A FORMER soldier who spent more than 20 years serving in warzones across the world is now inspiring businesspeople with lessons from the battlefield.

Chris Robinson, who grew up in Wibsey, joined the army aged 20 after leaving school with no qualifications and dabbling in different jobs.

He underwent six months of basic training in York, before joining troops in Germany for a year, mostly engaging in training exercises.

His first deployment came two years later, when he was sent on three operational tours of Northern Ireland between 1996 and 2000.

It marked the start of his long-spanning service as he fought on the front line in some of the globe’s most war-torn regions, including those in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus:

From fighting to peacekeeping and training up new recruits, he recalls every task required soldiers to push on with a positive attitude and deal with adversity.

The veteran, who feels the modern business world would benefit from learning how to be mentally strong, starts off by telling people what it’s like to be in the war.

He told the Telegraph & Argus: “These lessons, first and foremost, it’s building resilience and dealing with adversity. We’ve got to be tough. When dealing with adversity we want to return to the point where we were before.

“It’s something we can all achieve.

“We do this by talking about our problems, discussing things that might be difficult to talk about but (by) sharing these experiences of adversity we can help build that resilience.

“This is just my experience. What I find difficult, you might find easy.”

Chris' top three lessons from the battlefield

1. Never underestimate the power of a coffee 

2. Maintain a positive mental approach

3. 'Slow is smooth and smooth is fast'

The last piece of advice is something particularly important when all systems go on the battlefield meant taking one task at a time working slowly as a team.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus:

It's this knowledge which has inspired his latest venture in motivational speaking.

Chris explained: “Launching and establishing a business from scratch is the biggest challenge I have ever had but also the most rewarding.

"I get a lot of big handshakes and pats on the back and thank you’s for my service but it gives me a huge amount of pleasure. I find it a fantastic release."

He added: "I talk about a number of experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan when things were extremely difficult. When things are not going particularly well, it's how we deal with that and bring everybody together.

“The thing I miss the most (about the army) is the camaraderie and esprit de corps."