What Keeps You Going? A Personal End to Season 1

A personal Season 1 finale on ambition, risk, business, and building while the outcome is still uncertain. 

Most people tell the story once they have made it. 

Still Being Built is the Season 1 finale - and the most personal episode so far.

Where I came from.

Why I started the podcast.

Why I built the business.

What the first year really took.

What keeps me hungry.

And why I think the early parts of the story matters just as much as the ending.

Season 1 ends here. 

What to look forward to in Season 2 - returning in August.

Listen if you are building something, questioning yourself, or trying to work out what is actually keeping you going. 

Follow The Way I See It  for short, practical insights on hiring, leadership, and performance.
New episodes frequently. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to The Way I See It. Short thoughts on work, life, and the decisions in between and why we tend to overcomplicate all three. Straight from the front line of modern business, grab a coffee, grab a pad, and let's get into it. Welcome to another episode of The Way I See It. This will be the concluding episode for the first season. So we're on episode 10. Just looking through some of the kind of comments and feedback around potentially ending on something a little bit more personal. So, yeah, for the final episode, we want to do something slightly different and I suppose ultimately explain why the podcast exists, why ultimately I decided to step away from the corporate roles and build a business and what the first year to 18 months has actually felt like, what it's looked like, what keeps me motivated and what I've learnt about success. And while I'm still kind of somewhere in the middle of creating it as well, so it's it's not a victory lap, it's not a self-proclaimed success story, which I know a lot of people I sometimes will listen to that have already made their successes, and a lot of what they discuss is around um kind of their reflections on what it took to get to where they are, etc. Whereas I suppose we're going through this live and we're uh we're building as we go. So yeah, more of a raw introduction this week, uh, context around obviously who I am, where my opinions have kind of generated from, why I think the things we've spoken about this season and why I think they matter. And I suppose again, just like I say, what it isn't is a self-proclaimed kind of success story. It's just an introduction to provide you with all some context about who you're listening to. So we I think we've genuinely kind of achieved things that I'm really proud of over the last year and a half. Business now operates across five regions around the world. Um, we've completed some pretty major executive searches, we've built some relationships with um some of the big energy operators around the world, and um yeah, we're at the point now where we're starting to create some real momentum um for the podcast itself. Um we've now reached around 24 countries and regions, listeners ranging from Brazil, Iraq, Japan, Colombia. So obviously that's been kind of super random. Um, and in September, for me personally, I'll begin studying for a law degree, which something I've always wanted to do for a long time, but um also something I believe will kind of tie into helping with the business, strengthening the way I think, communicate, and operate in business. Um, but yeah, everything's still pretty early, we're still learning, we're still making mistakes, we're still trying to understand what the business is going to look like, what the podcast is gonna do, and what the next stage of this journey is gonna look like. So most people, I suppose, will tell you the story once everything's worked out, but we're just kind of going through it together as uh as it's being built. So I think that matters as well because credibility doesn't come from you know someone reflecting on what it's took to get to where they are necessarily, it comes from being honest about where you're up to the road you're currently on and what you experience along the way. One of the people that was listening came up with a scenario around what was my background like and I suppose where I came from. And um I think it's important to clarify that I didn't grow up surrounded by money or successful business owners or people with international careers or anything like that. I I came from a small town in the north of England, um, there was no kind of I suppose blueprint there showing me how to build a business or build a career in what I did. Um back then podcasts weren't necessarily a thing. Um so yeah, it wasn't like I was surrounded by all the opportunities that I've got now in my life. And I say that because where you start can often kind of influence what you believe's possible, whether that's negative or positive. So when you don't grow up around certain opportunities, you will have to discover them yourself, and you know, you have to build confidence before there's much evidence that you've shown that you can build it. So the ambition is to see more the ability to build relationships, the willingness to move somewhere new, the need to prove to myself more than anyone that where I started's not necessarily going to determine kind of where I finish. Um I suppose my career's not been built through one kind of perfect journey. It was built through a multitude of different kind of decisions, relationships, risks, difficult periods, willingness to kind of keep putting myself in unfamiliar situations. So I started off in after university, uh I worked in fitness, I then moved into a role as an emergency medical dispatcher for the ambulance service, then went into the IT and tech sales, eventually moving into recruitment, then international recruitment and business development. I suppose one of the early things that always stuck with me was when I wanted to get into sales, I was always told that working in fitness didn't provide or didn't test me enough to prove that I could operate under pressure and the pressure of a demanding sales role. So I applied for the police and the ambulance service, and not necessarily because it was something that was my long-term