Business
Diary of a CEO host Steven Bartlett explains what drives him towards success
Entrepreneur Steven Bartlett says the pursuit of his endeavours is what makes him happy – not whether they are a success.
The host of the Diary of a CEO podcast, Bartlett grew in prominence as the youngest-ever investor on Dragon’s Den. One of his deals, for an energy drink brand, has recently become the most valuable company to emerge from the show, worth over £150m.
Elsewhere he is also a private investor or founder in a range of companies – including his latest venture Steven.com, which has attained a valuation of more than £320m and which he says he wants to grow into the “Disney of the creator economy”.
His primary podcast, meanwhile, surpassed a billion views globally in 2024 and was last year included in the top five pods globally on Spotify, while this time he was speaking on Evgeny Lebedev’s Brave New World podcast.
Bartlett’s insight tends to therefore carry much weight, both with burgeoning entrepreneurs and those focused on self-improvement, which makes his latest foray into discussing his approach to a multi-focused working lifestyle so intriguing – where he says he has “killed” the idea that his accomplishments will make him content, instead focusing on the process.
“I’m well aware nothing I accomplish will make me happier. This is ‘arrival fallacy’: this horrible thing that happens, when you believe that when you arrive [at what you’re striving for], you’ll become x [such as happy, satisfied or elated],” he told Lebedev, who is a shareholder of The Independent and majority owner of the Evening Standard.
“I’ve killed arrival fallacy completely. At the same time the thing that keeps me content and stable is the pursuit itself.
“I love the pursuit of things. That allows for when I’m perfectly content, as long as I’m pursuing, and I have no belief that arriving or material success is going to change me at all.”
He added: “Maybe kids? Maybe that’s a different thing. I don’t know that’s just a hypothesis, but outside of that I love waking up every day and getting to live a life and working with cool people on things I care about that’s challenging me.
“The game of life is the process I believe: the pedals, not the podium.”
Bartlett delved into his younger years on the podcast, explaining his upbringing and the impact that had on his approach to entrepreneurship.
He revealed the impact his mother and his home life had on his outlook towards trying new things and aiming for material goals initially, recounting stories of raising money for school trips and getting a vending machine installed for a lower price than the school was initially going to manage.
“From a very early age I’d learnt this very important thing: there isn’t really a gap between an idea and doing it,” he said.
“If I could give my kid anything it would be that exact lesson somehow, that you can have an idea and it can appear in the world.
“In hindsight, at 16 or 18 years old, that’s the defining trait of my ideology. I remember saying to my friends, ‘If you told me I need to go to the moon next week, my default is to believe there’s a way. There’s someone going, there’s a rocket going, I just need to find out who and find a way to get on.’”
The premises he speaks around are features in an upcoming book entitled Just F***ing Do It, which is about the principles of doing a thing – potentially regardless of successful outcome or not.
Stories in the book, Barltett says, are framed around lessons from interviewees, lessons around mentality and strategy and discussions of neuroscience.
And, repeatedly, he highlights the importance of not focusing solely on the end goal and acknowledging that as long as he’s giving his best, automatic success isn’t guaranteed – and that’s perfectly fine.
“My default is to be empathetic with myself and to realise all I can do is my best,” Bartlett says. “If I don’t address everything [going on] it doesn’t result in me catastrophising or beating myself up. My natural inclination is to give myself a break.”
The government on Thursday kept petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD) prices unchanged at Rs253.17 per litre and Rs257.08 per litre respectively, for the coming fortnight, starting from January 16.
This decision was notified in a press release issued by the Petroleum Division.
Earlier, it was expected that the prices of all petroleum products would go down by up to Rs4.50 per litre (over 1pc each) today in view of variation in the international market.
Petrol is primarily used in private transport, small vehicles, rickshaws, and two-wheelers, and directly impacts the budgets of the middle and lower-middle classes.
