025 S.U.M.O (Shut Up, Move On) With Paul McGee | best personal development books

It's time to Shut Up, Move On (S.U.M.O) and meet your life's challenges.

Joining me for this week's episode is a Sunday Time's bestselling author, (Capstone's bestselling author of all time) an international speaker and he is known as The Sumo Guy, it is the amazing Paul McGee.

Paul McGee is on a mission to help people achieve better results in life, whilst having more fun in the process. He wants to help people get the best out of themselves, others and life too. SUMO shows that by taking responsibility you can get off autopilot, take control and live a successful and positive life.

Last year, Paul's book S.U.M.O, shut up, move on, The straight-talking guide to succeeding in life changed my life and I am honoured to share this amazing interview with you to help inspire you to live a better life too.

In this episode, we unlock...

• How to create and enjoy a brilliant life
• How to change your response to life's challenges
• How to take responsibility for your own life and avoid being a victim
• And recover from life's setbacks and stop putting things off

It's a brilliant episode and it's one of my best personal development books that I love talking about and it was a pleasure for me to interview one of my heroes. This episode is filled with gold and I hope you enjoy listening to it!

Find out more about Paul's work

Find out more about Paul's work here

SUMO for schools

Instagram @TheSumoGuy

Twitter @TheSumoGuy

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Ricky Locke

00:00:12.760 - 00:01:34.116

Hello, everybody, and welcome to another episode of Unlocked, the podcast that inspires you to create a successful, happy, and positive life and to live the best version of you. Hosted by me, Ricky Locke, professional magician, speaker, trainer, and a man who's on a journey to create magical memories in life.

And in this week's episode, we're gonna go straight in because I loved this interview. Paul McGee is one of my absolute heroes.

And if you've listened to any of my podcasts before, you will know that I pretty much talk about this book and his acronym. E plus r equals o from the book and how it changed my life.

Last year, in episode three of series one, I talked about life was tough and how this acronym changed the way I see and do things. And I can't wait for you to listen to this interview. He's an absolute legend. The interview is great.

I laughed loads and loads throughout this interview. But the book is an absolute brilliant book and I highly recommend that after this interview and this podcast, go grab yourself a copy.

And don't forget, if you did enjoy the episode, then please head over to Apple podcasts. Leave a review, leave a rating.

It will get this podcast shared to so many more people, and if it inspired you, then please let me know without further ado. Listen and enjoy the episode with Paul McGee, the sumo guy. Hi, everybody. Welcome to another episode of Unlocked.

My next guest is a Sunday times best selling author and international speaker. He's known as the sumo guy. He's one of my absolute heroes. And welcome to the show. Paul McGee.

Paul McGee

00:01:34.308 - 00:01:36.996

Hey, Ricky. Great to be with you, sir.

Ricky Locke

00:01:37.188 - 00:01:42.840

Good to see you. Thank you so much. It is an absolute pleasure to be talking to you today. Have you had a good week so far?

Paul McGee

00:01:43.660 - 00:02:17.794

So far, so good. I mean, I am inundated with inquiries, which is great.

But when you talk about things around resilience, well being, and change, you'd have to be a flipping awful speaker not to be in demand at the moment. You know what I mean to say. Am I scratching where people are itching is a bit of an understatement. So I'm having a great week.

I've got this phrase, Ricky, if you woke up feeling tired and miserable, just remember this. You woke up. So dust yourself down and get on with the day. So, yeah, I'm having a great week.

Ricky Locke

00:02:17.962 - 00:02:42.818

I should say, as well. Yeah. The time that we're recording this, it's Monday as well, isn't it? So it's the start of a new week. So that's good. It's a good start.

Well, Paula, it is a pleasure to have you on.

And one of the things that I love about you is that you have this idea that you want to help people get the best out of themselves, help to get the best out of others, and obviously life as well, which is completely fit into this podcast about learning how to be the best version of yourselves. But for people that have never heard of you, who are you, Paul? What do you do?

Paul McGee

00:02:42.954 - 00:04:21.180

Who are you? Who are you? I've asked myself that question. So, my background is in behavioral and social psychology and beef burgers.

