From Adversity to Accomplishment — My Story

Well, howdy. Thanks for coming back, folks. My name is Jono Godlee, and I’m here to share my story with you. I would say that the last few years have been highly transformational and I’ve experienced a considerable amount of self-growth and an urge to work on my self-development as much as possible.

In September of 2019 (pre-covid) I had just graduated from University and whilst there was a fair amount of uncertainty lying ahead, I was feeling relatively optimistic about the future. I felt ready to move on to the next chapter of my life and grateful for all of the brilliant opportunities I’d experienced and the friends I’d made during my three years at University.

Little did I know that I would about to be embarking on a series of important journeys over the next few months. My main aim was to get a full-time job so that I could start to build up independence and ideally aim to move out into my own place with my partner.

I got into a good habit of churning out job applications day after day and (no surprise here) only heard back from a few of them. This process helped me to develop a resilient mindset simply due to the rejections/radio silences from employers. The positive was that every time I heard back from an employer, it all felt much more worth it.

I’m going to backtrack a little now, purely because I need to provide a small amount of background information and context before continuing with my story. Since a very young age, I have experienced some minor difficulties. I attended a school in Harpenden when I was very young, and some of the teachers noticed that I was showing some signs of having learning difficulties. The initial opinion was that I had both Dyspraxia and Dyscalculia. For those who aren’t familiar with these learning difficulties, I will define them for you now.

Dyspraxia = A neurological disorder that impacts an individual’s ability to plan and process motor tasks. Individuals with dyspraxia often have language problems, and sometimes a degree of difficulty with thought and perception.

Dyscalculia = A maths learning disability that impairs an individual’s ability to learn number-related concepts, perform accurate maths calculations, reason and problem solve, and perform other basic maths skills. Dyscalculia is sometimes referred to as “number dyslexia” or “maths dyslexia”.

While I was at primary school and was studying for my common entrance exams, I was having extra help from the learning support team there, but partially due to still being young and ever so slightly ignorant to my learning difficulties, it never really got to me personally (saying that though, I was terrible at anything sport-related, and still am). I ended up skipping P.E/Sport lessons altogether and just spending time in the music-block playing drums, and still to this day, I have no regrets (Sorry, Mr Rock).

I started to notice my learning difficulties more when I grew up and started at secondary school. After commuting for 2 hours to get a school which was very far away from home and boarding two nights a week, I threw in the towel there and was lucky enough to be offered a space at St. Christopher School in Letchworth Garden City. St. Chris was (and still is) a highly untraditional school in many ways, and as a result of this, I felt like I fitted right in. The learning support department there was top-notch, and still, to this day, I’m highly thankful to all of the staff who supported me during my 2–3 year stint there. What I liked about St. Chris was the informality of it all. Instead of having traditional assemblies, they had regular morning talks with the whole of the school and these talks featured music, presentations, live debates, and so much more. Every teacher on campus was referred to on a first-name basis (even the headteacher) and I look back on my time there fondly. I completed my GCSE’s and gained 5 of them upon finishing, which, looking back, still surprises me greatly. If you’d told me all those years ago that I would be finishing with 5 GCSE’s in English Lit & Lang, Media Studies, Art (Photography) and Music, I wouldn’t have believed you.

As I’d matured quite a lot during my time there, I did end up noticing my learning difficulties a lot more and was on a medication called Concerta and this helped dramatically with my focus and concentration. I would say that personally for me, spacial awareness, coordination, memory, and lack of focus were the main issues for me, and even now at 24 years old, I still struggle with spatial awareness and memory. Delayed processing is also another symptom.

In addition to having Dyspraxia and Dyscalculia, I was also diagnosed with ADD (not ADHD. I have never experienced hyperactivity before, so that is always a plus). For those who aren’t familiar with ADD, here is another definition for you (I’m really treating you today!).

ADD = ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) is a neurological disorder that causes a range of behaviour problems such as difficulty attending to instruction, focusing on schoolwork, keeping up with assignments, following instructions, completing tasks, and social interaction.

Struggles with social interaction and shyness were two big problems for me, right up to the time when I started a two year BTEC course at college. Only then did I start to come out of my shell a little, but more on that later.

