Steve Mitchell

My mother is mostly Irish, my dad was English (I say 'was' because he died in a car-crash when I was 13 ...these things happen). When they got married they were both in the Navy, though my dad didn't really enjoy it. Even as an officer he decided to get out early and went into Sales - probably where my 'sales & marketing' gene came from. My growing up years were wonderful.

After leaving school I decided to go to art college to do my graphic design degree, but soon realised I was quite an 'average' graphic designer, and so I cut loose to pursue what was to be one of my biggest hot buttons - travel. I spent a couple of months touring the West Coast of the USA, and almost a year in Australia as a DJ (when one of my other hot buttons had surfaced - music!).

Eventually I returned home in my early 20's and decided entrepreneurship was my destiny, so I set up a home-delivery pizza business, based on an idea I'd picked up in OZ - my minor claim to fame was I was one of the first in the UK to deliver pizzas to the door; forget conquering Everest, is that not a serious pinnacle of achievement!

My pizza business thrived (at least for the first 7 years); I got married, had two wonderful children; had the success, the money, the lifestyle - at least I thought, but then it all changed. The reasons now are almost academic but the conclusion was I lost everything and so had to start again.

So in my early 30's that's exactly what I did. I learned new skills - discovered the internet, learned to network, build contacts, nurture relationships, help others to achieve success - and in doing all this I too again found success in a different way. Yes, I again achieved the financial independence, but this time with clear definition of what was truly important to me - my family, my friendships, my quality of life, the value of time, the importance of looking after yourself, and the deep satisfaction achieved through contribution.

So here I am now in good shape financially (some would say 'very good'), pretty healthy, blessed with my lovely Yvette as my wife, fabulous relationships with two of my best friends - Josh & Grace, my children - and having loads of truly great friends. I can work when & where I choose, in our homes in the UK and abroad. Plus the time to do pretty much what I want, when I want and the opportunity to travel and embrace new countries and 'experiences. Plus meet many new friends like YOU!