Editor’s Letter – Jan/Feb 2023
Years ago I watched an interview with Stephen King where he lost his rag about being asked what pen he uses to write with. His frustration at the question came from the fact that he gets asked it so often and the implication from those (often budding writers) who ask it is that if only they had the right writing implement they too could pen bestselling novels and become world famous authors.
Of course, these types of questions undermine the talent, the years of graft and the very act of actually sitting down to do some work. They hint at an element of a hack-your-way-to-success mentality that pervades self-help books, business shows and even social media these days. There is obviously an audience there for this kind of thing so with that in mind, in this issue we present to you the ultimate guide to acting like a billionaire in which we uncover the daily routines of the world’s wealthiest people, so that you too can unlock the secrets to untold fortunes.
Well, not really. It is kind of interesting, but I won’t guarantee that following the daily routine of a billionaire will make you a billionaire. And billionaires, like regular people, are just different, so no two people are going to have the same approach to breakfast, work hours or how many private jets they collect. I think what is probably more interesting is what we can take from the psychology of people that create great impact, how they leverage their time, expand their minds and focus on an uncompromising grand vision, while taking outweighed risks and making some ruthless decisions along the way. Not all of us are built for that and nor should we try to be, of course. The world probably couldn’t take it for a start, but there’s also a lot of evidence that while the Musks’ of the world, the great visionary and charismatic founders who risk it big to reap the rewards, are great at setting things in motion, there is probably a point where different types of leaders should step in for the long term sustainability of a company.
The last decade of frothy venture funding has no doubt amplified the cult of the founder, but access to credit is changing and the markets are going to be quite aware of the recent examples of imploding, unchecked founder power, with the likes of WeWork, Theranos and FTX; once all headed by wunderkind billionaires. So maybe don’t be too quick to try and emulate all aspects of billionaires.
Stephen King’s writing pen of choice, by the way, is a Waterman Hemisphere cartridge fountain pen.