit more time.

Simon Bergenroth :

One of the kind of commitments I made to Josh and I remember, you know, talking to Jen, his mum was that I'm not going to be absent father, whatever happens, I will, I will be around and although I'm not together with his mum anymore, we're great friends. She's an amazing mum, like an incredible mum, and we're great co-parents and you know Josh is is thriving as a result of all of that. So you know he teaches me day in, day out and you know, sometimes I just need to remember to just kind of shut up and just listen to what he has to say, you know you've made me think of the beginner's mindset as well, which is a Japanese construct called Shoshin, which is a bit like a childlike state.

Chris Grimes:

Right in the beginner's mindset, anything's possible. In the experts mindset, there are much I have to say this bottle.

Simon Bergenroth :

Yes, it's a. It's one of those chili bottles and it was given to me by one of my best mates of a guy called Christian Howard, who I've known since university days and that was Oxford Brook, so that was kind of 1999 to 2003, and he got me this when I when I was a bit of a low spot, and at the bottom of it it says Invicta, which is Latin for undefeated Boo.

Chris Grimes:

Love that. Now we're on to two things that, oh squirrels, you know never what never fails to grab your attention, irrespective of anything else that's going on for you, simon, what are your squirrels of distraction? Give me an example. Well, for me it could be a ping-pong table, because I'm always, slightly, sadly, obsessed with ping-pong. I'm a bit of a ping-pong samurai. If I played you, I'd probably beat you. Other people have said that an exhaustive motorbike, just something that makes you go, just stops in your track and you can't resist but go, oh squirrels. So what distracts you?

Chris Grimes:

I would say scenery and landscapes definitely so taking your breath away is another good way of defining that, which is what you've just given me.

Simon Bergenroth :

It's creation really, because it's kind of those things and it's sunsets and sunrises those sorts of things, specifically the weather, just in general.

Simon Bergenroth :

I love a thunderstorm, I think. Just the power it's just incredible. Obviously, we live obviously up in Scotland and everyone's there. It's all dark and gloomy up here and all the rest of it. That's not necessarily true. We have an amazing number of rainbows up here because we do have kind of low light. So one of the pieces of advice that Jen Josh's mum gave me before we moved up here was she said right, get yourself some decent boots, a really good jacket and sunglasses, because the sun's quite low, because obviously kind of weather and rain and things like that. The amount of rainbows that I see out my window with the three bridges, it's just incredible. So it's kind of rainbow country, nice squirrel.

Chris Grimes:

And, by the way, you can even say squirrel. Sometimes squirrels are their own squirrels. They're animals and things?

Simon Bergenroth :

Yeah, of course, absolutely. So now we've got a quirky unusual fact.

Chris Grimes:

This is the end of the 5-4-3-2-1.

Simon Bergenroth :

A quirky unusual fact about you, simon Bergenroth, that we couldn't possibly know about you until you tell us so my family, the Bergenroths, originally originated from Prussia, which is no longer in existence because it all got kind of carved up and changed at the end of the Second World War. Now my fifth-generation grandfather, johann Friedrich Bergenroth, was a fur trader in Beaverpelt specifically, and I'm not quite sure whether he did regular trips, but he obviously got on a boat, came to what is the shore which is the original docks in Leith in Edinburgh, and got off the boat and decided right, I'm going to make home here. So that was 1869. So that came there. I'm the fifth generation. Some of the family moved to Glasgow, some of them down to London, and to this day the Bergenroth family and Bergenroth stands for Red Mountain, so it's kind of Germanic and we're still the only family with that surname in the UK. So pretty rare and very, very useful for SEO.

Chris Grimes:

Yes, and I'm delighted to have the Good Burger of Bergenroth, the Prussian dynasty, here represented in the Good List.

Simon Bergenroth :

I actually I've had all sorts of maybe not so kind kind of nicknames, but at Leith Agency I got one of my colleagues came up with my favourite, which is the Lord, because they thought it sounded posh, so Lord Bergenroth.

Chris Grimes:

Lord Bergenroth, I'm OK with that, you know. Yes, and any other comedy ones, just my sort of comedian comedy. Lens is thinking for what does? What's the nickname for Simon Bergenroth? What's the nickname? Yes, so if you had any sort of other less kind, I'm not trying to make it unkind, but I was intrigued by you saying that there have been some names.

Simon Bergenroth :

Oh, like, like Bergenroth, like Furg Burger. Bergenroth, that's a rabbit hole. Bergenroth and Furg Burger.

