Begin Again with Davina McCall - Simon Squibb: The Education System is Failing us! This is Why We Need to Rethink School

Episode Date: August 14, 2025

In this episode of Begin Again, Simon Squibb shares his extraordinary story of overcoming adversity, personal transformation, and resilience. From being kicked out of his home at 15 to navigating the harsh realities of homelessness, Simon reveals how these challenges shaped his path to success. Simon, best known for his social series What's Your Dream, opens up about the pivotal moments in his life, his struggles with loss, survival, and finding purpose, and how these experiences fueled his entrepreneurial journey. With a mission to help others and empower them to pursue their dreams, Simon talks about the power of pain in driving passion, the importance of supporting others, and how his desire to uplift those who are struggling keeps him going. In this candid conversation, Simon reflects on his unconventional path, the lessons he’s learned about empathy, failure, and rebuilding, and how helping others is the key to finding true happiness. This episode is a powerful reminder that no matter where you start, it’s never too late to begin again and build a life driven by purpose, resilience, and a commitment to making a difference in the lives of others. 💬 Drop a comment: What’s your biggest takeaway from Simon? 👉 Follow us on Instagram: @beginagain 🎥 Watch more on TikTok: @beginagainpod Follow Simon here: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@simonsquibbInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/simonsquibb/Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SimonSquibb (00:00) Intro (01:17) The Power of Helping Others (03:48) Simon’s Difficult Childhood Story (06:31) Caring for Himself at Just 8 Years Old (09:18) Homeless at 15 After Being Kicked Out by His Mother (11:04) Reflections on Motherhood and Narcissistic Traits (14:44) Losing His Father at 15 and Lessons Learned (17:22) Turning Pain Into Motivation to Help Others (18:37) How Lack of Parental Support Impacts Dreams (19:30) Life Lessons From Experiencing Homelessness (23:39) Choosing Money vs. Happiness (24:26) How to Find Your True Purpose in Life (25:48) Starting His First Business ‘Fluid’ at Age 24 (26:56) The Life-Changing Gift of Giving (28:00) Supporting and Encouraging Your Partner’s Dreams (36:17) How Pain Can Drive Your Purpose (38:02) Why the Education System Fails and How to Successfully Home-School Your Kids (44:46) Why Failure Is the Key to Success (48:29) Why You Only Need Your First Customer to Start (52:48) Practicing Gratitude and Turning Pain Into Strength (58:14) How to Manage People Who Dislike You (1:01:53) Simon’s Biggest Dream for the Future Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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But I know a lot of people made a lot of money and they're unhappy. I just want people to understand what makes you happy. My mum will kick me out at 15 years old just after my father had died. I was homeless in total for eight weeks. I remember a girl spitting out in the face and saying, get a job. And I just remember thinking, like, why do people not understand what it's like? Because everybody listening is three steps away from being homeless.

I do what I do now because I'm trying to help that 15-year-old kid. I want my son to grow up in a world where we're kind to each other. I get very upset about the education. system. I see adults asking kids this question every single day. What do you want to do when you grow up? The first question we should ever ask our kids is what problem you'd like to solve when you grow up. Love sometimes is just someone believing in you. It's not possible to be self-made. Anyone that's being successful had someone believe in them. And so I think there's not enough said about how powerful a successful relationship can be. There was about six months in our marriage where I

didn't support her and it almost broke us. How did you see that it was going wrong and how did you turn that around. You need to have something to get you up every day to make you want to fight for your dream. If somebody's watching or listening, how would they figure out what their purpose is? First of all. Simon Squib, I'm going to try not to frighten you with how much I adore you during this interview. Thank you. I love what you do and I love your soul and I love how you want to make people feel.

empowered and um that means a lot really you I feel sometimes a lot of hate so it's actually quite nice to hear some love to be honest thank you for saying that that means a lot to me and it's when you say I feel hate sometimes I'm like what um because everyone that I've spoken to and I've guess who I'm into you I'm literally been flexing around interviewing you I'm so excited generally to my kids friends of my kids and they're all Oh, my God. So this morning I called my daughter in Australia. She's in Sydney.

And she's dyslexic. Suffered judgment for that through her whole school life, was bullied. She so identifies with you on every level. And because of you, she started her first tech business at 21. And she cried when I told her I was interviewing you. So this is the impact you're having. I am shocked by the impact. It's exciting, but also I feel a big sense of responsibility to make sure that I help people because there's a lot of people suffering.

And so I find myself, you know, when I help one person, feels great because we get a natural oxytocin when we help someone, right? It's in us to naturally help people. We want to help people. Everyone does. Every single one of your listeners wants to do it. If they try it, they'll see. I think, but when you do one, help one person, you feel like there's so many people still left behind.

Yes. It's a really strange excitement that you've helped and you can help and I have a platform to help, but a burden, there's more people that need help and they're not getting it. What I think is interesting though, Simon, is that you help one person and then that person infects everyone they know with that. So actually the spider kind of, web effect of that like going out to more people than that one person you helped I think is

massive. Actually, for your listeners listening, this is a really important point. Sometimes if you just, someone listening today just helps one person. It's not just that one person that they will help. They take four minutes out and help someone. That person then also feels enlightened almost and they help someone. I'm so fascinated by how you got to where you are today. and I think learning a little bit more about your childhood and your upbringing really help me understand you.

And I think the thing that I was most shocked to read as a mother was the story of your mom leaving you in Bedford. Could you just tell us a little bit about that? You were eight, right? Yeah. I still find it hard to talk about my childhood. It's like I spent 20 years in Asia as well So in Asia you really revere your parents You really respect them

And I'm married to someone who is Asian She's Chinese, lived in Hong Kong And you know, when I first told her that I'd fallen out on my mum I felt embarrassment Like it's it is partly my fault So But I think the story Can I just ask you something

Yeah Why is it partly your fault? Well there's different philosophies around how to deal with personality types, right? Like, I'm, I'm a, I'm a very strong-willed person. Maybe with my mother, I shouldn't be so strong-willed. I mean, it's, it's, in sales, they always say you've got to adapt to the person you're selling to, right? And you can't shout at someone who doesn't like shouting, for example. And I think I am someone who perhaps hasn't learned very easily to accept my mum's way, and I blame myself for that. But equally, I can't be someone I'm not. And so that's the

other side. But you were very young. when these issues happened with your mother. And I'm not trying to make you feel something, but in a sense, as a mother, as a mother, it is my job. And I had a very difficult mother. And I ended up estranged from my mum, through my choice, because it was damaging me as a person.

But I tried so hard to fit in. But as a mother, I now see, even if I found any of my children challenging, it's my job to love them and take care of them. I adapt, not then. That's the point of being a mother, the selflessness of it. So as a young man, which you were when she, you know, these two events that I read about, you being chucked out of home and at Bedford, I feel like as the child is not to blame for that, but you do take responsibility. Is that part of a process that you do? I think for the listeners maybe give some context.

