There’s a saying that goes, “if you say you can, you can, if you say you can’t, you can’t”. 

It’s a phrase that relates to a man who works along the hallway in Lifeline.  He runs the 211 line and his name is Alan Scott.  Dare I be so cheeky as to describe him as the conservative, rather gruff character who starts very early, eats his breakfast standing up and is a straight-talker.  To Alan Scott, there is only black and white - nothing in between.

Beneath this conventional exterior there is a man larger than life, who was a NZ national cyclist, a successful hypnotherapist, a top astrologer and now he’s turned his hand to oil painting.  These are but a few of his endeavours.  He’s an explorer, a realist, a go-getter and anything but conservative.

About 18 months ago at 58, Alan decided he wanted to paint.  Some people may comment they can’t start something like this because they’re too old, can’t teach an old dog tricks, you know.  Well that’s a load of rubbish!  One of Alan’s favourite examples is his mother-in-law who left an abusive marriage at 78, now at 91 she’s still enjoying a full active life.

In true Alan-Scott fashion he set his mind to oil painting.  He read, researched and followed the instructions in a teach-yourself-art book and 12 months later you can see the results of two of the 8 paintings Alan has finished to date. 

When you first glimpse these paintings the words passion and talent spring to mind, however mention these to Alan and he’ll quickly correct you.  “I’m not passionate about painting, I was about cycling, hypnotherapy and astrology, but not painting.  Passion is when you put your project first, it comes before you mow the lawns, trim the hedge, anything you do.  And I’m not talented as my first efforts showed - it annoys me when my sister says I’m talented.  Too often peple use imagined lack of ability as a reason for not even starting,” he says.

“Copying experts” is the foundation of Alan’s results.  “If you want to do something all you have to do is copy those who do it well. You don’t need self-belief or confidence - these things come when you start seeing your progress. Results always come if you’re doing exactly what brings success to others.  At 17 I was a skinny kid continually falling off my bike, I was embarrassed by my lack of skill and felt a failure. But I copied the best, questioned them, did whatever they did and within 3 years I was an Auckland senior champion on both road and track. Just by copying – these days NLP call it modelling” he says.    At this point I mention how he must be a very determined person, but that’s discarded along with the words passion and talent… He’s quick to correct me and says it’s not determination; it’s just doing it - again and again until you get it right.  If only he’d been the first to say that to Nike!

Alan Scott is an inspiration to all of us, you’re never too old to do anything, it’s simply a state of mind.  You don’t need talent and ability in the beginning, all you need is a desire and the attitude to “just do it.”  Find someone to copy and start.  When you have a spare minute, sit down with Alan and let him tell you in-depth about his achievements.  He really is an inspirational character.