So in September it was my 10th year of being on the social networking website Twitter, big deal right?
I feel like I’m writing this from the side of a cliff looking up and over my shoulder there are smaller rocky mountains that represent 10 years. In that time there have been some right ups and there have been some pretty huge downs.
Passing a milestone
Whenever one passes a milestone I encourage you to look back. Assess where you have come from, the pile of absolute mess you have been through and compare it to where you are right now.
How is the view for you?
Are you looking back at a series of mountains, jagged and torn or are you looking back over a smooth valley with little or no bumps in the road?
What did you want to achieve when you set out on your journey? Did you even know you had begun one?
2011
2011 for me was a period of uncertainty, back then the property that I lived in with my partner had been repossessed and we had to vacate it, downsizing to a small 2 bedroom property.
The new property had no heating, and the windows were massive and heavy to lift. We kept it warm by using the tumble dryer and cooker, as well as my old electrical heater from an old business.
We were in debt, thousands of pounds worth of debt and I had no income or job, having just seen the last days of my business.
My mental health was on the verge of collapse, again and my weight was piling on. I lived in a world of no responsibility, and regularly binged drank my Saturday and Sunday nights away.
Hardly a recipe for success or long term improvement.
2021
10 years on and I’d love to be sitting here saying I made it, there is a flash ferrari on the drive way, the jet is on order and my new £5.6 million yacht is currently mored in Barcelona.
Unfortunately that isn’t the case.
I don’t own a Ferrari and as for the yacht, I’d have more chance of getting one if I played the lottery.
See although my life did begin to change it was only in 2018 did I really begin to take my life seriously. Between the years of 2011 and 2018 I did a combination of drifting moving from one business failure to the next, messing about with this and messing about with that.
Doing anything I could to bring in a few pennies or in some cases no pennies at all. I worked for a couple of agencies around the South West, but never really stuck it out for the long haul, choosing to again go back into business for myself in 2015. I’d have my own son, a little boy whom would become more than just my son but my very best creation.
In 2015 I had multiple brands on the go and a vision for running a global business worth billions, yes you read that right billions. I was one man in a badly painted office and thought he could run the world.
Unfortunately it would be a further 3 years before I’d finally realise that I needed to get serious about my work.
In 2018 I decided on a brand, I committed to myself to the success of that brand and committed myself to the success of myself, my family and adopted a new mindset through physical exercise. I stopped binge drinking and began binge reading, I stopped partying and began preparing, I stopped a world of no responsibility and asked what I could be responsible for.
Over the next 3 years I’d work day and night to begin growing the business, building up a strong portfolio of clients, I’d decorate the office making it my web design studio, I’d change the IT equipment, hire staff and begin putting in place the foundations for a solid digital agency.
Boost Digital Media became my agency for just over 5 years, and is still very much my jewel in a crown riddled with business failure and upheaval.
Summary
How is my view from the top of my mountain?
It’s one that’s dark. I can see a jagged torn set of mountains that I’ve climbed and right now I’m climbing one of the tallest and biggest mountains with a weight backpack pushing myself further and further up the mountain with each step.
There is no view for me at the moment as I haven’t reached the top. All I know is on this journey up the mountain it is dark, wet, cold and although I’m tired I’m determined I will reach the top and I will be a success.
Robert Haylor