I once attended a lecture by a university professor who joked that he saw the world of business as a petri dish. As entrepreneurs in the audience, were his material. Everything contained within the petri dish was there for analysis, monitoring and experimenting. He would make observations and draw conclusions. Whilst the light-hearted ...

For much of his career my dad sold cars or developed teams of people who sold cars. Often a customer would base their decisions on model, trim or extras on the price. When a decision came down to price alone, my dad asked the question, “What do you work for?” Primarily, the question represents a sales tactic. It helped the customer fee...

Bud Tribble, longstanding colleague of Steve Jobs, created a concept to describe a phenomenon that happened when you were in Jobs’ vicinity. The reality distortion field. Back in 1981, the vision held by Jobs for the Macintosh project was so strong, so exceptional, so compelling, it had a magically persuasive effect on the developers a...

Have you ever had someone ask a question that you know you know the answer to, but you can’t quite find it? The answer feels like it’s on the tip of your tongue. You know it’s in your head somewhere, but it won’t reveal itself. It’s super frustrating. You rack your brains trying to muster up the word. Later on, in the middle of the nig...

On April 23, 1910, Theodore Roosevelt gave a speech upon leaving his presidential office. Known as the man in the arena address, it differentiated between the man who, in the arena, strives valiantly, errs, spends himself and triumphs, and the critic or onlooker. This man, said Roosevelt, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatl...

1. What does your perfect day look like? 2. What do you do that you don’t want to? 3. What really matters? 4. What will you regret not doing? 5. Looking back in one year’s time, what will have made the year great? 6. What are you uniquely placed to do? 7. In which areas are you failing to demand the best for yourself? 8. Whose approval...

Imposter syndrome means believing you are not as competent as others perceive you to be, specifically around intelligence and achievement. When others think you are awesome and you aren’t sure you agree, it signals low self-esteem and a feeling of hollow success. Andy Warhol once said, “Sometimes people let the same problem make them m...

In December 2020 my book, Instagram Rules, was published with White Lion Publishing, an imprint of Quarto. The book contains 125 bite-sized tips on how brands, businesses and individuals can harness Instagram for commercial and professional gain. Having seen, and helped, Instagram completely transform brands, writing this book was a lo...

1. The easiest road has the least to offer. 2. Someone else’s “too soon” or “too much” might be your “just right”. 3. Tech-free days are essential, not optional. 4. Money can buy a great car or house but it cannot buy a great body. 5. At our very core, we all want the same things. 6. My grandad backs his directions over the sat nav’s g...

"What's the alternative" is one of my favourite questions. Use it in response to any question that holds limiting beliefs. You're being unrealistic. What’s the alternative? Your standards are too high. What’s the alternative? You have so much discipline. What’s the alternative? People will stare and comment. What’s the alternative? Eve...

Nearly everything you see as black or white actually lies on a spectrum. For every concept, each of us have our own imaginary range which dictates how it’s defined in our mind. Consider these words: Workaholic Awkward Risky Worthless Where one sees a workaholic, another sees someone who has found their calling and is barrelling forward...

I love chance. Luck, coincidence, mysterious connections. That person you meet on the train, who happens to be in the market for your company’s skills. The lady you bump into whose recommendation was exactly what you needed. The books someone mentioned that turned out to be your favourite. The phrase you overheard that became your mant...

If today was your last day on earth, would you be pleased with how you spent it? Did you make the most of every minute, treat people well, laugh lots and keep perspective? Did you act true to the best version of yourself, or were you irritable and rubbish company? Did you do things that moved you forward or held you back? If you repeat...

It takes just as much effort to be miserable as it does to be happy. It’s just as easy to criticise as it is to compliment. Entrepreneurs running impressive, game-changing businesses work just as hard, for just as long, as those running small ones. Elon Musk probably puts in the same hours as a restaurant owner, he’s just chosen a diff...

Everything you have isn’t really yours; you’re simply borrowing it. Your family and friends don’t belong to you. You don’t own your partner. They aren’t going to live forever and neither are you. One day you’ll drive your car for the last time. One day your house, garden and office will belong to someone else. Ownership of anything is ...

