I finished school at age 16 with no big life plan. No idea what I wanted to do. No career carefully mapped out. Thankfully, back in the day, we had something called The Youth Training Scheme or YTS as it was commonly called, a government-run scheme that helped create apprenticeships in many sectors.

At my school, there were 5 positions available: two in banking, two in insurance and one in freight. Now, young Chadd had no idea what freight forwarding was or what a career in this industry would look like – but he knew that banking or insurance wasn’t for him! And that’s how my life’s direction was determined.

Fast-forward 35 years and a lot has changed. But as I walked through those offices again, with my 22 year old daughter in tow, it felt like I’d gone back in time. The building looked exactly the same – the CGM signage was still on the doors (even though they moved many moons ago!) The carpets, the colour of the walls, the smell… all the same.

It really did take me back. But it also gave me reason to pause and reflect on how far I’ve come. I’ve had a long and happy freight career and built Millennium up from the ground into a thriving freight forwarding company of my own. We’ve helped thousands of customers to move millions of tons of goods to all four corners of the globe. I’ve created jobs, friendships, opportunities… It was quite an emotional experience.

But my question for you is, how often do you stop and reflect on your journey? When did you last take stock of your achievements and give yourself a big old pat on the back? As business owners, we’re terrible for always looking for the next achievement, the next goal, the next growth. But if you’re always looking forwards, you can’t look back, and you can’t see just how far you’ve come.

So take a moment to think about it, what have you achieved since you started out in adult life? What are you most proud of? Hit reply and let me know.