calling, but because I thought that the next time I get answered or asked that question, what is more pressurized than taking 999 calls, dispatching ambulances, giving life-saving advice over the phone in a, you know, in a really kind of stressful and limited time period. So that's why I moved into that, which was I suppose quite random from the sport background, but that experience then gave me a very clear answer that the next time someone asked me when I went for a sales opportunity that I wanted whether I could handle pressure, it was, you know, well, there you go, that's my experience. And um I think the answer's pretty self-explanatory. I suppose that says a lot ultimately from kind of a younger age of how I approach things. Like if I knew where I wanted to get to, I would almost find a way to build evidence required to get there. So yeah, after five or six years um sales management role for a large IT tech and global kind of company, um, headquartered one kind of down south in you know, in in London area, and one was kind of in the town where I'm from. So like a massive company, but again, very little outside of that to to kind of progress into or to develop into. So after six or seven years, I decided to step away. Travelled Central America for six months, relocated to Vancouver, kind of felt that I'd achieved everything I could where I was at that time, and I needed a new lens, a new environment, a new adventure, but also I needed to step away for kind of six months and um think about what that was going to look like. So I moved into specifically business development for a recruitment firm. So winning business, building a new desk, opening a new market, creating opportunities from nothing from a cold base. And um for the next few roles, um, kind of varying locations, that became my skill set, basically. Um already-made pipeline, build from scratch, new regions, and ended up doing that maybe two or no, probably three or four times actually. And uh yeah, people thought I was mad because after doing it repeatedly, it becomes physically and mentally exhausting, kind of going into somewhere new. I was often headhunted for each position as well. So you kind of go in with somewhat of a reputation to then build completely new success in maybe a new environment or what it may be. So that was kind of four or five years post my initial sales career, and then early 2025, so last year, I was ultimately at a crossroads where I had opportunities to move into a VP level position and run operations for a company that was setting up an office in Vietnam, which was obviously quite exciting. But again, it was set up a new office, build a new team, set up the infrastructure. And I kind of realised at that point that it wasn't building from scratch that was actually tiring me out, it was from it was building from scratch under someone else's kind of control and structure and someone else's financial model and definition of what they thought success was. So when the opportunity came for me and uh my business partner Chris to start our current business, obviously it was it was scary at the time, but it was also something that felt different, it was more energizing, and um it wasn't perfectly planned. We'd we'd not spent years preparing for it, we'd not built a huge safety net financially, our former company basically had gone through major redundancies. Many people listening have probably experienced that themselves, and the business came from almost adversity, risk, and just a decision to ultimately back ourselves at that point, and not everything great is perfectly planned, and sometimes the disruption disruption of it all forces you to just act. And that was one of the moments where it was rinse and repeat again, but in Vietnam, and was the draw for a new country going to I suppose cloud my judgment because it was almost the same role again, but it was a fancy title in a new country and somewhere different, or back myself and kind of take the chance, I suppose. And I suppose what does the first year look like, or what did it take to do without that safety net and without that plan in place? And I think say the February was when we stepped away from our former company at I think it was April by the time we officially launched, so it was a pretty quick turnaround of getting everything done. And excitement can definitely start a business, but it can't sustain one. So the first year required kind of bags of patience, emotional control, the ability to keep working when the results were definitely not immediate. There were periods where the momentum was literally non-existent, there were periods where the amount of effort going in felt far greater than any visible rewards coming back. And the hardest part of building something is ultimately that. It's that kind of quiet phase where you are building and waiting and kind of hoping that you're doing the right thing. I just think, especially being in isolation, you know, you're used to having bags of colleagues around you, people to bounce ideas off, rely on a bustling office to motivate you or see what everyone else is up to and things like that, or sometimes maybe even to hide behind other people, being busy and supporting other people for a change when you know all that goes away when you're just setting up and you sat at home and you're behind the laptop. And it's especially true in the market we operate in, because energy is influenced by so many different factors that are way beyond our control in terms of commodity prices, investment decisions, government policies, geopolitical instability, project delays, corporate restructures, and at times war. Obviously, the war is, you know, it really affects the energy market and what we do. So a conversation can be progressing nicely, everything looks good, decisions have been made, everything looks great. And then because of an action that might have happened thousands of miles away, it can literally change the whole situation. And I think that teaches you not to become emotionally dependent on every outcome. And it's much easier to say than actually live by because when it's your own business, every decision ultimately is is personal and it feels personal, and every