Chris Grimes:

We move on. That's lovely. So now we've shaken your tree. Thanks for that, chris, you're welcome. So we've shaken your tree and now we're staying in the clearing and we're going to next talk about alchemy and gold. When you're at purpose and in flow, simon Bergenroth, what are you absolutely happiest doing in what you're here to reveal to the world?

Simon Bergenroth :

The work I do with my clients, by far, you know, and pretty much since the Harvest Moon, which was the 29th of September, everything's just kind of come into alignment. But it's really interesting because I'm in a hypermania phase at the moment which I've had since the 7th of October, and I was just listening to the news the other day and they said, oh and Hamas, you know, obviously started their attacks on Israel on the 7th of October. And I'm not, you know, I don't know what it means, but I don't believe in coincidence, you know, I believe in God, incidences. But ever since I kind of, you know, took a decision, for example, to stop drinking alcohol, because actually all the medication I take, it all says don't do it, and generally, you know, I just haven't really been in the best place and looking after myself. And since I made that decision, everything has just exploded and it's come into alignment.

Simon Bergenroth :

I'm doing my best, coaching, you know, I'm doing clients left, right and centre. You know I'm obviously dreaming big, you know, and I, most importantly, have the self-belief that I will be very successful. So I know that now, and that just changes the game. It's a bit my favourite films, the Matrix, so I feel a little bit like Neo at the moment.

Chris Grimes:

Lovely, and the sort of purpose imperative that's implicit in what you've just defined is really clear and I'm delighted for you that it's so crystal clear it's all about helping people.

Simon Bergenroth :

It's all about, you know, ultimately saving people and the people that are in most need. You know which is what light's all about. Should we talk about that now?

Chris Grimes:

Yes, why not, that was my next segue, because of what's coming next in terms of your future projection.

Simon Bergenroth :

Yeah, so obviously Three Hours will continue to build. It's a great organisation, got some great associates and that's really, really exciting. But God kind of placed on my heart in 2017 a vision of a global agency, a global organisation that would be a kind of a charity sort of social enterprise, not-for-profit and again I'm working with the likes of First Port, who are an organisation that can kind of help people. But you know, light essentially is all about truth and truth points to Jesus essentially. So the mission is to not be Bible bashing.

Simon Bergenroth :

You know I'm not one of these people that says oh you need to go to the church and do this and all that and all the rest of it. I want to live by example. I want to be that city on a hill as it talks about in Matthew 514, which is obviously this quote of you're here to be light, bringing out the God colours of the world. But the sort of strap line and the mantra in terms of what light will do so, if you imagine Virgin, virgin brand with obviously different sort of business units underneath that the kind of strap line and the kind of essence really in the proposition of what light is, is taking light into the dark places of the world. That's what we want to do. So one of the first expressions is I had an idea a number of years ago which I'm starting to work with a partner on, which is a kind of eco comparison site. The first idea is that you do like a free, sort of a free audit to see what carbon you are using. You have a kind of price comparison site that gives you the eco credentials of services and products and really the power is in your hand.

Simon Bergenroth :

Everyone has a mobile laptop, ipad. You make choices and basically it flips it on the head. It's not the government saying you must do this, you must do that, which I think people switch off to. You turn it around. You say I'm going to put the power in your hand, and the app is a bit like a mirror. It's just reflecting back the decisions that you've made, and what we want to do is use a carrot rather than a stick for you to start going right. Well, I'm going to go for a hybrid car and I'm going to travel with a different airline, or I'm going to do this and that, and then you see the benefit of it, you celebrate that success. So that's just one example of one of the areas, but what I want to do is basically revolutionise every single sort of industry sector underneath that light brand, carrying that message of hope to people around the world.

Chris Grimes:

So it's about footprint and a personal accountability. So to tread light on the planet is the idea of light.

Simon Bergenroth :

Yeah, and not just pointing your finger at everyone else or the government's not doing enough or you're not doing enough. It's like taking personal responsibility. What are you doing? That's where the power is, because that's where the people are.

Chris Grimes:

Wonderful, ok, so now we're going to award you with a cake, please, hurrah, so you get to.

Simon Bergenroth :

Yay, I love cake.

Chris Grimes:

That's my next question so what cake would you like?

Simon Bergenroth :

please A coffee and walnut cake, please, or no, actually carrot cake.