When I was at primary school and right the way through to the end of secondary school, I struggled dramatically to socialise with those who weren’t in my immediate social circle and made the mistake of using Facebook and other social networks as a way to make up for that — looking back, I can now fully admit that that was not a very wise thing to have done). When I was young, I used to have a moose hat and whenever I put this hat on, I always used to feel much more confident, and without it, I would walk around with my head down and would not say a word to anyone (this was again, due to a lack of confidence and also shyness).

Without sounding cliched, I suppose part of the whole journey consisted of finding myself, my talents, and the things I enjoyed. For me, they were playing the drums, music, graphic design, photography, and anything creative. According to my parents and sisters, who have been fantastic role models throughout my 24 years on this planet, I had moments where I was the life and soul of a discussion, and now that I’ve matured and have gained more confidence, I think that this is due to me discovering my passions and interests and as a result of that, I was able to discuss those things more.

After completing my BTEC Level 3 in Print Based Media at College, I graduated with two distinctions and one merit and then began thinking about the future. I decided to start focusing more on video editing and television production and even started looking at film-related University courses.

There was one roadblock though, and that was the lack of a C in GCSE Maths. Then began my gap year. My primary focus was to work with a tutor to gain a C in Maths (the entry grade for film courses was a D grade, so this was my aim). I spent near enough a year working with a very kind and experienced maths tutor, and am so very grateful to her for all she did to help me during that period of time. She also triggered a lifelong addiction to Snickers, which is a big positive because of none of my family like snickers bars and always left them over in Cadbury’s selection boxes. I managed to get a D in Maths and that was the key to the next three years of my life.

The next step for me was to research Film & Television University courses, and after receiving 2–3 unconditional offers to study at equally impressive Universities, I decided to accept the offer to study Film & Television Production at the University Of Hertfordshire in Hatfield. Little did I know that at the time, I was embarking on a transformational journey which would involve meeting so many awesome people who are now lifelong friends, learning so many new skills (both within the worlds of radio production and film and television production), meeting my brilliant and highly supportive girlfriend (who also has Dyscalculia so we’re a perfect match tbh) and really throwing myself into the University experience. Living with like-minded people was incredibly helpful and although it took me a while to settle in, by the time my second year rolled around, I had already made so many fantastic lifelong friends and learnt so much.

In my second year, I was lucky enough to be offered a part-time job as a Social Media Assistant at the Students’ Union on campus, and also, after a year of presenting my very own radio show on a weekly basis, I was offered the role of Head Of Radio for Trident Media Radio, which is the oldest Student Radio Station in the UK (launched circa 1960 as Crush Radio). My role included training up potential presenters and even DJ’ing at a variety of on-campus events and representing Trident Media at regular Freshers Fairs. This really helped me to build my confidence and face my fears (talking on a stage in front of a crowd) and I think that the rise in confidence levels was also mainly due to finding my voice on the radio).

In my final year of University (in addition to holding down my studies and two part-time jobs), I was nominated to be the Chairman of Trident Media for the whole academic year, and the role included managing a full team of people and overseeing activities within the three main strands of the society (radio, television, and print). I also represented the society at on and off-campus events and this helped to build my confidence levels up even further.

Then came July of 2019, and this was when the results from my University course came through. 2:1. I was absolutely chuffed and thought to myself, “wow, all of those all-nighters in the LRC and low-key mental breakdowns were fully worth it”. Completing the University experience was and still is one of the proudest things to have ever happened to me. Thanks to family, friends, colleagues and lecturers for all of the support throughout my time there.

A few months after leaving University, both my girlfriend and I were lucky enough to have the opportunity to move into a lovely little flat in Hertford, and that is where we have been based ever since. Hertford is a brilliant little town and every person we’ve met has been so kind and welcoming to us and we can both see ourselves staying here for a long time (also, they have an ALDI and I would be lying if I didn’t say that I was a regular visitor to the two middle aisles in the store).

To digress just a little, I’ve always been a massive home bird, and at both University and in Hertford, I’ve always liked knowing that my home was a 15–30 min drive away, and I spent most weekends catching up with my wonderful family (inc grandparents, cousins, pets, — the lot).

I’ve also been learning to drive for the last few years, and again, I never thought that I’d be able to learn and become a mostly independent driver. Thanks to my legendary and highly patient driving instructor Matt, I am getting very close to doing my test and (hopefully) passing and being able to drive everywhere!

