These interviews are aimed at trying to tease out insight into what makes particular people outperform their peers and stand out as Ultimate Performers. It’s an opportunity to learn from their way of life and philosophy of excellence. This blog interviews top local marketing guru and businessman Peter Grech.
Full Name (for the record). Any nicknames?
Peter-Jan Grech
First things first. What is your PURPOSE?
Make the most of my short life on earth. Reaching my full potential, mentally, emotionally, physically & spiritually, by sharing all I know, all I create, giving all I can and pushing my limits. When I die, I want to die empty, I can’t take any ideas to the grave so I need to start sharing them now. No regrets.
How does your day job (pls include 1-line job description too) fit into that?
As CEO of a creative agency, BRND WGN fulfils my purpose completely, both by allowing my ideas to take expression but also be in a place where I can work with my team to help them achieve their goals and implement their ideas. Meeting different clients and people in my industry everyday exposes me to different mindsets and attitudes where I can learn from.
You recently completed an ultra swim to raise funds for a foundation that helps disabled kids. How did this idea ‘fit’ with your purpose?
Putting your body & mind through anything extreme is what reminds you what it means to be truly alive. I’m in no way, shape or form, an athlete by any stretch but having a goal and sheer determination takes over what the body tricks the mind into limiting. I am lucky to have three healthy kids and my challenge was nothing compared to what the parents of children who have a disability go through every single day, I kept that in mind at every stroke.
In my view you are an Ultimate Performer, not only because you concurrently reach family, sport, work and music goals, but because of your approach to performance. Can you describe this ‘philosophy’?
Performance is everything. Its about being in the zone, committed to what you are doing right there in the moment, faithful to the people entrusting you with the performance, passionate enough to put a 100% into what you are doing right there in the now. I don’t believe there is anything heroic about it just making sure that you maximise every minute of your life.
You recently confessed that the charity challenge took away a lot of time from other areas of your life, especially family. Looking back, what’s your take?
I think it’s important that we don’t take our purpose too insularly. Being part of a family means that how you act and what you do is going to have an effect on the people around you. I started training for my challenge when our third child was barely a few weeks old. The training was tough and I wasn’t there to support my wife as much as I should have. I might have completed an extreme open water challenge but my wife was facing our family challenge alone. In hindsight I could have waited a year, then again I’ve learnt a valuable lesson today.
Is ‘good enough’ ever OK in your book?
I believe that as long as you have given your best in the circumstances, than whatever the result, you did what you could. Sometimes your best is not enough, and that’s when you need to take stock and learn your lesson.
In business and life you have taken some gutsy choices, no less leaving a good job to set up on your own. Part of this confidence might have come through expertise and experience, but probably equally as much because of a mindset. What is your advice to others in order to achieve this ability to overcome ‘huge’ obstacles?
As long as you really believe in what you are doing, and are fully committed you can achieve. Surrounding yourself with the right team and keeping an open mind to learning, really helps. Stay humble, stay hungry, stay focused & be ready to fail, failure is just a speed-bump in the grand scale of things.
Your business is growing at an astoundingly fast rate, perhaps faster than you expected. What does this mean to you? Why so driven?
The truth is that the growth is thanks to the great people who work with me at the Wagon. I could have never done it alone, we have a great management team and a fantastic group of professional creatives who saw our vision and embraced it. My job is to keep the drive alive and look at the next goal.
Parting words of wisdom?
Find a way.
Thank you Peter. Readers please visit www.brndwgn.com to check out Peter and his team’s amazing work.
Nathan