Chris Grimes:

Carrot cake. Oh, you want two cakes, really, don't you? Two cakes? Yeah, you greedy thing. So, yes, we get, the cake is yours. Metaphorically, if I meet you, I'll buy you the cake in Scotland, obviously. Now you get to put a cherry on the cake. And this is now the final storytelling, suffused metaphor of what's a favourite inspirational quote. First of all, that's always given you sucker and pulled you towards your future.

Simon Bergenroth :

So I've already kind of said it, I think I will go back to you're here to be light, bringing out the God colors in the world. Because that really I kind of work with clients to kind of unpeel the onion, to get the sentence to the core and like the earth whether it's kind of the molten corn or a lot of it that really is what drives me fundamentally, whether I'm working professionally or personally or any area of my life. You know that's what drives me.

Chris Grimes:

It keeps your compass pointing true north and it's always the sort of default, de facto quote for you. Absolutely, yeah, lovely. What is the best piece of advice you've ever been given?

Simon Bergenroth :

Simon Play the long game. So that came from the great Don Brett Bergenroth and he was someone that had incredible wisdom and it's one of the it's one of my brothers actually just written a really, really good blog and if people are interested in reading it, it's just go to Simon Bergenroth and you'll see my LinkedIn post from today. And, yeah, play the long game. And I've certainly seen that, you know, with my business, because there's been times, you know, over the last 15, 16 months, where you know I'm just going to be honest. You know I couldn't face it and I would just I'd just lie in bed for a couple of hours or I'd just find distractions or whatever else, and but I kept coming back to. I kept coming back and saying, no, you've got great capacity, you've got a gift, you know, you've been through the training, you've got lots of testimonies, you know, and it's that whole imposter syndrome and self doubt, which is why now I've got to a point that I've got self belief. I'm kind of unstoppable.

Chris Grimes:

Wonderful, and what notes help or advice. Might you profit a younger version of Simon Bergenroth now?

Simon Bergenroth :

Just try to be consistent and and just just explore the world. You know, just get curious, do different sports, you know if you can go to different countries or even just different areas around where you live. Just be curious of the world and, you know, just try and try and find. You know, slowly but surely, things that you're passionate about. You know I talk about that a lot with with clients. You know, again, coming back to that whole kind of gifting element, because I do believe that everyone has a gift and you know it can take a little bit of time I met someone yesterday, a lady called Bonnie Clark, who's the the chief exec of an organization called Taylor Clark, and we had a, we had a great conversation and I was sharing with her that you know I've literally come to this place 43 years on, where I found my purpose and I'm channeling the energy in the place I should do, and she said, oh, that's fantastic.

Simon Bergenroth :

I've kind of known that since I was, you know, a teenager or whatever. I thought, well, that's just incredible. Yes, people find it at different points, but you know there's a quote from Steve Jobs around never settling, and he did, you know, one of his commencement speeches, kind of in between bouts of cancer. You know he was talking about that and he was always talking about kind of connecting up the dots of life and and never settling. If you're not happy, then just keep looking.

Chris Grimes:

There's always another door you can push and one of the things you've written about yourself is understanding is everything. That's one of your strap lines within your LinkedIn profile. I noticed when researching you.

Simon Bergenroth :

Yeah, I mean, I think that's absolutely key. I mean, you know, coaching, in a nutshell, is self discovery, you know, and you know if you've got a good coach and you know it's an unregulated industry. So I would say to people just do you due diligence, you know. Have a chemistry conversation, you know, find out whether you're a good match, check credentials, you know all the rest of it.

Chris Grimes:

But but yeah, it's it's.

Simon Bergenroth :

It's one of those things that that's just a real privilege. You know, it's a privilege to work with people, to hear about their stories and and play some small part in being a bit of what I would term a lighthouse, you know, a beacon of hope and a beacon of light, and that's that's really what I want to be, you know, whether it's in three hats or or light as that obviously develops and grows and launches. And actually I actually bought a lighthouse dress costume for a light Having at the church that I've just joined, called sanctuary in South Queensbury and down many, but it hasn't come through the post so I'll have to wear that some other time.

Chris Grimes:

You like houses in the post. I like that Also. You resonate really well with my own version of understanding is everything which is self awareness is the holy grail which positions beauty with your own faith as well. So now we're ramping up to a bit of Shakespeare in a moment to talk about legacy and how you'd like to be remembered. But just before we get there, we've got this lovely moment called past the golden baton, please, which is who would you most most like to pass the golden baton of the golden thread of the story Telling along to who would most benefit from enjoy or like being given a damn good listening to in this way? This was really easy.