I was eight years old and I lived in a small town called St. Neitz and we went shopping one day in Bedford, which is nearby, maybe a 30 minute or so bus ride away. and so we went there and I remember it's probably one of my earliest memories as a child. I can remember it so clearly because we were having a nice day and we were shopping. And then I can't remember exactly what happened. I think I think we just had an argument basically about something. I think I said I wanted to get a drink and she said she wanted to finish what she was doing. I can't remember the exact detail. But then she just basically said, well, you can just get home on your own then, can't you?

And she walked off and left me. Now, at eight years old, I don't know if that's normal or not. At eight years old, I'm just instantly thinking, okay, I've got to get home. You know, what do I do? How do I get home? What bus do I have to get? We came in a car, by the way, so I didn't know what bus I had to get, and I didn't have any money on me.

So, of course, but then no mobile phones, no nothing, right? So it's kind of an interesting panic. Now, you know, since growing up now, I've got a seven-year-old. He's just about to turn eight. I can't even leave him in his bedroom on his own, you know? Like I check in on him, make sure he's okay. So now I understand maybe it was technically wrong, but it didn't feel wrong to me at the time.

I felt like I had done something wrong and she was punishing me. That's what parents do when you do something wrong. So I guess this is the good thing about when people are hard on you. I learned to get home. I learned to get the money I needed, figure out the bus, get on the bus. you know, an eight-year-old is not a weakling. You know, I managed to learn this thing that I now carry with me. You can call it a curse or a blessing that anything is possible.

And you can just, you know, despite being dumped in a town with no money, I can survive. Yeah. Which is kind of an interesting revelation. It's almost a bit freeing. If you've got nothing, you've got nothing to lose. If you've got nothing and you can make something out of nothing, it kind of wakes you up a bit. Now, I would never do it to my child. No.

But I also see some good in it and I see some benefit in it. When I interview people, I could see sometimes people that have single parents or parents that's a bit tough on them. Sometimes they have a better life long term because they do the hard thing when they're young for the easier life later. You learn life lessons. And it's a really horrible lesson. I don't want to, again, I wouldn't do it to my child, even though maybe it would make him stronger. I think there's other ways to do it. Yes.

I think there's better ways to do it. Yes, I'd like to talk to you about that later. And I think my mum also kicked me out at 15 years old, just after my father had died. And so that was also a crazy moment. I mean, she literally put your stuff on the street. Yeah, well, no, she'd even give me my stuff, just told me to get out. So I literally grabbed a bag and threw some stuff in it. And she said, get out of my house, screaming at me, I'm going to call the police, get out of my house.

You never went back. Never went back. Wow. 15. Yep. Yeah. And even now when I think about it now, I feel a bit sad about it because it's, it's, I went from, having a father and a mother and I got three brothers. We're all together in a house. And then

suddenly I'm on my own out in the real world. And I think the thing that really hit me was just how unprepared I was for the real world, even though the eight-year-old experience, that wasn't my daily experience. That was just a one-off experience when I was younger. Actually, at 15 years old, looking like an adult. So you don't look, I didn't look 15. I didn't look 15. I was, I was a rugby player. I looked like a grown-up. You know, most people thought I was 18, 19, 20. So, you know, 15 years old out of the street. Yeah. I mean,

the other side of it is the world I learned, suddenly throwing out into the real world, like I have a lot of empathy for the homeless because I was actually homeless in total for eight weeks. But the homeless people were the kindest people ever to me. Most people's experienced with homeless people in this country are like someone begging you for money. I had a completely different experience.

They gave me their half a sandwich they had left. They gave me the blanket that they couldn't really justify, they needed it for themselves to me. They told me how to survive in the streets, you know, Like the people that I thought were the almost society's abnormal, you know, weirdos were the kindest people. And so, and then I when I. Kinder than your mother.

Kinder than my mother in that moment. Yeah. Yeah. I have it. My mum, I always feel so if I was still alive and she may listen to this podcast. So I'm always conscious that I don't want to hurt her. But I also, you know, must tell the truth. And she was a great mother when I was young, actually. And despite that story of where she had some moments where she just lost.

lost it and did perhaps the wrong thing. We used to play board games. She would all have fun. She was engaged, mother. But I didn't know she was a narcissist. And I didn't know what a narcissist was. So I didn't understand that terminology or what it meant to me. And she would pitch me against my brothers to fight each other.

She would like drama. I just thought that was normal. You know, like, as a kid, you don't know what's normal and what's abnormal. It wasn't until I left home. that I realized it was abnormal. But, you know, I still struggle talking about it because I feel bad that she might be listening and I'll be hurting her feelings, you know.

The other interesting thing, I think, is somebody, and I'm sure that there will be loads of people listening and watching who will be identifying here because often people have an issue with a parent. But it is very interesting. So say, for example, when I was younger, if somebody said something against my mum. My mum was very complicated.

She was an alcoholic. And so it was unpredictable and mad, sexual, like crazy. And but fun. And she loved me in a weird way. She couldn't mother me. But if anybody said anything against her or bad about her, I would defend her. And I think she's your mother. So of course you love.

It's naturally instinct. You love her. You love her. That's part of our responsibility. as kids as the parents get older. I feel it. But I also know every time I've ever tried to deal with her in my whole life. Yes.

She just, it's an element of bipolar too. It's like you just said one minute, she's the funniest person you've ever known. And next minute, she'll just burn the house down and you with it. And she'll just, there's no logic.

I think that, you know, that, I always, you know, now I understand what a narcissist is, but to me it's just like, there's no logic sometimes.

It's just about to, destruction. And I don't like destruction. I like harmony and kindness. And I've discovered who I am. And that took me some time to figure out who I am. Because when you're with someone that is like that, you kind of mirror them because you want to fit in. Right. So I see this, you know, when I was at school, bullies who are hanging out with other bullies. Maybe some of those kids don't want to be bullies. But if they don't bully as well, they're going to get teased or bullied themselves. Exactly. So it's a survival mechanism. And I think in my house, we're all fighting each other all the time. I thought that was normal. I didn't. didn't know anything else. What happened when you left? Did you lose touch with your brothers as well? Or did you manage to keep in touch with my older brother? Because he'd also been kicked out. But he was kicked out 18 years old.

Literally, all his stuff was thrown out the window. And he was told to leave. So I saw that happen. Of course, my mum would justify he was bad. He did this. He went out too late. Whatever her reasoning was for treating him that way, he was kicked out already.

