The Journal.
Twenty-nine essays from the archive. Strategy, mindset and meaning, and what it really takes to build something that lasts, and to stay yourself while doing it.
29
Essays
3
Threads
45+
Years of fieldwork
The featured essay
If there is one piece that holds the centre of the journal, the one that explains why the whole rest of the work exists, it is this one.
9 min read
Thread 01
The Inner Game
Mindset · Meaning · The Founder's Interior Life
What it actually feels like inside the entrepreneur. The miserable millions, the big rocks, the slow reveal, the letting go.
I Made Millions in My Business - And I was Miserable.
How to avoid the trap of assuming financial success brings fulfilment. By the time I was in my early-20s, I’d achieved “success”. I’d followed my…
Read→Big Rocks…
When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 Beers. A…
Read→The Slow Reveal
I traveled to a small village near Ubud in Bali recently and found myself visiting a beautiful garden called Bali Pulina. I had taken an early…
Read→Hurry up and Wait
Sitting by the pool late one evening in Bali, I was reflecting on my journey and the constant questioning by my children, “Dad, when are we going to…
Read→Letting Go of the Past …
In our human form we perceive things through our various sensors and then try and make sense of them by defining them in some way. Good – bad, right…
Read→Living Yes and Saying No …
One of the most liberating experiences is to open your life to abundance and possibility and one of the easiest ways to do this is to start saying…
Read→Mr Mum – Success is not a destination
My wife, Michelle, and I moved to our farm a few years ago. Michelle continued her corporate role, mostly working from home, while I took on the Mr…
Read→Procrastination
I recently had a client ask me to help them with a perceived problem. That old chestnut, procrastination. Rather than approach the problem from, I…
Read→How to Stay Connected to What Truly Matters when you own a Fast-Growing Business
A fast-growing business presents all sorts of new challenges. You may feel lost under the deluge of new work. It’s this loss of connection that can…
Read→Thread 02
Strategy & Growth
Building · Selling · Scaling · The Hard Disciplines
45+ years of operating, listed in the BRW Fast 100 four times over. The frameworks behind the next big jump.
Founder Of 4 BRW Fast 100 Companies Reveals How To Take Your Business From Where it is to the Next Big Jump
If you’re not ready to take your business to the next big jump, you’ll remain stagnant. Preparation and anticipation is the key. Here’s what to look…
Read→How I Took Our Company from $0 to $12 Million in Sales in 3 Years – by Doing the Opposite to Everybody Else in Our Industry
Anybody can conduct business in the same way as everybody else. It’s the businesses that create “wow” moments that achieve the most success. Here’s…
Read→How I Used Strategic Thinking To Sell My Business For Millions
Do you know how to be a strategic thinker? It’s a skill that you can learn surprisingly easy. Here’s my story and 3 strategic thinking tips I’ve…
Read→The Concept of Leverage in Business (And How to Use It While Keeping Your Risk to a Minimum)
Are you a business owner who wants to use leverage to grow your business? Make sure you read this advice before taking one step further. Every…
Read→23 ideas to grow your business faster
Here are 23 ideas, many of which, to varying degrees, will accelerate the growth of your business. Some of these ideas are simple and easy to…
Read→A Guide to Dashboarding (And How It Can Help Your Business)
Business dashboards provide the key metrics that allow you to make better decisions. Think of them as an ECG of your business. Here we examine what…
Read→How to Spot Game Changing Business Opportunities That Others Miss
Western Union Boss William Orton Was Offered The Telephone Patent For $100,000. He Said “No” Because He Saw It As a Novelty. But Just A Few Years…
Read→The Wall
A friend once suggested to me that every business is hurtling toward hitting the wall. Some see it coming and manage to avoid it, whilst others have…
Read→How Do You Bounce Back From The Abyss After A Failed Product Launch?
It can sometimes feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders when you’re running a business. These are some of the emotional challenges…
Read→Is your net on the right side of the boat? Small changes can make a big difference!
For many years I have enjoyed deep sea fishing and have sometimes spent hours motoring from one spot to another trying to find fish. I have often…
Read→What Uber Can Teach Us About When Innovation Moves Faster Than Legislation
The Australian government pours billions of dollars into innovation. But are its own legislation holding it back? What happens when innovation moves…
Read→Thread 03
Story, Craft & Mentorship
Reputation · Intuition · Mentors · The Long Memory
On the things that don't appear on the balance sheet. The mentor in the camera shop, the intuition behind Singer, the company you keep.
The #1 Thing World Class High Performers Such As Oprah Winfrey, George Lucas and Steve Jobs Have In Common
Hint: It’s not goal setting, natural ability or hard work. What do you need to be a world class performer? Most will tell you that you need to set…
Read→You never know who you might be speaking with
When I was about 16 I had my first real business. It was a video production studio on the Central Coast. This was back in 1979 and the total set up…
Read→How Isaac Singer Used The Strength of Intuition To Make The Sewing Machine a Commonly Found Item In Most Households
Unlocking the power of creativity can help you to reach the flow state. But before you can do that, you must understand the power of intuition. What…
Read→How to Be More Creative and Intuitive In Business
Without a creative spark, your business flounders. You can’t come up with the “next big thing” that will keep your customers interested. In the end,…
Read→How To Use The Flow State To Make The Best Business Decisions Of Your Life
We all know how good it feels to get into the flow. You fire on all cylinders and accomplish more when you’re in your groove. But how can you achieve…
Read→Mentoring vs Coaching
There has been a great deal of research done into the different roles of Coaches and Mentors and I think you can simplify much of this as follows. A…
Read→Is reputation everything?
Is reputation everything? I’m not sure about that. You see our reputation is something outside of us. It is a set of beliefs that other people…
Read→What was your first business?
Do you remember the first time you sold something and made money? How old were you? What did you sell? Do you remember what it felt like? Was that…
Read→One Click
I just spent the last 2 weeks securing assets for a new business venture. You know, all those little things like web site domain names, Twitter and…
Read→Beyond the page
The book is the longer version of all of it.
The journal entries became chapters. The chapters became a book about the entrepreneur's interior life, the one called The Hero's Journey of the Entrepreneur.