Inspiration

I turned 19 last month, and suddenly I’m beginning to feel very, very old.  Turning 16 was great: I could become a company director and play the lottery.  At 17, I could drive.  Independence and motorway lanes were in my sights.  And then I hit the ripe old age of 18, discovered a world of possibilities beyond grotty bars and could finally vote.  Little did I know, it would be a downhill slope from there.

Each year was a milestone that came with some added benefit.  And then I turned 19.  I have fewer than 365 teenage days left, no more university, and I even have to do my own washing (luckily, though, I’m quite persuasive when it comes to getting people to cook for me).

It also dawned on me that I’ve spent almost a quarter of my life in business, and I’ve taken a look back at what kept me going when things weren’t going well, and what spurred me on further when things were going great.

Here are three of my tips and recommendations.  Please do share yours.

1. People – it’s so important to surround yourself with the right people.  I have had the privilege of meeting some incredible individuals over the past few years – Caroline Theobald, Oli Barrett, Mick Jackson, and of course Ben Way, to name but a few – and it’s hard to over-stress the importance of having the right network at your disposal.




2. Read books – yes, we have the entire internet at our disposal, but there is a lot of knowledge and inspiration hidden away in books.  One book I’d insist everyone read is ‘Banker to the Poor’, by Muhammad Yunus.




3. Tell the world – when I have an idea, I tell anyone and everyone I meet about it.  It drives me to follow through and when things aren’t going great, knowing that people are waiting for me to achieve something is a massive motivator.

As a parting message, I’ll leave you with an Eleanor Roosevelt quote that I had printed on the back of one of my first sets of business cards:

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.