News < Back To NEWS

Hi Team,

Over the last 30 years of running DDB I have often struggled with the idea of growth. I have regularly felt that the company should be bigger and more recognised or more high profile. But ultimately DDB has always been the size and structure that I was personally comfortable with. This constant feeling of wanting more can be very unsettling and negative over time and it is easy to fall into the belief that "bigger is always better" and to always be chasing more jobs, more profit, more recognition, more everything. Mark Manson calls this "The Disease Of More" and warns his readers that by constantly pursuing something bigger or something better, you are often preventing yourself from enjoying and appreciating what you already have.

"Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not. Remember that what you have now was once what you only hoped for."  Unknown

There is a well-known saying in business that "Growth sucks cash"; in other words, you have to spend a lot of money to grow a company. You require bigger offices, more equipment, more staff, more training, more marketing etc. Even with a solid business plan and excellent growth strategy, it is very easy to spend a lot of money, time and effort, only to end up with the same business outcome (i.e. profit and enjoyment). My business coach often said "pursuing business growth can be like running on a treadmill; it doesn't matter how fast you run you end up in the same place!"

This is not to say that wanting a business to grow or wanting a bigger house is bad. In actual fact wanting more in life is a perfectly natural part of being human. But what is important is that your ambition and desire for more comes from your intrinsic motivation and by being driven by something greater than yourself, e.g.: your family, your community, your sports club, your team etc, etc. For long term success and satisfaction, it is critical to know why you are working hard and why you are striving for more. The key is to know what you want and being motivated enough to strive for it. 

Throughout life you are always going to miss out on things because life is a constant set of trade-offs. The things that are worth pursuing and really matter to you will always involve a level of commitment, hard work and sacrifice. The best advice I have found is "to focus on fewer things and get really, really good at them"  We live in a time of seemingly endless opportunities and the real secret is to know which opportunities you should pursue and devote your time to. Here are three things that can help you to decide what might be worth pursuing.
 

1. Love the work not the result. 
2. Find out what motivates you (what do you think about the most, what excites you).
3. Stay true to your values (if it doesn't feel right don't do it and trust your instincts).

"If you are thankful for what you have, you'll end up having more. If you focus on what you don't have you will never have enough."  Michale Athsuler

???????Thanks for reading.
Stay safe and stay motivated.
David