Simon Sinek is one of the best in his space, with the ability to challenge the way we think about ourselves and the organisations we work for. I’d invite you to watch this video in which he offers five pieces of advice to young people in his own inimitable way:

It got me to thinking about the most powerful advice I have ever received and indeed the advice I wished I had earlier and how it would have helped me.

The most powerful piece of advice I received was from a great trainer called Richard Jackson who said, “Happiness is a choice and everything else is a matter of perspective”. I now live my life choosing to be happy.

And the advice I would give a 16-year-old me to change my future is “If you don’t design your life plan, chances are you fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.”

I was falling into other people’s plans for nearly 40 years, and would have loved to have consciously begun designing my life at 16 years old. Helping others design their own lives is now at the heart of my life plan.

Tell us the advice that you would give the 16 year old you. I am already excited to read your answers.