What do Hugh Jackman, Zadie Smith, Mary Oliver and Kelly Slater have in common?

I was born into a working-class, immigrant family. I lost my dad when I was 13. We had little money and I had no network or roadmap for success, and no idea how to navigate the professional world.

Some people do their work in the shadows. They don’t seek recognition. Some people hide their mistakes and bad behaviours in the shadows. They don’t want to get found out.

You can’t beat the universe. It’s billions of years old. You can fight against it, but you’re just creating friction. It’s like driving a car through sand or cycling into a hurricane.

Being selfish is often conflated with looking inwards, looking after number one, keeping yourself small. Yet looking inwards is often the only place to start.