What My 6-month-old Taught Me about Building a Business

Look, I know this sounds like every LinkedIn bro posting about what their wife cheating on them taught them about leadership, but hear me out: my 6‑month‑old daughter has genuinely taught me a lot about life.

And before you roll your eyes, come with me back to ten‑year‑old me, nose in a massive sea‑life encyclopaedia, grandad in the next room doing his crossword. I’d sprint in every few minutes to ask:

Cue an endless string of whys.

Watching my daughter now (this tiny human experiencing everything for the first time) I’m reminded of the wisdom we lose on the way to adulthood. The wonder. The play. The curiosity that pushes us out of our comfort zone.

Somewhere between childhood and adulthood, we stopped playing. Big mistake. Play refuels creativity and makes the work… work.

Young children often learn best when they are playing: a principle that applies to adults. You'll approach a new task better when it's fun and you're in a relaxed and playful mood. Play can also stimulate your imagination, helping you adapt and solve problems.

During one of his TED talks, Peter Gray (Boston College) puts it plainly: play is how young mammals wire the skills they need for adulthood.

Nothing beats a first‑time feeling. Astronauts call it the Overview Effect: awe that changes how you see everything.

Astronaut Edgar D. Mitchell, who piloted Apollo 14 and was the sixth American to walk on the moon, described his 1971 lunar landing mission as “an overwhelming sense of universal connectedness.”

Dacher Keltner, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, has shown that awe is tied directly to feelings of expansiveness, transcendence, and connection.

Yet, Keltner argues, we are increasingly awe-deprived. “Adults spend more time working and commuting and less time outdoors and with other people,” he wrote in a 2016 essay.

The math is pretty simple: more commuting, less outdoors. Time to fix that, methinks.

Let's go back to my example about colourful sea life. Why is truly one of the common questions children would ask daily - I indeed did.

Yet, far too often, I remember how I would be dismissed as a child. We have learned that asking some questions is stupid - that we should not question things altogether.

When we decide as customers, we rarely can pinpoint on a conscious level the reason why. “Laddering” gets you there: keep asking why.

Start with five whys to uncover a belief under the behaviour.

EQ is your unfair advantage. Through a child’s lens: self‑regulation, empathy, clean comms.

It can support us as entrepreneurs by leading by example, being inspired, focused, and motivated. If we were to better get in touch with that, we'd be much better leaders.

Emotional intelligence accounts for 67% of the abilities necessary for superior leadership performance, according to Daniel Goleman's book Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ.

Start with self‑awareness. Then self‑regulation. Then listen properly.

There are so many ways you can cultivate curiosity. One of them is to be simply open to learning something new every day - whether it's for your professional or personal development, fall in love with learning.

In The Talent Code, Daniel Coyle points to deep practice + ignition + master coaching. Practice at the edge, make mistakes, correct. That’s myelin building.

Curiosity compounds. Trend‑setters learn in public and ship before it’s perfect.

Children can teach us adults so much if we are willing to step back and rekindle with some of these traits we have somewhat lost along the way. Find ways to embrace the wisdom of children:

Now go cultivate your childlike wonder,

Fab