Aretha was right!

One thing I have learned in my 40 years on this planet is R.E.S.P.E.C.T costs very little, but counts for everything

It is very easy to get angry when something beyond your control is not going according to plan.

For example I get ridiculously angry over trains being late, as anyone who follows me on Twitter or Facebook will agree.

But losing my rag at the train staff is not going to get me to my destination any quicker, and they will not forget my face in a hurry. For all the wrong reasons.

It doesn't matter how angry I am about the trains, it is not the fault of the train staff that a signal has stopped working, or the train has developed a fault.

Treating people with respect is something my parents drummed into me from an early age, one of their favourite sayings being "be careful who you tread on, on your way up, as it is a long way down".

It doesn't matter if you are speaking to an MD or a cleaner, a multi-millionaire or a pauper - we are all human beings at the end of the day and respect costs nothing.

My first job in local papers involved something hideous called a 'death knock'. Which basically was when someone died, you were sent out by your news editor to speak to the family, get a picture of the deceased, and get a story in the paper.

Some journalists had different approaches - some would be quite aggressive, knocking on doors, ringing phones and not leaving until the family had answered. But my approach was to write a polite note expressing my sympathy and leaving my name and number, giving them the option to call me if they wanted a tribute to their loved one in the paper. Nine times out of ten, it worked.

It was a really difficult job, and earning the respect and trust of the family was not easy. And making them talk about something so raw was very draining for both me and them. It required patience, kindness, understanding, and on occasion also having to deal with a very angry news editor demanding to know why my story was not ready to go for that evening's edition.

Why am I bringing this up? I hear you ask.

Nothing in particular, but I wrote a song earlier this year about looking back over your life and wondering if you had actually achieved anything worthwhile. And I found the lyrics lying around this weekend and had another read through.

It is interesting that so much emphasis is put on material wealth when talking about success, when really it should be more about the type of person you are and how you have treated those around you throughout your life.

Another favourite saying of my family is "you come in this world with nothing and go out with nothing". Very true indeed.