Last year I attended a superb presentation by Cirque du Soleil's Richard Oberacker, in which he encouraged people to leave room in their presentations for improvisation.

I was reminded of Richard's advice last night whilst watching Ray. It turns out that Ray Charles' most famous song, What'd I Say, was conceived at a gig in 1958. Charles, his orchestra and his backing singers had finished their routine. But they were contractually obliged to continue playing for another 12 minutes.

The sound they created to fill those minutes subsequently became Ray Charles' first gold record. What'd I Say is credited for inspiring many musicians, including Paul McCartney, John Lennon and Van Morrison. 45 years after its release, the song was ranked at number 10 in Rolling Stone magazine’s 500 greatest records of all time.

What could you create, influence or change with 12 minutes of improvisation in your world?

Today marks the 100th day of Barack Obama's presidency. It's a tradition to analyse what the new incumbent has achieved at this first important milestone.

Which got me thinking: what have I done in the last 100 days? More importantly, what will I have achieved in 100 days' time?

What will you have accomplished by Friday 7th August?

Wherever I look these days, sportspeople are talking about how they learn from other disciplines to help raise their own standards. In 'Tackling Life', rugby star Jonny Wilkinson's co-author, Steve Black, writes:

"Ideally there would be a forum, or better again, it would be part of the team culture, to share ideas and information from which everyone can benefit. I believe at the senior professional clubs there should be a new position created for a knowledge / ideas coach; someone who accesses information and inspirational stories from a wide variety of outlets – other clubs, in other countries, other sports, business, academia, conferences etc. The list of sources is endless. And each seed gathered has the potential to add something new and exciting to the team. The better the knowledge of the team then the better the foundations on which the team can achieve great success."

Meanwhile, over at Fulham Football Club, coach Roy Hodgson has been modeling his team's effective defensive on U.S. basketball tactics.

You don't have to be an athlete to take inspiration and practical advice from other spheres. We can all become our own ideas coach. I've been inspired to develop and enhance my public speaking by the creativity and professionalism of artistes like Jérôme Le Baut and Anna Vicente in Cirque do Soleil's 'Quidam'. Earlier this year, I had the privilege of giving a talk to the students and some of the performers whilst this show was in residence at the Royal Albert Hall. Afterwards, I chatted to Jérôme about his craft. I'm not planning to do handstands at the podium anytime soon, but Jérôme's dedication to giving honestly of himself to his audience during every performance, and of working hard to remain 'in the moment' on stage rather than simply going through the motions, really resonated with me.

Seven years ago I interviewed Leo Houlding about his adventures. During our conversation, Leo told me that he was experimenting with a flying suit. I thought he was winding me up. He wasn't.

Today, wingsuit flying is at the cutting edge of extreme pursuits. One of the sport's leading proponents, Ueli Gegenschatz, took to the stage at TED earlier this year to explain the evolution of this breathtaking form of travel, and why he does it. Ueli's honest explanation of his motives is one thing, but it seems that nothing could prepare the audience for the film of his jaw-dropping aerial projects. Stay tuned for the hilarious Q & A at the tail end of this video of his presentation.

Last month my friend Martin Hartley was really suffering. As part of the Catlin Arctic Survey, he'd been enduring temperatures cold enough to crack the enamel on his teeth, dealing with excruciating frostbite on his toes, and attempting to get some shut-eye in a sleeping bag with all the insulating qualities of a sorbet. As if that wasn't sufficiently unpleasant, after a week of stabbing pain in his backside he discovered a sewing needle sticking out of his salopettes. Accidentally left in his custom clothing by a seamstress, it was finally extracted with a pair of pliers. Ouch.

Martin summed up his mood by writing "I can think of 20 million things I’d rather be doing than this." I know Martin well, and that really didn't sound like him. To say such a thing meant that he was feeling uncharacteristically despondent. That said, I know that there has been a time on every expedition when I have felt exactly the same.

In a blog post on the expedition website, I attempted to paint a picture of what goes on inside one's head during a long expedition. A few days ago, the expedition's consultant psychologist, Mark Lewis, explained in a follow-up post that these mood swings are called 'reversals' in psychology literature. Mark said that "These reversals can occur predictably and slowly, or very quickly depending on whether the stressors are chronic (acting over a period of time), or acute (momentary)."

The good news is that in his most recent update, Martin is sounding a lot more cheery. He's now got croissants and bacon sandwiches on the brain. Which sounds a lot more like the Martin I know.

When Al Boardman and myself originally set out to make a series of films to share knowledge and information about the outdoors, we teamed up with a great partner, Cotswold Outdoor.

Hans Falkenburg, the company's Managing Director, appreciated that we wanted to make advice-based films rather than advertisements. Cotswold has only ever been mentioned in the films when it has felt natural to do so, and we've never been put under any pressure to push any products or brands.

Cotswold has just released the third series of films. We're really proud of them. They're on the subject of hillwalking, and cover a range of issues from demonstrating why the layering system is so important through to the correct way to use a survival bag in an emergency. One of the films has received the backing of the Mountain Rescue Council of England & Wales, which we're especially pleased about.

Producing these films is a team effort. Thanks to Vicki, Michael, Donna, the staff at Cotswold's Royal Oak and Covent Garden stores, Cotswold’s warehouse brigade, JB, and our soundman Elliott Forge. I still haven't worked out how Elliott is able to walk alongside me whilst I'm speaking, yet not appear in any of the footage. I think he must be a Jedi.

Sir Ranulph Fiennes describes what became known as the world's longest distance April Fool hoax, which was organised and executed during the 1979-82 Transglobe Expedition.

Applications for Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellowships have just opened, and continue until October.

Amongst the categories is one for 'Adventure, Exploration and Leaders of Expeditions'. People like Felicity Aston and Glenn Shaw have successfully applied for fellowships in previous years. If you have a great idea, and if it meets the criteria, why not apply?.

Interviews for short-listed candidates will take place in January 2010. Expeditions need to take place between April 2010 and February 2011.