David Gordon is the founder of BAM Bamboo Clothing company:
What is happiness to you?
Love, shared with friends and partner, feeling part of a community; feeling purpose and having a ‘you can’ feeling based on having some discipline and drive. Finding out what your passions are and indulging them. Being kind to people.
How did you come to your current level of positivity and what did you have to overcome to achieve it?
The greatest truism in life is: “you reap what you sow”. So if you can’t be bothered to do stuff, you won’t grow as a person. I have a habit of taking on challenges without thinking them through, they tend to be much harder than I thought, but by hanging on and getting through those ‘I can’t’ moments, you build a habit of thinking that anything is possible if you give it your heart and soul.
Nothing comes easily, but if you commit to something and never consider quitting or failure, you can do pretty much anything. You must have a sense of empowerment to be happy, a sense that you are in control of your life, not life happening to you without your permission. A sense of self determinism is key to happiness.
How can one maintain good mental and physical health, and stay upbeat whilst always running a business?
The two actually go hand in hand. If you are physically fit, you have more energy to achieve in business. You just have to make daily exercise a priority even if it’s only a 30 min fast walk. It’s an investment in ‘you’ plc!
Can you be happy anywhere?
Yes, happiness is in the head. If you’re in a prison in North Korea, this might be harder to achieve of course, but the mind is an amazing thing; if you can find a way to be free in your mind, you can be happy.
Share your favourite Happy thought:
There are many. Here’s one: treasure hunting for shipwrecked ancient ming vases on a scuba diving boat in Indonesia with several of my closest friends. Finding the treasure not necessary.
bambooclothing.co.uk