10 Things You Learn
Over the course of my 40-something years, I have made and lost several fortunes.
Sometimes it’s been my fault, sometimes it’s been no-one’s fault and sometimes I’ve been left railing against the iniquity of it all. Regardless, the end result is always the same: you go back to square one, dust yourself off and start again. You hope that only the good bit of history will repeat itself, but deep down you know that your personal boom and bust cycle is probably as entrenched as that of the UK economy.
Even so, I’d say my experience has been pretty positive overall. If it wasn’t I’d retrain as an accountant or get a job at Unilever. I love starting businesses, I love creating jobs and careers and, great big lefty that I am, I don’t even mind paying tax.
I can say all these things with a smile on my face because, at the moment, it’s all going pretty well for me. I’m in period of – dare I say it – almost boring stability and growth. So, without further ado, here are the ten lessons I’ve learned from going from rags to riches and back again several times. Feel free to remind me of any of these next time the creditors are beating a path to my door.
1. Don’t Believe the Hype
“A brilliant tactician, a visionary risk taker, a strategic mastermind…” Piss off. These are all euphemisms for “I didn’t have a clue, I was flying by the seat of my pants, and, that roll of the dice I made, well, it came up sixes”.
There is a tendency to describe business decisions as brilliant in hindsight when, in fact, they were just lucky. No-one can foresee the future and chance plays a huge role in your success. You’re probably neither brilliant nor stupid. Work hard, build a business and take a few punts.
The one piece of advice that is true here is Wayne Gretzky’s “You miss 100pc of the shots you don’t take.” You need to take the shots. If you’re lucky, some of them will pay off.
2. Money Doesn’t Make you Happy
Hardly news, I know. But many people miss this and so don’t enjoy their success.
In 2010, the Princeton Economist, Angus Deaton and the psychologist Daniel Kahneman produced a study that said, on average, Americans got happier for each extra dollar they earned up to $75,000 a year. After that, their happiness levelled off.
Obviously, there’s a bit of “your mileage may vary” here. $75k is a fair chunk of change if you live alone in Ohio, less so if you have a family of five in New York. But the point is sound. Don’t just earn money for its own sake or obsessively build empires that ruin the rest of your life. Get to a place where you earn a bit more than enough, then calm down, take your foot off the pedal and spend more time with your family and friends.
If you’re one of those Type-As who can’t stop, consider social enterprise, charity or helping the local community. All these things will make you happier. Being worth £35m rather than £28m will not.
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