Simon Bergenroth :

Her name is Abigail Barnes. She has a company called Success by I think it's. In fact, I don't want to ruin it because you know she can tell her story far greater than I can. But Abigail Barnes is someone that I met at University of Brooks, so she was doing a business course as well, and you know, the universe has brought us kind of back together, as it does on things like LinkedIn as well.

Simon Bergenroth :

She will always, she will always recall the story about how I made her a homemade lasagna which was apparently the best that she'd ever tasted. But she has, she has an incredible gift, an absolutely incredible gift, and I'm I'm working with her now because, actually, with my emails exploding, everything, exploding her message around the eight, eight, eight formula around how you manage your time effectively, because she's a time management kind of expert and she's a global speaker and she's just to me, she's an angel. She really is an angel and she is just so generous with with her knowledge and her wisdom and you know she's done she's done numerous podcasts and things like this, so she will be an incredible blessing to you and to your listeners. So, yeah, really excited to hear that one in the future.

Chris Grimes:

Thank you. So your mission, should you to accept it, is to furnish me with a warm introduction to her. That's wonderful. Thank you very much. And now we're at Shakespeare All the world's a stage at all the bettered women really players. So now this is legacy and how, when all is said and done, simon Bergenroth, you would most like to be remembered.

Simon Bergenroth :

So how would I like to be remembered? As a, as a weapon of mass salvation.

Chris Grimes:

Boom Love that. Where can we find?

Simon Bergenroth :

There are so many broken souls in this broken world. There's light and dark and everything in between, and I truly believe that I have been put on this planet to share a message, you know, with empathy, with love, and to do it with love. You know, essentially, share, share where love comes from and, in terms of my understanding, that comes from God, through Jesus. You know, and there's that connection and what Jesus is there to do is to reconnect that broken relationship with we have with God's. So all I am is a channel, so love comes down, and I want to be a prison that refract, refract that light out as many people as possible.

Simon Bergenroth :

And I believe that this, this agency of light, you know that I'm obviously looking to launch next year with the grand vision of generating a turnover of one billion pounds and beyond. And again, you know it's a not for profit, it's a charity. You know social enterprise, so you know the anything over and above the operating costs and obviously expanding the reach of the ministry. You know that money will flow into the places that have the most need, either locally, nationally or internationally, as it grows bigger.

Chris Grimes:

So you're a walking lighthouse spouting forth rainbows, which is lovely. So where can we find out all about you on the old Internet?

Simon Bergenroth :

Yeah, best places linked in initially, so that kind of that's where I spend an awful lot of time. People can obviously just drop me a DM, you know, connect with me, follow. There is a three hats company page, the three hats website, which you kindly kind of shared. So that's the word three hats dot code at UK and actually just Google my name, simon Bergenroth, and if you do that on YouTube you'll a little a little, a little extra bit of fun for you seeing me in the boxing ring, because I used to be a white collar boxer and, yeah, enjoy that. But yes, I said you'll find me easily because there's no other Simon Bergenroth in the world.

Chris Grimes:

As this has been your moment in the sunshine, in the Good, listening to show stories of distinction and genius recorded here today as a LinkedIn live. Is there anything else, simon Bergenroth, you'd like to say?

Simon Bergenroth :

If there's someone listening to this podcast that believes I might be able to help them, then just get in touch and I'll either help them or point them in the direction of someone that can.

Chris Grimes:

Thank you so much, Simon Bergenroth. I've been an absolute privilege and a pleasure to interview you. So this has been Simon Bergenroth. Check out the website for the Good Listening to show at thegoodlisteningtouchowcom. Just about to finish the program. Anything else you'd like to say?

Simon Bergenroth :

Thank you. And thank you, and thank you for watching it would be a well thank you and God bless, of course.

Chris Grimes:

You've been listening to the Good Listening to show here on UK Health Radio with me, chris Grimes oh, it's my son. If you've enjoyed the show, then please do tune in next week to listen to more stories from the clearing. If you'd like to connect with me on LinkedIn, then please do so. There's also a dedicated Facebook group for the show too. You can contact me about the program or, if you'd be interested in experiencing some personal impact coaching with me, carry my level up your impact program. That's chrisatsecondcurveuk On Twitter and Instagram. It's At that, chris Grimes. So until next time. For me, chris Grimes, from UK Health Radio, and from Stan To your good health and goodbye.