Meanwhile, most of the transport sector runs on HSD. Its price is considered inflationary, as it is mostly used in heavy transport vehicles, trains, and agricultural engines such as trucks, buses, tractors, tube wells, and threshers, and particularly adds to the prices of vegetables and other eatables.
The government is currently charging about Rs100 per litre on petrol and about Rs97 per litre on diesel.
Business
Gold price today: How much 22K, 24K gold cost in Delhi, Patna & other cities – Check rates – The Times of India
Gold prices climbed to a fresh lifetime high in the domestic market on Thursday amid sustained buying by jewellers and stockists, according to the All India Sarafa Association.Gold advanced by Rs 800 to hit a new peak of Rs 1,47,300 per 10 grams (inclusive of all taxes), extending gains for the fifth consecutive session. The yellow metal had closed at Rs 1,46,500 per 10 grams in the previous session.Since the start of 2026, gold prices have surged Rs 9,600, or around 7 per cent, supported by persistent demand in the physical market. In overseas trade, spot gold slipped USD 12.22, or 0.26 per cent, to USD 4,614.45 per ounce, after having touched a record high of USD 4,643.06 per ounce in the previous session.Here is how much gold costs in major Indian cities today:
Gold price in Delhi today
The price of 22K gold in Delhi is Rs 13,140 per gram, down Rs 75, while 24K gold is priced at Rs 14,333 per gram, lower by Rs 82.
Gold price in Chennai today
In Chennai, 22K gold costs Rs 13,290 per gram, up Rs 10, while 24K gold is priced at Rs 14,498 per gram, higher by Rs 10.
Gold price in Mumbai today
Mumbai markets see 22K gold priced at Rs 13,125 per gram, down Rs 75, while 24K gold stands at Rs 14,318 per gram, lower by Rs 82.
Gold price in Ahmedabad today
In Ahmedabad, 22K gold is priced at Rs 13,130 per gram, down Rs 75, while 24K gold costs Rs 14,323 per gram, lower by Rs 82.
Gold price in Kolkata today
Kolkata markets price 22K gold at Rs 13,125 per gram, down Rs 75, while 24K gold stands at Rs 14,318 per gram, lower by Rs 82.
Gold price in Jaipur today
In Jaipur, 22K gold costs Rs 13,140 per gram, down Rs 75, while 24K gold is priced at Rs 14,333 per gram, lower by Rs 82.
Gold price in Hyderabad today
Hyderabad sees 22K gold at Rs 13,125 per gram, down Rs 75, while 24K gold is priced at Rs 14,318 per gram, lower by Rs 82.
Gold price in Bhubaneswar today
Bhubaneswar markets see 22K gold priced at Rs 13,125 per gram, down Rs 75, while 24K gold costs Rs 14,318 per gram, lower by Rs 82.
Gold price in Patna today
In Patna, 22K gold costs Rs 13,130 per gram, down Rs 75, while 24K gold is priced at Rs 14,323 per gram, lower by Rs 82.
Gold price in Lucknow today
Lucknow markets see 22K gold priced at Rs 13,140 per gram, down Rs 75, while 24K gold costs Rs 14,333 per gram, lower by Rs 82.
One of Britain’s most prolific rail fare dodgers could face jail after admitting dozens of travel offences.
Charles Brohiri, 29, pleaded guilty to travelling without buying a ticket a total of 112 times over a two-year period, Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard.
He could be ordered to pay more than £18,000 in unpaid fares and legal costs, the court was told.
He will be sentenced next month.
District Judge Nina Tempia warned Brohiri “could face a custodial sentence because of the number of offences he has committed”.
He pleaded guilty to 76 offences on Thursday.
It came after he was convicted in his absence of 36 charges at a previous hearing.
During Thursday’s hearing, Judge Tempia dismissed a bid by Brohiri’s lawyers to have the 36 convictions overturned.
They had argued the prosecutions were unlawful because they had not been brought by a qualified legal professional.
But Judge Tempia rejected the argument, saying there had been “no abuse of this court’s process”.
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