Cuddy Cudworth wears many hats, normally in the sea bobbing with his fellow dippers in Leven.
And when he’s not organising the hugely popular Leven dip, Cuddy runs a mind wellness and training company, Priority Mind Management.
He launched his company after being unable to work on the ships, which he had done for years as a cruise director.
We spoke to him about how he got started in business, who helped him and his greatest achievements.
How and why did you start in business?
I started in business after Covid. I was a cruise director on cruise ships and we were not allowed to sail for 18 months, so I started a business to help employers support the mental health of their staff.
And I noticed when people say they struggle with mental health, what they don’t know is they are actually struggling with emotional health.
Once we understand our emotions, we can make better choices and this is what Priority Mind Management is all about.
Making your mind a priority is about giving people the choice they didn’t know they had. It’s extremely powerful.
How did you get to where you are today?
I’ve been able to become successful in helping others manage their minds and their emotions by networking.
I find creating connections face-to-face enables us to build trust and is a more effective way of growing my business.
The gift of a client of any age choosing who they want to work with is extremely powerful in terms of getting results.
Priority Mind Management is fast becoming the power house for training businesses in communication to drive better results, while helping others choose better emotional states, moving from negative to positive much more easily.
The Federation of Small Businesses has also opened up some new networking opportunities to me.
Who helped you?
My wife. She is genuinely the reason I’m still going. She has faith in my mission to be able to help business and help others manage their minds.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever had?
Don’t give in. You can’t fail at being successful if you keep going, every failure is a stepping stone to success if you learn the right lesson after it.
What is your biggest mistake?
Believing that life is fair. It really isn’t and its extremely humbling but it also keeps us hungry to help more businesses and more clients to move forward.
What is your greatest achievement?
Helping all of my clients recover from challenging mental health and trauma, and quite quickly.
Cuddy Cudworth taking part in the Leven Dip. Image: Cuddy Cudworth.
Every time I get an email or a text from my clients saying ‘Cuddy I’m doing this now’, I can’t believe it.
It warms my heart and keeps me going.
I’d also like to say that I hosted the Big Dip last year on Leven beach and to see over 500 people lined up for a charity dip was awesome and truly rewarding.
How are you managing rapidly rising costs?
The government could focus on promoting more independent businesses to help others manage their minds.
Looking into alternative routes to help others recover would really help clients get the help they needed quicker.
Waiting lists are long for clients and not enough businesses are out there in this field. It would be beneficial for clients to get to work with more mind management coaches for quicker results.
What do you still hope to achieve?
My vision is for every business to have a mind management coach so staff could be supported quicker while at work.
It would encourage more positive emotions in the workplace.
Conversation