Mark Franklin - The Four Fears Guy

Mark Franklin - The Four Fears Guy Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Mark Franklin - The Four Fears Guy, Business consultant, Witney.

I help creative professionals close the gap between the business they have and the brilliant business they deserve • Award-winning Mindset Coach • Author • Speaker • Also a nifty drummer

12/06/2026

"We forget the miraculous nature of change"

The incomparable Sara Southey sorts out the sh*t as we went deep into the choices we each have – do we live a life that is expected of us, or do we say "I didn't choose this!" and forge a better path.

Loved, LOVED chatting to Sara this morning on the "Mind Monkeys Welcome..." podcast.

You can watch whole episode back on the YouTube and on Spotify (Apple still being d*cks).

Search "Mind Monkeys..."* on your platform of choice and they shall appear.

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*Not normally advice I offer!

Oh well, in for a penny... 🎙️ 🤣 "Mind Monkeys Welcome..." is now available in both video and audio formats on Spotify. ...
06/06/2026

Oh well, in for a penny... 🎙️ 🤣

"Mind Monkeys Welcome..." is now available in both video and audio formats on Spotify.

The concept of the show is simple:

We get in our own way. And we hold ourselves back through guilt and worry... we ALL do it. But the very best thing (and the fastest way to dial down that guilt and embrace that hesitation) is to talk about it. Normalise it. Take away its power. Say it's okay to not be okay and to ask for (or listen to) help.

The intro episode and my delightful first conversation with the magnificent Janine Coombes are already available to listen to on there. And throughout this week, an episode will drop daily, so you can listen back to the live streams (warts and all) that featured:

Daniele Brunetto
Ian Farrington
Samir Malak
Liz Maughn
Gilly Mulford - FInstAM

We'll then be up to date and ready for next Friday's episode with Sara Southey.

Simply search "Mind Monkeys" on Spotify and you'll find the chimps waiting for you. Please do subscribe (apparently I only need four subscribers to be top of my niche... so step on up me lovelies).

Apple following shortly (once they sort the bug in their platform... the monkeys!)

And final thing... I'll still be launching each episode live on LinkedIn first so you can interact, ask question and inadvertently get yourself on the show in real time.

Thanks for reading – have a lovely weekend!

05/06/2026

Who are you... really?

An incredibly powerful question that Gilly Mulford was asked at a time where she felt deeply lost.

Gilly shares her eventual response (and the work she did to find the right answer for her) on this morning's "Mind Monkey's Welcome..." episode.

Echoing the very purpose of the show, Gilly is determined to give everyone space to hold up their hand and have more conversations around the things that hold us back as well as to pause and recognise the power of choice we have to embrace and move past those barriers.

You can watch the full show back (and subscribe to future shows) on the 'You of the Tube' – simply search Mind Monkeys Welcome).

Also, go buy her book "Where Dandelions Grow" – it is fantastic!

“When times are tight and things are hectic, the last thing we focus on is our own wellbeing”… discuss.That’s a sentence...
04/06/2026

“When times are tight and things are hectic, the last thing we focus on is our own wellbeing”… discuss.

That’s a sentence I have heard many times and, as a former corporate leader, I’ve lived it too.

You deprioritise yourself because “the money is better spent elsewhere”, or you “it feels selfish to put your own needs before your team’s”, or you “don’t have time to step away from the business” or… or… or…

Which “or” are you stuck behind at the moment?

A – Costs too much
B – Can’t give the time to it right now
C – There’s more important things your business needs
D – You’re fine at the moment… maybe later
E – You’re mindful (maybe fearful) of what you might learn

When you’re at your best, when you have clarity around what you’re working towards, why that is important and how best to make it happen… everything else lifts too.

You give your team permission to bloom (rather than get in their way).

You reconnect to the joy that led you to start the business in the first place.

Your clients are attracted to the vibrancy your company is exuding. And they tell others.

The ‘bottom line’ improves…

All because you chose to be selfish (in the best possible way).

Give yourself just one minute today to think about your answer to my question – What is the biggest barrier to investing in yourself?

PS If you have and option F, add it in the comments 🙏🏻

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PPS I was told this week by a client that we achieved more together in 15mins than they had in two weeks of working with another (very reputable) organisation.

Always happy to book a 15/30min call to see if we can do the same for you.

A different kind of gig for me*...I am beyond thrilled to be guest speaker at this year's Enterprise Oxfordshire Busines...
03/06/2026

A different kind of gig for me*...

I am beyond thrilled to be guest speaker at this year's Enterprise Oxfordshire Business Marketplace and Celebration Awards on Wednesday 4th November.

The event provides Oxfordshire businesses a platform from which to fanfare their stories and successes, culminating in a (completely free to enter) awards night that shines a light on:

• Business Leader of the Year
• Start-up of the Year
• Environmentally Sustainable Business of the Year
• Socially Responsible Business of the Year
• Growth Business of the Year
• Innovation in Customer Experience of the Year

There is also a marketplace for businesses to promote themselves, connect and grow, together.

The event is free to attend: the only criteria being that you are a part of an Oxfordshire-based business.

I have huge respect for Ant Parsons and the Enterprise Oxfordshire team. They punch well above their weight in terms of the fully-funded support they offer all businesses in our county: free training, mentoring, events, networking communities plus access to grants/funding and so much more.

Enterprise Oxfordshire Business have most definitely contributed to my own success these past few years and I am flattered to be able to play a small part in their headline adventure this autumn.