Turning up to do the minimum before clocking off is not what champions are made of. Meeting specifications. Delivering the brief. Reaching the target. Doing the least of what’s expected. Champions see standards and exceed them. They go over and above the spec and they challenge the brief. They want to do more. They ask how they can. Th...

Opponent, nemesis, arch rival, competitor. Trendy words used to describe someone who isn’t us. Perhaps we cross paths or share goals, perhaps only one of us can win. Perhaps they’ve underestimated us in the past. They never gave their support, only their doubts. In sports and business there’s often focus on this other person. Superhero...

The Japanese word “satori” translates to “instant awakening”. It refers to when a realisation is immediate rather than gradual. It means change can happen straight away, like a lightbulb moment. It’s that mantra that resonates so deeply it instantly changes how you think. That book you read that sparks instant ideas. The song with the ...

In Tucker Max’s book, The Scribe Method: The best way to write and publish your non-fiction book, he advocates constructing what he calls a north star check. The format of the north star check is: I will use my book to target [primary audience] by teaching them [primary audience benefits gained or problems solved], which will lead to m...

Here are the articles written for Forbes during August: Overcoming technology addiction: three experiments to try now In the last few hours of your life, you will not be reading the news or scrolling your Twitter feed. In the last few hours of your life, when you reminisce about the time you had and the impact you made, you will not wi...

Every day, my present self works to cross a metaphorical football into the box so my future self can shoot. The better I position the ball, the easier it is for future me to score a goal. So much of the win takes place in the preparation. The glory is secured from the plan. The assists count for more than you might realise. What are yo...

When I was in secondary school, my friend Hannah told me her theory that whenever she saw a yellow DHL van, she went on to have a great day. She was so sure of the link. After that, every time I saw a yellow DHL van, I knew it was going to be a great day for Hannah and probably me too. Links can be made between any two occurrences. You...

When I look at my old journal entries it strikes me how little I knew then compared to what I know now. Naivety, ignorance. A different view of the world and my place within it. In the future, I’ll think of today’s version of me as naïve. I don’t know exactly why, or which elements of what I say and believe now will change in the futur...

When I worked in the head office of a care home provider, this word was mentioned regularly: institutionalised. The managers wanted to steer clear of their residents becoming institutionalised. Turning reliant and passive. Less able to function as an individual. Losing independence in favour of institutional control and following instr...

The grass is always greener. Out of the frying pan and into the fire. Better the devil you know. Don’t fly too close to the sun. These phrases keep you thinking small and acting smaller. They prize comfort and familiarity over the unknown. Their fear-based lessons encourage movement away from perceived risk and back to safety. The gras...

Could you live alone, for a month, in the middle of the woods? No phone, no internet, just you and a stack of blank paper? Could you be content with the simplest of existences as you lived out your days? Basic food, modest furnishings, no music, only the sounds of nature around you? No alarm clock, just rising and sleeping with sunrise...

It’s seen as a good thing to be persistent. Not to quit. To never give up. But where’s the part where we make sure that what we’re fighting for is really what we want? There’s little sense in persistence for the sake of persistence. Winning a negotiation that you didn’t care about in the first place. Proving someone wrong on something ...

Last week I removed every item of clothing I owned from its wardrobe or drawer and put it on the bed. Then I sorted every item into three piles. Definitely, definitely not, maybe. Definitely: These were clothes that I love and had worn recently, that suit me and I feel good wearing. Definitely not: These were clothes I hadn’t worn in a...

I used to think that success was not having to introduce yourself. I thought it was having others introduce you or everyone already knowing who you were. Having others seek you out and introduce themselves as if you were a celebrity. Now I realise that success is probably not having to introduce yourself but doing it anyway. Assuming n...

1. No one remembers who said hi first. So say hi first. 2. Most opinions are irrelevant. 3. If it’s not how you would spend your last hour on earth, do you really need to do it? 4. A little customer service goes a long way. 5. Challenger banks are the future. 6. There are 2,755 billionaires in the world and nearly all give millions awa...