The most important relationship you'll ever have is one you have with yourself so you've got to get that right.

Henry Ford said, (he was guy who started all traffic chaos)- "Thinking is hardest work there is, that's why so few people do it". Too often we don't think and just react to how we feel. The successful business person doesn't react - they - "think"

Successful people have a deep understanding of their own minds. They're aware of their needs, their strengths and weaknesses, and their emotions. They're honest with themselves and resultantly, with their customers and their team. You have to decide who runs your mind, is it you or is it somebody else? Let me give you an example: I've always had a thing about good timekeeping; it's something that's been programmed into my brain. If you agree to meet me at 8.30 in morning, I'll be there at 8.20; I will always do my utmost be on time.

So I used to get angry when a member of my team would show up late for a meeting or an appointment with me. When I got angry I'd get stressed and end up saying something that I regretted later. Therefore, I learned to start thinking about situation and try to see it from their point of view and not let my programming run my brain.

That doesn't mean to say I ignored lateness or did nothing about it; I thought very carefully about what I wanted to say and spoke to team member about how we would resolve this situation.

The point about this is - I'm not prepared to allow that team member's behaviour to run my mind. Getting angry and stressed is not good for our health and it isn't a productive way to motivate our team.

In running their own minds successful people know what they're good at and what they're not so good at. Again it's important to be honest with yourself.

Venture nothing - gain nothing.

One thing is for sure if you keep doing what you did you will keep getting what you got.

When I started my consultancy business I was struck by reaction of people who knew me and knew my experiences and background. The reaction of my wife was totally supportive and my children were neutral. (they were going thro' college at time!)

Many friends were not surprised because as an independently minded person with my own views and thoughts I was a bit of a free wheeler.

However, one friend was askance and a conversation on golf course explaining what was going on created comment "I could not do it, I need support of a corporation around me".

Having left employment in corporate world behind his comments stayed with me. About six months later he called to ask what he should do as secure corporate world had just decided to dispense with his services.

Discussing his alternatives with him - employment or independence, I advised that to secure further employment could take a while so he may as well get busy on his own account as well. He was/is a talented electronic engineer with vast commercial and training experience, which could be commercially exploited.

Helping him through this phase was rewarding because he never went back to employment. He became confident in his abilities and consulted successfully. Specialising in management training. Now he and his wife spend a good part of year in their house in Mediterranean, even though they still work together in business rest of time.

Another downsized accountant friend now has a thriving business helping small business owners with their accounts and tax matters. When discussing our corporate backgrounds and subsequent good fortune in being able to set our own agenda he made observation that we would not have been able to succeed so well without our home computers.

This is so true because computer as a business tool has revolutionised opportunities for so many all around globe. Knowledge based service businesses are particularly suited to use of computers.