So when I was kicked out, you know, I basically was able to reach out to him. but he was going through his own troubles himself. He wasn't in a good financial place. He was struggling himself. But I managed to stay in touch with him. And then my younger brothers, it took me maybe a year before I was able to get back in contact with them

and actually spend time with them. And again, like I was scared for them. If I reached out to them or connected with them, that was almost like treachery as far as my mom was concerned. I didn't want them to get kicked out or for them to be treated badly. So part of me was like, don't get involved with that dynamic. Let myself get stable. and then try to reconnect with them over time, which I did.

And I eventually, of course, got close to my brothers again, which was great. Your dad died just before you left or, you know, not too far from when you were chucked out. What happened there? Because were you with him? Yeah, so my mum and my dad were having an argument. They were screaming at each other. And my dad suddenly sat down and said, I feel funny. and I was like, are you okay?

What's going on? I thought he was kind of joking, like playing like a skit. Were you close to your dad? I was and I wasn't. Again, a 15-year-old relationship with my dad is complicated. My dad was an authoritative figure, a very kind man, but he had his work and he had his hobbies. And I would spend time with him, for example,

cleaning the car. We'd do stuff like that. But he wasn't particularly loving. And I mean that with respect to him. He wasn't give you a hug. He was more like how you. you doing, what's going on. Very kind of structured. He had his own things that he did. I wasn't really involved in a lot of his hobbies. So it was like, okay, he had his life and I had mine.

But he wasn't, he was neither, I would say, the father of the year or bad father. I think he was again a bit married to a narcissist. He was a little bit, you know, just trying to survive in his relationship with my mother. But he died right in front of me. He died of a heart attack right in front of me. And I, and I, we called the ambulance. The ambulance arrived in eight minutes by the time the ambulance arrived, he was dead. And I still, to this day, like, when I think back to that moment, I was like, he can't be dead. It's the first person close to him I ever lost. And I just didn't think it was real. You know, weirdly, and this is going to sound crazy now, maybe, but I know this isn't true. But in my head, I'm like, maybe he's pretended to die to get away from my mom.

You know, like, that's how crazy my brain was like, this, he can't be dead. He was only 54. Yes. You know, how can he be dead? And the balance that he brought to the house, which I never realized into who was gone, was he would rain in her crazy. Yes. So when he was gone, she was, of course, emotionally distraught, as you'd expect. She'd lost her husband, her support person. But her anchor was gone.

She just became wild. And anything we wanted to do, anything we wanted to say, it ended all being about the pain that she was going through and nothing about the pain that me and my brothers were going through. And that's where the tear came where it was just like I couldn't handle her being so selfish when I was going through my own pain and so were my brothers and that's when I really started to push back

on some of her rhetoric, some of her, you know, she even started saying bad things about him within the two weeks that he was dead. You know, I don't want to hear this stuff. I mean, he's just died and I knew she loved him so I was very confused

why she would slag off someone who just died who she loved. I mean, I just I it's so nice to get to know you a bit because I understand you

I do what I do now because I'm trying to help that 15 year old kid and I'm trying to help people who perhaps don't have people around them that are supporting them aren't giving them the love that they need and love sometimes it's just someone believing in you someone giving you a little bit of hope giving you a bit of encouragement

clapping for you, cheering for you, doing what they can, right? Give you that little bit of extra, go for it. Life's hard, but don't worry, you can fix it. And yeah, I think I try to explain to my team, you know, when I hire someone, I'm explaining, I'm just trying to help the 15-year-old me, but I think for a lot of people, they don't have a parent supporting them.

These days, a lot of kids have parents telling them, go to university, get a good job, whatever that means. and parents influence kids in a way that's not healthy. And it's really weird because I think a lot of young people don't know that their parents aren't giving them the encouragement they need. Yes. So I feel sometimes like they are, but they're not. Yeah, and I don't think most of the time parents, yeah, they don't know. Parents want what's best for kids, but they're not necessarily listening to what the kids want that's best for them.

It's flipped. They're thinking about what they think is best for the kids. But they're not listening to what the kids want to do. And so I actually feel sometimes lucky that my mum kicked me out of 15 Because I was released of all that expectation My mom wanted me to be a lawyer by the way It sounded good It made her look better

Right And she knew I knew I was smart So she's like well you can be a lawyer Because that's what she could say She had as a son But that's not who I am Right I want to go out there in the world and build

I want to create I want to make something in my head real And so she didn't understand that And a lot of parents don't understand that And I think now, by the way, of AI coming, everyone has to think this way anyway. Yes. Because all the jobs are going. Yeah.

Let's just be honest about it. Just before we leave 15-year-old, you on the street, that really moved me. And you were talking about the support that you got from other people. And one of the things that really, really struck me, because when I talk to people on the street, I usually talk to people in terms of, are you an addict? I was an addict Let me tell you you can get some help There's tea and biscuits at any meetings Go try it out

Why? And usually I won't give an addict money Because I know what they're going to do with it So I say I'm not going to give you money But I will tell you where you can go and get some tea and biscuits And some support and love But if I see someone and they're not I'll go I can see you're not using

like are you okay do you need some money you know try and kind of talk to them but one of the things that really upset me

about you on the street was how many people dismissed you because they thought you're an addict yes that's right that's something I really felt

I mean there's lots of kindness by the way also had friends let me go and stay with them and stuff like that there's lots of really kind things that happened and it was

it is in tough times to see the kindness of people reminds me Humanity is really good. Despite what the news tell us and the media headlines, we have to believe as well that humans are good. Otherwise, we don't treat each other with respect. But, yeah, it was definitely, I remember begging and this girl spitting at me in the face.

A girl spitting at me in the face and saying, get a job. And I just remember thinking, like, I can't get a job. I don't have a national insurance card. And I don't have an address. Like, why don't you understand this? But by the time I had the courage to say this as wiping the spit off my face, they'd walked off. And I'm just like, why do people not understand what it's like? Everybody listening is three steps away from being homeless.

Yes. You know, one payment missed, one mistake made on your finances, or something, if something happened to my son, I don't know how I'd numb the pain. You know, I love my son. Seven years old, I just, I left him this morning, almost cried just leaving him. I love him so much. You know, like, if something ever happened to him, I don't know what I'd do. You know, I'd probably spiral out of control. I'd probably turn to drink or alcohol, anything to just, you know, get rid of the pain.

