PART I
CHAPTER 1 Let’s face it
This book is intended for people who fear to take risk, who fear to break the rules. The “it’s not time yet” mentality isn’t good enough - no money to start? no time for a new challenge? The list goes on and on, but no excuse is valid. Build your support system to map out your life. There is power in your hands, in your brains, and in every fibre of your being.
“Life is a song– sing it. Life is a game– play it. Life is a challenge– meet it. Life is a dream– realize it. Life is a sacrifice – offer it. Life is love– enjoy it.” Said Baba
Many times we ask ourselves why so and so is able to amass a fortune, when at one point they were in the same situation as us? He wanted to succeed, that is why he made it.
Follow me. It is not only the matter luck, and I’m not even a fan of it. Do you rely on luck to fulfill your dreams? It is said that “luck is where preparation meets opportunity”? You have to be prepared to utilize the opportunity that surrounds you -that is your luck.
Never wait for luck to just show up. Do you catch my drift? Will you still continue to wait for “luck”? This book cost you money and I believe you bought it to make money or change your present situation. If you borrow it from someone it is for a purpose. Money is important whether you agree or not. If you doubt what I say try to ride a bus for free. Whatever your attitude may be towards money, you are right. If you don’t revere it, you will not get it.
Opportunity
We often hear people say opportunity knocks but once. I want to run counter to that saying “What is opportunity in the first place”? According to the Oxford Dictionary, it is “a time or set of circumstances that makes it possible to do something”. In my own way; it’s the occurrences of events that make things happen. How many times have you heard of this phrase “opportunity knocks”? I believe that we are surrounded by opportunities every blessed day of our lives. Unfortunately we don’t “flash on” it. They say “opportunity knocks but once” but it actually knocks at our doors as long as you have your door shut. He never breaks into your room if you don’t invite him. He is always available and waits for you. Avail yourself to him!
Until you recognize the door handle (the gateway to opportunity), you will ever gaze at the glistering stars hoping to conjure him from the beautiful sky. One of the key factors to spotting an opportunity is to have a “burning desire” for it .If you don’t yearn for something it is hardly noticeable.
People who invented all sort of things that made life better for us are not just mere inventors, but, they are opportunity seekers. They desired it. Let’s take a look at Alexander Fleming, a Scottish scientist, who left a pile of dirty Petri dishes open at his work place and went on vacation. On his return he found out that most had been contaminated. There was a bacterial growth around the mould.
According to the Nobel Prize website, Fleming dumped most of the dishes in a vat of Lysol. But when he got to a dish containing staphylococcus, something odd caught his attention. And what made him spot that? This was the beginning of an idea that would change the world. The dish was covered in colonies of bacteria, except in one area where a blob of mould was growing. Somehow the mould was in an area free from bacteria, as if the mould had blocked the bacteria from spreading. He realized it could be used to kill a wide range of bacteria. So penicillin was discovered right there. The answer to why some people are able to find opportunities is because they are simply opportunity hunters. We are all born inventors, but the problem is we rarely act on instinct. Successful businessmen and women aspire to greater things than a boring cubicle and a nagging boss. If you’re waiting to act on a million dollar idea you might dumb yourself down a notch. Figure out and work your way to success. Make the idea you have a brilliant one.
“Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life– think of it, dream of it, and live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success”. Swami Vivekananda
Out of our natural desire to make things happen; achieve a goal, change a career, there is a natural wish that stimulates us to go for it against all odds.
Life is like lifting weights. They press down on you and you need to push it up. You either stay under the heavy barbell breathless or fight with nature and gravity to gain your freedom. It is the same as resolving a difficult situation and achieving success.
Living in your comfort zone? There is a life much better than what you are living now. You need to stretch out for more promising opportunities. If you are looking for a way to see bread on your table early in the morning, you should be the luckiest person but may not necessarily be right. Excuse me for saying it, but you might be living in a fool’s paradise. Otherwise, I will strongly urge you to challenge your-self, tune your mind-set to going beyond just what you have opted for. Sow a seed today and live in expectancy.
“Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree”. Martin Luther
CHAPTER 2
Doing more than just believing
"All human beings are born as entrepreneurs. But unfortunately, many of us never had the opportunity to unwrap that part of our life, so it remains hidden”. Dr. Muhammad Yunus
Believe it or not – you’re greater than you think you are - stretch out and reach the limit that you are capable of and you will be surprised to know what you can accomplish with the same body you have been living in over the years. That reminds me of a shocking, and of course, life-changing story.
