Getting to know… David Thomas

If you’ve got a memory like a sieve, don’t give up. There is something you can do about it. Just eight months after he bought a book on memory improvement, David Thomas came 4th in the World Memory Championships – a very impressive feat. We sent him a short questionnaire to try and get to know him better. As expected, he remembered to complete it and return it to us!

Tell us about the World Memory Championships

I entered twice, in 1996 and 1997, coming 4th and 3rd respectively. It was a life-changing experience that catapulted me onto TV, writing a #1 bestselling book and into the world of speaking.

What was the best business advice ever given to you?

Create a produce and/or service where there is demand. Doing what you love is the worst advice.

What’s the weirdest job you’ve ever done?

Packing Christmas gifts into boxes in a factory. In June.

What’s been your proudest business moment so far?

Speaking at Caesars palace in Las Vegas, one of the world’s greatest performance venues.

Who do you turn to for business advice?

The Professional Speakers Association was brilliant in the beginning to get me started. These days I use online groups.

Any recommendations for learning?

Russell Brunson and Seth Godin are interesting guys to follow. I also recommend TED talks (not TEDx) as they allow you to learn something powerful in bite sized chunks.

As a best-selling author do you have any top tips for aspiring writers?

Go for a top publisher that can make your book #1. Someone’s book has to be #1, so it might as well be yours! But that won’t happen if you self-publish or use a low level publisher.

What can delegates at Ambition 2018 expect to take away from your session?

Success is much more about process, strategy, techniques, sheer grit and determination as it is about intelligence, education and background.
Your past has nothing to do with your future.
The barriers to entry for top level success have all but disappeared.
The more responsibility you take, the more success you will have.

And on a personal note…

If you had a dinner party and could invite anyone at all, who would your guests be?

Arnold Schwarzenegger – my bodybuilding hero
Margaret Thatcher – to understand how she managed Britain through incredible times
Anthony Jeselnik – the comedian with the darkest humour I know
My deceased mother – to ask her questions about why she was like she was
Leonardo Da Vinci – a polymath with gifts that changed the world

Do you have a personal mantra?

Find the very best person in the world who is where you want to be and ask them how they got there.

What would be your top Desert Island Disc?

Insomnia by Faithless.

What makes you laugh?

Very dark humour. Comedians who are not racist, homophobic, etc but say the unsayable. Jimmy Carr, Doug Stanhope, Bill Burr.

What is your favourite food?

Chocolate tiffin.

And finally…

Next year, aged 51 years old, I am entering my first natural bodybuilding competition. After all, how much fun can it be standing on stage in front of your family, friends and a bunch of strangers wearing nothing but budgie smugglers and a fake tan?!