I can already sense just the idea of it. People don't have empathy for how people got there. They're looking at those people there. You know, and when I was homeless, there was about 22,000 people homeless. Now there's over 270,000 people homeless. And I know why this has happened as well. And people will blame it on alcohol. But anyone listening, they go sleep in the street for a week

and see if you don't find a way to nine. the pain. Sometimes those people become addicts because of that situation. It's not they were addicts they're there. It's because of their situation. That's how they numb the pain. That's how they get through the nights. That's what I noticed when I was homes when I went to see people who were drug addicts or alcohol. They would pitch it as a way of getting sleep, like taking a sleeping pill. A way of getting through the pain and someone kicking you in the middle of the night because they're walking past you and they're drunk and they kick you. You know, because they think you're ruining their street or

littering up their whatever you know it people don't realize what it's like to be on that side of it I think in a way to have experienced that and to have experienced kindness that's again another very it's a way that it's something so massive

that it will shape your life forever and in terms of experiencing the toughest side of life and then experiencing some kindness there was a lovely story about you going to stay in a sort of squat but all the bedrooms were taken so you ended up in a cupboard and I was reading that and it made me smile a bit because I thought I bet that cupboard

I mean what did it feel amazing I had a safe place to sleep yeah you know you somebody meeting was a cupboard but for you yeah even now like I I um I've got money now but I don't don't need it and I mean that with you know a lot of respect to people that don't have money money definitely brings you happiness if you're already happy yes So if I start with nothing and I build up but I'm happy, the money will bring happiness. But I know a lot of people made a lot of money and they're unhappy. And I know it's a cliche, but I just want people to understand what makes you happy is doing something purposeful with your life. And so, of course, being financially free is incredibly liberating.

But equally, if you have too many choices, you don't go and commit to something. There's another thing I see. A lot of middle class people, they have too many choices. They could go to university. They could get this job. They could do this. They could do that. They don't dedicate themselves to something that will make a difference.

difference in their lives long term. They're not willing to do the hard thing because life's too easy now. I mean, purpose obviously is at the center of everything that you do. And it's quite interesting how many people you talk to and they'll go, I don't really have a purpose. I don't know what you mean. But you have a brilliant way of kind of getting people to focus down on like what their purpose is. how, if somebody's watching or listening, how would they figure out what their purpose is? I think it's very important, first of all, for people to realize that they do have a purpose. Believe in themselves for a minute. Now, it can be lots of different types of levels to the purpose.

It doesn't have to be Elon Musk wants to make sure that we humans are on another planet before a meteor hits this planet. It doesn't have to be that hardcore, right? It can simply be, you know, someone took your parking space and you're a bit annoyed, you'd like to solve that problem. I think, again, a lot of people overthink what their purpose could be. It's just something that gives you meaning. It's something that gives you drive. And I think for me, for example... The ride that steals the spotlight every time it hits the road,

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My dream is that everyone helps each other, right? That we live in a world not give and take, but give without take. That's my dream. That's the top line. You know my granny, I love old-fashioned sayings, so I lived with my granny. Those old-fashioned sayings are so true. But giving is receiving. Yes, it is.

You don't need to actually have a receipt. You just give. But we're not taught this. because now, by the way, the taxman needs everything to be a transaction. Let's just understand what's happened in the last 100 years. Everything needs to be tracked. So if I help you and then you help me, there's a taxable event, right? Whereas if I just help you and don't charge you, there's no taxable event.

So we've been encouraged to create a transaction, but it's naturally in us just to help each other. Because I can help you. You're probably not even the person to help me today. You may be done even have the skill set, the knowledge, the network, the contact. You probably do actually personally, but conceptually. Like when we walk around the streets, I'd see people that need my help. Then I don't need anything back from them because there's nothing they could do to help me anyway. Right.

The things I need help with, they're not equipped to help me with. But I just want to help them. And it's like karma as well. Yeah. We all accept karma. But for some reason when I say purpose or dream, it's a little bit alien to people. A lot of people tell me they can't have a dream. They haven't got time.

They've got to pay the bills. Right? I'm like, no, no. You've got to take the time to find your purpose because otherwise you burn out. Yeah. If you're just trying to pay the bills and look after your kids and, you know, you've got no reason other than looking after your kids. That's not a purpose. You need to have something to get you up every day to make you want to fight, make you want to be fit, to be healthy, to fight for your dreams.

You need energy. And energy comes from a purpose. And often the best purposes are ones where you're helping other people. I mean, if anyone's ever given a present to someone, you know, you've really thought about it, you've gone shopping, found it, you've wrapped it, you've written a little card. Everyone listening has ever done that. The excitement you feel about when you're going to give that person a present, I would argue it's 10 times more exciting them and you're going to get a present. Sometimes you get a present, you feel like, oh, do I deserve this? Do I like it?

But when you give a present, that feeling, and you know, we have not been taught this. In recent history, we've been taught that it's about, you know, no good de goes unpunished. There's literally sayings that stop us from just doing kind gestures, which is insane to me. Yes. Because it brings us this natural vibe if we do it. Yes. And so it's interesting because I sometimes when people are giving me compliments, I sometimes feel a bit of a fake because what I get when I help people is I want to be useful and I want to be heard.

Right. I think every human has this in them. I want to be part of a tribe and I want to contribute. So when I sold my company fluid to BWC, I could have retired. I didn't need to work again my whole life. But there was a feeling it didn't feel right. I quickly want to talk about Phil because you started at 20. So you moved to where your wife was from.

Yep, Hong Kong. And you both started this business together. Am I right and saying? Yeah, yeah, basically. Fluid. Yes. I mean, when I read about that, I thought, wow, 20s young to start a business. And it was like marketing and.

But I've been working. I was 24, by the way, when I started fluid. Oh, okay. I've been working nine years. I'd literally been marketing and learning sales, which I think is unlocked to most businesses. it's everyone can sell. It's just a question of your personality type and the type of ways you sell,

but everyone can sell. But I've been doing it for nine years at that point. So starting a business in Hong Kong was not scary to me at all. I mean, what Helen brought to the table was Helen was a creative. So she had that natural talent that I didn't have.

I'd learn a skill. She had a skill. But when you match what I learned skill, in my case sales and marketing, with someone that's actually got a skill in her case, creativity, design, it was dynamite. I was like,

I can take what I've learned because I don't think I don't have skills back then. I could talk. Okay. What good is talking, right? Now we know a podcast.

Quite useful, actually. These days, you know, it's now quite useful. But communication is an asset, but I didn't realize it by then, but you have to fine tune it like anything. Yeah. You know, if Tiger Woods

playing golf at seven years old hadn't kept playing golf, he wouldn't have been good. You have to practice what, even what you think, you know, isn't a skill, talking, make it a skill, so you're good at it.

But I realized that when I realized that when I met her, that for me, working with someone who had the opposite skill to me, but the same moral code, was magic. Yes. She, you know, we talked about this off camera a little bit. Yes. She, she would clap every time I had a success. It was the first time I experienced that.

Always makes me a bit emotional that. I never felt it. It's such an amazing. Someone that when I did well, she was happy for me. Oh. You know, and I never had that. Even my brothers were, you know, as much as I love them, we were competitive. You know, we'll be competing.