So my degree incorporated behavioral and social psychology. Then I worked as a graduate management training with Unilever, and they placed me with birds eye walls. And I specialize in HR.

And, Ricky, the first six months of my job, I'm in an office pushing pen and paper. And then I have what I like to call a life changing conversation with the factory manager.

He says, do you know, be really good for your development if you spend some time actually in the factory managing the 30 women on the economy beef burger line. And I always say, I got two main lessons from that. Number one, don't eat economy beef burgers.

And secondly, when arrogance meets ignorance, that's a pretty dangerous cocktail. And I was a bit of both.

So, yeah, background in psychology, beef burgers, and then another rather slightly more challenging life changing event was when I lost my job through ill health and I became ill with me or chronic fatigue syndrome. So. And I think of the acronym sack. What am I? Just think of me as a sack. I am a speaker, I am an author, and I am a coach. Written twelve books.

My first eleven were adult books. And when I say that, people get very interested and think, oh, adult books, that sounds good, you get me more interesting than a thought.

And then I clarify, it's nothing to do with 50 shades of Grey. Sorry, it's books for adults. And then my 12th book was the first one I've ever written for young people. So that's kind of me in a nutshell.

Ricky, brilliant.

Ricky Locke

00:04:21.220 - 00:04:35.612

Yeah. Thank you.

I love your story, because in, obviously, one of your books, you talk about this quite a lot in, obviously, Sumo, and Sumo is probably one of your most famous books, and I think over 30 years, I saw that you are Capstone's best selling author of all time.

Paul McGee

00:04:35.716 - 00:04:58.318

Yeah. They're actually celebrating their 25th anniversary this year, and my mum has been very busy.

She used to travel around all the airports buying me books, and Capstone never knew it was my mum. As a result. Yeah, I'm their best selling author of all time, which actually, when you stop and think about it, is quite nice, actually, I guess.

Ricky Locke

00:04:58.454 - 00:06:16.860

Yeah, absolutely.

And this is why one of the reasons I wanted to talk to you was that I bought your book a couple of years ago, and it was one of those books that, I mean, it's been around for 15 years, but I'd seen it because it always had that really eye catching image on the COVID And then I picked it up.

I was doing a workshop event, I think it was in Edinburgh, was flying from the East Midlands up there, and I thought, well, I'll get a book for a plane. I like reading. And then I kind of just fell in love with it. And obviously it's remained here.

I've got it here just to prove I'm not lying, but it's just changed everything.

And I think more recently, last year, in 2020, it's became so relative with learning how to be the best version of ourselves in a time where there is so much change for everybody else and a bit of context. Paul, as I said, I've had. I've shared the e plus r equals o in the book 100 times now, I think, throughout this podcast.

But it really changed my life last year when everything was changed upside down for me. My future dreams completely crushed overnight. And I then started to think, well, I can't really control this, so I need to change how I behave.

And it's had, I think, well, I'm alive today, like you said, and I've woken up. So I'm winning. I'm winning in life at the minute. And I think I wanted to talk about the whole reason of sumo. Where did it start? Why did it start?

And, yeah, let's have a little chat about it. So, yeah, how did it start?

Paul McGee

00:06:17.020 - 00:10:33.818

Sure. So, I mean, I was ill and on invalidity benefit for three years.

And then I thought I might be able to get a little job, maybe part time, but no one had hired me because I couldn't pass a medical, because I kept on relapsing with my illness.

So I had myself was amazing at the interview, standout candidate, and passed my own medical, you know, put a mirror in front of me, breathed on it, the mirror steamed up. I'm thinking, you'll do for me.

And it was just a question of evolution, really, Ricky, rather than revolution, I didn't like, you know, what's my brand going to be? I didn't know. It's almost like my brand found me.

So I was running a course in Glasgow, and it was on coaching and counseling skills and at some stage on that two day course, somebody, which I can't even remember as a man or a woman, and apologize to your scottish listeners, but someone just said something like, well, if all else fails, you could always tell them to Sumo. And I was, like, looking at this person going, what's that about? He went, sharp, move on.

And I thought, is this a reflection on my course, or is it a little acronym you want to teach me?

