Future-Proofing Your Business: Real-Life Strategies to Prepare Your Business for Tomorrow, Today

Chapter 2. Truth and Reality versus Fear and Greed

"The further you wander from your truth in business, the further you wander from your purpose and, in turn, your path to success. Call it karma if you will, what goes around comes around."

How do you reckon you rate when it comes to being true to yourself? Do you really put your hand on your heart each morning and say, "Today, I am only going to deal in reality and truth. I am not going to lie to myself. And I am not going to be afraid."

It sounds pretty easy, doesn't it?

But the fact is each and every day we are faced with the option to make choices based on truth or fear. And every time I make a major decision in life based on fear, I end up in a world of hurt somewhere down the line. My biggest problem was that I would never work that out until a point in the future when it was too late. In fact, even after years of working in private enterprise and consulting to businesses all over the world, I've learned that the cause behind most of the issues that businesspeople experience is their failure to deal in reality or truth in the present, and this impacts significantly on their future. People will cover things up, blame others or certain circumstances, and hide behind problems in an effort to avoid facing the truth. Often, the truth is related to their actions—or lack thereof—on a particular issue.

I first became aware of this tendency on my part during the 1990s. I was developing my businesses faster than Clark Kent could change undies ...