This week didn’t go to plan, but I’m grateful for it
Originally sent exclusively to The Letter subscribers on July 14th. Want to be the first to get my personal newsletter in your inbox every Monday at 7am? Subscribe for free here.
There are a couple of things I make myself do. Religiously.
Continuous learning and dinner dates.
And I usually find myself helping myself to both at the same time.
Learning while tucking into some nibbles is a super-efficient use of one’s time.
You’ve got to eat – so you might as well learn while you’re at it!
As long as the guy or gal opposite isn’t a time waster, make sure your dinner dates are with brain builders.
Get yourself a PA and lock in at least one dinner a week - two is even better.
The relationship building that comes from this is astronomical.
You might just find, three years later, that you’ll attribute a big success moment to one of those dinners.
You’ll thank your lucky stars you tucked into that prawn and crawfish cocktail with a side of avo!
This week, I had two great dinners. Powerful conversations, friendships formed, and brainwaves so electric I could power a couple of counties!
One was with Richard Harpin, founder of HomeServe, who helped himself to a £4 billion exit – personally pocketing hundreds of millions.
The pearls of wisdom you can pick up from him are next-level.
I’ve become increasingly fond of Richard. His style is different from mine, but just like salt and pepper are staples in the condiment cupboard, Rich has harnessed all the right ingredients to become mega successful.
My next dinner date was with Marvin Berglas. This chap built the world’s most famous magic brand, aptly named Marvin’s Magic – racking up at least half a billion in sales since he started.
For those of you who don’t know, that’s where I started – as a gigging magician.
If you’ve been to Harrods or Hamleys and seen those live magic demonstrations and trick paintings – that’s Marvin’s world.
Both of these chaps have done spectacularly well.
They had the 8 traits in spades.
Here they are, in case you’re interested:
Thinking with the end in mind
Passionate about your cause
Having untold amounts of resilience
Mastering relationships ( building meaningful connections and networks)
Commercial awareness ( knowing and understanding numbers on a commercial scale)\
You innovate so you don't evaporate ( the best entrepreneurs are architects of constant innovation - even when they're winning)
Master marketers
Stay teachable and curious
After two dinners back-to-back, I thought I’d share they had the above in spades but especially Curiosity to learn and resilience in the face of bad news.
Richard and Marvin had people do them over, they’ve had tough times and brilliant highs.
Richard told me a story of how, very recently, an investment went south – to the tune of £5 million plus.
He shrugged his shoulders and moved on. No sulking. No discontent. Just on to the next opportunity – and frankly, better news.
Bad news and disappointment are part of life. They just are.
Super-successful people win the day by moving on quickly.
In short, they think:
“Don’t be bitter – be better.”
Get better. Learn faster. Appreciate the scars. It’s not that bad.
Bad news is energy sapping, and most people lean into it.
They let it consume them for far too long. That’s how most people operate.
But we entrepreneurs who win… I think we win because of smarts paired with unbelievable optimism and fantastic energy.
We move away from bad news.
One of my best friends is James Martin - I’m addicted to his energy and outlook. I want to be around him. He makes me better. He pushes me forward.
Of course, I get the hump from time to time, This week I was down – hit by disappointment and disaster
He told me these fabulous words:
“Just sort it out. You’re James f***ing Sinclair. You can do anything.”
At that moment, I needed that little text. That little boost. I sorted the problem out.
Which brings me to one of the truest points I’ve discovered in life:
The people around you are so important.
You become the average of the five people you spend the most time with.
So get around energy givers.
Get around ambitious people.
Get around good brains.
And never forget:
Never be bitter. Be better.
And finally, talking about dinner dates...
"Say what you like about waiters, but I think they bring a lot to the table"
To your continued success,
James
PS. Business Masterclass is in 2 weeks! Make sure you get your tickets here!