Case study
Beach Story: Perhaps you might have had heard of it. An ambitious young man desires to become a millionaire, so he goes to see a wise guru, who knows the ultimate secret to success. Here is the full story.
The young man says to the guru, “I want to become rich and successful. Can you help me?” The guru smiles and says, “Meet me at the beach tomorrow at 4 AM, and I will show you the secret to success.”
Waiting impatiently for the next morning, the young man arrives on the beach at 4 AM, just like the guru had asked, wearing a suit and tie. Upon arriving, he realizes that the guru is already in the water swimming, dressed not in a suit and tie, but in a pair of swimming trunks.
The guru spots the young man and motions for him to come in the water. The young man, not wanting to get his suit pants and nice shoes wet, goes to the edge of the water.
“Come out further” the guru says with an understanding smile. “This is an expensive suit,” the young man replies, “I came here to learn the secret to success, not the secret to swimming.” “The secret must be told in this water. It is your choice to learn the secret or not.”
So the young man goes waist-deep into the water, soaking his expensive suit. “Further,” the guru says. The young man becomes irritated.
“Listen old man,” he says with impatience, “I’m already in the water. I didn’t come here for a swimming lesson. Tell me the secret to success right now or I’m leaving.” The guru, unaffected by the young man’s outburst, replies calmly, “You are already waist-deep. What’s a few more steps?”
So the young man wades deeper into the water until the water is up to his neck. The sun is beginning to rise.
“So what’s the secret?” the young man demands.
The guru says, “Sure,” and suddenly forces the young man’s head under the water. The young man, caught off guard, swallows large gulps of salty sea water and immediately begins to drown.
He flails his arms and tries to push the guru off him, but the guru continues to hold the young man’s head underwater, using all of his strength to keep him there.
Just before the young man loses consciousness, he stops flailing his arms around and musters the last bit of strength in his body to throw a vicious elbow into the guru’s solar plexus and break free. But the guru surprisingly does not reach out to grasp the man again.
After rubbing on his stomach a few times, he wades back to the shore until the water is knee deep, and he stands with great pride, looking at the young man with a big smile on his face. The young man spends the next half minute coughing and spiting in the water, cursing the guru as he wades back to shore as well. The guru ignores his foul language, his smile never fading.
“Quite an elbow you got there!” The guru cried out to the young man, smiling even more widely.
The young man looks at the guru with intense rage, but before he is able to make a move, the guru puts his hand out as if to say, “Stop, let me explain what just happened.” So the young man put his hands on his hips and glared at the guru.
The guru then proceeded to give the young man one of the most important keys to success:
“When your head was under water, what is it that you wanted todo?” “I wanted to kill you for deceiving
me.”
“I have not deceived you. You have asked to learn the secret to success and I showed you. What else did you want to do, while you were underwater?” “Be at home again, get some sleep….be dry…” the young man offered, but the guru shook his head.
“I don’t know, breathe??” the young man said in a sarcastic tone, and he folded his arms at the seemingly meaningless question. He did not make a move to leave though. Although slightly embarrassed and extremely aggravated that his suit was already drenched, he figured he might as well stick around to see what this guru was trying to show him. He was an ambitious young man; a smart young man; and he was aware that sometimes wise men communicated in eccentric ways.
“Ah, breathing,” the guru said, casting his eyes out towards the rising sun. He then closed his eyes and took the deepest, most satisfying breath, which inspired the young man to take a deep breath as well.
The guru continued: “Something so simple, yet so important–something we take for granted, until we can no longer have it. And when we realize we no longer have it–” “We are compelled to do whatever it takes to have it back,” the young man chimed in, remembering how he decided to throw his elbow into the seemingly fragile guru. And with that sentence, he too, became enlightened just like the guru was.
The guru, with much pride, saw it in the young man’s eyes that he had got “it”.
As he waded back into the water, he shouted one last final sentence to the young man: “When you need success as much you need to breathe, then, and only then, will you have success.”
And with that, the guru began to sing and swim far into the ocean.
The man watched the guru swim for a short time. He tried to ask a few more questions, but the guru would no longer respond. So the young man left the beach. And by the end of the year, the young man became a multimillionaire.