And in some ways, the way I describe that is I had a number of different ideas at that time, and Sumo evolved from being this little catchphrase, and it became the umbrella term to describe a set of my ideas and principles. It provided the framework, and someone said to me, did you ever give that person any royalties?

And I said, well, one, I don't even know who they were.

But secondly, it's almost like someone the equivalent of just throws you a little seed and you catch it, and you don't just admire it or look at it and put it on the. On the. On the windowsill, decide to plant it.

So I planted the seed of sumo, if you like, and nurtured it and watered it and fed it, and it started to grow and grow and grow. And then I took a few cuttings from it and started to plant some other versions of it.

And now I've got a fairly, fairly busy garden with a lot of different ideas. So, in some ways, someone did provide me with that seed. I. But I did something with it because I think that's an important part of life.

You know, lots of people have great ideas, but it doesn't mean you do anything with them, and it's about taking action. Now, I don't know where this person ever got the phrase from. I don't know, as I say, who they were.

No one's ever contacted me and went, you stole my phrase. But the book came out in 2005, as you say. It became a Sunday Times bestseller, and it was what I described as my sumo principles.

And often when I talk about what is, could people go, I love it. I love shut up, move on. But other people, Ricky, go, I hate it. I think it sounds really aggressive, and I do kind of get that it's provocative.

And I always say the shut up bit is about take time out, stop, think, reflect, press pause. And, I mean, at this time, it's like, folks, let's just take a step back here and really weigh things up.

Now, when we do stuff in schools, which we do as well, we have a different definition for the acronym sumo. Stop. Understand? Move on. And if I'm honest, some companies prefer that definition as well. So it started from adversity.

I lose my job, no one will hire me. And then it's evolved over time. And I mean, it's, I think I've spoken 941 countries. The book itself is in eleven different languages.

And in Iran they don't have any copyright law.

So basically I was once speaking in Iran, ten years ago this week, believe it or nothing, and I was just about to go on stage and then they called someone up else on stage. I'm going to what's this about?

And this was the guy who, without my permission, it has to be said, but hey ho had translated my book into Farsi, the iranian language, and they presented me with a copy of it. So that was literally ten years ago this week. So I think that makes it eleven. It's been officially translated eleven times and unofficially once.

You know, it's a thrill.

There are people around the world reading some of my ideas in their own language and yeah, that's pretty good considering a Wigan athletic and Bradford City fan. I need all the encouragement I can get and that sometimes gives it me.

Ricky Locke

00:10:33.874 - 00:12:06.442

That's true. Yeah, that's true. Good point. Yeah, thank you for that.

I thought you was going to say that when you were about to walk on that stage, the scottish guy was going to come on and start sharing his story and philosophy about shut up, move on. But no, I absolutely love the book.

I think it's a fantastic book and I think you have a really gift for words and making things really, really simple. And obviously, I know the book has lots of great illustrations and exercises as well. It's funny actually, because I went through the book last year.

I had the book for a couple of years, but finally got around to actually filling out the exercise. And just last week, ahead of this call, I actually went back and looked at it and it's quite interesting to see, to go back through the book.

And as a bit of context, before this, the thing that happened to me, and I know a lot of podcast listeners will know this, is that I had a 15 year career in Argos and Sainsbury's, leading my customers and my clients and all of my business and all that forward. And I eventually became a national trainer. And during that time I built up this big industry of being a professional magician.

And I decided that there was just going to be this point of when I was going to leave. And it got to this point where my boss said to me, Ricky, just wait because we may get made redundant next year. I was like, oh, fantastic. Brilliant.

And then. So I stuck it out. I waited, and then we got the sad announcement. Obviously, we were going to get made redundant then.

Yeah, last year was going to be that I was going to leave Argos after 15 year career, being a national trainer, lots of different leadership roles and pursue magic full time, do lots of different speaking events, and then literally within one week of getting made redundant. I don't know if you know, Paul, but there was this global pandemic last year. It's still around, I think. Yeah, I have heard rumors.

Paul McGee

00:12:06.506 - 00:12:08.786

Yeah, I have heard rumors about.

Ricky Locke

00:12:08.938 - 00:13:15.194

And, yeah, literally a week in gone and, pardon the pun, everything disappeared from my...