The Tribune

By Simon Cooper

Res Socius

I left the last part of the headline intentionally blank, because we are all different and I did not want to try to convert you to the wrong parade. The point James Altucher made in an amazing blog the other day is that being in business is never going to be perfect either, and we need to learn to turn the downside right-side up.

See the ‘Bright Side of Procrastination’ - When your brain says “hang on, there’s something we need to do first”. It may be suggesting you take a break and chill out until the world catches up. It might be also hinting that you haven’t thought things through properly. Either way, dump the guilt complex. It is a good excuse for a day of playing golf or fishing.

Be Happy You Can’t Multi-Task - Multi-tasking is as restrictive as going on holiday with the blinds pulled down on all the windows. If you find yourself wondering why you’re someplace and can’t remember what you’re doing there, that’s your mind reminding you you’re not a genius (the vast majority of us are not).

The next time you wash your hands, feel the water caress your fingers. Concentrate on the here and now, not what happens next.

Make Mistakes at Least Once - It took Edison more than a thousand attempts to make the first working light bulb (and then we discovered his idea was energy-inefficient and changed all that). Mention a successful person and I’ll show you someone who bashed their head repeatedly until they cracked the code. The secret’s in the journey. There’s always someone higher up the mountain.

Stop Trying to be Original - A prophet once said “there’s nothing new under the sun”, and he’s still right. The rise of successive industrial powers such as Japan, Korea, China and so on proves that success comes to those who build on other people’s ideas. Forget about fretting that you can’t come up with a new theory for the big bang. Take someone else’s good idea, and innovate on top of it.

Reserve Time for Yourself - Our generation will be remembered as one obsessed with networking, and preoccupied with being OK with everybody we recognise as being OK, too.

The static this creates around us stifles our individuality as we flick between the strata of society constantly. There’s nothing wrong with sitting on your mountain all alone - and meditating on your navel, too.

Not Everybody is Right for You - I’m past tired of people telling me that there’s something wrong with me because I don’t click with everybody I come across. I also don’t understand why we have to be nice to relatives and neighbours (at least all the time, that is). James Altucher’s solution is to admit few people to his inner circle. I quite like that idea. I’m not perfect either, although my life is getting there.

NB: Simon Cooper is a founding partner of Res Socius, a business brokerage firm and businesses for sale directory service. Res Socius is authorised by the Bahamas Investment Authority to facilitate the sale and purchase of businesses and provide consultancy services. Contact 376-1256 or visit www.ressocius.com.