Day 422. Perhaps the first day of the rest of my life?

I've always been a little on the presumptuous side. For those who know me, you'll immediately say "No, it's simply not true!" (and we both know, that itself is not true...)

But after many years of debate and reflection, I have finally made one of life's monumental decisions. I will embark on the Columbia MBA program in January 2012. 422 days away from today.

For those who look back on my blog in the years to come, when I am the Chairman, President, or whatever, of a very successful technology or fitness behemoth of a company, I hope you'll be inspired to read my path to getting there.

So far, aged 38 and sat in my appartment in Paris, I already have a past filled with amazing events which occurred in some fascinating locations around the world.

But after a large number of years of work and travel under my belt, the urge to excel internationally has finally caught up with me. My path to achieve this goal is clear. To be the best requires me to seek the best. The Columbia MBA. The essential stepping stone to leadership in the global world of business.

From a small town in the English countryside where I grew up and had a happy childhood, I have since lived in places as diverse as Kuwait, Bangkok, Shanghai, Abu Dhabi and Paris. I have worked on a one-square-mile island in the middle of the Arabian Gulf, to a nuclear research centre on an island in the Seine on the outskirts of Paris. I feel I've paid my dues and excelled in what I've achieved.

And so to Life - Phase II. Next stop, excellence in business education.

I have over a year until I set foot on the hallowed floors of Columbia's Manhattan campus. I've yet to finish my project in Paris, and by the end of this month I head out to China to work on the project which will fund this next step.

As you can no doubt imagine, this will make for another intriguing and unusual series of events to add to the patchwork of experiences which have led me to where I am today - and brought me to this significant decision.

I can't promise to entertain my readers throughout the charting of my progress, though I hope by accident this may happen. It is instead with dedication to my cause that I write this blog, so that it may inspire and educate those who may one day follow me. And essentially cut down on the effort it will one day take to write my memoirs!

So welcome aboard this adventure, and hold on tight. From Wiltshire, to Paris, via China, to NYC, it's sure to be a novel ride.