UK-born entrepreneur who built companies and led sales teams around the world (Belgium, the UK, sourcing in China). He also directed the award-winning short film 'Eli', made the earlier film 'I Know You', and releases music as Col Gerrard. Tamir has been friends with him for almost ten years and calls him a 'black belt communicator' who says exactly what's on his mind.
Where it appears 1
Connections
Created by
Related
Created
Words spoken
I'm going to tell you two things, boy. Don't ever grow old. And don't wait for anything 'cause it's not coming.
Whatever you do, don't lie, Colin. Just don't lie, 'cause you'll get caught at some point.
The three most important words I ever learned was 'I don't know.'
Basically, it was the same answer in every single book. And it was pretty simple. Have a good attitude. Don't give up. Work hard. You'll be successful.
Sometimes the smallest achievements can be the greatest. And I think tough love is better than fake love at the end of the day.
If you get something great sometimes, just shut up about it. You don't have to jump on social media and tell the whole planet.
No matter how lofty people feel, whether it's a politician or a religious person, the fact is you're still a human being. You haven't changed the DNA of the human race at all.
Do it for yourself. Say it for yourself. Act like it for yourself. You don't have to piss anybody off along the way. Just do your own thing.
The biggest problem is most legends are built on lies. It's somebody's fantasy of themselves that they promulgate.
Some new product comes along and you go, I thought of that 10 years ago. Yeah, but what did you do about it?
Stories told
- Grandfather's two pieces of advice
Colin's father died when he was two, and his grandfather looked after him until he was about nine. On a walk shortly before he died, his grandfather stopped and told him: don't ever grow…
- Learning to talk to himself
As he gets older, Colin is admitting things about his character that he always knew but never owned, and he is accepting and even embracing them. He has started talking to himself and…
- SAS soldiers wearing American flags
Colin recounts an interview with a Navy SEAL who, as a newcomer, saw British SAS soldiers in the chow line wearing American flags. Asked why, they said, 'You've got to blame it on somebody…
- The salesman who didn't want to be manager
In one of Colin's offices in Belgium, during a struggling telecoms campaign, one salesman was the only one hitting numbers. Colin pulled him aside and praised him lavishly as his next…
- Bullied without a dad
Colin was bullied mercilessly as a child, picked on, beaten up, and mocked even for not having a father. That pushed him into boxing. He says it made him stronger, not weaker.
- Five self-help books experiment
A salesman who was doing badly kept telling Colin that Tony Robbins had changed his life. So Colin bought five random self-help books, Robbins's among them, and had his staff read and swap…
- Gym influencer in London
At a London gym a man filming his muscles yelled at Colin for walking past his camera. Colin told him the gym is for everybody and he should film at home. Colin reads it as people feeling…
- Isaac's ironed shirt
A young employee who always had the worst luck came to work one day in a crisp, ironed shirt and tie. When Colin, his boss, complimented him, he snapped, 'I didn't do it for you, did I?'…
- Million-dollar number one single
Colin overheard two men at Soho House in Los Angeles: 'Give me a million bucks, I'll give you a number one single.' He thinks they're right and that the music industry is about money, which…
- Motivating people by knowing them
Colin says daily 'sell, sell, sell' meetings are the worst thing you can do, because you don't know what motivates each person. Some of his staff did brilliantly after he screamed at them…
- The Rock and Kevin Hart on Ellen
On Ellen, Kevin Hart kept needling Dwayne Johnson. When it came up that Johnson had just had another baby girl, Hart joked about him not producing boys. A visibly annoyed Johnson replied…
- Hair-pull trigger
Colin's one trigger is having his hair pulled. A friend joking around got him in a headlock and pulled his hair; Colin hit him with an uppercut and broke his jaw, and felt terrible…
- Making a famous person out of nothing
For the film 'I Know You', Colin's team invented a character, walked him through the streets of Italy and made him famous, and were amazed by what they got away with. The idea came from a…
- Packaging costlier than the product
When Colin sourced products in China, some ended up with packaging that cost more than the product itself. He says nice curtains are fine, but with no structure behind them you're building…
- Stepfather's Apple shares
Colin's late stepfather joked that Apple would 'come knock on my coffin' to tell him the stock was finally up. Colin uses it to show that small investors trust what they invest in, and lose…
- The noble builder
A builder friend of Colin's in the UK thinks building a house is a great thing, because it will be someone's forever home and a family will live in it. Colin respects him enormously and…
- Blindfolded Rubik's Cube kid
Noticing a Rubik's Cube in Tamir's studio, Colin recalls a kid in London who solves the cube blindfolded after studying it for about 30 seconds. Colin didn't ask about his background, only…
- Boxing gym with no steroids
Colin boxed as a young man in London. The man who ran his gym banned anyone on juice or steroids because they were there for vanity, not health, and told them to go to Playboy magazine…
- The fake rocket scientist
At a motivational event the speaker claimed he had once been a rocket scientist, and the crowd was in awe. Colin looked him up and found he was 'so full of crap'. His lesson: the people…
- "You love to make excuses"
A manager called Colin in and said, 'You know what I like about you, Colin? You love to make excuses.' Colin knew it was a deliberate provocation and fell for it anyway. Being told he can't…
- Irish American
Colin is puzzled by Americans who call themselves 'Irish American' without being born in Ireland. He reads it as people looking for something to make them feel a bit more authentic and…
- Mint sauce in Holland
Driving in Holland past fields of baby lambs, Colin cooed at how sweet they were. His companion answered 'and nice with mint sauce'. Colin uses it as an example of someone cutting in on…
- Ten Timbits
On his first visit to Canada, Colin tried Timbits (10 for $3.19) and ate all ten before reaching his brother's house: 'ashamed of myself, but also quite pleased'. It leads into banter about…