client conversation feels that way, every opportunity feels that way. So, but I also found I think with that the refreshing element is the story that you're telling the clients is your own personal story, and you know, it's not it's authentic, it's ours. It wasn't a generic script that someone's given us from a previous company that you know everyone in the office is rinse and repeat on every phone call. It's not me trying to sell someone else's model or someone else's values or you know, what the definition of someone else's success looks like. It's our business, our approach, our standards, and where we could add value. And it made it almost makes it easier to keep going in the face of that kind of quiet phase. And I suppose in the first year we effectively mapped the global market and asked ourselves where our value would be most appreciated and which partners made sense, which countries made sense, because every country's got a different way of working with partners, and yeah, some some need three years of financial accounts and statements and whatever else before you can even be considered a partner, but you still have to build those relationships right for when the time comes where you could break into that market. So everything had to be kind of methodical and focused. But the first year's a battle, right? And it is going to be for everyone. And anyone who's built a business will tell you that there are some very real conversations with your accountant that happen on a regular basis. The spend going out doesn't match the income coming in, cost building before rewards arrive, like when is you know, when you should cut back on the Amex spending and um just deal with what you've got now versus what you think is going to help you get further. And it's all a balancing act. And I think when you become to a used to a certain standard of living, it's also difficult to then adjust your mindset. And I'm I'm conscious that we didn't make as many sacrifices as some people do, right? I don't want to pretend that otherwise because you know, sort of you hear stories of some people saying that they slept in the car because they were putting everything into the business and things like that. And don't get me wrong, Mike, I love the business we've built, but I'm not sleeping in a car. That's not what you know I was about and not what I was gonna do. And I also wanted to put everything into the business energy-wise, so it wasn't even like I was open or willing to get a part-time job or whatever it may be to help at the time. It's just like this has to just work and let's give it a go. So there's still real pressure there, and it was still uncomfortable, and there were still tests, and as we moved into 2026, especially over the past few months, things have started to really kind of click for us. All the hard work, the patients, the relationships we built over the years have started to kind of convert. And um, yeah, I think we've had the most successful three, four months of our careers. And I think what makes it feel different now is the ownership element, and it's not just you know, you're not just getting a percentage of what you generate, it's not going towards someone else's structure first and then passing down to you. The income, the profit, the upside, the responsibility all belong to you. And that's a huge part of why we did it for the freedom, the autonomy, the ownership, and obviously the financial reward that comes with it as well. And uh yeah, when you build something yourself, the pressure's heavier, but the reward's way more meaningful because it belongs to you. So I think it's important also to look at kind of, I suppose, how we stay motivated and how we celebrate wins and success, because staying hungry without missing the moments is key, right? So how do we stay motivated? How do we stay focused when we're constantly trying to build and trying to add more and you know, protect the pipeline and the future of the business? And we review this every couple of months to make sure my business partner and I are aligned with everything because things do change and we do want to continue to stay small boutique. Um maybe if we are looking to recruit, it might just be to support us in terms of like a I don't know, like executive system or branding or marketing just to help us do what we do and use someone else's expertise that obviously is better than what we can do, right? And then we look at do we want to bring in salespeople and have them take on the reins and have them grow their own thing, and then we we kind of step up and manage that. And at the beginning, you tell yourself you just need your first client, and then you get your first, you start thinking about the second. And it's the same with success and deals. So I actually went out a couple of weeks ago and I will be honest, I do love my whiskeys, and especially moving to Scotland kind of forces you to like a good whiskey. So I made a decision a couple of weeks ago. I went out and bought a somewhat extravagant and expensive bottle of whiskey, and I told the kind of the kind of person in the shop that, you know, this is what I want to do it for. So we we talked for a while about a bottle special enough for it, so it was a limited number, perfect for a celebratory drink after a deal's landed. So now when we close a deal, pour a little glass of whiskey from the bottle, snap a little Polaroid in that moment, write the company that we did the deal with, the date, the value, put the Polaroid back in the whiskey box, and then the idea is kind of teaching me to stop and acknowledge and savour, I suppose, the success and the taste of the success. And then I suppose when that bottle ends there'll be X amount of images and pictures in the box that'll string together how the first however many kind of you know months or years or whatever it takes to to get through the bottles. So I think it's uh it's kind of twofold really, you stopping you to think, celebrate, savour the moment, but also creating a journey of what the first year or so or whatever it looks like in pictures. So yeah, I'd encourage everyone to you know implore people to look at something similar, whether it's a little tradition or a celebratory