Do you get sick and tired of bickering politicians who only seem intent on scoring points against the opposition? Well, if you want a reality check, listen to the conversation I had a few days ago!I had lunch with a man who is very senior in the Tory party, so senior in fact, that he regularly liaises with the Prime Minister himself. I said to him: “Mike (false name!), for one minute, forget the politics and tell me how it is….no point scoring, just the facts.” This is what he said: “It will take seven years to clear the UK’s overdraft. That’s not including any long term loans, just the ‘interest’ if you like.“As a country we are in as bad a shape as Greece and worse than Italy or Spain.” At first hearing that leaves you in a state of disbelief. “But isn’t Greece the country which is in a state of near collapse with riots on the streets of Athens?”.  “Absolutely,” he said. “However the only difference is that the UK’s loans are at 2% interest versus Greece’s which are 7/8%. The markets do not have as much confidence in Greece’s economy as they do in the UK’s so, in truth, it is merely the lower interest rate that is giving the UK marginal advantage.

“Cameron is damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t. On the one hand Labour is screaming for him to spend cash in order to boost the economy through the creation of jobs. If he does that the markets will instantly check the UK by putting the overdraft interest rate up to around 7 or 8%……if he doesn’t then Labour will conveniently accuse the PM of letting the country go to the dogs by allowing unemployment to rise; they know he can’t spend money at the levels they suggest, but create a situation whereby they will generate political capital when he fails to meet their demands. Political theatre you might say.

In my humble opinion, most Members of Parliament are careerists. Maybe some of them start with honest intentions, however, they quickly get caught up in the theatre of Westminster and forget that they are there to help the country, not simply exist to put themselves in power. Maybe it’s time for a bit more Edward Do Bono thinking. He is the man who suggested that Parliaments should operate a day a week whereby politicans are only able to make positive comment. If all you had were negative thoughts then you would not be allowed to speak. Imagine, a coalition of positive thought. Now that WOULD be a day to celebrate!

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Put your finger in a pint of beer, take it out and see how big the hole is that you leave behind! Think you’re indispensable? Think again. They’ll only put flowers on your grave!

I have witnessed people who have devoted their lives to employers in the belief that they were vitally important to the production machine. They weren’t, no-one is that important. I am sure that we all play a valuable role at some point in time, however, you shouldn’t forget that there is a life outside work. What have you done, other than work, in 2011 of which you can be proud? Anything? If you can’t answer that question in the positive and need to focus 2012 with some goals, then write them down and continually re-visit them otherwise you will get to the end of another year and, perhaps, chastise yourself for another 12 months of inaction. Life is for work AND play. Life is also about happiness. Are you achieving a good balance? Keep doing the beer test, there’s nothing finer for sobering you up than a good dose of reality!

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Ranting is a cathartic process, and today I turn my attentions to those members of society who live in their ivory towers, cosseted by a healthy bank account and with ample time to spout as to how the world should, or should not, be run….even when they have little real life experience. Let my rant spew forth……………..Here in the UK – and I am sure there are similar challenges elsewhere – we have rights for everyone and everything. I heard the story the other day of a woman who has decided to sue her former boss two and a half years AFTER a minor incident. Why? Because she has probably heard too many ‘no win no fee’ solicitors advertising on the radio. Poor her! But what about the poor ‘boss’ who has to defend the spurious claim? (I’ve seen the allegations and they are!). If he wants to fight it’ll cost him a fortune with little prospect of legal costs being paid back, even if he wins. But if his insurance company decides to concede the argument – because it is cheaper than fighting – then the ‘boss’ gets a black mark for having had a claim on his policy; his premiums will go up. A double whammy!Then there are the liberals who believe that Housing Benefit should be paid directly to tenants (instead of directly to the landlord), in the hope that it will promote personal responsibility. Does it? No! Too many don’t pay the landlord, spend the cash and leave the property owner holding the baby. The landlord then has to issue a Section 21 form to get rid of his naughty tenants, who are probably already seriously in arrears. And, guess what? He has to give them at least a further two months notice, giving them another 8 weeks of ‘free living’ whilst the courts again give them the benefit of the doubt. And so bureaucracy continues! How have we got it so wrong?One day we will have some common sense legislators who have lived, who have been at the end of lost rent, who have tasted the disillusionment of commercial life. So many of them have cash in the bank, trust funds and positions of authority to fall back on. And, it is so easy to be liberal when you have the benefit of position. Forgive me, am I beginning to sound like a cynic?We seem to have lost our way. Britain is said to be an ‘old’ country and, for that reason, changing legislation is like turning an oil tanker. But, we need to find a way to become more agile in this digital age where speed is of the essence. The internet changes by the minute, it’s what people are used to. And yet bureacracy disappears in its own mire. Isn’t it time that politicians found a better way to negotiate the drudgery of bureacracy? Bring back common sense, it is fast becoming an endangered species.

