SWITCH OFF AND LET THE IDEAS FLOW

We all need somewhere to think.

Some of us do our thinking while pounding the streets and keeping fit.

Men, I’m told, do their thinking in their sheds while women apparently get great ideas luxuriating in the tub.

For me it’s the beach. Nothing inspires me more than walking along a sandy beach with my feet in the ocean.

It’s when I’m relaxing that great ideas come.

INNOVATIVE EXERCISE

Can’t go to the gym?

Stop making excuses – start exercising at home.

Don’t have weights, a treadmill or machines – that’s another excuse.

Be innovative, adapt your exercise programme to what you’ve got around the house.

Work on yourself, for yourself, by yourself.

FRIENDS FOR LIFE

Pitching for business is a way of life for every creative agency.

It’s a lottery with only one certainty – some you win, some you lose.

That’s why we put so much effort into keeping existing clients.

However, we decided years ago we’d never re-pitch.

It’s stood us in good stead.

If a client wants us to re-tender, we shake hands and wish them well.

Parting as friends makes it easy for them to return.

DON’T DO IT

There are a lot of corporate scavengers out there looking to acquire distressed businesses for a fraction of their value.

Right now, I’m getting one approach a day from acquisitive vultures who are intent on picking the bones of struggling businesses.

I’ve never heard of any of them, but they all offer the same thing – pots of cash to enable companies to expand.

What they don’t say is that you’ll get next to nothing for your business if you get into bed with them.

Unfortunately, lots of firms are struggling and business owners might think that doing a deal with one of these sharks is all they can do to avoid the corporate graveyard.

My advice – think long and hard and speak to a trusted advisor before you sign your precious business away. I’m also happy to have a chat with any of my Linkedin friends in need of help and advice. 

TEND YOUR TALENT

We all have a talent for something.

But so many of us do nothing with the talent we’ve been given.

To flourish, talent has to be honed, sharpened and perfected, otherwise it withers on the vine.

Do you have a talent that’s lying dormant?

Use it or lose it!

STOP LOOKING BACK

Forget about yesterday, you can’t bring it back.

Today is a new day – an opportunity to start afresh.

Your future doesn’t lie in the past.

It lies in today and tomorrow and the next day…

Look forward, not back.

A PLEA FOR MORE TOLERANCE

If you speak out on social media today, expect to be drenched with abuse.

Say anything vaguely controversial and the trolls will come out of the woodwork.

Free speech is being curtailed by the thought police more than ever before.

We have, unfortunately, become an intolerant society and we’re the poorer for it.

I’m constantly reminded of the quote attributed to Voltaire – I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.

YOU CAN DO THAT

I can do that – is a favourite saying of determined people.

Afraid to let amazing opportunities pass them by, they grab them with both hands…even when they don’t have the skills.

Unlike mere mortals, they never let lack of knowledge or experience deter them.

They know they can learn the ropes and master anything – if the opportunity is big enough.

Don’t let the chariot of opportunity pass you by.

Jump on board and say – I can do that.

TIME TO GET PASSIONATE

Passion is the key that unlocks success.

It’s the hallmark of people who work for pleasure, not financial gain.

Passionate people never retire.

They keep on working into their 70s, 80s and 90s.

Paul Samuelson, the father of modern economics, was one of those passionate people.

An advisor to US presidents and an inspiration to me, he was still writing every day at the age of 94 for the most influential journals in the world.

He didn’t do it for money, fame or glory. Like all passionate people, he did it because it was in his blood.