• "Sometimes when you experience that pain, especially when you're young and a bit cocky, it's a good reminder that humility is a really important part of the process."

  • "I always had an eye on commercial property and would dream of how to buy a commercial building with no money. I put offers on a couple of buildings but couldn't get finance or people to believe in me - in hindsight I had no idea what I was doing."

  • "Believing in a place like Hamilton has been quite fun. It often gets knocked around, with people asking why you'd live in Hamilton, but there's something special here."

  • "Still, I’m just a kid who can’t spell to save himself and struggles with writing emails - but those challenges don’t define me. We all have struggles; sometimes we hold onto them like they’re our Achilles heel. But you’ve got to harness your strengths and surround yourself with a team that complements your weaknesses."

  • "A lot of the buildings I own today are dreams I've had from walking past them. Riverbank Lane - when it was Riverbank Mall, I dreamed of having little eateries there years before owning it."

  • "Someone once told me, “Never do a project where you have a gun to your head”- meaning don’t put yourself in a position where you must sell by a certain date or risk going under."

  • "As a 16-year-old chippy, turning up at 7am on a frosty morning to pick up gib sheets taught me if I did the jobs I didn't want to do really well, I'd stop doing the crap jobs quickly. People see talent quickly and recognise a kid who goes hard and never puts their hand out for anything."

  • "It's one thing to be perceived as doing well in an upwards market, but when the market goes sideways, that's when real talent emerges. It's no different from a winning sports team; when you're going backwards under immense pressure, those moments define you."

  • "But at some point, you have to start doing it. You can be the most knowledgeable person in the world, but if you're not prepared to do it and accept that it's flipping hard work, you won't succeed."

  • "Everyone thinks property is a quick way to get rich, and you can do pretty well, but it's like a plane: when it's ascending, it's cool, but when it goes really bad, there aren't many survivors."

  • "It's about turning problems into better outcomes, holding your head high, and being optimistic about what's next. I always try to flip negatives to positives."

  • "One of my best mates is a pastor, and another is a nurse; we don't talk about my property stuff, just general human interaction. Those things ground you and help you de-stress. Make sure you have supportive people around you, so you can cry on their shoulder."

  • "It's not all about me; I've been privileged to be a person who has served others, and serving people is a really cool thing to do. Working in crazy places such as a school in rural India or Nepal puts into perspective how lucky we are."

  • "If you want to be an entrepreneur, try as many things as you can before you get a solid income because it’s really hard to leave a job when you’re making $80k or $100k to go and do what your entrepreneurial spirit says. Try things and be a doer because there aren’t many doers in this world."

  • "Never give up. And never ever think you're not smart enough, or from the right family and never try to be someone else. Just be authentically you, be honest, and have integrity. "

  • "Try and be a good human, because good humans are good to be around. Working on yourself and being the best person and having humility is something I want to continue to work on. It doesn't take resources; it just takes time and working on yourself to be a better form of yourself every day."