bizRichard

I was asked recently why it was that, outwardly anyway, I usually appeared relaxed and controlled, whatever the situation.  I wasn’t sure whether that was a compliment or a frustrated complaint, and shrugged it off with an aside that I can’t remember.

Those of you who knew the ‘younger’ me will remember that I was, and still can be, a real hothead when someone or something really riles me or crosses my intentions.  And indeed my eldest son (now aged 30 plus) probably had a quicker temper than myself as a young man.

But that was long ago, fortunately.  Even my son, thankfully, has mellowed beyond belief.

That initial remark, however, got me thinking – why do we, as individuals, react the way we do to different situations – and what makes some of us change or ‘mellow’, whilst others remain intolerant and grumpy.

Messages come when you are ready to hear them

With that earlier episode still fresh on my mind whilst visiting a client a few days ago, I couldn’t help but notice the framed wording hanging on the wall opposite my client’s desk.  It was the first verse of the well known ‘serenity prayer’.  I’m sure you’ve come across it too.  It reads:

“God grant me the serenity
  to accept the things I cannot change;
  courage to change the things I can;
  and wisdom to know the difference.”

Perhaps these few words say it all – the clue being in the last line – ‘the wisdom’ to know how we should react to a given situation.

We all have loads of s*** we don’t want dumped in our laps daily . . .  obstacles, placed in front of us that we either need to climb over, crawl around, or push out of the way in order to move on the way we want to go, but .  .  .  .  it’s how we react to the situation that is important.

As a youngster I focused on the problem – and, because nothing happened I got more and more frustrated and angry.

But with experience I began to change my focus.  Instead of focusing on the problem, I concentrated on the solution.  And guess what – solutions change events . . . and by changing the event the problems usually disappear.

Simply accept the things you cannot change, and change the things you can.  Getting anxious or angry isn’t going to help, so what’s the point? 

But that doesn’t, for one minute, mean that you simply shrug your shoulders, give up, and take the easy option - never ever do that!  You must always do everything in your power or influence to ‘change’ or resolve what you can, resigning only when you really do know you’ve tried every concievable approach possible.  Only then can you ‘relax’, without self recrimination, knowing you’ve absolutely done your best.  That’s what puts you back in control.

“With experience comes wisdom”

From my earlier mistakes I learnt – that is ‘experience’.  And with experience came the ‘wisdom’, the understanding and knowledge, to implement (in most instances) the appropriate action.

Understanding the situation puts you back in control of your affairs: it takes away the stress, leaving you calm and and collected.  Result - instead of getting frustrated, angry and failing, you will lead a better, healthier and happier life, and you will create far more wealth (in every sense of the word) for yourself, your family, and those around you.

So, go make more money the smart way.

Richard C

But, your honour, I was just . . .

Bureaucracy - don’t you just hate it? And I don’t mean bureaucracy per se. What really irks me is how these small minded, government funded, ‘jobsworth’ characters interpret the law. Because they don’t think the same way the ‘legislators’ think.

Faith in the British judicial system often has had a rough ride and, like me, you possibly find it heartening to see a brutal crackdown on crime and disorder every now and again, as indeed the following two scenarios witness.

Firstly, the unnamed 12-year-old, recently in the dock for throwing a cocktail sausage at an elderly neighbour. This vicious assault occurred on August 11th, in Manchester. The sausage landed on the neighbour’s shoulder, and reports suggest, thankfully, that no serious injuries were sustained. I suspect the penalty will result in a firm scolding, and possibly the loss of several weeks’ pocket money.

Then came the case of an immoral teenager, arrested for “stealing” someone’s internet connection. The police, you may recount, caught the degenerate hiding in a back garden in Ivybridge, brazenly piggybacking the victim’s Wi-Fi connection. Well, they’ve only gone and let him off - with no more than a caution. Can you believe it? They didn’t even interrogate him for 36 hours, or trap his fingers in a drawer so that he could never again log-on to Google. “Hopefully, he has learnt his lesson” said a lenient sounding PC Butterworth.

Is this what passes for ‘law and order’ in this country nowadays? I haven’t read about such a daft waste of police time since the student who was thrown into the cells for calling a police horse “gay”.

Facetious I maybe, and cynical I surely am.

But what has this got to do with business?

One moment the government is encouraging you, me, all of us, to pool our resources, such as sharing car journeys or bathwater, etc, to save millions of money and spare the planet’s rapidly deteriorating environment. And I applaud them for their efforts in promoting these issues - apart from which sharing a bath has got to be fun!

But then, the next moment, they want to arrest us when we extend these ‘sharing and saving’ principles to Wi-Fi.

Is the problem business?

You and me, the public, all know that we could share resources to ease our carbon footprint.

But then do businesses really want us making all these friendly arrangements? Probably not. Because, if we do, it will only lead on to a dilution of profit – and we can’t have that!

So who should the government be working for? Business, or the public?

The answer is both.

If you and I shared our costs, then we both would have more to spend on other things that business produces. And the same goes for most other people too. This could therefore be a win-win solution all round. Everyone gains.

Your business wins, and my business wins also - because everyone, having saved by sharing, now has more to spend elsewhere!

But what hope is there if internet “hitching” becomes a serious crime?

What hope for the other aspects of life and business, like when you peer through a pub window to check on the half-time score, or sniff the air to take in the aroma of freshly ground coffee as you pass by the restaurant? Will that become ‘theft’ too?

Perhaps I can leave you to ponder on what tomorrow’s laws (or rather the interpretation thereof) might bring to you and your business! But don’t lose too much sleep over the issue - not yet anyway.

Now, go make some money the smart way.

biz Richard C.

Hi, today is 8th October 2007 and this is my new blog site.  I’m in the process setting it up and, if it matches my expectations for flexibility etc, will be transferring all my stuff from an existing site.    The ‘transferred’ content will show below (in date order) and the new articles above.

So do visit me again soon for some exciting news.

Richard C