Let’s be honest, you’re not paying yourself much.

Not when you consider the financial risk you took in starting your business, the long-hours, grumpy customers and staff headaches. Sometimes, you think it would be easier to just be an employee.

Teaching yourself is certainly a great way to start begin learning a skill. However, there is a down-side which is not often talked about.

The first week of lockdown I sat down at my new home office desk, pulled out a black felt pen, and started scrawling ideas on Post-it notes.

Who are the people surrounding you right now?

Last Friday at an ActionCOACH training day in Wellington - I laughed at COVID-19.

I took this photo a few weeks back, but it's poignant now more than ever.

Feeling a deep sense of gratitude today.

Are you leading a successful expedition or one that is doomed to fail?

In the whirlwind of the day to day, it's easy to put the BIG questions on the back burner.

As Kiwi's we're often reserved with our praise - we don't want anyone's head getting too big now, do we?

In a beginners Jiu-jitsu class, you'll typically find a group of students who are 'unconciously incompetent' (they don't realise how much they suck). 

Gutted to hear AuCom Electronics founder Ray Archer has passed away (pictured here with his wife Kathy).

Where do you go to vary your work routine?

If you’ve owned a business for a while, then the chances are you know a thing or two about what you should and shouldn’t be doing.

You're probably familiar with the 'fight or flight' concept, but a less familiar killer, is the 'freeze' state. And as business owners, we're particularly vulnerable.

It was the week my wife was due with our third child, and my last jiu-jitsu class before taking some time off. 

Business and sport are not directly comparable but there are many parallels.

It’s true… girls do only want boyfriends who have great skills, and businesses only want owners who have great skills. 

A few years back, I read a quote from Volvo’s chief technical officer stating that we are over-estimating the impact of self-driving cars in the short term, and under-estimating it in the long term.