In my line of work, we once received a delivery of substantial amount of sparkling brut drinks with disastrous result. The wine bottles are packed twelve in a carton. For this delivery, six stories high of twelve cartons were packed onto a pallet with, wait for it, three broken wooden slats at its base. A pallet is constructed of ten wooden slats on top and further ten on the base, separated by four wooden bearers. Coincidently, the pallet full of wine made it to the delivery truck, survived the four hour journey from the winery to our warehouse, until it was time to unload. In the space of time the driver knocking on our door to the point of my workmate opening it, the three broken wooden slats gave away. When my workmate opened the door to see what kind of delivery she was receiving, she saw the driver with his outstretched arms, holding on to the leaning tower of wine boxes weighing heavily onto him. She ran to his rescue, to no avail, for the tower finally tumbled down right on top of the driver. From my work bench I could hear her yelling: “Run, Michael, let it go!”, then came the crashing sound of eight hundred and sixty four bottles of sparkling brut drinks to the ground below. Before I reached the door, the sweet smell of the wine was wafting in the air. The picture of a lavish party materialized briefly in my mind. The real scene was of shards of broken bottles, a pool of bubbly liquid running toward the lower end of the driveway. The driver did not quite know whether to laugh or to cry. It was soon apparent that some packer from the winery has neglected to check the condition of the wooden pallet in the first instance. It could have saved the company a lot of broken goods. Do not let this "If only" episode ever enter your diary.
Willingness to Learn
Many entrepreneurs have high goals in life, plus the organizational skills to put a team of the best at their field of expertise.
Realistically, not many of us have the skills they do on that scale. No matter. Solo performers can achieve just as much, on a personal level. Bear in mind that the higher the climb, the harder the fall. What many of us don't realize is plenty of high profile so called "achievers" have enormous liabilities. They may drive fancy cars and live in mega mansions. More often than not, their debt too matches their life style.
I was brought up in a cash society. Loans were unheard of in our enclave. My family believes that what we don't have we can do without. I am glad the habit stays with me. We paid off our house mortgage in a great hurry; everything else is purchased in cold hard cash, including cars, furnishings, renovations and travels.
Unconsciously, I impart this practice to my children. My daughter bought her first car with her own savings. I was beaming with pride when I drove her to test drive, negotiate an agreed price, and finally drive her first car home. My son too is in the market to buy his first car, albeit later than his sister's, with his own savings. I can proudly claim I have taught them well in this regard.
Okay, I don't imply that all of us must do it. Yet our society encourages us to get into a habit of saving; be it for a deposit on a house or just for rainy days. Furthermore, one never needs to get into a huge debt, if only one knows to curb the spending. There is an adage: “It's not how much you earn, it's how much you spend”. Almost always people are lured into the irresistible urge to buy-now-and-pay-later scheme. This attitude should be put in tight restraint.
The best way to save money is to lock it up in a long term deposit with realistically high interest rate. Be wary of extremely high, thus high risk, interest rate promises. In many cases, you may never see the promised return. Often you may even lose part or all of your capital. I've seen retirees who are forced to work after suffering losses in this way.
Some entrepreneurs are lulled by false sense of success; by overpaying themselves unrealistic bonuses, often to the detriment of share holders. Every mogul's fall from grace comes down to mismanagement of funds; often not their own. Eventually they alone must bear the consequences, including bankruptcy or jail term even.
Remember what Mahatma Gandhi said: “The world is enough for everyone, except his greed.
Hunger
It's necessary to have hunger for success. Call it motivation. Without it, we come to a stand-still. Not everyone can just focus on embarking a journey of solely achieving our goals, due to study, rent and bills to pay. Law students may have to wait tables to get there. Would be actors may have to sleep eight to a room to save on rent, while auditioning for various meaningful roles. As life is full of unforeseen incidents, don't let these hamper your journey there. Stay focused; patience and determination will guide you back on the right track. Aspiring singers may have to work as office workers. All these extra work is actually good for you; it helps keep the fire burning inside your belly.
