When in Rome. So why not ... when at home?

You know what they say. When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

We're planning a trip to Rome in early July, and when I say planning, I mean planning.

It's a long time since we visited the Eternal City, and as we have only a few days in this most romantic and historical and inspiring of cities, we're really putting the time in to make sure we get the most from our visit.

We contacted the Italian Tourist Board, who sent us a pack of maps, guides, details of festivals, walking trips and cultural events. We've checked the location of our hotel (near the Piazza Navona) and looked at walking tours and metro journeys we can take to the top attractions.

I've even used Twitter and Facebook to ask "What should we do in Rome" and had answers from friends who have been there, and more impressively, from locals living in Rome.

Which makes me wonder - why don't we do this for our home town?

Can we honestly say we spend time planning our time off at home? Looking for the best sites, the new recommendations, the 'inside knowledge' from others who live here?

Probably not. And yet, as I've said before, the best way to keep your creativity high is to continually look for new stimuli, new experiences, new places in which to immerse yourself.

Imagine you were visiting your home town as a tourist for a couple of days. What pre-planning would you do? Whose advice would you seek? What tourism resources would you investigate?

OK, now do it! And visit some new places next weekend!

Scotland supports England - well, mostly.

As I write, the World Cup is about to start. The opening ceremony is minutes away, the first match is this afternoon, and England's first game is tomorrow night.

So as a Scotsman, I have to make a decision. Who do I support?

The decision is made. I will be supporting England. You shouldn't be surprised at this. They are, after all, the nearest thing we have to a local team, and I was brought up to support the local team whoever they are.

In any case, you shouldn't believe that scurrilous rumour put about that Scottish fans support two teams... Scotland, and whoever is playing against England. It's simply not true.

We will always support England - unless, of course, they are playing against a country with which we have a lot in common.

Ireland, for example. Another Celtic nation, a land of romance, language and literature, just like Scotland. So when Ireland play England, we tend to favour the Irish.

And Wales. We've got to support Wales - they're Celts too. So that's Scotland, Ireland, and Wales.

And France. Because of the "Auld Alliance". France and Scotland were friends long before we became friends with England. Assuming, that is, that we're friends now.

So that's it - Scotland, Ireland, Wales and France. And Canada - we've all got aunties and uncles in Canada. And Australia. And New Zealand.

Scotland, Ireland, Wales, France, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Apart from them, we'll always support England.

Oh, what about USA? Come on - cowboys, hamburgers and Bugs Bunny? What's not to like?

But as long as you don't play any of those countries, we're with you all the way.

But Germany - we've got to support Germany. Come on guys, it was a long time ago. Get over it. And the same goes for Argentina. A long time ago, and they were a long way away.

So that's it. We'll support England forever, unless they play Scotland, Ireland, Wales, France, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Germany or Argentina.

Hang on - Italy. Italy? Pizza, Pasta and Pavarotti. You can't go against the Italians.

Or the Spanish - remember the girl in Marbella that summer?

So to recap, unless they're playing Scotland, Ireland, Wales, France, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Germany, Argentina, Italy or Spain, we're singing for England.

Come on England!

(Wait a minute. Brazil. Everyone supports Brazil, yeah?).

Find a mastermind group. Or start a mastermind group.

Since I mentioned my Mastermind group in a Tweet at the weekend, I've had a host of queries about how it works, and how to set one up.

In the spirit of caring, sharing, and the thought of hundreds of Mastermind groups named after me, I'm happy to let you know how we do it.

In essence, a mastermind group is a small network of like-minded individuals who get together on a regular basis to share information, offer support and advice, and cook a nice dinner (maybe that last one is just us).

If you work on your own, or you think you would benefit from talking over your hopes, fears, challenges and problems with others who are willing and keen to help (and you, to help them), then you should find, join or create a mastermind group. Here's how:

Find people you trust, respect, and like.

If you don't trust them, you won't feel comfortable enough to bare your soul about what matters.

If you don't respect them, you won't respect their answers or advice.

And if you don't like them? Why would you want to spend time and effort with people you don't like?

Who are my mastermind group members? Three people I trust implicitly, and respect totally. And I love sharing their company.

Each of them is superb in the mastermind group - and they are all great as speakers and advisers too.

Alan Stevens at http://www.mediacoach.co.uk is the leading speaker, author and expert in handling the media and creating business opportunities from new media.

Lesley Everett is famous for her programme of personal branding for career and corporate success, Walking Tall. An absolute expert in the importance of branding for individuals, she's at http://www.lesleyeverett.com .

Sean Weafer is a tour de force as a speaker and thought leader in the science and art of selling in the 21st Century. He's at http://www.seanweafer.com

Meet regularly. And commit completely to the meetings.

We meet once a quarter. And the rule is, we make it.

Everyone gets a chance to seek help, and give it.

We start with a catch up, and a sharing of news. OK, we spend a little while sharing the gossip and putting the world to rights. The core part of the day, however, we share in seeking advice. We have an hour each, where the meeting is focused on us individually, one at a time. We can ask for advice, look for suggestions on what we should do next, seek new contacts, suppliers and ideas. The hour is ours, and the help and support is completely invaluable.

Make it as much fun as it is "work".

We hold our meetings in each others' homes, and have dinner with each other in the evening. The importance of this time together is as important as the more 'formal' time, and we get as much benefit from dinner as we do from the meeting.

Try it, do it, enjoy it.