Based in Oxfordshire?
Have you entered the awards (why not)?
Will you be at Oxford Town Hall on the 4th November?

Make sure you come say hello if you are there.

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*Different in the sense that, no, it's not Iron Maiden... but by golly it's the kind of gig I enjoy... and I'm also pretty good at!

So, you know... 😉

Business advice from a drummer... really?(Stick [ahem] with me as this is a good one)There is something us drummers have...
02/06/2026

Business advice from a drummer... really?
(Stick [ahem] with me as this is a good one)

There is something us drummers have to put up with which, when you think about it, is a bit bonkers really... It's called the 'kit share'.

What is a 'kit share' you ask?

If there is more than one group playing, and it's a smaller pub or club, chances are that the stage isn't big enough for every band's drum kit, and there isn't enough time to swap them on and off. So traditional etiquette dictates the headline band's drummer brings the kit and the support bands borrow it and
make do.

Guitarists don't compromise. Keyboard players somehow find the time to switch their planks on and off stage... but drummers...? No such luxury.

What this actually means?
If you're the drummer in the support band, you get what you're given. The headline drummer may have a monster kit with all the bells and whistles, or it may be a minimalist set-up with hardly anything to hit. Also, the headline drummer is perfectly within their rights to ask you not to move anything (that also eats into precious changeover times).

What on earth does this have to do with my business, Mark?

Imagine this. You sit at your desk to start your working day. The chair is lower than you're used to. Someone has swapped your trusty PC for a Mac*. The monitor is smaller and it's at a different angle. The mouse has no buttons. The keyboard is lighter. You open the 'applications' menu (there is no 'Start' button) and find half the programmes you rely on are not installed. There are alternatives (Pages instead of Word, perhaps). Slack is blocked by the internet provider. You'll have to use Trello today.

Are your palms sweating yet?

A funny thing happens (or at least it does for me) when I sit behind a stranger's drum kit.

I don't care.

It doesn't matter that there is a ten inch tom in front of me rather than my usual twelve. It doesn't matter that the ride cymbal is on the right and I have mine on the left...

All I am thinking is how do I still serve the song?

It's not about the tools (sure I have my preferences... my comfort set up), it's about ensuring that I still get the audience dancing.

If I know how to do that, I can make do with what's in from of me. And if I'm feeling particularly playful, I might have some fun with this new way of working. I may even learn to do something better than how I usually do it.

If I really know the song, I'll find a way to play it.

My question to you?
Are you SO clear on what it is you do (who it serves and why it matters), that you can always find a way to resolve the 'how'?

Is your business 'kit share' ready?
Not sure? Let's have that chat.

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*IMO there is no such thing as a trusty PC. Mac all the way baby!

22/05/2026

Managing the guilt that comes with taking time for yourself (when you run your own business).

Thank you so much Liz Maughn for generously sharing some of her own personal experiences of mental ill health as we explored the common pitfalls that business owners slip into when they do not put their own wellbeing first.

Search "Mind Monkeys Welcome..." on YouTube to watch, like, comment and subscribe to the full show.

I'm stepping up frequency with three episodes planned for June:

5th June – Gilly Mulford - FInstAM (Resilience Guide and author)
12th June – Sara Southey (The PT, Coach, Mentor who "sorts your s**t out")
26th June – Dave James (Sooo much more than a Speaker Coach!)

PS Thank you to everyone who tuned in live this morning and asked questions as we went along.

I record and stream each episode live on LinkedIn before saving to YT. I'm still very much experimenting with "Mind Monkeys..." but the beauty of recording live whilst streaming is that YOU can be a part of it too.

So come play with our bananas!

08/05/2026

“Enrolling people in positive possibilities”

Today’s episode of “Mind Monkeys Welcome…” features poet, community builder and imagineer, Samir Malak who has a bold ambition to “Imagine anew, imagine a new you, imagine a new world”.

We share stories of fear, catching ourselves being brave, antidotes to AI and much more.

The full conversation is available (as are all previous episodes) on the usual home of video. Simply search “Mind Monkeys Welcome…”.

And like, comment and subscribe to make sure you don’t miss any future shows.

"Your brain does not react to the world. Using past experience, your brain predicts and constructs your experience of th...
07/01/2026

"Your brain does not react to the world. Using past experience, your brain predicts and constructs your experience of the world."

This is a line from psychology professor Lisa Feldman Barrett's 2017 TED Talk entitled "You aren't at the mercy of your emotions, your brain creates them".

The sorting office between your ears is constantly receiving information and, (in the pursuit of efficiency) it uses the patterns it is familiar with to make decisions and predict outcomes that will inform and determine your 'next move'... i.e. your behaviour:

• You touch the side of the kettle to check if it's hot (that's a good one)
• You don't volunteer to do that 5min talk (not such a good one, perhaps)
• You don't pitch for that slightly bigger project (uh-oh...)

"Using past experience"...

What if the perspective you still hold around that past experience is wrong?

It's been carried forward from a time when the outcome that best served you is now different to the outcome that best serves you today.

Who's going to tell the sorting office to revisit those patterns?
Until you start that conversation, there's a good chance you are staying 'stuck'.

I can help with that.

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February spaces now open for "Stop Being Stuck" coaching conversations that will explore those past perspectives and bring them in line with the outcomes that you deserve.

DM or comment "stuck" and let's create some new predictions.

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