How are you doing versus how? And my mother, of course, my mom wanted me to fail. She wanted me to go back with my tail between my legs and go home. And I can even think of my school friends, you know, and they'll probably be listening. But I know, they didn't want to see me succeed. I went back to my hometown recently to launch my book. And it was lovely. People were coming up to me, congratulations.

But I could also see, even now, 30 years later, a slight envy. So when I met someone that actually wanted to see me succeed, to her detriment, by the way, so she would actually like sacrifice her own life, time, things that she wanted to do to help me succeed. So I did a big tour of America. She just let me do it. I had this lovely drive around America, went and did all loads of fun stuff while she stayed at home. You know, and did she want to come to America? Yes.

Did she sacrifice that time for me? Yes. Simon, I really want to point something out here because. This is a really good message for men, women, people in relationships with a partner and a sacrifice that you see your partner making to help cheerlead you and where you want to be. To acknowledge your partner's sacrifice that it's not that they're working with you or that she comes on the tour with you. She stays at home and doesn't do something to enable you to do you. something that you really love and respect her for that.

Yes. And this is such a beautiful and important thing to point out because sometimes I think people forget that the person at home is sacrificing something. Yeah. And that that is a gift that not doing something. You know, I just wanted to kind of flag that because that's a really beautiful thing you just said there about her. and what it shows me is your respect

for each other. And I say this a lot on this podcast but my dad always said full things in love. Friendship, carnal love, trust, respect. And if any of those aren't present, you need to work on it. I couldn't agree more. I think there's also not enough said about how powerful a successful relationship can be. Oh, yeah.

There's so much online. I see it, you know, with influences in particular, lots of boyfriends, lots of girlfriends, lots of dating, lots of Tinder swipes left and right. It is hard work to have a deep relationship, but a deep relationship is so rewarding. It is so worth it. And I just don't hear that very often. People are always busy thinking that the next big, next beautiful, younger person, whatever it is, like, there's always someone better. No, what you've got, you can make it great. You have to work at it.

But the person has to want you to succeed. This is important ingredient I think with Helen the reason we've been together 23, four years almost yes and it is I feel it's an achievement if you're actually my biggest achievement

I would say I actually have my relationships worked and so I but I would also say if she stopped enabling me or I stopped enabling her or stopped respecting me and I stopped respecting her it would be over yes right it would be over

if she changed in this way I would I would compartmentalize it and say, we had this great time, but now you don't want me to succeed. And I would leave her. And she would leave me and I would expect her to. Because, you know, she's now a trained kinesilologist. She's a healer. And when she first told me about this, I remember my first reaction is like, oh, so what, like a doctor?

And I was a little bit skeptical about, you know, preemptive care medicine. And it took me about six months to fully understand what she was talking about because she's actually smarter than me. It took me a little bit of time. But what I'm saying, the reason I'm explaining this is I think there was a about six months in our marriage, maybe about 10 years ago, where I didn't support her. And I was like, I don't understand this preemptive medicine, you know, what are you talking about? How does it work? How does holistic medicine work? What do you mean you take nettles?

You know, what's nettles? Why nettles make you healthy? I don't understand. And so I didn't support her and it almost broke us. And I think, thank God, I realized she's onto something and I should learn from her. And then I supported her because she actually left the company that we started to get. She said, I don't want to work at the fluid anymore. I've done my time there. I want to go and do this health and well-being stuff. And I was like, what are you talking about? We're one of the most successful companies in Asia.

You're a brilliant designer. What are you doing? I literally, that was my tone. And so I didn't support her. I didn't support her wish to change. And so your point you're making there, and I want the list to also pick up on it. You have to accept that person's dream and you have to support them. No matter what it is.

And you have to genuinely support them, not be rooting for them to actually fail to prove your point that you were right. Yes. Right? And so I think that people need to learn this. If you want a good relationship, I think that's the number one bit of advice.

Support the person you loves dream, no matter what it is, and encourage them to change because we do change. How did you see that it was going wrong and how did you turn that around? Because I think there'll be a lot of people out there that are going through something similar. You know, you love somebody,

but you think, what are you doing like? I think I saw my mother in me. I remember Helen telling me she was leaving the business and she wanted to do this holistic care and I remember trying to convince her not to do it, which is initially fair enough. I think that's a normal reaction. Yeah, at first.

Yeah. But then what went from convincing went from manipulation. Because then I would start to use language that I think I picked up in my childhood, which is, well, if you do that, You know, you probably end up broke. If you do that, the business we've built up will fail. Now this starts to be manipulation.

And did you know at the time you were doing it? Did it feel wrong? No, I think I basically caught myself. I caught myself using a line that my mom used to use against me. And I remember thinking, that's exactly how my mom used to speak to me. And I was like, of course, as a kid, you know, we have our subconscious years, which is zero to seven. All this stuff that happens that makes us subconsciously do things. We're blinking now, breathing now without thinking about it.

This is like subconscious. You know, we get scared of things because our subconscious notices something, remembers it, so we protect ourselves from that thing. And so I picked up all this stuff, all this language that my mum would have towards my dad, towards me, towards my brothers, towards whoever. And it became part of me, even though it isn't actually part of me. And I found myself using it on her. And so, yeah.

The amazing thing is, is you saw that? Yeah, do you know, I remember it clicking because basically I'd say, to her, you shouldn't, you should stay in the business. And she said yes. And you know, I saw this little light in her die. So she did it for me again. She said, yes, okay, you're right. I'll stay in the business for now then. And I saw that this thing, I want to ask people what their dream is. Do you know what I, the reason I'm so addicted, why I will never stop is because I see a light come on in people's eyes when we figure out what their dream is. Literally a little bright light comes on in their eyes. I'm so addicted to it, but I saw it die in Helen's eyes.

Oh, God. I saw it go off. And I was like, hold on a minute. No, no, no. This is wrong. I'm accidentally now manipulating you to do what I want. I want you to stay in the business because I like working with you because we've been successful under this formula because I'm insecure. And she is the person.

I've got to like big up Helen as well because I'm assuming that you could then tell her that. And she is a person that would go, thank you. Yeah. Like she wouldn't scream at you or throws at you. No. or if those things at you, she'd go, I'm really pleased you've noticed because that is kind of how I felt. Like is that how it...

Yeah, I think Helen is someone who is so dedicated and loyal to her friends, to me. I think she, and this is to her detriment. I say this negatively about her. She will sometimes give up on her own dreams to support others. Right. And now I'm the opposite. I fight for her to have dreams. and do things.

Like I've just forced her to go to Paris for five days and have fun. She's such a good mother. She feels bad being away from our son for five days. I'm like, go and have fun. Oh, I should be at home looking after our son. No, I'm going to do it. I can do it. You know, leave it with me.