routine where you can take stock of how far you've come and kind of treasure the milestone because the first year we didn't really stop, we just kept going, and um that's why we've decided to almost bring something like this in. And naturally, I feel like I'm forward-looking and I like to be ambitious. And the past few years I felt more ambitious than ever. My my core kind of friend group here in um in Scotland all have their own businesses, they're all at different stages of that, but they're all experiencing levels of success and milestones, and it's a constant motivation just to keep going forward. So for me, continue to build the global grant like brand with the aim of I think being one of the most recognised specialists in the market in the next few years within our space. And I also always wanted to be a lawyer. I love suits, I love billions, that whole corporate America vibe was always something that like I was involved in. So I've also applied personally to to kind of complete a law degree, which I start in September. So yeah, that all that's been accepted, we've got a start date, and that's just ultimately for me, but the achievement of feeling something personal that's always meant a lot to you. And uh yeah, I feel like there's always an opportunity that you know, if you feel like you maybe should have done something years ago education-wise, but didn't, there's still something to go back to, and it'll also stem into business because it will strengthen my understanding of contracts, risk, negotiation, commercial decision making, and I'll specialise in international law, which is obviously the market that I operate in as well, is very international. So yeah, I feel like in the current kind of modern climate, you can really just go and do something if you want to, and the options there. On another note, I think personally, one of my close friends, um, an exceptional business owner, created a female-only movement based in in Scotland that's now almost a global brand in itself. Um she has a a kind of bucket list idea on a phone with 300 things that she wants to to do and tick off, but they literally range anything from you know making a specific meal for the first time, trying a new restaurant once a month. And the point was that it's not a I want to climb Mount Everest, I want to swim with sharks, it's a 300-item list that of things that you just want to almost put yourself forward for. So I adapted the same, and completing the law degree was one of the things that was on there, being my own boss was one of them, having my own podcast, believe it or not, was also one of them, and you know, being able to share knowledge and experience with others was one of them. And yeah, I've not got my call-up to appear in Forbes or Vogue just yet. But the point is that kind of sitting down and making a list shows you what you actually want or desire, and it's just about kind of going through that list and seeing if you can make one happen, kind of one at a time or whatever it may be. Um for me, there are other things that are random on there, not just business, learning to surf, learning to DJ. My my birthday a couple of uh weeks back, and my friends all put together and bought me some DJ decks, and listen, I'm absolutely useless at it, but it's a fun thing to do on a Sunday morning with a coffee, so it doesn't have to be a groundbreaking change in your life, but just good to get things written down that are important to you that you know you have an ambition or a desire to do and what really makes you tick, and then just make a start, and it's all about kind of developing yourself and moving forward, right? But I think writing it down is the first part of the real test is whether you're willing to you know become the person that's capable of just going through and doing them things and putting yourself out there. So it kind of brings me to what's the goal, and it's probably one of the hardest questions to answer at the moment, honestly, because I suppose the easy answer is to be more revenue, more clients, work in more regions, become more visible, have more recognition, more opportunity, and naturally we always we you know we're always going to want all them things. I want the business to grow, I want to make more partners, I want, you know, the you want the more success, but I suppose the deeper goal is not just the success, it's the freedom and the ownership, the security element and um option to branch into other fields, I think, whilst keeping the business going. Like I'd love to now I understand a lot more about business and what it takes. I'd love to buy another business in a different space and whether I whether or not I was hands-on with it or not, but just to invest in something totally random that's different that I can also help to build and scale. I'd love to travel more and experience new places. Thankful that my business allows me to combine travel with work. I have plans to continue this podcast. I've already planned out of season two and season three, I'm sure you'll all be delighted to know. And we're going to be changing tacks slightly and taking questions from some of the listeners that have already started kind of coming in and what struggles they have, and me giving my insight into how I'd manage those and what my feedback. Would be. So it's coming, it's becoming a little bit more interactive from the next season onwards. So ultimately the goal is to keep building, growing, and uh you know, enjoying the ride and being present in the moments and always remembering that balance is key. Burnout for me was always quite common in the past, and I'm balancing that way better now in my current position, seeing more success because of it, because I am fresher, because I have more energy, and uh yeah, I've always been extremely competitive, whether it's business training, learning something new, building a podcast, or even trying to get better at something like the DJing on a Sunday morning right. I've always had that part of me that wants to improve and be better and to win, and I want to know where the ceiling is ultimately, and I think that competitors competitiveness has served me well to this point. And I think there's a difference between