41 Years Old.

Originally sent exclusively to The Letter subscribers on June 15th. Want to be the first to get my personal newsletter in your inbox every Monday at 7am? Subscribe for free here.

That’s it. Another trip around the sun.

It was my birthday yesterday.

I’m now 41, and like every year I get older, I think about what I’m done with.

I’ll tell you what I get better and better at… my ability to not give a nanosecond to being anything but unapologetically me.

Amen to that.

The last year has been one of the most challenging of my life, and in some ways, I’m glad of it.

I’ve lost loved ones, been done over in such colossal fashion, and broken my first bone.

Guess what though?

I’m nearly walking normally again and am armed with so much more knowledge on how to deal with stuff that only the very top 1% can cope with.

We need to see challenges as the price of admission to the next level.

Running a large organisation and dealing with challenge after challenge has forced me to take a hard look at my lot.

Dare I say it… I’ve started to crave a little calm.

I want to be around for Nat and my two wonderful children.

They’ve gone on holiday. I stayed behind.

Partly because I don’t feel I deserve it. Who wants to be away when challenges pile up at home?

Every day I wake up, I mutter to myself: it’s just you versus your thoughts every single day. A calm man is a wise man, and you can win.

Life is full of ups and downs, and learning to dance in the rain is what entrepreneurs must master.

Going away has always been a chore for me because I feel I need to keep fighting the fight. I only need a couple of days’ rest. The thought of going away for two weeks, lying around a pool or on a sandy beach, actually fills me with dread.

I admit that this last year I’ve been exhausted from being knocked around and let down by forces I can’t control.

Although every scar has made me stronger.

Do I get stressed and fed up? Of course I do.

I’m more stressed than I’ve ever been.

The antidote to stress is always action. It kills it dead. 

Mountains of payroll and ever-increasing overheads hit me like a constant hangover. 

when I think of ways to bring in more revenue that colossal responsibility shrinks with every piece of action I take.

Knowledge and experience tell me that I’ve been through worse so take more action. 

And yes at times, I feel like I’ve been going to work for everyone else.

That’s the badge of responsibility and motivation. The returns do come…. Eventually. 

Life is an up-and-down gig if you’re determined to be more than average.

I know this to be true, and I also know most people can’t cope with toughness and toil on the brain for prolonged periods.

When people come on my podcast, I often ask:

“Are we building a comfortable lifestyle, or are you prepared for rough seas in search of new lands?”

Boutique or big. That’s the choice.

Both are good places to be. I have had both. I was happier with my boutique entertainment agency. My brain pushed me to do more. 

The trouble is, if you’re like me, you’re an explorer.

You can’t help yourself 

And sometimes, for the briefest of hours…

I wish I wasn’t me. 

I wish I could be content with average.

Or just above average.

But I’m so driven. So determined.

So excited by possibilities.

That I often trade happiness and a calm mind for achievement.

That said, I do want a calm mind. I genuinely do. 

The real fear I have is I’m petrified of being bored. Of not being useful. Of not building. Of not becoming.

Maybe that’s the blessing and the curse of being an entrepreneur.

If you choose to explore, we’d best build a boat armed with the capabilities needed for the journey and more.

Let’s turn excitement and possibility into a calm business breakthrough.

Let’s make the journey less bumpy.

Remember - Smooth seas don’t make skilled sailors.

To your continued success,

James

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