Towards the end of September 2019 and the beginning of October 2019, I received an interview offer for the role of Warehouse Assistant at well-known local Garden Centre. After a probationary month there, I was ushered into a room and told that primarily due to my learning difficulties and problems with spatial awareness and memory issues, I wasn’t suitable for the role and was told to leave. As this was the first proper time (I was 23 at the time) I’d been asked to leave a job due to no fault of my own, I was understandably a little disheartened by this, but deep down, I knew I had to carry on, for the sake of my future and also independence). I then resumed the job application haul and in the first few months of 2020, I was offered an exciting and highly convenient job at an NHS Surgery approximately 30 seconds away from the flat in Hertford. I was incredibly keen to try my absolute best with this role, primarily due to two things: the potential to build my confidence more and also because of how near it was to home.

It was a highly intimate and friendly workplace and everyone I met there was very kind to me and this only increased my motivation to do my very best at the job (which was a receptionist role). Sadly, after a month there, I had a chat with two of the managers and due to my ADD, they decided that I wasn’t right for the job and said that I would be better off in a tech support role (which to be fair, wasn’t a bad thing to say). Although it was hard, I managed to stay resilient and left with my head held high and immediately started to focus on the future. I went back to my family home after and was embraced by my parents, sisters, and brother from another mother. To make things even better, my niece was there and I was able to spend time with her and everyone else. I ended up feeling highly grateful for my whole family on that day.

Recently I was involved in Community Radio and met some lovely people who all have shared interests and have some very exciting news to share with you, so make sure to stay tuned for that. For three years now, I have presented my own radio shows (Takeover Tuesdays, The Chill Hour, and most recently, the Saturday Sessions). They will all be making their grand return soon, so keep an eye out on my profile/upcoming newsletter for more information.

In addition to my radio work, I also run quite a few of my own businesses. There is a photography business (Jamie Rickman Photography/Productions) a tech support and post-production business (Jono Godlee Digital Services), and also a Music Blog (The Hear & Now). Let’s just say that I am a pretty darn busy person.

Looking back, I have achieved so much and have not let my difficulties stop me from achieving what is it I wanted to achieve (whether in radio, business, university degrees, and so much more). If anything, I’m proud of myself for how far I have come, but couldn’t have done it without the ongoing support from both family and friends.

After the whole experience with failed jobs, instead of getting down about an uncertain future, I thought about how I needed to start getting an income in and my initial response was to play on my strengths.

Russell Brunson (the founder of ClickFunnels) was talking about the internal and external desires, so I sat back and thought about what it is I wanted to achieve, and why I wanted to achieve it. That leads me to where I am currently. I knew that I didn’t want to spend the next 10 years of my life working in a 9–5 dead-end job with a very small chance of career progression, because I’d experienced that, and knew that I didn’t want to carry on experiencing it. My goal was to launch my own business and become financially independent as soon as possible. This is where ClickFunnels and the OFA challenge comes in.

The wall was mainly my learning difficulties, but recently, I’ve learnt to view them as advantages and positives, instead of disadvantages and weaknesses (which is what happens all too often). Up until recently, they were the main external struggles, and I suppose that they were internal as well).

Now for my so-called ‘Epiphany story’. I knew that I was very good at content creation so decided to work out how to harness this and use it to my advantage. Over the past 2 weeks, I have been taking part in an online course (which has also conveniently coincided with lockdown) and have been learning all about how to bring in more sales for my businesses (e.g post-production). This really is a wonderful opportunity and I’ve come up (with the help of my Dad and a few other online guides) a plan for my businesses and am looking forward to the day when I bring in my first sale.

You know what they say, it is all about the journey and not the end-point, and all-in-all, I’m grateful to have had such a good and transformational journey, and if you’d told me 11 years ago that I would have gone on to achieve such a lot in the last 4 years, I simply wouldn’t have believed you.

To summarise, I wanted to insert one of my favourite quotes which will bring today’s blog post to a very fitting end.

Whether you think you can or you can’t, either way, you are right.

— Henry Ford

That’s it from me. I’ll be back soon with another new blog post. Take care, stay safe, and I’ll speak to you very soon.

Jono