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Sometimes I feel like the local clergyman pontificating about the world and all within it, however, I had to smile at a TV show I watched the other night, about the ‘poor’ woman who was getting food handouts.The programme was seeking to identify ‘poverty in Britain’, and went along to interview the single parent who was receiving food parcels because she was below the poverty line. The somewhat controversial former Member of Parliament (MP) and Tory Minister, Edwina Currie, asked the lady how much it cost to feed her Boxer dog each week. “About £15,” came the answer. There was also the huge TV screen in the lounge – that must have cost a bit? – as well as the mobile phone and a host of other modern day trappings.By contrast a colleague who had been working in India,  was telling me recently about India’s ‘food poverty’. I do not claim to be any expert on the Third World but, as I understood it, the government guarantees you enough cash to buy ‘food’ when you are in danger of starvation. That is ‘food’ poverty.Now that’s what I call poor!  I also saw similar poverty when I was in Kathmandu in Nepal and, indeed, parts of Tibet, however, there is something else I also saw in abundance – happiness and smiles. In communities that have not experienced the trappings (should that be the  ‘trap’) of materialism, they do not have that burning desire to have, to own, to get, to desire………they have simpler values; to be happy, to care for people, to smileSometimes I wonder if we have totally lost direction in the UK. On what day and in what year did ‘stuff’ suddenly become more important than people? Was it part of the post Thatcher legacy? (no I am not a Communist!), or did it happen gradually?  Perhaps when we start to concern ourselves more about our neighbours’ well being, and start to think a little less about ‘spending’ ourselves out of the ‘recession’, we will begin to find true wealth because, at the end of the day, when all the stuff’s gone, all we’ll have left is people and they’re what matter. Here endeth the sermon!

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When someone is said to be ‘living in a bubble’, it’s a phrase that’s invariably used with some disdain but, sometimes, living in a bubble can be pretty useful – as I found out on the ocean waves!Recently I had the good fortune to take a cruise across the Mediterranean and, as many will appreciate, you board a huge floating hotel and partake in a very different life for a number of days, dipping into a host of countries, cultures and languages. Then there are the fascinations and stories surrounding  ‘crew’, the ‘entertainers’, and the ‘passengers’, as well as numerous other individuals who oil the wheels (paddles?) that enable these huge floating ‘hotels’ to snake their way across the ocean.

One day the Cruise Director commented to me that working on a passenger ship was like living in a bubble. There was a small community that, in practical terms, was cut off from the rigours of daily life, despite on board TV and a news bulletin printed every day. What interests me is the impact of that situation.People are in the holiday mode, spirits are high, everything possible is done to entertain the passengers and that, in turn, creates an overriding feeling of optimism, happiness and ‘can do’ attitudes. The result is that you eventually disembark in a state of high positivity, because you have been surrounded by such a ‘can do’ mentality for so long. And so it is in life. If you surround yourself with positive people and positive experiences, you will achieve so much more. Negative situations and people drag you down so avoid them. Anthony Robbins, the great American motivator, has often said the same.It was only when I landed back in the UK that I sensed the overriding feeling of pessimism that is currently sweeping the country. How do you avoid it? Well, for starters, keep your language upbeat and avoid too much negativity. Turn off the news, don’t listen to the doom and gloom, create your own optimism and, remember, YOU decide how you are going to start your day, YOU decide whether you are going to be positive or not, and only YOU decide how  to interpret events happening all around you. Be positive, think positive and look for the positive in all situations even if, at first reading, they appear negative!

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Ever had to give the talk about the birds and the bees? Well, if you preparing to take on the task remember the advice a 92 year old woman gave to her daughter: “Keep yer ‘and on yer tuppence ‘n’ you won’t go far wrong!”.

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You can’t beat those wonderful sayings passed from generation to generation. I was having a coffee in a supermarket cafe earlier today when I got chatting to a lady. Somehow the subject moved to wealthy, arrogant people who sometimes think they rule the world, simply because they have a few ££££s in their pocket. She looked me in the eye and said: “Remember love, they can’t take it with them. Shrouds don’t have pockets!”. Fantastic!

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The honesty of children is both wonderful and hilarious. I was walking in the street the other day when I spotted a child staring at an overly large lady. After a few moments of concentrated thought the youngster took breath…….looked at his mum and loudly uttered the words every mother dreads………….………”Mummy, look at that fat woman, I’ve never seen anyone that big!”. They don’t know the word ‘obesity’ because kids say it how it is. And that, my friends, is how we all begin – innocent – until slowly corrupted by life. No I am not a cynic but, like it or not, life does steal innocence from us. However, in some, it is replaced by wisdom and, as long as that metamorphis isn’t twisted by cynicism, then life is still guaranteed its quota of good guys (and gals!).

