Be first.

My dad did a stint in the army. He wasn’t the best soldier but he was a great little boxer. “One punch Bob”

Growing up, I spent a little time at boxing clubs, probably wanting to emulate Dad in some way and continue what we’d messed around with when I was tiny.

When I was about 10 I joined a boxing club Crown and Manor in Hoxton and later St Pancras ran by an old boy named Pat

I didn’t really like some of it; getting hit was shit so you learnt pretty quick about blocking, foot stance, fast hands, bobbing and weaving and being first

I also leant about discipline and commitment, staying at it and never giving up. It instilled belief and confidence too. If you carried yourself well, then no one would really mess with you. Safety through comportment

The training gave you that. Knowing that you knew how to be first. Swiftly and decisively if need be, knowing you could take a good whack and suck it up and come back harder

For today’s kids it’s different. Knives and guns and gangs etc. Hard to defend against an opportunist stab in the back or whack from a machete

Being first today would be about knowing how to run or better stil avoiding such a place in the first instance

When you think of marketing you can see the concept of being first there too. No one really remembers the guy who did the thing second unless it’s super exceptional.

Before I got a little twitter yawnsome, I’d scour the news and blogger sphere for new takes on search and tech

I’d write about the latest developments and controversies and enjoyed giving my take on things. I wasn’t super successful by some peoples metrics but I enjoyed it and I learnt a lot and grew my personal network

Being first, in many regards helped there. People knew that I wouldn’t share just any old toot, my angles and perspectives were often a little different than some of the fan boy stuff of the day.i was marmite sure, you either loved me or thought me a knob. Thick skin etc

Effort, commitment, determination to my craft along with a degree of natural ability and inclination are some of the aspects that helped with many things since but above all being first is the one that for me, stands out.

Be first.