Its the start of 2019 and late last year I just turned thirty. This has prompted me to take the time to reflect on the previous decade, on what worked well and what not so well, and if giving the chance, would I go back and change (if anything)
Although I am truly one not prone to regrets. My sentiment is that all my decisions, actions, and results gained therefrom have all contributed and indeed been essential to my current situation in life. And that there is nowhere else I would rather be. I also feel that regret is at the very least an exercise in futility. That time is past and cannot be recovered.
Yet there are a few things I wish I would have been more consistent with, and if I had been then maybe I would be further down the path of my success than I am today.
They say hindsight has 20/20 vision but there are in truth only 3 main points with which I feel I could have done better.
The first being Discipline.
“I truly believe discipline is a key foundation to all success.”
I truly believe discipline is a key foundation to all success. Look at any great performer, current or past, and you will find they were extremely disciplined. In their habits, their work ethics, there “think”, and so on. Now, I am and was extremely disciplined when I was younger. When I was completing my apprenticeship I was indeed disciplined in all facets of life, my work, my health, my education, and my finances. When I was making sweet FA as an apprentice I was still disciplined enough to set aside cash, with the intent to invest. Yet later, throughout my twenties, I slacked off. No longer needing to work overtime plus 1 or 2 extra jobs or sides hustles to make a stack. I relaxed, I backed off on the discipline. After qualifying as a carpenter, and landing a then highpáying job in Melbourne. Being single, I started enjoying myself. Going out 2,3 or even four times a week, splurging money on nice clothes, tv, and sound systems, buying drinks at the bar and so on. Those few years of, not a lack of discipline but definitely a reduction in the level of my discipline, became something that followed me overseas and took a long time to get a handle on. I needed to refocus on my discipline. To cut the distractions, to say no to the friends, the small thinkers around me, to stack cash instead of burn through it. To reinvest in my self-development and business education. although I did do all of this to some degree, it did take a few years to get back on track and really make these things a priority.
Side note, I don't necessarily regret not saying no to the people I hung out with, I mean we had some good times. But because I was saying yes to those that could at best only help me maintain my then current level of success, that reduced the time I could spend with those that could help me grow to the next level. That loss of potential time spent with the right people I do regret.
The Second, Building my Intellectual property, my brand or as its currently referred to, my social currency.
Everyone has a brand. Regardless of your vocation. Everyone has a reputation in their field and in the wider community. The question is how strong is yours. In what light are you viewed? Are you regarded as a consummate professional, as a thought leader, creator, builder or leading figure in your industry?
“Realize that it doesn't matter how great you are at what you do if no one knows about it.”
You need to be consistently and constantly building your public image and reputation. No one can buy from you if they are not aware of your existence. In a crowded marketplace, you need to stand out from the crowd. Building your “brand “ is integral to this. That is why now as well as running my restaurants and catering business full time I set aside time daily dedicated to building my IP. This is a significant reason as to why I blog, I vlog, I post, I go to networking meetings, seminars and conferences, I have business cards, I do interviews and so on. Anyone of these activities alone will not contribute much to building my IP or overall success but the cumulative effect of all these actions taken together consistently over large periods of time will help establish my reputation as a business and thought the leader in my industry. In this aspect, the development of my brand, I was very late in prioritizing and working on it, now I am playing catch up. Thus, I wish I had been taking those daily actions previously mentioned since I was in high school. And I encourage anyone who has not yet started, be you a student, apprentice/trainer, nurse, teacher, mechanic and so on, to begin today. The great thing now is due to the information age and the growth of social media it has never been easier. So get out there and start establishing yourself as a pure professional and the utmost authority in your space.
The third, stacking cash.
Again this is an area where I was disciplined but then slacked off in later years. Although it is fairly typical for young men to splurge cash I wish I had kept increasing the percentage I saved as my pay increased. But after becoming qualified and landing what seemed at the time a fairly high paying job I started enjoying my now surplus cash. I'd been working since I was a kid, first after school, on weekends and holidays, then after I left high school, with fulltime and second and third jobs and side hustle to build a stake. So when I became qualified and received that significant pay bump I felt as if for the first time in my life, I had easy money coming in. Although I was still actively working for the majority of it. Enjoying my money instead of staying disciplined and saving more considerable amounts with the purpose to invest hurt me financially and limited the returns I could get on opportunities as they arose. This hits home especially now as with our restaurant business we are going through an aggressive expansion phase, and as many restaurateurs and indeed business owners know that this is can be an extremely capital intensive activity. Had I saved more aggressively I would have been able to put that surplus cash to work, creating thus, more surplus money and now would be in a much stronger position financially.
If you are younger and wondering what you could focus on to build your success I hope my three “regrets” provide some insight. And if indeed, you are a little older and have been busy hustling for several r¿years what would you do differently if given the chance? Comment below.
Happy Hustling,
Written by Millennials for Millennials THE MILLENNIAL ENTREPRENEUR is a business education resource, to help inspire, motivate and provide actionable advice on how young businessmen and women can not only improve their business, finance, and life but enable Millennials to grow into the next generation of Business, Industry and World leaders.
Created by Darren Crockett, a lifelong entrepreneur, and successful restaurateur, THE MILLENNIAL ENTREPRENEUR brings you the latest news, information, and training methods as well as timeless advice to further develop your business acumen, enabling you to achieve true financial freedom and to create the life of your dreams.