The reason why people give up on their dreams so easily is that they do not believe that they can actually achieve their goals. Believe that you will make that deal a reality, believe that you’ll secure that contract, believe that you’ll pass that test, believe that your idea will work, believe that your marriage will work, believe that you will get that job. Convince yourself from the inside out. Whatever you believe you will get - you will definitely get it, no matter what. Doubting the future lets so many petty obstacles hold you back.
Inside you lies a great power, inside you lies a genius, inside you lies a record breaking spirit, inside of you lies the next Bill Gates, inside of you lies the next founder of a treasure company sleeping. It needs to be awakened for great things yet to come. You have what it takes to be a hero and a winner - you just never knew it. If you don’t seize the opportunity today you’ll remain in the ordinary zone by being a follower for all time.
Let’s take a look at Edmund Hillary, the first man to reach the summit of the notorious Mount Everest. Hillary made his trip after George Mallory and his team’s fatal expedition. The former’s techniques weren’t that different from the latter’s. Hillary learnt from the mistakes of George Mallory and his team. He knew very well that either they make it to the summit or that they would die trying. The bottom line is root out failure, mistakes, miseries and stop blame game. Refrain from dwelling in past.
Take a look at this analogy: It’s like a wild bird that is caged and unable to fly free One day the cage door is left wide open. The bird (because of past ‘learned helplessness’) still doesn’t escape when, in reality, it could. A true victim is someone who feels like a victim. What is done to you and how you react to the situation is another thing, both are two different things altogether.
If you have failed in a business project, do not hate yourself. Realise the mistakes you made and correct them, then move on. If the stock market crashes, what should we do the day after? Move on.
Today everybody talks about Apple products – they are everywhere. The number of users of iPhone, iPad are increasing daily, even though Samsung is competing hard with its “Galaxies”. Steve Jobs suffered a lot of setbacks on his journey to success with Apple. Some of the products failed to sell well because they were too highly priced. This strategy was unjustified because it failed to find a niche within the marketplace which constituted higher price range and finally no one could afford to buy them. A typical example is the NeXT enterprise, which costs $50,000. As a result of the price tag it was never popular. Other failed products include the Apple Lisa, Pippin, Apple III, Apple’s Macintosh TV, eWorld and Ping FM. Apple also collaborated unsuccessfully with Motorola’s ROKR. Other products that failed included Quick Take, eMate 300, Power Mac G4 Cube, Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh and others.
Remember as life goes on you have to stack up your past experiences. If our life is free of failures, that means we’re not taking enough risk. I like what Rick Patino has to say on the subject: “Failure is good. It’s fertilizer. Everything I’ve learned about coaching, I’ve learned from making mistakes.”
I always said that the greatest advice you will ever get is the advice you get when you fail. It is rather unfortunate the way society sees failure: An athlete’s failed attempt, an entrepreneur’s failed business venture, a politician’s fall in the polls, a lawyer losing his case, a student failing in his or her examination and the stigmatization that comes with those kinds of failures. It is high time that society does not see a failure as it is, rather as a source to look up towards something better than we have now. You’ve heard me say repeatedly correct your mistakes and move on. Many times we have no control over certain circumstances that easily befall us but nevertheless when they happen to come upon us, we have to do damage control and move on with our lives. Life is like a sharp curved road. You can’t see further until you get to the end of the curve. When life puts you in a valley, keep your eyes on the prize on the higher ground and rise up. It is the move you make after you have been put in a bad situation that counts.
I believe that a hero is made not born. No one is ever born with the inscription written on their forehead “I’m a HERO”. Frederick Douglass testifies to this: “…there is a genuine heroism in his struggle and something of sublimity and glory in his triumph”.
Experience shows us interesting outcomes. Take two people, one born to a wealthy family and a second born to a poor family. Their initial social status cannot always alone determine their futures. The one born to a poor family could have more drive to achieve success than the former.
