Many people place cosmic significance on the power of numbers. Take football fans and the almost religious connotations they attach to the famed No7 shirt, for example: Manchester United fans would definitely say George Best, Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona, David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo were all capable of moments of pure magic, while neutrals may suggest there’s absolutely nothing magical about Alexis Sanchez’s current form.

Numerologist Jo Soley isn’t suggesting her clients develop a wand of a right (or left) foot, but she has enjoyed success working with female entrepreneurs to utilise the power of numbers to help run their business. That’s because numbers, apparently, hold a special value and can prove key to greater self- knowledge and understanding.

Across our session together, I wondered if I could use them to help my day-to-day life, with Jo talking me through a 40-page dossier she’d put together, based on my full name and date of birth. For example, your name determines your “expression number”, which is a way of revealing how you express yourself.

With each letter of your name assigned a numeric value, Jo worked out my full name has a value of seven, which means “introspection and perfection”. Sadly, it doesn’t mean I’ll be running out at Old Trafford any time soon, which is just as well given my second touch is a tackle.

As regular readers of this page will attest, I go into these treatments and sessions with an open heart and an open mind: Balance and I don’t do cynicism. Yet, try as I might, I continue to struggle with numerology. Because my tiny name is missing so many letters of the alphabet, it means I’m forgoing all manner of energies, such as a problem with self-expression. As my long-suffering wife and therapist (and indeed anyone I happen to stand next to at the bus stop) will confirm, that’s never been an issue.