What superpower would you grant your 14-year old self?

Aged 14 I spent hours thinking about how I could become a Boxer and imagining what it would be like to push someone over with one finger.

What one moment in your career defined your future?

I have a very specific viewpoint on the past, in that I never think about it. I live my life in the present. I got into the restaurant business because I wanted to travel. My plan was to have a restaurant, sell it after 2 years and travel again. That was it. Even today I have no idea about what I’m going to do and I love that. I let luck guide my life and it doesn’t bother me not to know where I’m going.

Which person or business do you admire within the hospitality industry and why?

I don’t have heroes. Everyone is a hero and no one is a hero at the same time. But I do enjoy philosophy, so I’d probably invite my friend who spent 43 years as a banker before he decided to leave, study philosophy and be a teacher. Today he rides a bike and is much more careful about his money. I envy him. Many times I’ve daydreamed about going bankrupt, because it would force me to do something different. I’m not afraid of change. If you change, you can have three or four different lives in one lifetime.

What advice would you give to me-toos?

You can loose everything in life: your job, your house & your wife. The thing you are never going to loose is your head and your heart. Knowing yourself is the best way to be confident; to embrace change/do things differently. It’s important to remember change is not always bad.