“Your present circumstances don't determine where you can go; they merely determine where you start”. Nido Qubein
Many of the great men and women who have lived and those who are still alive on this planet most have come from dysfunctional backgrounds and experienced the rags to riches story. Just take Abraham Lincoln for instance. Here is a man who came from a humble background and got all the way to the white house. His parents were uneducated farmers. A learned man and a self-starter, he taught himself law and became a successful attorney and worked his way up the ladder to become a state legislator and one of the most famous American presidents of all time. Ralph Lauren was a college drop out. He never went to fashion school but worked his way up - sold handmade ties to his classmates in order to purchase stylish suits. He became one of the top fashion designers with his famous brand. Still need more examples? Have you thought of Frederick Douglass? He learned the alphabets from his master’s wife. He would read anything that he could find to educate himself. He rose from being a slave to prominence and worked his way up to become a bestselling author, publisher, and a Consul-General and was the first African-American to receive a nomination for the Presidency.
I must say that opportunities that come our way don’t usually just invite you in - sometimes you may need humility to take that opportunity on, if you feel too proud or too afraid to take the chance you will never have the freedom you have been longing for so long. Sigmund Freud was right when he said:
“Most people do not really want freedom, because freedom involves responsibility, and most people are frightened of responsibility”.
As human beings, we are very often intimidated by what the people around us think of us, which echo negative feelings back onto us concerning our potential and ability to be productive. This reminds me of an incident which I was involved. I was invited to an event. I didn't have a fancy outfit–looking casual in a hooded pullover. During the network break I was approached by a young fellow. After shaking hands I asked him what he did after giving him my business card. (I always have it handy). He looked at my card and said “But you don’t look like your title written here”. I smiled and ask him why? After looking at my card again, he went further remarking that “Your outfit does not look like that of a fashionista”. The fascinating thing was, he wrote his name on a blank card. The next day, he called me after reading some news report on the TV and various articles analyzing my project. The most interesting thing to me was how he approached me. He first started by apologizing profusely - he could not forgive himself at that the time for making the obnoxious comment. Refrain from making a picture about people when you meet them. I used to segregate people by what they wore, but not anymore.
No matter where you come from, your social status, the color of your skin, the language you speak or your faith, there’s no one else on Earth that’s got your DNA or your same finger print. That makes you unique.
Pioneer’s Milestone
The mere fact that you decided to be the first person in your family to start a company, build a house, climb the academic ladder will attract envy from others. People that knock you could even be some of your own your relatives. Why? There’s a good reason - people generally want to associate with other people with less than or the same social status– it makes them feel less secure. Don’t blame them - it is a human problem. They will advise you to kill your idea, discourage you, tell you it can’t be done, or that no one ever did that before.
I for instance take advice from experts instead. I evaluate what my advisors tell me and whether it is really a good idea or not. It may not even be advice that you are looking for. As much as I am not against the idea of seeking advice in which you are the “leading proponent”, I would strongly recommend that you take a second look at every piece of advice that you can get from your mentors and coaches. While some advice is very helpful, some other advice can be a killer. Be fast to listen but cautious to implement because it has the tendency to ruin your entire plan. My dad once told me that “not everyone who says your name will like you or your success story”. Some will congratulate you just for the sake of being polite whereas others will congratulate you sincerely. Some people smile a lot and seem proud of you, but this may be deceptive. Inside lurks a kind of jealous venom but outside, a deceptive honey.
Ordinary people’s mindset
On several occasions I took the opportunity to speak to my colleagues, who complained about life, their co-existence, job and salaries. My answer is always simple and straight. I always tell them ‘if you don’t like your how your life is going, trade it in for a better life. Exchange a bad job for a good one, and if you can’t find what you want, just create it yourself, otherwise no one will ever create it for you. If your salary is nothing to write home about, trade it in for a better income. Try creating passive income to supplement your salary. Believe you me, no amount of money will be ever be enough for you. The more you earn, the more your expenses will tend to also grow– usually in proportion to your increased earnings.
One of the answers I often always get from them is “I don't have enough money”.
I remember I spoke to a young lady who was in dreadful need of money for a project that she wanted to undertake. I sat her down to counsel her on the project, and on the funding. I told her “I believe you have a talent for doing something to change your situation” because I believed that she was able to realise and grow her project. The next thing I noticed was that she tried to avoid me whenever she saw me. The reason was that she had already convinced herself that she didn’t have money and that nothing could be done to find the funding. This is the number one excuse for people who don’t achieve their dreams. Money has never held anyone back but a lack of passion has. She didn’t believe she could do anything about her situation, unless someone else intervened– meaning, unless someone else did it for her. When you are passionate about your project, things like money, people and resources are drawn in your direction, towards the project itself. In other words, your enthusiasm is like a magnet that will also attract like minded people close to your side. Perhaps you would like to read more about enthusiasm? Check it out in my next book “How the supper rich wins” (coming soon). I have a way of paying my ‘fat’ bills. For instance if I need a consultant who costs more that I can afford, I don’t look at the bill at first. I first hire him and after he begins to work for me, I try to limit the work or to find money, while the work is ongoing, because I know when work is completed, payment should be made. It has always worked for me. Don’t sit down look at that bill and worry about it too much, it is never beyond your ability to handle. I‘m not saying you should do the same, you could try my secret recipe if it works for you. If it doesn't, then fair enough - ditch the idea.
