Failure can bring success

Mr Portillo was speaking at the High Performance Society, hosted by Midas People Management, at the Vale Hotel, Golf & Spa Resort.

He told executives at the event that disasters can be regarded as opportunities to change and improve.

Mr Portillo said: “I was defeated in 1997, not that I am obsessed with it. If you have had disasters it is good to go back and look at the causes and then have the courage and the imagination to build something substantial, new and different from before.

“Many people ask do you want to go back into politics – why would I? Have you noticed how unpopular politicians are especially with this expenses business. I worry how unpopular ministers are now.

“I don’t miss that level of unpopularity. The reason I have come here today is to talk about failure – it is very gratifying to discuss this subject and tell you that you can rebuild after failure.

“In my career I had the great opportunity to start again. It all goes back to 1997, the day before my defeat I was travelling on a train from Taunton to London and a journalist asked me if you lost your seat what would you hope for. I said dignity.

“When I lost my seat, I got up and said it was a terrible night for Conservatives, and losing with dignity changed people’s perceptions of me.”

Mr Portillo added: “When I did lose my seat people thought I would be demolished and the end of my career or life, but I never thought so. People decided I really wanted to be prime minister, but I have never taken that view.

“When I lost my seat, I realised I had been living life for other people’s expectations not my own. It is so easy to adopt other people’s expectations not your own. Being kicked out of Parliament was painful – having to use public transport with people giggling at you.

Continued Mr Portillo: “But soon enough I began to realise there was a pleasant interesting life outside of politics, I have loved being in politics, it’s such a privilege, but one thing it is not is creative. Since I got out, I have written and made television programmes, a creative urge which was not satisfied before.

“When I was in school I got asked what I wanted to be and I said a politician or work in television and I feel fortunate that I have been able to do both. Imagine lying on your death bed, and knowing that you lived your entire life just being a member of parliament, if I was on my death bed and found out I only did one thing, I would be appalled.”

For further information on this press release, please contact freshbaked PR and ask to speak to a PR consultant. freshbaked PR provides public relations consultancy for fast growing companies in Cardiff, Swansea, Newport, Bristol and along the M4 corridor of England and south Wales.

Our sister company Limegreentangerine augments our offering with the provision of graphic design, website design, advertising, branding and corporate communication solutions using printed and digital media.

We work with this leading graphic design agency on Google search engine optimisation projects to make sure our clients achieve the SEO results they need using natural search keyword strategies, and targeted pay per click campaigns. We will soon be launching a new service for our clients in the Cardiff & south Wales region and the Bristol & South West region for businesses looking to maximise their coverage in Wales from PR and marketing in association with the London 2012 Olympics. Please contact our public relations Cardiff office for more information on PR campaigns.

The public relations potential of the 2010 Ryder Cup in Newport, and the 2012 London Olympics will add value to the work of partner company Total Sport Management, which specialises in the public speaking and personal appearance bookings for celebrity Welsh rugby players from teams including Newport Gwent Dragons, Cardiff Blues, Neath Swansea Ospreys and Llanelli Scarlets.

freshbaked Public Relations can provide the full public relations support required to maximise the appearance of a Welsh rugby player at your corporate hospitality, or in advertising, PR or marketing campaigns. freshbaked PR is a full service public relations company based in Cardiff which represents a number of public sector and private business and charity clients in Cardiff, Swansea and Bristol, as well as Newport in south Wales, home of golf’s 2010 Ryder Cup at the Celtic Manor Resort Hotel.

For clients based in Cardiff public relations agency services are provided from our public relations department in The Maltings office near Cardiff Bay and Cardiff city centre. Newport public relations agency services and Bristol PR agency offerings can be delivered on site for the client if required.

Please contact us to find out more about our Bristol public relations agency and Newport PR agency offerings.