From Global Speaker to Ceramics Artist: How Losing It All Brought True Happiness
Jez Rose, once a number one best-selling author and highly sought-after keynote speaker, built a global reputation for inspiring talks on leadership, behaviour, and performance. At his peak, he lived in America, owned a farm, and travelled worldwide, addressing thousands for clients like Ford, Audi, Marriott, Volkswagen, and Philips. His appearances spanned BBC, ITV, QVC, Discovery, and TEDx events, with Microsoft naming him among its top 10 most sought-after business speakers. Earlier this year, he was officially voted among the top UK motivational speakers based on customer feedback and testimonials.
The Relentless Lifestyle Behind Success
His business earned close to seven figures, but the lifestyle was relentless. In his busiest year, he spent 233 nights in hotels, sometimes arriving in a new city and quietly asking reception where he was. The constant travel and pressure to meet high expectations took a toll, with his brain never switching off from adapting to audiences and delivering impactful talks.
Looking back, warning signs emerged, such as moments when he considered driving away from jobs. As the business grew, he made a critical mistake by stepping back from management to focus on speaking, trusting others to handle operations. This naivety led to severe consequences, including a £150,000 backdated tax payment and a £80,000 VAT repayment due within five days, forcing him to take out a personal loan.
Collapse and Loss
Then, the Covid-19 pandemic hit, causing his work to disappear, income to stop, and lifestyle to vanish. He had to sell everything, including household contents, to pay bills. Reflecting on his peak, he recalled indulging in luxury items like £150 silver pencils from Fortnum & Mason, expensive watches, and designer luggage, which had become normalised in his pursuit of success.
Now, he owns only a simple $20 Mickey Mouse watch, which garners more comments than his former £5,000 Cartier timepiece. This loss forced a reassessment of what truly matters, leading him back to Buddhist values of joy, passion, and purpose that he had previously neglected.
Rediscovering Identity Through Ceramics
Leaving America was another breaking point, as trusted contacts failed to deliver work, ruining his business and forcing a return to the UK. Without speaking engagements, he faced an identity crisis, questioning who he was beyond his career. The answer came unexpectedly from ceramics, a craft that brings immense satisfaction, creativity, and meditation.
Working with clay allows him to fail without fear, offering utter joy and contentment without the need for travel or endless meetings. He now splits his time between selective speaking engagements, team-building workshops using clay, and building a ceramics studio set to launch in 2026, with charitable giving integrated into all activities, aiming to raise £75,000 over the next year.
A New Definition of Success
Speaking remains part of his life, but he now says yes only to the right opportunities, not everything. By openly discussing failure and personal reset, he has experienced a strong response to his work, emphasising honesty and humanity over typical success narratives. His understanding of success has completely changed, focusing on a simpler life where bills are covered and income exceeds outgoings.
In his ceramics studio, a writing from Zen Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh reminds him daily: ‘You have enough.’ While financially vulnerable, he has never been happier, waking up grateful each morning. He concludes that true impact, not material success, is what truly matters in life.