And so she's the opposite problem, I think, to where I've come from. I've tried to pull myself to the middle where I'm not as selfish, but I've grew up in quite a selfish environment. My mother was selfish. That's bred me into this. And she is the opposite problem. She also had a father who was a drunk and it was very erratic. So she would always like succumb to his craziness.

Yes. Because he's an alcoholic. It's a chemical imbalance, right? Alcohol causes a chemical imbalance. She can't rationalise with him. So she would become subservant. Yes. I've spent the last 24 years pushing her back the other way because she's very smart.

So you're really good ying and hang. Again, I think people need to hear that. Orda chaos. Yeah. You can have someone completely different to you. I think the key is moral code. Oh, absolutely. Talk about that a bit.

Like, what is a moral code? Well, to me, moral code is you can accept that you're wrong. Probably is probably on a fundamental conscious level. It's the most important thing, I think. Yeah, you can move back. If somebody says to you, yesterday I said this thing and I'm really sorry about that. Yeah.

I am so in awe of somebody owning something. 100%. 100%. And then I remember the first time I messed up with my kids. And it would be like something like, I forgot to pick up the thing that you really, really needed for the play tomorrow, and I haven't done it. And they go, don't worry, that's okay.

Thanks for telling me. 100%. You think... It's actually really liberating to let that go. Yes. Yeah, but people don't realize it. You often talk about pain when you're talking to people about finding their dream. Is that from your childhood and kind of the pain that you felt around your mum,

that somewhere it's connected? Yes. So I would say pain is what drives purpose. So what in your life has been painful, often you'll find your dream lives in that place where that pain lives. Yes. So for me, of course, 15 years old, kicked out of home. So I have empathy for the homeless. Definitely part of, I tried to help the homeless.

I'm working with Shelter right now trying to help the homeless. But also my big driver was like the education system had not prepared me anyway for the world I suddenly found myself in. And here I am 35 years later and the education system has not changed. Oh, I want to talk to you about the education system because my middle daughter's dyslexic. Obviously, Richard Branson set up the university for dyslexic thinking. Like dyslexia is having a moment, I feel like. But the education system isn't changing. I feel like the university system might be changing a little bit or thinking out of the box.

I think employers are thinking differently about people with dyslexia and the type of thinking that they can bring, but school isn't. What would you do in the education system? And if you need any help doing it, call me. I'll be right next to you because it's the place that needs, like, reforming. I get very, very upset about the education system and where we're at right now. And it's about to get a lot worse. It's about to get very scary.

And I don't think people realize. And I think if we don't, by the way, no one person can fix it. the education system. We have to do it as a community. We have to. And the thing that I guess scares me is the way the school system starts off. So I home educate my son now. And anyone listening, I'm going to hopefully get rid of their biases about home education. Home education is the best thing I ever did and it's for everybody. Anyone can do it. So when people hear it, they first of all think I'm at home all day teaching my son and they think I'm alone doing it. Absolutely the opposite. It's community driven. That's the best way to home educate. And I can talk about

It's community driven. So I'm not sitting at home educating my son all day. I moved to a part of England where there are communities of people homeschooling their kids. So my kids, he's seven years old homeschooling experience, is he wakes up and I ask him, what would you like to do today? And he says, I'd like to go to the forest and maybe meet John if he's available, his friend, and we'll do sword fighting in the forest. I'm like, sure.

And I just text the mum and say, you know, is he available to play sword fighting? Yeah, sure, okay, four o'clock. Perfect. Meet you in the forest. And basically, I think we've lost the tribalism that used to make us happy. So community is very important to humans. So what used to happen is we used to live in tribes of 500. And that tribe of 500, you have four-year-olds, seven-year-olds, 10-year-olds, 14-year-olds, and 18-year-olds.

And you wouldn't have as much bullying because the community would, because those kids would regulate each other. The 18-year-olds would look after the 14-year-olds, 14-year-olds would look after the 7-year-olds, and the 7-year-olds look after the 3-year-olds. And there was a sense of, like, community amongst them. Now, don't get me wrong. They was fighting, right? But in school, we have put all the kids the same age in the room. And there's no regulation. And then the worst thing we do is we tell them all to study the same thing at the same time that they're probably not all interested in and they can't all learn in the same way. So my son, when I first took him to school, he was four years old. And this is when I knew for sure, this was my destiny to fix this. The teacher was lovely. It was a private school. And it was a lovely teacher. The classroom was smaller than most. It was about 13 kids because it was private. And so even in private school, this is what I saw play out. All the kids sit down, all having fun, saying hello to each other. The teacher says, right, everyone stop playing, listen to me. Right, I want to hear from each of you, what do you want to be when you grow up?

I literally saw my four-year-old look at me for the first time in his life look stressed. He had to come up with an answer that everyone in the room was going to somehow resonate with. I'm like, what are we doing asking kids this question? I also see adults asking kids this question every single day. What will you be when you grow up? What do you want to do when you grow up? It's the wrong question. The fundamental part of education that needs to change is this question needs to change.

The first question we should ever ask our kids is what problem you'd like to solve when you grow up. Now kids aren't trapped at one job. That's so good. Into one idea, into one conveyor belt to get the thing that they set at four years old. They want to do when they're 28 years old. Yes. When the education system is going to, AI is going to completely change everything. Why are we setting kids on this trap?

Oh, I want to be a lawyer. Oh, I want to be a doctor. Oh, let kids think about the world and what's out there, how big the world is, all the different ways you can contribute to the world. And then you can have eight or nine different careers to achieve that goal. So I ask my son pretty much every day, what problems he want to solve when he grows up? What kind of things does he say? He makes me laugh because he's like, Daddy, I haven't decided yet.

I'm still thinking about it. I'm still looking around. The important thing is, for kids is to figure out what they like to do. And I mean, literally what they like to play, what they like to learn. I just quickly want to tell you about Tilly because she's the one that absolutely loves you. And Tilly, when I asked her when she was little, I was like, what do you want to do? My oldest wanted to help people.

Then I said to Tilly, sorry, because I was asking the wrong question. And Tilly was like, I want to be a tiger. Perfect. Yeah. And that carried on for a very long time. You know, I was like, this might be a problem, but go for it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But I like that.

You know, that's imagination. which gets squashed in kids, you know? Like, I think about eight or nine years old, kids start getting told that the only way to succeed is if you sit down in a desk and do an exam and get an A. You know, in England, it's the 11 plus. It's like, there's so much pressure. Kids are killing themselves because they get bad GCC results.

Like, I don't know about you, but I never hired anyone based on their GCC results. I don't even hire anyone based on their university degree. I based on, do they care about the mission I care about? And are they easy and nice to work with? Are they friendly? are they kind? And do they have a skill that we can help develop?

That's it. I mean, it's fascinating, isn't it? Because I love what you say and believe about university. University isn't for everyone. There's so much pressure on kids nowadays. And if you don't get a degree, you're not going to get a job. That is what we hear all the time. But you're going to miss out by not going to university.