Which brings me nicely to Michael, an exceptionally nice guy in his mid 20′s. He loaned a friend £400 but his friend didn’t pay him back. He gave him his old car instead but that only achieved £275 on ebay so it left him £125 out of pocket. Then, on the promise of great rewards, he borrowed a large sum of money and loaned it so a so-called colleague, without any paperwork. That person let him down and left him substantially out of pocket.

But, the worm has turned and, today, the quote of the week goes to Michael who, by his own admission, is now many ££££’s lighter. He said the other day: “Phil, I am getting my life together, I have woken up. I have started going to the gym and I am drinking at least 3 litres of water every day. I have come to the conclusion that I want to get fit and that the right way forward is to piss more and be pissed upon less!”.

Welcome to this wonderful, exciting, beautiful, cruel world Michael. As wisdom arrived the cry of innocence could be heard screaming as life wrestled it to ground and delivered a fatal blow.

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Someone once said to me:”Never let an accountant run your business, it will be death of you,” but, surely, there has to be a half way house between the figure people and the would be millionaires? Let me tell you a story!This week I needed to print 160 A4 colour copies, so I rang a local copying franchise who quoted me 37p an item. Could you be bothered to check whether there was anyone cheaper? I could! The next one dropped to 34p and, when I rang the third, Raymond said it would be 57p a copy until I took a sharp intake of breath, after which he rapidly reduced the figure to 30p…………………almost a 50% reduction; but still the search continued! I found someone in Uxbridge near London that would print my copies for 10p each but they had a delivery charge, upping the cost considerably. I finally settled on the local library at 15p an item! That represented a 59% reduction on the original 37p figure. Imagine if you could cut your overhead by 59%…..the process starts with the small things!Times are tough! Sensibly drive cost out of your business and be bothered about the small items. As my mum always used to remind me: “Take care of the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves.” Many would claim that this is the accountant’s philosophy. When a company is losing money, take cost out of the overhead and square the circle…..make the sums add up. But, what happens if you bring everything into line and, in doing so, you compromise the very infrastructure that delivers the service that makes the profit?Running a business is akin to tightrope walking, a careful balance. Some would say that you need to spend more than you have in order to create the marketplace in which to prosper. Isn’t that what people are saying the UK government should be doing at the moment, cutting less and spending more? Spend its way out of recession? If Mr Osborne (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) freed the purse strings, would the UK expand its economy or spiral into further debt, or prosper more?A business is like a smaller version of a country! You have to look at all the facts and take a calculated risk, a decision, often in the face of persistent criticism.

But make sure you know who is running the business, and heed the words of those people who understand the merits of management information and a Profit and Loss account, before taking the plunge. And remember, the answer is usually somewhere in between the accountant and the entrepreneur! Both have a valid role.

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Stop! It could be the best move you have ever made in your quest to create financial security.Until recently I had been working non stop for 18 months. That isn’t some kind of macho boast, it’s an admission of temporary failure because no one should be at the helm for that long without a formal break. When I eventually decided that enough was enough, I booked a plane ticket and headed for Madrid; best thing I ever did. For the first two or three days I did nothing other than flick through the pages of a book; it was the first time I had ‘read’ something for months that wasn’t a newspaper, journal or online blog!The book was about goal setting. We all know the patter, write your goals down and you will be more successful. Right? But how many of us do it? I mean REALLY do it and stick to the plan? Sometimes we need reminding about those things that are gathering dust in the annals of our mind. I read the book in question and began to think new thoughts. Funny how making time for yourself also creates time for innovative thinking!When I got back from Madrid I went into the local supermarket and bought two ring bound A4 books, one for personal goals and one for business goals, and I set about putting that book I had read, into practice. It made me think about my 30 and 90 day goals. From those emerged my one, three and five years objectives. I can already hear the cynics huffing and puffing……..’it won’t work, I’ve heard it all before’ etc. But, as Henry Ford once commented ‘Whether you think you can or you can’t you’re right’.I wrote my ‘quick win’ goals down, simple ones like join a gym, buy a bike, introduce a fitness regime, however, unless you break those broad goals down still further, action by action, then they will remain too ‘big’ and might, possibly, not happen. You have to micro manage your objectives so that they become manageable. Join a gym is the easy part but, unless you commit to go to the gym at least three times a week (designate the days and times), and couple your commitment to an appropriate diet (review your dietary regime and make it better)…………..then your chances of success diminish. And, you need to build ‘review’ time into your goals……one hour every Friday at 9am……………and make that time sacred. You’re working then? OK, make time when you are not working! The process will create focus

This blog post is about me saying ‘take time out to think about you’. If you are overly focused on work to the exclusion of everything else, then you will not have time to think about what you really want from life. If you don’t ever think about what you want how can you goal set and achieve something better? It might be money, it might be weight loss but, without pause for thought, you have already lost the race. Don’t wait 18 months, act now! Think about your goals and write then down!

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