The Client

365 Quotes to Accelerate Your Career and Find Balance in Life

Dr James Espey OBE

Dr James Espey OBE is a rare thing. A brilliant entrepreneur with an absolute passion for giving back. At the age of 80 (he won’t mind us mentioning this as it is a badge of honour to James that he has as much energy and determination now as he did when he started out), he continues to be a rockstar in the world of business.

In fact, he was recently included in the Top 100 Influential People 2023. It’s a stellar list of high achievers.

It was on James’s dining room table in Wimbledon that the cybersecurity company Mimecast (MIME) was founded, and James continued to mentor its owner for a decade. The company sold this year for £5.8 billion. After a 5-star career in marketing and leadership in the drinks business – he built Bailey’s Irish Cream into a global blockbuster, for example – James invested in multiple start-ups, from a US inventor to Wiltshire whisky.

But his primary interest now is mental health. After suffering from depression himself he became President of the Shawmind mental health charity and fundamental to their successful campaign to have mental health included in the school curriculum.

Dr James Espey OBE

The Problem

James wanted to compile nuggets from his experience in both business and life into a catchy book of quotes that would be easy to read but have profound takeaways. They would include words from famous names as well as his own favourite sayings. Lesley Hussell of Editing Edge and James had worked together in the past and so he called Lesley in when he had gathered a raft of quotes he wanted to include. The task was daunting:

  • To use James’s ideas, plus original research, to build up a bank of around 450 quotes we could then whittle down to the very best
  • To organise and segment them into themes
  • To balance the quotes between chapter headings of roughly equal length
  • To collaborate with James to write commentary on some of the quotes based on his personal experience
  • To commission illustrations that would add a touch of humour and bring the pages to life
  • To copy-edit and weed out duplication, typos, and clumsy phrasing
  • To edit the foreword, include testimonials from a gamut of big names in business and advise on cover designs.

 

”“A unique take on the wisdom of quotes. Entertaining and makes you think!”

Neville Isdell, former Global Chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company

The Result

A sparkling manuscript handed over to Shawmind’s publishing arm, Cherish Editions. It packs a wonderful punch with 365 quotes that really do provide lessons for life. The illustrations from the amazing Cris Black of Leaping Cow design are fabulous. All in all, it is a really compelling book that readers can pick up and flick through at any stage of their career to find wise words that will make life and business both easier and more enjoyable.

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“I want to thank my editor, my friend Lesley Hussell, who has diligently taken what I have scribbled and guided me to a perfectly structured form.”
Dr James Espey OBE