14th June 2026

Opening Reflection

One of the most important things about running a business is having a clear idea of where you’re going.

Without that, it’s very easy to find yourself going round and round in circles, reacting to problems rather than moving towards a destination.

And before you know it, you’ve slipped into survival mode.

I’ve come to believe that survival mode is one of the worst states a human being can find themselves in.

There is no inspiration in survival.

No passion.

No excitement.

No hope.

Survival is about getting through the day. It’s about avoiding pain rather than creating possibility.

And while survival mode may keep you alive, it rarely makes you feel alive.

The Price of Moving Forward

The challenge is that escaping survival mode requires courage.

And courage only appears when vulnerability is present.

You know you’re being courageous when your mind is screaming at you not to proceed.

Your body tells you to stop.

Your instincts tell you to stay where it’s safe.

Because the unfamiliar is uncomfortable.

The unfamiliar comes with no guarantees.

No certainty.

No evidence.

No proof.

All you have is belief.

And that’s what makes it so difficult.

Most people want certainty before they act.

The trouble is certainty never arrives.

Why Purpose Matters

I am constantly surprised by how many people don’t know what their purpose is.

Without purpose, why do anything?

Why endure setbacks?

Why take risks?

Why get back up when you’ve been knocked down?

Purpose gives suffering meaning.

Purpose gives struggle context.

Purpose gives you something to aim at when everything around you is telling you to quit.

For me, coming from the background I came from made purpose easier to find.

When you feel like you’re starting at the bottom of the pile, the objective becomes very clear: get yourself off it.

But when people have endless options and endless choices, it can become much harder to decide what they truly want.

The Curse of Logic

One of the things I’ve noticed is that highly educated people are often very good at explaining why something can’t be done.

They can produce logical arguments.

Rational explanations.

Evidence.

Statistics.

Reasons.

And sometimes those reasons are perfectly sensible.

The problem is that many worthwhile things in life don’t begin with logic.

They begin with hope.

They begin with passion.

They begin with someone being unreasonable enough to believe something is possible when everyone else thinks it isn’t.

If I had relied purely on logic throughout my life, there would be no Black Farmer brand.

Logic would have told me not to try.

Reason would have told me the odds were against me.

Passion ignored the logic.

And thank goodness it did.

What Is Success Really For?

I’ve been in business for over 25 years now.

One thing I’ve learned is that having a clear vision acts like a guardian angel.

It keeps pulling you back towards what matters when distractions try to drag you away.

What has always puzzled me is the obsession with becoming a millionaire.

Every business programme.

Every business guru.

Every social media expert seems to be selling the dream of getting rich.

But I think that’s the wrong reason to start a business.

Most business owners will never become millionaires.

But they can build something meaningful.

They can create a good life.

They can leave a legacy.

And that’s every bit as valuable.

The Money Question

I often ask myself a simple question:

What would I do if I had all the money I could ever need?

Would I stop?

Would I retreat into comfort?

Would I buy bigger houses, faster cars and spend my days protecting what I had?

The answer is no.

I know exactly what I would do.

I’d use that money to accelerate the mission.

Because money itself has never been the goal.

Money is a tool.

And like any tool, it’s only useful if you know what you’re trying to build.

Give a child an electric drill without purpose and they’ll probably hurt themselves.

Money works much the same way.

Without purpose, it can become destructive.

The Black Farmer Purpose

The purpose behind The Black Farmer has never simply been to sell sausages.

Or burgers.

Or food.

The real ambition has always been much bigger than that.

I want The Black Farmer to become a household name.

But more importantly, I want it to mean something.

I’ve always believed that people don’t buy products.

They buy stories.

They buy meaning.

They buy aspiration.

My hope is that whenever someone eats one of our products or walks into one of our farm shops, they see more than food.

I hope they see possibility.

I hope they see that barriers can be overcome.

I hope they see that ordinary people can create extraordinary things.

Closing Reflection

The world constantly tries to push us back into survival mode.

Bills.

News.

Fear.

Uncertainty.

Setbacks.

Disappointments.

They all whisper the same thing:

“Play safe.”

“Stay where you are.”

“Don’t take the risk.”

But if I’ve learned anything over the last 25 years, it’s this:

A fulfilling life is rarely found inside the boundaries of safety.

It lies somewhere beyond them.

And the only way to get there is to have a clear purpose, keep moving towards it, and refuse to allow survival mode to become your permanent home.

Onwards.