As a teenager, Victoria Beckham’s ambition was not just to be better than her mates or even a famous singer but to become a world brand. She not only dreamed about it, but wanted it enough to go about getting it. That in itself makes her different from most of us.

It’s not how good she was that mattered, it’s how good she wanted to be. What is interesting in her quote is that she didn’t compare herself with George Michael or Mariah Carey, rather she saw the fame of Persil Automatic as her yardstick.

Laugh at it as you may, it’s this highly original imagination that got her where she is today.

Give away everything you know, and more will come back to you.

You will remember from school other students preventing you from seeing their answers by placing their arm around their exercise book or exam paper. It is the same at work, people are secretive with ideas. ‘Don’t tell them that, they’ll take the credit for it.’

The problem with hoarding is you end up living off your reserves. Eventually you’ll become stale. If you give away everything you have, you are left with nothing. This forces you to look, to be aware, to replenish.