Hamilton Bradshaw | Serial Entrepreneur | Investor on BBC's Dragons’ Den (2007-2010)
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬. I often think of the friendship between Henry Ford and Thomas Edison. When Ford built his first car, Edison didn’t compete or compare. He clapped the loudest. He told Ford to keep going, to dream bigger. That kind of friendship can change history. In my own life, I’ve been lucky to have a few people like that. Friends who believed in me when the world didn’t, who reminded me to get back up when I fell, and who celebrated every little win as if it were their own. If you find even one person like that in business or in life, hold onto them. They’re rare. And they’ll carry you further than money or talent ever could.
Absolutely true! I have one or two of those too. I wouldn’t be here without them. ✨
Genuine kinship is the rare miracle of having someone whose soul rejoices in your dawn without measuring their own fading twilight.
Real friends indeed. Be careful of the friends that don't clap when you win. They will support a stranger or the famous, but silently watch you and say nothing. Frenemies.
Awesome — we could really learn a thing or two from these kids. I'm a youth coach in American Football, working with kids aged 8 to 13. And you know what? They don’t care about skin color, money, or religion. They’re just being kids — open, curious, and kind. It’s honestly inspiring. Sometimes I catch myself wondering: Who’s really the role model here? And more importantly, how are we shaping them through the way we act? Maybe it’s not the kids who need to change — maybe it’s us.
Ford had Edison. Most of us are lucky if we find even one friend who claps without comparison
Absolutely! True friends don’t just cheer, they lift you higher. Rare, powerful, and priceless.
I really can see them still being friends 20 years from now ❤️
The friends who cheer the loudest and believe in us through failures and wins alike are the ones who help us dream bigger and go further.
That almost just makes you want to cry happy tears! Love this scene. I often share with leaders the importance of rewarding and celebrating yourself and your members. We had this instict as children where we would do just like this video. Scream so loud and celebrate happy moments. But as adults, we're taught to tone it down, less is more, don't do that approach. We need to celebrate our own moments and those of our friends and peers more often. It makes happiness infectious!! And that's good.
Hamilton Bradshaw | Serial Entrepreneur | Investor on BBC's Dragons’ Den (2007-2010)
3wTo read more of my reflections on business and life, visit james-caan.com