The luckiest streak of my life?

Originally sent exclusively to The Letter subscribers on January 13th. Want to be the first to get my personal newsletter in your inbox every Monday at 7am? Subscribe for free here.

“I’ll be the judge of that.”

One of the luckiest streaks in my life is not the deals I’ve done, the ideas I’ve had, the tenacity to carry on when it’s been so devilishly tough, or the place I was born or even having the hunger to carry on in tough times, all these are traits of the rare few - lucky though those things are.

We call these folk who seem to gather stuff and get things done in life “entrepreneurs”.

If you are born in the UK or any large Western economy, you really have won life’s biggest lotteries.

I’ve travelled the globe more than most and know this to be true.

Most countries are not as fortunate as ours.

It’s a competitive advantage to be born in a great country that has law and order, even in tough economic times and under anti-business governments.

The UK is such a great place to build a business: 70 million people on your doorstep, excellent legal systems, banking, a passport that allows you to go just about anywhere, free speech, infrastructure, and a whole heap more.

Could it be better?

Not half, flipping Nora!

We make it tougher than it should be. I continue to beat the drum that the UK is the most untapped opportunity of the world’s largest economies.

We’re like a wonder drug that could cure cancer; we’re 80% of the way there, yet no one in the powers that be can be bothered to package us up for the final stretch and unleash our potential.

It’s more than sad and disappointing; it’s downright frustrating.

So if not all that, what is my lucky streak? What’s given me a genie in a bottle?

If it’s not being born in a great country or being presented deals on a daily basis, helping myself to more opportunities than I could possibly wish for (thanks to the content I put out), then what?

I can hear your brain saying, “Tell me, tell me, tell me.”

Guess what, you can so easily have it too, if you just seek it…

The answer, Captain, is this:

It’s the people around me, and you know what? They don’t even realise how much they help me.

It’s my team, my accountant, my fellow business owners chums.

The five people closest to you have a profound effect on you; it’s scary.

Choose these 5 wisely, and you will catapult forward faster than Elon’s rockets.

This year, I’ve become particularly close to James, a 62-year-old ball of energy.

I am sure we are in each other’s top five people, we get on like cream and jam in a Victoria sandwich.

We coach each other and move each other forward. I have enjoyed having another “ambitious, anything’s possible” mind around me, just to shoot the breeze.

We think similarly and differently – a rare find indeed.

I feel in possession of a rare watch I never want to sell with him.

We challenge each other quite curtly then take this piss and chuckle with each other in the next breath.

As I flutter through my memories of the week gone by, I'd like to share a few anecdotes from our casual chit chats - chit chat has a profound influence on our subconscious thinking.

Be careful who you chit chat with, make sure they are not mood hoovers and small thinkers.

Picture the scene: I was after a property, James knew the agent selling it.

The property was part of a portfolio, and the seller wanted to sell the whole portfolio - I didn’t want the whole portfolio; James was keen on the other half. With me so far?

James called the agent and simply pronounced , “I’ll pay for the other half of the portfolio.” The agent replied and said to him, “You don’t want that; it’s too big, too much work, in the wrong area.” - well words to that effect.

James, a man never to mince his words, replied with his striking eyes, which seem to never blink when he makes a point; I find James uses a lack of blinking akin to an exclamation mark in written words.

“I’ll be the judge of that, not you.”

I chuckled inside as he relayed the story - without a blink.

He has this way of being brutally rude and then cuddling you straight after.

You see, that’s the entrepreneur, cutting through small talk, discovering rough diamonds, and saving time all in one - like a snow plough carving a path while others stay inside in the warmth.

Entrepreneurs, especially after experiencing some wins and losses, are like fortune tellers, seeing opportunity where others can’t.

Even if a decision is wrong, they turn it around to make it right, making downsides a blessing, not a curse.

Advisors advise; they protect and cuddle. That’s their job. You must listen to them but make your own decisions.

You get to where you are by your level of intelligence. I implore you to find people better than you and ahead of you for your smarts, not those who seek safety and want you protected.

I find myself being a master of PR to my own team. I listen to their downsides, worries, and concerns, and then transition into being a marketer to them of why I am going to make this next adventure a success.

Usually, their concerns are along the lines of: how’s he going to do this, how’s he going to fund it, how’s he going to manage it?

In some weird, psychopathic way, it spurs me on to prove a point that I am capable and will pull another rabbit out of a hat.

Where there’s muck, there’s brass, as they say up north. That’s the superpower of us, the people who create economies.

James and I speak all the time, shooting the breeze, recommending podcasts, books, and deals.

I love the guy; it’s that simple. I love many of my senior team and even my accountant.

I am thankful to have people with varied opinions that care so much.

I take it all in. At the end of the day, it’s me - and you - who decide how to move forward and move forward you must.

You can choose to be bold, or you can choose to be safe.

If you decide to be bold, always protect the downside with every fibre of your soul.

Till next week, be bold.

P.S. You know who you can’t trust?

Atoms.

They make up everything.

To your continued success,

James

P.S. Buying Business is on the 25th March 2025 and I’d love to see you there. Find out more here.