How to Build a Billion-Dollar Business

CHAPTER 5GETTING CLEAR

I arrived back in Australia in 2001 at the top of my game (well, for my age), and ready for the next challenge. Life in Australia moved more slowly than it had in Prague and everything felt easier. Everyone spoke English, the working culture was familiar and if I put my energy behind something, I knew I could make things happen. I had seen what communism looked like up close, and I realised how lucky I was to have grown up in a democratic country: to be able to speak freely, ask questions, think openly and strive to achieve my dreams unhindered by corruption or oppression. While my mother had talked endlessly about how lucky we were to grow up in a democratic country, I finally understood it.

I also understood that tyranny came in many forms, not just political. I had grown up watching my dad struggle against Big Pharma and the groupthink of academia and was determined to not be constrained by similar forces.

The time away had also crystallised my thinking. I now knew exactly what I wanted in life. My goals were clear:

• I would be financially free by the age of 30.
• I would own my own house and car and be debt free.
• I would only work with people and projects that piqued my passion.
• I would work when I wanted, with whom I wanted, where I wanted.
• I would have free and unfettered choice as to what I did with my time and how I lived my life.

To achieve my goal of financial independence, I would need to become the CEO of Village Cinemas. After that, I reasoned, ...