Departures from convention

There are not many times when I get really philosophical....I have a cheery disposition and I love life. I always have, and always will, that is why I run a children's charity, that is why I try to leave a positive lasting impression with every person I meet. Do I achieve, no, not always of course.

I've had a number of conversations this week that have brought about my thinking that despite our best efforts some things are just destined to happen....or are they? The more I contemplate, the more I feel either I have no answer, or maybe there is no answer to this. Maybe this is like the 'meaning of life' question?

I have seen businesses succeed where all 'logic' dictates they shouldn't. In fact I have also seen solid businesses fail when all indications would suggest that they should 'fly away'. So what is it that makes these things happen?

I look back over my 'non-business' related experiences, and they seem to offer a pattern. That said, I do wonder sometimes if I am looking for patterns just to rationalise these things in my logical brain? This year marks the 20th anniversary of my best friend George committing suicide, I miss him dearly, but I also recognise that in his mind there was no other way out. He had decided, in his mind, that nothing was going to break the cycle of pain he felt.

I also look back to 11 years ago where I was a witness to a horrific accident on the M25 in which a young lady died and I was there by her side as she passed away. It is one of the most powerful things I have ever witnessed, and has shaped everything I did for the last decade. I held her hand as she told me how scared she was and slowly slipped away.

I know you are wondering, what the hell does this have to do with business. Well let me offer some thoughts. My drive in business came as a result of those experiences. I have been told all the way along by the 'experts' that I would not be successful but, I hope, I have started to prove them wrong.

The explanation I am offering is that despite the natural best intentions of people,(I am a firm believer that there are very few people who go out of their way to inflict 'pain'.), sometimes we must trust our own 'gut' despite what they advise. Sometimes, only we know, what is right or wrong. Sometimes, despite the odds stacking against us, it is our drive and passion that will succeed in proving 'convention' wrong.

The moral in my mind is that if, as per the lyrics in the excellent Robbie Rivera song, you have already got to 'departures', then don't be surprised if you get a strange outcome.

Just because conventional wisdom says you are a winner doesn't mean you are. The same can be said of failure. The future is in your hands, make sure you learn the lessons of the past, but remember for all the 'scientists' out there (or logical people like me) - energy can neither be created nor destroyed: it can only be transformed from one state to another. So sometimes things just happen because the universe states they will.