PEOPLE IN LIFE
I most I like to spend time with … my family and friends - especially in Mallorca . The biggest influence on my career … is fearing being poor . I ’ m genuinely frightened of not having enough money and this prompts me not to be reckless with investments . I ’ m currently looking at some big new investments . I think they ’ ll work out very well - but everything carries a bit of risk . The person who makes me laugh is … my youngest son , Buster . He just comes up with unique one-liners and all of his teachers say he says really funny things . When Lizzie and I were having a bit of an argument recently and as she was storming out to the shops she said to me “ So you ’ re not even going to say ‘ Goodbye ’?” Buster immediately sat on the floor with his head in his hands and said “ This is the saddest love story ever !” The people who inspire me … I ’ ve never had a hero or idol , though I do sometimes wish I had the compassion of Jesus but I also wish I had the mental focus , and money , of Elon Musk . The people who make me angry are … those who think the world owes them a living . Everyone has the right to be protected by society but there are some people who don ’ t want to offer anything in return . I also think most politicians are a dreadful bunch - they ’ re so obsessed with their careers that they genuinely can ’ t see how stupid they are .
WORKING LIFE
My greatest achievement was … I don ’ t ever feel like I ’ ve achieved much - but it did feel like a relief when I become financially independent in my 30s . I ’ m very happy to have created Teesside Philanthropic Foundation from an idea . With the support of an incredibly strong group of trustees and patrons , the Foundation pretty much runs itself and continues to change lives and make Teesside a better place . I also opened The Fork in the Road as a not-for-profit restaurant , got it going , helped it win a strong reputation and even made a small profit which we ’ ll reinvest in the restaurant and its people – that was pretty difficult ! My biggest disappointment was … losing the 2015 Middlesbrough mayoral election by a couple of hundred votes - not for me personally but for my friends , family and supporters who helped to create a fantastic campaign . So many people who don ’ t get credit put so much of their own time and energy into it , so I felt disappointed for them and a little embarrassed to lose because I feel like I let them down . My greatest regret was … not having the chance to carry through what I ’ d planned to if I ’ d been elected Middlesbrough ’ s mayor . I think I ’ d have been far from perfect but I ’ d have had a completely new way of doing things . I ’ d have challenged bureaucracy , fought against politicians and empowered people to make change in their communities , workplace and in their own life . I genuinely believe I could have made a real break from the past and energised people . Also I frequently think of people who ’ ve been kind to me in the past – some of them no longer around - and wish I ’ d let them know how grateful I was and what a difference that made . My business mantra is … work harder than other people . It ’ s not a mantra but it is what I teach . You don ’ t have to be a genius , but you ’ re guaranteed to prosper - so long as you work harder than everyone else . My remaining ambitions are … to see my charity CEO Sleepout become a phenomenon that makes millions of pounds and changes hundreds of lives . I don ’ t want to cease helping and growing charities but , after a few years focusing on charity , I now have an ambition to make some money for myself and my family over the next few years . The advice I would pass on to my children is … be ambitious with everything you do - your sport , your education and financially too but it ’ s really important to look after people who aren ’ t as fortunate , both with some of your time and with some of your money .
27