There's another pitch. Oh, yeah. Like you're going to miss out on friendship groups and like all the fun you can have and getting really drunk. As if I had no friends at 18, 19 years old because I didn't go to university. Of course I did. I didn't go either. Yeah. And my dad didn't go either.

And that was really helpful. Yeah. Because he was like, don't worry about it. Like, just go find your thing. And I was like, I want, firstly, I wanted to be a singer. Then I was like, I want to be a presenter. And he never rolled his eyes once. They were just like, follow your dream.

I mean, he was, my dad and my stepmom were such good parents in that respect. They were just like, you know, if that's what you want to do, but really go do it, attack it. Yeah. Yeah, dedicate. Don't fact around. That's a good thing to encourage. dedication, commitment, you know, try and if you're going to be a tiger, be a real tiger, you know, go for it, be everything a time.

But you know what I mean? Like, I love that whole, like, dedicate is a very different lesson to like rolling your eyes. Oh, that probably won't work out. I think that's the idea of good parenting, in my opinion, good education too. Don't tell them they can't do it or they shouldn't do it. Give them all the tools to follow their dreams. And if they fail, they fail, but at least they tried. Don't want to live a regret in life, right?

And how brilliant is failing? I love failing. I completely agree. We're so terrified of failing. And I have, the other thing is letting your children go, make mistakes. Yes. And I think we've all become so frightened of that. Yes.

And it's hard to watch. But I now know that calamities are an asset in your life. And if I was to start at school, the first thing I would teach is what failure looks like and how to love it. What would you look for then? Say somebody's come out of school, they're 18, they are, they are an inspired person, you know, they're focused, they want to work. I think often every generation thinks that the next generation aren't as good as their generation because we had to, we had more problems to look at or you had it easy because you had it easy because you. you had this or, well, we didn't have mobile phones. And I hear a lot with my generation that this next generation, they don't like hard work.

Not true. Well, I'm in a building here, right, full of young people. I've never seen such hardworking young people. I don't know how this image has got out there. So what qualities are you looking for in someone and how can you tell? Because if they've not got the university degree and they've not got lia stars, what can they bring to you to show you who they are? So when I was younger, I was a very bad manager. So 15 years old, I tried to hire people to help me with the gardens because I started a garden.

Oh, yes. Can you just tell us how you started that? I love this. This was your first entrepreneurial endeavor, really, wasn't it? Yeah. And I think it's important to, you know, my first ever business, I didn't want to be an entrepreneur. I needed to be an entrepreneur. So you've got to make a want and need.

And I had no choice. The first ever business I started wasn't my dream. No. I started something. I think that's a number of lesson for people. Sometimes you just need to start. It doesn't do some broadcasting, do anything you can to get close to something you enjoy doing. And I think for me, I didn't enjoy gardening.

So I didn't think, I want a garden. I'm going to do a gardening business. I thought, I need to eat. I need to get out of this situation. I can't sleep on friends' couches or in the street anymore. I've got to figure out a way to get out of this situation. I couldn't get a job. I couldn't get help from social services.

So literally the entrepreneur muscle woke up in my brain for the first time ever. And it said, it spoke to me. I can, even now it still does this. It might sound like I'm a crazy person. But it will say, once you turn it on, people all the time come up of ideas. If you come up of ideas a lot, this entrepreneur muscle has got turned on in your brain. Then you have to learn to control it because you have too many ideas. Right.

But basically, there's a big house. and it had a really messy garden and my brain spoke to me and it said, that's a very valuable house. Those people at own a house have money. That garden's really messy. Maybe they don't have time to keep it tidy.

So why don't you offer to tidy it up and get paid? And that was it. I just knocked on the door, fearful, but leaning into fear. And the person who answered the door, I said, hi, my name's Simon, I'm starting a gardening company. I wondered if I could take care of your garden.

And the guy looked at me up and down. I think he knew, you know, that I wasn't a garden. but just maybe felt sorry for me. Let's see I was trying to help myself, right? And said, sure, how much? So I haven't had time to do it. So sure, how much are you going to charge me?

And I just picked a number, £200 a month. And he said, sure, let's try it. He gave me a break. That was it. I was like, okay. So a lot of the times in my videos, I'm trying to be the first customer for people. Because I imagine if he had said no,

I might have lost my confidence. I'm knocking the door. Someone says, no, this is a silly idea. I'm back in the street. But the person said, yes, they became my first customer. So a lot of people criticise me about, I only give £100 or £200 to people. Now, I gave someone yesterday 20,000 pounds. So I give a lot more than £100.

But sometimes that's all someone needs. They need to be their first customer. If I give them all the money, it might make them weak. But if I become their first customer, just like that person did for me that day, it can be transformation instantly. That person said yes. Do you know the next five people all said no? I went knocked on other doors and they all said no.

Because I had that one person who believed in me, I knew it was possible. I just need to perfect my sales pitch, find a house that actually needed it, you know, match the sales to the demand. And so without that person saying yes that day, who knows what would have happened? I just had a revelation. So I didn't audition for the Big Breakfast. And I'd never had any live experience.

I'd never done any presenting. I was a booker at a male model agency. It was with Chris Evans. I auditioned with Chris Evans. I remember Big Bears very well. And I loved it. And I didn't get it. I didn't have the experience.

And I was like, just brand new and everything. But one of the guys said, I think you're good. Right. And he said, I'm going to write you letters and let you know other people who are looking. And that one guy saying, you haven't got the job, which I didn't mind. But I think you're good. It meant so much to me. That every failure I got after that, 37 failures.

I just thought I just haven't got the yes yet. It's often the, I've interviewed 200 of the world's most successful entrepreneurs. And when I dig into this point here, nearly every single person has had that moment happen to them that was successful. So this is why I took off self-made millionaire from my bio. It's not possible to be self-made. Impossible. Anyone that's been successful, anyone had someone believe in them.

Now, ideally, your parents, but sometimes the parents don't know what belief looks like because if you take advice, you've got to take advice from people who have a life you want. Sometimes they haven't got the life you want. They don't know how to advise you. Maybe your parents weren't broadcasters. They don't know what that looks like. But that person, by the way, they sent their list out for free, right? Yeah.

