My Linky brain confession
This is my Linky Brain confession. I was inspired to write this by Chris Tottman, Alex Dunsdon and Doug Scott. (The Linky Brain mafia guys). I’m laying it all out before you. The good and the bad. This is a tiny glimpse into the mind of Paul Cash. I’m not asking to be judged, just humbly showing a side of me that people rarely get to see. I stand before you naked (well not really, that would be just weird), but you get the jist. My hope is that maybe this will inspire you to write your own Linky brain confession.
Here goes.
I am a ferocious optimist. Always have been. The pint has never been half full or half empty, that’s because I tend to think in buckets :-)
I have a soul. It took me a long time to work out what this means and how it affects my life. In a nutshell. I love people, I love problems, I make sense of the world through pictures and stories. My being is creative. I see the world very differently when presented with the same information as others. Sometime this works to my advantage, sometimes it doesn’t. I’m cool with this.
I am a goalkeeper. That’s not a clever metaphor or anything, I watched Tony Godden play between the sticks for West Bromwich Albion v Everton (my club) when I was 9 years old. He was epic and kept a clean sheet. Next day I became a goalie. The impact on me was massive. I played in goal to a high level (semi-pro) until my early 30’s. What this taught me, was the power of young people’s minds. They are incredible. Planting positive thoughts and ideas in the next generation can hugely impact the world we live in. I always like the fact that people say ‘goalies are crazy’. Yes we fucking are :-)
I’ve been through a lot of shit. In the last 15 years i’ve made millions and lost millions. I’ve been through two divorces and a failed business that I screwed up because of my shitty financial situation. Divorces are incredibly draining experiences, they fuck you up in ways that only hindsight can shed light on. I’m incredibly sympathetic to others who have been in this situation.
I power through life. I have an ‘always on’ switch in my brain that says, ‘this is what life is’ and the more of it you experience the better you become. I stopped saying ‘why me’ after my first divorce and now I feel genuinely blessed that life has given me such an incredible mix of highly polarised experiences. The bad shit definitely makes you stronger, builds character and so forth. The good stuff, well that’s easy street. Balance is everything.
I’m mildly dyslexic.
I have an amazing woman in my life, but it has taken me 45 years to find her. I now understand what the concept of a ‘strong woman’ is all about. She has a super power that I call ‘sexy smart’, I find her intoxicating.
I consider myself normal, but my life journey suggests the exact opposite.
I can’t assemble Ikea furniture like other men. Without exaggerating, the diagrams and instructions they use blind me. I’ve learnt to train my brain over many years to follow the instructions in a religious fashion. What takes a normal person 1 hour to build will take me at least 5 hours. Once of my greatest achievements is assembling bunk beds for my two boys. 5 years later, they are still standing. I am a bunk bed legend.
I’m not great at the detail. I can do it, but it hurts my head. But just to prove to myself I can be a complete finisher, I wrote, designed and self-published a book. It took me two years, but I did it. #backpat
I was bullied at school for being English! My Dad moved our family to Aberdeen, Scotland when I was 11. There were no helplines in those days, you just took the beatings and moved on. Bullying (for those who have experienced it) is both debilitating and empowering. When you are able to move on, the strength it can create in you is fucking awesome. Being bullied is a lesson in life that I am glad to have experienced. I am not condoning it, just accepting that if/when it does happen to you, it can make you stronger. Fuck you Scott Johnson, but i really should say thank you. #shithappens
I have purpose. I am the Founder and Chief Rooster of a B2B marketing agency called Rooster Punk. The whole centre of gravity for the agency is about ‘humanising business brands’. We’re on a mission to change the way people think about B2B companies by changing the way they feel. That means switching from a product centric view of business to a more emotive one. We bring our smarts and uncommon thinking to technology and financial services brands. In our opinion these two sectors need humanising more than any other. We work with ambitious start-ups, scale-ups and global brands like Cisco, KPMG and Samsung.
I was the hardest working kid I knew. I am one of four children from a typical working-class family. We never had money for nice things or holidays, but I had an appetite for wanting to buy nice stuff. I learnt a quick lesson that stealing wasn’t the answer. By the age of thirteen I walked dogs, had 2 paper rounds, picked potatoes and strawberries from fields (this is normal in Scotland) and washed cars. This work ethic allowed me to buy every luxury any kid would want; snooker table, dart board, colour TV, VHS player, carbon graphite tennis racket, Uhlsport goalie gloves, fishing rods and so forth. I’ve always loved the feeling of working for myself and the rewards of my labour.
