Where did you grow up and what was your childhood like? Did you have any particular experiences/stories that shaped your adult life?

There’s nothing particular I can point to in terms of a story but I’ve always had a disregard or disdain for authority particularly as a teenager. This typically made me take the less well beaten path in life. It didn’t always pay off but I’ve had lots of adventures as a result.

What is something you wish you would’ve realized earlier in your life?

Thinking hard beats working hard most of the time.

What are bad recommendations you hear in your profession or area of expertise?

Just raise prices – the default advice of most business coaches online. It’s one dimensional and doesn’t take into account individual business circumstances.

I find a lot of advice doled out in Facebook Groups to be horrible and very non-commercial. 

Tell me about one of the darker periods you’ve experienced in life. How you came out of it and what you learned from it?

I had a business that failed spectacularly at the end of 2007, which was pretty rough. It had achieved explosive growth in the space of a couple of years and had grown past our capabilities at the time. Ultimately it ran out of cash and failed. I learnt a lot from that experience and spent a lot of time learning where it went wrong, understanding finance, business and generally dialing down my inner cowboy.

What is one thing that you do that you feel has been the biggest contributor to your success so far?

Persistence, not giving up and solving actual problems customers have, and actually caring about customers.

What is your morning routine?

I generally aim to wake up at 4 am but that’s not always doable if I don’t get to bed by 9 pm. I have two young children so being flexible is key.

Generally, I get up, drink some ice-cold water, make some tea, check my HRV, sleep stats, Slack messages, check Reddit & Twitter (aka waste a bunch of time until I wake up) and then hit the gym for an hour. If my kids are already awake then I’ll spend 30-60 mins hanging out with them before hitting the gym…I have a home gym as it saves a bunch of time.

After gym, usually breakfast, hang out with the family and aim to start work between 8-10 am.

What habit or behavior that you have pursued for a few years has most improved your life?

As I’ve gotten older, focusing more on rest, recovery, fun, and balance most improves my life. It’s still a daily struggle to turn off the hustle muscle and focus on being more strategic than getting stuck in doing mode.

What are your strategies for being productive and using your time most efficiently?

I have a lot of bad habits so take my advice with a grain of salt. For me the things that work the best are getting 8 hours of sleep, getting up at 4 am before everyone else in the house so I have some quiet thinking time to myself, using a paper diary, and as much as possible spend time doing hard thinking before doing any hard work.

What book(s) have influenced your life the most? Why?

The 80/20 Principle by Richard Koch – I’ve read this a dozen times at least and every time I learn something new and find insights that can save time or make more money or add value in some way to my life. 

The audiobook is especially good as it’s narrated by Richard and feels likewise an old uncle providing advice over a long dinner.

Do you have any quotes you live by or think of often?

Don’t ask, don’t get – you can make so many things happen in life just by asking. You also have to be prepared to pay the price whether that’s time, money, energy, or some other resource or sacrifice.

I probably have 20-30 heuristics like this that I’ve only recently started writing down and keeping track of as I often go through periods where I forget them, then remember after doing something stupid that violates whatever the heuristic or rule was.