Interesting thing, this one life we have. You get out exactly what you ask for. For most of us, the reason we get so little is because we don’t ask for more!

In a recent report by the DTI the reason given for so many business failures is the ‘survivalist ethic’ of the SA entrepreneur. As long as we’re concentrating on survival – that’s all we’ll get.

Ask someone where s/he wants to be in 5 years time and the answer you’ll get be either “I don’t really know!”, or something along the lines of “Weeell, I don’t really want a Porsche…”! [Is it any wonder we not only don’t get the Porsche, but we don’t get anything else as well. We don’t think positive thoughts about our future – which may be why they all come true!

Eight years ago I had closed my business [1992], lost my furniture [1993], been in a coma [1993], fallen off a motorcycle and smashed my collarbone [1993], lost all my ‘friends’, collected a couple of million rand in judgements and was reduced to trying to sell life assurance to eat. [Apologies to anyone for whom life assurance is an unforced career choice.] Life sucked!

I recall sitting at the Stellenbosch Spur after receiving yet another unanswerable summons with yet another pathetic day lined up. The Spur was a first choice location because of their bottomless coffee. The caffeine stilled the hunger pangs and you could hide away for hours.

In the middle of all this misery a single thought occurred to me – “there must be something positive in all of this!”. I had an A4 exam pad in front of me and the only thing I could think of was – the next time I make a million rand I will know how NOT to spend it! And as I thought, it was like a floodgate opened, and by the time I had finished writing down all the good things about going out of business I had filled 2 foolscap pages so full that you could barely see the white of the paper!

While the brown stream continued to flow over the next few years [and at times the depth increased sharply!] I couldn’t help but see the plusses in every situation. My spirits lifted and I began to see a magnificent future. After all, if the debts were so large and I needed to earn so much money to meet them, then how much richer wouldn’t I be when the debts were repaid but the income stream continued?

No matter how deep the swamp you’re in, nor how many and varied the crocodiles – don’t just hang in there!  Look at the hill on the left – the one with your new mansion and the Porsche in the garage – and start swimming. Or better yet, just float to the top and start walking! Since the problems are all in your own mind, surely it’s just as easy to invent the solutions?

Go kill a crocodile today.