What did they get out of it? Nothing. Sometimes the most amazing value, I get this. I mean, I started helping people with their businesses 25 years ago. As soon as my first business made money and people started asking me, or how do I write a letter to get people to buy my business? product. I started giving people advice a long time ago for free. How can I use what I know to help someone? Now, I always encourage people to give five, right? Only takes five minutes. You can be rich or

you can be poor. Everyone's got five minutes today and they've got some sort of knowledge or skill or the ability to listen. Sometimes that's just half of it. Just listen to someone's problem and be there. Right. It doesn't have to, I give money and I give my time. You don't have to do that. You can just listen and help. Right. And to me, it's like, again, I've got 17 million people that follow me. Imagine if it all helped one person today. Imagine everyone here. There's about between my team and your team, there's about 10 people here. Yeah. Imagine if we all go outside and find one person struggling today and help them. Between us, a little bit of money, a little bit of encouragement, a little bit of support and filming, maybe an introduction to someone. We could change

someone's life today in 10 minutes. And when we saw it before we recorded this today, we were outside on the street. Yeah. Well, and the guy that you met and he does that amazing business and he helped kids, doesn't he? And kids that can't afford to go to the school or where they want to go and you were like, I'm going to get in contact with you or you get in contact with me

if you're there, any kids that you think I need my help, like I can help you. And I was like, ah! You know? And it's not hard. And actually, do you know what's really, I want people to really pick up on this? It's like helping someone,

isn't you doing a good deed? It will be, it will make you sleep better. Yeah. Like, I think half the antidote to all people's problems is just like, Stop thinking about yourself so much, you know, we were talking about the embers in here. And somebody blowing on the embers. It really blows on the embers and like feeds the fire in your soul.

Yes. Well, I was using light in your eye. So good. You feel it, right? It's like being at a fireplace. Yeah, but you feel good. You light the people's eyes. That's what's amazing.

But at night you go to bed and you feel the warmth. and you know giving is receiving you don't you don't have to get something back it just the act of giving is the warmth it's you're amazing well i know you find compliments hard i'm sorry i do i'm just gonna like shower you with them i'm gonna try and accept them i think i think my community is amazing this is the thing i find that keeps me going because i do get a lot of hate online and i find it really odd and i'm like I think because people just assume it's a scam. There's lots of negative vibes around people that are trying to do. It's very hard for negative people to accept that somebody is just good.

And I'm constantly wondering on this podcast, I ask, I ask a lot, how are you a nice person? Right. How are you positive? How are you grateful? And again and again, it comes from darkness. Yes, of course. Pain. Pain powers purpose.

It's 100% of it comes from. I am just grateful for fucking everything. Yeah. Being grateful is a very powerful thing. Oh, God. Yeah, even like I was say when I was younger, I was actually grateful that I was alive, you know, the fact that I wasn't living the way how I wanted to live.

Just that I think that kept me going through some difficult times, actually, that being grateful thing. Like you said earlier, when I had that small room, I was so grateful. But maybe I would never have been appreciative of that small room if I hadn't had difficult moments before, you know, like that being grateful. thing is so, it's so hard to do in the moment because sometimes if you're having a hard day or you're having a hard time, being grateful is very difficult.

Yes. But, you know, and it's easy to say it. Be grateful. But I could be grateful. I think it's also finding gratitude and the smallest things. I could be grateful for a smile. If you're having a bad day and someone in an office smiles at you or you have a meeting and they smile at you or they ask you how you're doing, be grateful for that. Some people don't get anything for weeks, you know, or they're alone all the time. Or I don't know.

There's always something to be grateful for. But what I think is interesting is that it is the hardship that gives you the gratitude because it's been bad for you. And you have to get out of the hardship to see it. That's the thing. But how do you get out of the hardship is something? I see a lot of pain in people. And sometimes the pain.

You believing in them. That's what I was going to. Yeah, totally. That's it. Sometimes, you know, pain, it can be used to fuel you. And even the smallest of pains, I don't want people to think it has to be a really, really bad pain. It can be any sort of pain. It can power you up. And people should leverage it.

Yes. Oh, that's an interesting word, leveraging your pain. That's making a positive, isn't it? I did quickly want to. I end, I feel like I want to help you a little bit with these people that don't like you. Because it's a really interesting thing. You are a good person doing good things that wants good things in the world. And it's a really weird energy when people, but there are just, I'm just letting you know, because I've been in this business and I know that probably 50% of people, I'm like

Marmite, I am fucking annoying to 50% of people and then 50% of the people really like me. And that is just accepting that this is what everybody's like. Not everybody's going to like you or what you do. But for some people, abusing people online is a sport. I have, in my, in past years, I have, and I don't do it anymore because I thought, why am I doing this? But I have engaged with someone. They've gone, oh, God, really, sorry. I didn't, I didn't think you'd see it. Or, oh, I didn't need to do it. So it's put on the golden cloak. So my shield, I have a, I have a really cool looking cloak that's invisible, but I can sit. And it's got a hood because the head's really the important bit as well. So I put it over. It's really lovely. It's flowing. It's sparkly, obviously. It's sparkly. It's kind of lit a bit. And it's sealed down the front and it covers me completely.

And things bounce off it. And it just bounces off. And I don't feel it anymore. And it used to, it didn't hurt me and it didn't kind of stop me from doing something. But it annoyed me a bit. Because I thought, oh, I'm not that person that you think that I am. And I want to let you know that I'm not that person. And you're not that person.

And I'm just like reassuring you of that. Thank you. And I can make your coat and telepathically cloak, send it to you if you like. I think when you hate on people, it's such a awful way to live. Just focus on what you can do that's good. Also, I do feel honestly that like a little fire, when people are like that, there's not even a cinder to blow on like it's gone out. And when that dies, something in you dies,

And you're not going to be well in your skin or you're going to make yourself sick with negativity. Because we now know we've seen enough podcasts and everything full of lovely people who tell us about positive thinking. And you're saying you just need one person to believe in you, the power of that. So this person is coming along and I'm going, I'm going to be one person that doesn't believe in you. But they are trying to infect people with something that's been infected in them. I'm going to finish this interview. I mean, I know what the answer is, but I would just like you to answer it

by saying, what's your dream? My dream. I mean, primarily, I would like the education system updated. I want people to be given more tools to live the life that they want, to realize that their dreams are possible. I want them to be asked what their dream is at school. I want them to realize that they're capable of anything.

I don't want them to be trapped into a treadmill. Yes. I want the education system. The one that let me down when I left school at 15. It's not right. It's not right. It wasn't right when they invented Google. We didn't need this memorization exam system. It's not healthy. It's not good. It needs to be updated. And at the same time, I want my son to grow up in a world where we're kind to each other. Like I want to leave him a place where actually being nice is normal. It's not the exception. And running businesses that actually do good in the world that make a difference in people's lives that care about their employees. These companies that just make money for the sake of it, they're wrong. They should do something. something with that money to help society. I want my son to see that world so he can be a part of a world that's nice and kind. Yeah. Thank you, Simon. Thank you for having me on. Oh my God. We've all been there. The watch party finally makes it out of the group chat and uh-oh, you volunteered to host. Suddenly you need snacks, drinks, dips, cups and all the other party essentials. With Instacart,

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