What does it take to be great? It’s an interesting question but one that can be viewed by looking at athletes and how they prepare. It has everything to do with their mind-set. Not willing to accept anything less than the best. For me growing up playing Rugby League in Australia, I was exposed to discipline and enthusiasm for my craft. It was about getting there early and working on your game outside of training. Then when it came to the training pitch, not taking short cuts. Awhile back I listened to a podcast my Dad was on regarding his career. He was known as a tough, uncompromising character that lifted the group around him. Now, he is not the type of guy to tell you this, but hearing it from his peers reinforced the fact to me and how similar I was to him in that regard.  If you think of Michael Jordan you would not think of my father of course in terms of talent, but what he brought to the team was similar to that of Jordan off the pitch in bringing that level of discipline it takes to succeed in the sport, or in life for that matter. So, I was compelled to write this entry after listening and seeing my own experience with that and how it relates to what I am doing today.

I wasn’t the most talented, but I was the hardest worker and the most professional even at a young age. This was even true at fashion school. There were other guys and girls that had more talent than me, but I had the vision and the hunger and the desire to do it. I showed up to fashion school with a purpose, whereas others in my class were trying to find their purpose. So, when I was thinking of discipline, I recall that whatever we did I did it 100% in training. Not on the last sprint but all the sprints. Anyone can coast and go hard for the last sprint. But it's discipline that makes you go that extra bit hard when you have no idea how many you have left. To go around the cone instead of cutting the corner. It’s such a simple thing, but it pays dividends in the end.

Now I know I digress from fashion here but if I can tell you this story to improve your own life and bring discipline in to help your success, my mission with this entry will be well achieved. But for me that is what it’s all about. To get the product right and correct it when it is not and improve it when it is already “fine”. That hunger to be better is most exemplified in sport but is very much present in what I do today with my clothes. Just ask my sample maker and manufacturer. I am sure they find me annoying, but it's that level of annoyance that makes the product great or at least pushes it towards greatness. And that all comes from the willingness to go the extra mile to get it right.