– Not enough time
There is always time enough if you want to accomplish a task. If you put your mind to the task, you can find some extra time to achieve your goal. You’ll always have time, but time doesn’t always have you. The list always goes like this: I have several things to do, I won’t have time to do everything on the list. I have to take the kids to school and back, I have to visit the theatre with my family, I have several jobs and responsibilities, and I want to hang out with friends - the list goes on and on.
Maybe you spend several hours chatting with friends around the coffee machine that you did not notice going by– then you turn around and say, “I don’t have anytime!” So don’t waste time. Plan your day out and get things done!
– I can’t figure out where to start
You don’t have to know it all before you start. The mistakes you make along the way are your best teachers.
“I’ve learned that it doesn’t matter how many times you fail, you only have to be right once. I tried to sell powdered milk. I was an idiot lots of times, and I learned from the mall”. Mark Cuban
Success and failure go together. There has never been any success with a bit of failure and mistakes. Thomas Edison was not born with the techniques attached to his body on how to make a light bulb. He did know how to make the light bulb but he did it anyway. You can make the world a better place with your inventions. Henry Ford did not know how to make the Model T but he did. Another entrepreneur who started as an underdog is Elon Musk, Cofounder of PayPal and Tesla Motors, founder of SpaceX.
“When I started SpaceX, a company dedicated to reducing the cost and increasing the reliability of space missions, I'd never been involved in designing anything and had no experience in the aerospace industry. I even ended up pouring in most of the capital from the sale of PayPal. (SpaceX's annual revenue is now over $100 million. In December 2008, SpaceX won a $1.6 billion contract with NASA to re-supply the International Space Station, an international research facility.” Elon Musk to Katy Finneran in 2010
When you know exactly what you want you will attract the resources, money and people that you need in order to achieve your vision. The key is you! Will you have to put away doubt about yourself and start now, not tomorrow?
– I have low level of education
Many successful business owners had little education and many were university dropouts or didn’t go to university at all. So you have no excuse. You can learn, and teach yourself if you really need to know something about an area. If you want to acquire knowledge, you can. You will feel isolated from the outside world if you cannot use the knowledge you have gained for your own good. Knowledge should have a practical application. I’m not saying you should not go for your MBA for whatever reason but after your education and your several degrees, it must reflect on your real life. After all, why do we learn? To be better at something, and to improve, right? Not to know less or do less! Use the little education you have to start your business. But never cease acquiring knowledge especially in the area you are focusing on now. People like Steve jobs, Bill Gates and Michael Dell are never academics. When the dream is big enough the facts don’t count. The facts of your situation will melt away in light of the passion of your desire. Eventually you will achieve your goal because you are just too tough to quit!
Here is it, in your heart you know it's true: Massive effort and consistent action combined with pure persistence and a sense of flexibility in pursuing your goals will ultimately give you what you want. You must focus immediately on the actions you can take today, even if they are small ones because that is what counts most.
Theodore Roosevelt said it all “The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.”
CHAPTER 3
Run for the first place, not to be a runner-up
“Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing”. Theodore Roosevelt.
In a race it not how fast you started and it is not about how slow you start either. It is the pace at which you overtake your opponents and cross the finishing line that matters. You can be the fastest starter but not the winner. The golden rule when deciding who the winner, is who crosses the finishing line first. Not the one who came close to it. You can play any game but stay on track, focus and strive for the ultimate prize. You want to bet? Ask anybody and they will tell you that it is the prize that motivates them to push themselves on until their last breathe. The youngest Northern Irish professional golfer who broke records held by Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus with a score of 268 said:
“Of course, money matters to everyone even if some don't want to admit it. If I won the Race to Dubai, I look at that prize money and think it could pay off my new house or the range I'm building”. Rory McIl