John Bird joined us last week to tell us his story of setting up The Big Issue. Thanks to a relationship with one of our non-executive directors, he had agreed to travel to Norwich and share his passion. And share it he did! I’ve seen him talk once before, but I don’t think there were many in the room quite ready for the energy, passion and spittle that landed on the front row! Like so much of what happens when establishing yourself in any enterprise, to outsiders it can look like chance, fate or serendipity. Personally I don’t believe in these things and broadly believe that ‘the harder I work the luckier I get’. You can train yourself to see the opportunity in every meeting (without becoming an opportunist). Saying ‘yes’ to the world is a great start. It’s exhausting too, which means you can also be strategic about it, without being ruthless. It’s a fine balance and one I’m loving learning as a social entrepreneur that is lucky enough to be able to hear from people like John Bird to challenge everything I thought I knew!
