ON TOPIC
O
WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT FOR
PEOPLE TO HAVE A SENSE OF
PURPOSE IN WHAT THEY DO?
Purpose drives people to tackle the
impossible and to keep going when
times get tough. For me, it’s about
helping people to find their own
adventures — and supporting them
to succeed.
It’s why we set up BecomingX,
which enables people to learn
lessons from the world’s top
performers and so realise their own
potential. Successful people often
want to be able to share truths that
have helped them shine, and these
stars believe in the impact we are
trying to have on people
worldwide. A lot of their successes
are down to their own sense of
purpose. We are determined to help
level the field and demystify what
it takes to succeed.
WHAT HAS DRIVEN YOU IN YOUR
LIFE AND CAREER?
As a young boy, I always had a clear
dream to one day be able to stand
on the roof of the world, at the
summit of Mount Everest. My late
father, a climber and a commando,
initially taught me to climb. He gave
me an amazing picture of Everest
that I kept on my wall. It became a
huge dream for me. As a kid, I always
felt that climbing was one of the
only things I was good at. I was
never the strongest or the best or
the biggest or the cleverest, but I
could climb well and I had a goal.
Many things in life tried to pull me
off course, including breaking my
back in a free-fall accident when
I was serving with 21 SAS, but
ultimately I succeeded because I
was dogged and never gave up.
If you strip it back, that’s really why
I made it to the top. It’s why Everest
is such a good metaphor for life
— it shows us that life rewards
the tenacious, not necessarily the
talented. Schools and
universities tend to teach the
opposite, but so often it’s
those people who have had to
fight for everything that succeed
the most in life.
WHAT WOULD BE YOUR ADVICE TO
PEOPLE CHASING THEIR DREAMS?
I’ve found that the first thing you
encounter, as soon as you articulate
a big goal or vision, is opposition.
Life is never going to make it easy!
And in a way, the world is just testing
you. It’s asking, “are these just words
out of your mouth, or do you really
mean it?”
Second, be prepared to fail. The
only way you can get somewhere
meaningful, the only way you’re
going to get your dream, to your
goal, is through the door of failure.
There are no back doors here. But
if it’s a goal worth achieving, hang
on in there and never give up.
WHY DO YOU THINK FAILURE
IS SO IMPORTANT?
We learn so much more from our
failure than our victories; it’s how we
grow. We have to be able to show
people it’s ok to fail — that the failure
is only failure when we give up.
The key to success is
always resilience
Life rewards
the tenacious,
not necessarily
the talented
I remember failing SAS selection
the first time around. I learned so
much from that experience — most
of all to get back on my feet, to learn
from what went wrong, to get
better and to retry. As leaders, we
need to show this in practice and
reward those who keep on trying
and improving, regardless of the
outcome. The key to success is
always resilience.
WHY IS YOUR NEW VENTURE
BECOMINGX SO IMPORTANT TO YOU?
BecomingX is about helping people
to understand what it takes to
succeed in life and giving them the
confidence and skills to follow their
dreams. It’s about helping people
to realise their potential.
We’ve made some incredible
films with some of the most
inspirational and iconic people alive
and they all speak to the importance
of tenacity, courage, kindness,
humility and building winning teams.
None of these attributes are
consistently taught in schools and
rarely even in businesses. If we can
help millions of people to
understand what it really takes
to succeed and get out there and
achieve their goals effectively, the
world is going to be a better place
for everyone.
February – May 2020 // 33