I’m not very good at being around people who aren’t very good at what they do. It frustrates me enormously. I have a real phobia of people who are ‘passengers in life’.
I always fancied the quirky girl at school.
I know my own value. I have learnt that I’m pretty good, in fact more than pretty good at most things that people in marketing agencies do. This jack of all trades label that once was derogatory is now in fashion. I like being jack. I strategize, I create, I design, I direct, I write, I schmooze, I new biz, I manage clients, I mange projects, I plan. What this means in reality, is that when I meet somebody who is better than me at one aspect of the agency world, I have instant respect for them.
I like winning new clients the best. That’s the competitive streak in me. Pitching against other people and agencies makes me feel alive.
The first record I ever bought was Master Blaster by Stevie Wonder. I still know every word of that brilliant song. #jamminandjamminandjamminjamoh
The second record i ever bought was Mr Crowley by Ozzie Osbourne Blizzard of Oz. Reggae to Metal. Go figure.
I like being around people who are better/smarter than me. I just want to find more of them. I find people with an off-the-charts, creative brain a huge turn on.
Spaghetti rocks. So does pesto, tinned tomato soup, scotch eggs, crispy broccoli, basil leaves, strawberry milkshakes, french fries, Guinness and brown sauce.
Two years ago I watched a TV programme that changed my life. The next day I decided to become a veggie, well more a pescetarian (fish eater). I thought to myself ‘why not give it a go’. I feel better for it and my blood cholesterol has halved.
My head is always full of random and unconnected ideas.
Paying it forward is one of the greatest notions ever conceived. If more people did it, the world would be a better place.
The most generous people in my life, the people who have actually stepped forward and helped me out have been complete strangers. People will always amaze me. The good, the bad and the ugly. Special shout out to my good friend from Budapest, Peter Kremmer.
I love a good Pinot Noir. Especially this bad boy. Weirdly enough this is produced in California by the Hahn Family and guess what Hahn means in German: Rooster. That’s a weird and magnetic link to my company if ever there was one. I literally just found this out.
I was shit hot at tennis when I was 15.
I was shit at golf when I was 15 and I’m still shit at it now. That games fucks with your head like no other sport.
I think Fast Company magazine is epic. Why can’t we produce a publication like that in the UK?
I was a millionaire when I was very young. Somebody wrote me a cheque for £19m for my company. I turned them down. I believed I was worth more. I was stupid. Life lessons are meant to hurt. I lost all my money in bad property investments. I’m working my way back. I have unfinished business with money.
The irony of my surname is not lost on me.
I’ve been my own boss and been running my own companies since I was 26 years old. The feeling of freedom, to do whatever I want, whenever I want is incredibly fulfilling. I don’t want to waste any more time under achieving.
I went on a volunteer trip to Africa (with 300 strangers) to build a school in a township. Never under estimate the power of hard labour. People who can build and make things, schools or start-ups are the future.
I wake up at 6am most mornings and jump out of bed. I’m not a sleeper or lie in bed kind of person. Never have been.
My super power is the ability to take lots of complex and diverse bits of information and quickly turn them into something that people can relate to.
I’m from a small town in Cheshire called Sandbach. I love that place. My next-door neighbour and school friend was a kid called John Coates. He came from a good family and was one of the smart kids in school. John and his sister Denise went on to set up Bet 365 with the help of their Dad, Peter Coates. Their story is nothing short of miraculous. Hard working, smart people with vision, energy and fortitude can achieve anything. It makes me laugh that the ‘girl next door’ is now the wealthiest self-made women in Britain. She’s worth over £3billion. And all from a little town called Sandbach. Epic. Must go back soon.
Being a father is a true honour. It’s the most natural thing in the world. Jake and Ollie I love you. Helping you find your path in life is going to be fun.
My Mum and Dad have been married for 50 years. That’s pretty special. Takes work, effort and lots of other character building stuff to achieve this. I’m proud to be their son.
