5 lessons for 5 years

I’ve been running The Point.1888 for 5 years now – time is such an odd concept – it’s gone both very quickly and very slowly.

We had a big party to celebrate last week and my presentation finished with my 5 key lessons that I have learnt over those 5 long short years. I thought these might be useful to anyone thinking of starting out on their own.

1.     Life (& Happiness) is about Time not money.

This is my biggie – owning your time and choosing what you do with it, is so much more valuable than money itself. Most of us just trade our time for money and mostly we negotiate the balance badly. 

Owning my own business means I get to chose what to do with every second – particularly valuable if you have a family. Nobody gets to tell me how to spend my time. For me that has made me extremely happy. I’m never chasing money only ever chasing time.

The only thing money can’t buy is time.

2.      Faith in People will get you through everything.

I’ve been severely tested on this one over the last 6 months as starting a business and surviving for five years means you will be an expert in resilience of being fucked over. It’s just the way it is. 

However, in my view good people outnumber the bad ones 10 to 1. Yet it’s the 1 that gets all the attention – human nature I suppose. Focusing on the good people, surrounding yourself with them and building friendships and partnerships with those you work with will enable you to overcome ANY obstacle. 

Honesty, Loyalty, Attitude – always look for these qualities in people.

3.      Run your own race.

I spent most of my pre founder life comparing myself to others. Moaning about the cards dealt to me ; I was a real joy to be around! But now there really is nobody to compare myself too so I don’t.

Seizing control of my own destiny has completely changed my life. What I do now is only focus on what I can control and ignore everything else. Social media constantly reminds us how wonderful and perfect everyone else’s lives are ; massively impacting mental health and for what? Turn off those notifications and stop comparing yourself to others.

The grass is not greener –the grass is the grass – it’s the gardener that makes the difference.

4.      Embrace your butterflies

I don’t get nervous much anymore but when I do I enjoy it – those butterflies are telling you that something is actually really important. Pushing yourself constantly to test yourself in new environments is part of the start up journey.  

We have one life. One short opportunity to build something both successful and significant. Forget you even have a comfort zone and you will enjoy the post nerves endorphins much more regularly. If you’re not feeling nervous enough then your passion is dying.

Target not only success but also significance.

5.      Focus on your achievements

Spend more time reflecting on what you’ve achieved rather than on what you are yet to accomplish. It’s so easy to have an overwhelming to do list and putting all of your energy into it. You have so much you want to do.

However, recognising what you have achieved and patting yourself (and your team) on the back (feeling a little humble smug every now and then), will greatly enhance your enjoyment of the journey. 

The to do list never ends – the accomplished list always grows.

6.      Be Kind – love is the answer.

Kindness is not a weakness – it’s probably the greatest strength you have when you start a business. And it’s free. Be kind to people – you don’t know what shit they’ve got going on their lives. Say thank you to everyone who helps you along the way. It’s basic manners – and again it’s free.

Help everyone you can – doing favours early on pays dividends down the line – as Steve Jobs says you can’t join the dots forwards.

I’m even being kind now by giving you 6 lessons for the price of 5!

So that’s it – there’s 5000 lessons in total but these were the ones that I would go back and tell my 2014 self.