wanting more and never feeling like anything is enough. There's a difference between chasing growth but being in unable to enjoy the life that the growth is meant to create, and I think that's one of the biggest things this first 18 months has taught me that the goal cannot just be to win, it has to be to build something worth winning. So a business that gives freedom, a reputation that you can be proud of, a life that gives you options, relationships that are not sacrificed for the sake of making a bit more money. Because I suppose what's the point in creating the freedom if you're never actually free from it? And what's the point in building financial security if you're still operating from a place of fear? So build, stay aware, push, stay grounded, be ambitious, but not over consumed and uh want more, but don't ignore what you already have. I think that's key. And win absolutely, but make sure the version of you that wins is is still someone that you recognise and that you like. So bringing it back to I suppose the season that we've just been through, and this is how it kind of felt right to end this way to just give some more personal context on things. Almost have just a personal connection in a way, but when I look back at all the episodes, they all connect together, whether it's standards, relationships, emotional control, initiative, alignment, business development, the compounding things you have to do for success. And I suppose during it it felt like a separate subject, but really they're all part of the same question. And it's it's how do you build a better life, career, relationships, or business that reflects who you are and what you want, and standards matter because what you tolerate shapes what you attract, relationships matter because you know nothing significant's built alone, and all these elements we've discussed all matter in their own ways, and yeah, I didn't necessarily plan the whole season to leap back to this, but looking back, it makes sense that these were the subjects I kept coming back to because they were things that I was living through or have lived through and have helped me get to where I am, and it's you know, there'll be a constant in all your lives at in some form or other, and um it's probably why I wanted to give more context in this final episode, not because, like I said, I've not figured everything out, but because it's worth knowing who you're listening to, where the opinions come from and what's kind of shaped the perspectives and why the topics matter to me. So yeah, the final question I suppose to leave you with um is the same question we'll be asking myself as well is why are you building it? Not just what are you building, but why is it is it for money, freedom, security, recognition, pride, to prove something for options, to create a life that maybe once felt out of reach to become a person who you'd be proud of, to give yourself or people around you more of a choice, and there's no perfect answer, and your answer might change over time. I think mine's probably changed over time, but at one point success might have looked like title, salary, lifestyle, or a version of recognition, and now it might include something different. It can still include ambition, it can still include money, it can still include wanting to win, but freedom, ownership, security, development, relationships, health, experience, and being present enough to actually enjoy the life that you're working hard to build. Because the truth is building anything worthwhile is going to test you, and there'll be periods where you feel, you know, exciting, there'll be periods where it feels heavy, moments where you feel ahead, and moments where you question whether you're moving fast enough. And there'll be things you can control and things you can't. People will change, plans will change, your kind of motivations will fluctuate, but the reward will not always arrive at the exact moment you think you deserve it, and that's why your reasons actually matter, because the excitement can start at something, but the reason it's what keeps you kind of going when the excitement may fade. And for me, looking forward to continuing the podcast beyond this initial launch and this initial first season, obviously the reaction's been um yeah, it's not been exp it's not been as what I kind of expected, it's been way more. It's been um you know, I'm really appreciative of everyone's kind of feedback and comments, and the fact that so many people have listened to it is yeah, it kind of was unexpected, and you know, I've got plans now laid out as I've mentioned for season two and three to unpack all your topics and discussions so it can be more relatable and more relevant. So podcast will continue, the business will continue to grow, develop, take different shapes. I also feel like maybe it's important as you know, I come across certain topics and certain things that maybe just jump on and do a 10-minute um what happened that week, um, what issues we faced, how we overcame it, what we did, how we felt in the moment. So that can be something that we can we can add to it. The low degree is obviously going to bring new challenges, new learning, and new opportunities, and I'm still building the stories being built. So the plan now is to pause um after this episode, take July to kind of reset, shape what comes next, and uh come back in August with the new content, new angles, and that's what I'm most excited for for season two is making it more relevant to the people that are listening and uh you know answering some of your issues that you're facing and dilemmas or even some positives, and you know, it's uh it's always good to interact properly. So the message behind this episode is ultimately beyond giving more of a personal introduction, it's um you don't necessarily need to wait until everything's worked out before your story has value. And sometimes the most useful lessons come while you're still figuring it out, and yeah, main takeaway is go take action, make a step forward, and uh make a step forward to achieving something. That's the way I see it. I hope it resonated. Please like, share, review the podcast, share it with someone who needs to hear it. Thanks.