In a few weeks time, we will reach the one year milestone since the three of us made the pretty terrifying decision to hand in our notice and begin a new adventure by founding 4and20million.
This wasn’t a decision we took lightly. We had all worked together at the same agency for 14 years and we were effectively walking away from jobs we all enjoyed plus the stability (and perks) that come from working for a global company.
The motivation to take the leap was rooted in a desire to challenge ourselves, to jump in the deep end and see if we could swim. In our old job, we were surrounded by brilliant colleagues, leaders and friends, but it was time to take everything we’d learnt from them to see if we could stand on our own feet.
The founding principle of 4and20million was to enable people, teams and businesses to be better.
Twelve months in, this remains our focus. In addition to the experience we were bringing from our previous careers, this new chapter opened the door to exciting new learning opportunities.
All three of us are passionate about making work a more fulfilling and inspiring experience and it’s been hugely motivating for us to explore, read, watch, listen and learn more about this fascinating topic.
The learning journey we’ve been on has been one of the biggest drivers of energy and positivity for all three of us.
This joy of learning is a fundamental belief of 4and20million. In his ‘Theory of Human Motivation’, Abraham Maslow, explains that a core driver of human performance is a biological desire “to become everything one is capable of becoming.” He knows his stuff does Mr Maslow.
All three of us have found real motivation and fulfilment in building our own capabilities but we also love the fact that the impact of all the work we do with our clients results in other people feeling this positive growth themselves. Life is so much better when you stop pretending to have all the answers and start seeing everyday as an opportunity to learn something new.
Another belief of 4and20million is to make every moment matter. To be intentional with our actions. To give our full attention to the person in front of us and be fully present. This act alone makes everything in life more meaningful. Maybe this shift is simply down to the fact that the success of 4and20million is solely reliant on the actions of the three of us alone, but everyday certainly feels richer and more important.
Don’t get us wrong, it’s not been a path of roses. None of us thought it was going to be easy. And we thought right. It’s been really hard work. But here’s the bit we didn’t know as we embarked on this adventure; it’s been utterly exhilarating. It’s exhausting and energising all at the same time. The most positive day EVER can come after the most negative day EVER. But it feels like our brains have been switched into a new gear. We’ve pushed ourselves into completely unknown territories and come out stronger for it. We’ve embraced learning new things and come out smarter for it. We’ve met so many new, amazing people and come out happier for it.
It feels like there is a real synergy in our working lives; our own personal motivation is rooted in the human drive to become everything you are capable of becoming, and at the same time, everything we do for all our clients is rooted in enabling their people, teams and businesses to become everything they are capable of being. We’ve worked hard to develop a range of products that we feel super proud of and we’ve thrived on seeing the impact of our work for our clients.
Seeing improvements in the confidence of their people, their emotional intelligence, their leadership and collaboration, their resilience to face the rapid pace of change and their ability to excel. That’s helped us to build real pride and confidence in the need for and benefit of what we do.
We supercharge people, we create exceptional teams and we build high-performing cultures.
We can’t wait to get stuck into the next twelve months.
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