After more than 50 years of working, building businesses, making mistakes, enjoying successes and experiencing disappointments, I have accumulated more than a few lessons.
Some things I believed when I was younger, I no longer believe today. Other beliefs have only grown stronger with time.
If I had to reduce everything I have written in this column, and much of what life has taught me, to 10 philosophies, these would be mine.
1. Build a life, not just a business.
I spent many years building businesses. But eventually I realized that business is not the destination. It is a means to build the life we want.
What good is financial success if we lose our health, family, time or peace of mind along the way?
2. Do the right thing, even when it costs you.
Integrity is easy when there is nothing at stake. The real test comes when doing the right thing costs us money, an opportunity or even a relationship.
Character is who we are when nobody is watching.
3. Face the brutal facts.
I am an optimist, but optimism should never become denial.
Numbers don’t care about our ego. Problems don’t disappear because we refuse to acknowledge them. Face reality, then do something about it.
4. Take action.
I have seen many good ideas die from too much analysis.
It doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to work.
Start. Learn. Adjust. Improve.
5. Keep investing in yourself.
Businesses can fail. Money can disappear. Positions and titles eventually go away.
But what you invest in your knowledge, health, discipline, character and ability to deal with people stays with you.
You are still your best investment.
6. Discipline beats motivation.
Motivation comes and goes. Discipline keeps us moving when we don’t feel like moving.
Success is usually not one spectacular act. It is ordinary things done consistently over many years.
7. Finish what you start.
Ideas are plentiful. Finishers are rare.
An unfinished task, unresolved problem or unkept promise remains an open loop that consumes energy.
Close every open loop that lands on your lap with a sense of urgency. Finishers win.
8. Stay humble enough to listen.
Success can become dangerous when it convinces us that we can no longer be wrong.
The higher we go, the more we need people around us who will tell us what we need to hear, not simply what we want to hear.
9. Protect your peace.
Not every criticism deserves a response. Not every argument needs to be won.
I have learned to mind the things that matter and not mind the noise.
Life is too short to spend it fighting battles that change nothing.
10. Pray
This may be the philosophy that ties everything together for me.
Work hard. Prepare. Take responsibility. Give whatever you are doing your very best.
Then accept that some things will always be beyond your control.
I constantly use this prayer that my late Lola Taling taught me as a teenager: God is with me. God is helping. God is guiding me.
Final thoughts
At 78, I don’t pretend to have figured everything out. Life has a way of humbling anyone who thinks he has.
But these are the beliefs I keep coming back to.
Build something worthwhile. Live with integrity. Face reality. Keep learning. Take action. Stay disciplined. Finish what you start. Remain humble. Protect your peace.
And when you have done everything you possibly can, have enough faith to say:
I did my best. God will do the rest.
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To order Bunny’s best-selling book, Bunny’s Pages: 50 Lessons from my entrepreneurial journey, please message him directly at 09173216224.
