How to Build a Business Others Want to Buy

Chapter 6How to think big

It's said, ‘We are the product of the five people we spend the most time with.’ I think that's true. That's why I really like living on Sydney's northern beaches. We have the world's best beaches in one direction, a tropical rainforest in the other and the riches of a cosmopolitan café lifestyle smack bang in between. We have the best of all worlds.

But what I really love about living here is that many of the inhabitants are as equally driven as I am. We egg each other on, hold each other to a higher standard and help each other to step out of our comfort zones.

For example, a beautiful super yacht called Hey Jude pulled up beside my boat at the marina the other day. It dwarfed mine by a factor of five. I had a bit of boat envy, but I didn't begrudge the guy who owned it. I applauded his vision and the achievements that enabled him to acquire it.

As I drove out of the car park, I wondered ‘What would a boat like that cost? What would I need to do to be able to afford it?’ That boat inspired me to think bigger for my next business and gave me a goal to work towards.

My wife says it's a ‘big swinging dicks’ competition, and there may be some truth to that, but I genuinely enjoy seeing others around me achieve their long-awaited, much-vaunted goals. I also learn a lot from seeing how they achieve it all. I haven't always been a ‘think big’ kind of person. In fact, I used to suffer from imposter syndrome and would routinely pull back on setting big goals ...