Lifestyle

Dec 09 2019

Bharat Bhise – Why You Should Never Believe in ‘Overnight Success’

Whenever someone gains some fame or enter into the public sphere all of a sudden, people love to call this an ‘overnight success’. The reality is however that beyond winning the lottery or the jackpot at a casino, there is no such thing as an overnight success. I mention this based on the experience of watching my friend Bharat Bhise try to put together his business and especially in reference to when he hit dizzying new heights last year and was branded as an overnight success, something which annoyed us both in truth. If you believe this then you may end up thinking that things will happen for you in an instant, and this just isn’t true.

Embryonic Phase

Back when we were at college Bharat already knew that he wanted to be a businessman of some type and so he began to try his hand at a number of different ideas, to see which he liked most. He decided even at that early stage that he wanted to combine his love of finance and technology, to put together a fintech start-up. It was at this age that he really began putting in the research into businesses which were already successful, how they did things and what challenges they faced.

Making the Plan

Following college Bharat began to formulate the plan for his business, he would design the software himself after spending 15 hours per day attached to his computer. Bharat also used this time to put together a business plan and in order to do that he would research customer trends, finance markets and business needs.

Hustling For Cash

Bharat saved as much money as he could but most of that went into the planning and development stage of his business idea. This meant that he had to go and look for investment or for business loans from the bank, which resulted in him traveling all over the country giving pitch after pitch to investors. Eventually he managed to get enough money to get off the ground and the business was born, some 3 years after leaving college.

Early Years

During those early years in business Bharat was running at a loss, he had a handful of staff who were committed and they would all work incredibly long hours trying to get things off the ground. What they did have at this stage was a great business idea and a fantastic product, the belief in this kept them all going.

The Magazine

Last year a technology magazine picked up on this product idea and wrote a raving review about it, this caused a huge upturn in the business and sales went through the roof. Bharat and his business were then touted as an overnight success because of this explosion of popularity and the media coverage which both the business and the product then received.

As you can see, this ‘overnight success’ was in fact a decade in the making, a decade of blood, sweat and tears, to assume that it happened in an instant is almost disrespectful, make sure that you put in the same level of work for any business idea which you may have.

Sep 28 2019

Richard Soper MD – The Personal Challenges Which Doctors Face

Richard Soper MD is one of the finest doctors that I know and he has built a fantastic career in medicine. Richard is also a neighbor of mine and someone who I have had the great pleasure of conversing with about a huge range of subjects. Society views doctors like Ricard with a huge amount of respect, as well as certain levels of expectancy when it comes to our own medical issues. What most of us don’t see however is the personal struggles which every doctor goes through in order to make their career a success. I have spoken to Richard many times about his own experience and that of his colleagues, and here are some of the challenges which they face.

Sacrifice

Doctors work an extraordinary number of hours and that comes with a huge amount of personal sacrifice. Divorce rates amongst doctors are very high because they don’t spend time at home, they miss birthdays, weddings and parties, they miss important moments in their children’s lives and they miss out just about any personal time which they may have. They do this because of their passion for medicine and to care for their patients, a great sacrifice indeed.

Emotional Turmoil

Many of us believe that doctors don’t get attached to their patients and that they simply treat the human body in the same way that a mechanic would treat a car. To some extent this is true but the reality is that spending your days seeing gruesome sights and witnessing the heartbreak of death is not something which they can simply brush off. We have to remember that doctors are not robots, they do have feelings and often they will be emotionally damaged by something which has happened in their job. Imagine if you were a doctor with kids and you see a parent’s anguish watching their own child die, how would that make you feel? Doctors are human, they feel and they hurt and whilst they may have thicker skin than the rest of us, it is not made of teflon.

Pressure of Mistakes

Mistakes happen in almost every job, the difference with a doctor making a mistake is that it could potentially cost someone their life. The pressure of this is absolutely massive and doctors have to try their best to ignore the pressure of a potential mistake. Failure to be able to work under this pressure could lead to a higher chance of making mistakes, which is why staying cool and calm is something which doctors always focus on. Working well under this pressure is one thing but when they walk away from the job, they will still feel the effects of that pressure, which is why many doctors have stress issues. Doctors must find a way to relieve the stress which they are working under, which is not always easy.

These men and women do amazing work for us all, we must remember that they too are facing up to some serious personal challenges.

Sep 28 2019

Bogoljub Karic – Tips on Making a Cross-Culture Relationship Work

My buddy Bogoljub Karic has been in a relationship with a Mexican girl for a number of years now and he was the first person I wanted to talk to when I met a girl from Mexico City last year. Relationships are not easy at the best of times but with the added complication of two cultures colliding, there is much more to take into account. The world we live in today is much smaller than ever before and it is not uncommon at all to meet a couple from two different backgrounds. Nonetheless, this can pose quite a challenge and if you happen to meet someone with a different cultural background to yourself, here are some tips on making it work.

Language

In most cases one party can speak the other person’s language better than the other way around but this is not to say that communication is easy. Even someone who is from another country can speaks great English for example, this is not too say that they are always going to completely understand what you are feeling or what is going on. This is why it is so important that both parties try their best to speak the language of their partner, so that they can properly express themselves.

Patience

Patience is so important in any relationship but even more so when it comes to a relationship between two people from different cultures. You have to remember that your partner has been raised in a completely different situation to you and you must respect that and have patience with them. Patience takes on a whole new meaning when you date a latina of course given their issues with punctuality, but I am really referring to the wider relationship and the importance of being patient.

Joining in

Some cultures have different events and traditions to us and instead of ignoring them it is important that you embrace them as your own. In my situation for example things like Day of the Dead and Independence Day aren’t something which we celebrate back in the UK, but that doesn’t mean that I should simply ignore their existence. When you start to date someone from a different culture it is up to you to be understanding in terms of their cultures and their traditions.

Maintaining

There is a temptation to change who you are in order to make the relationship work but this is not something which is recommended and in order to make the relationship work best you should stay exactly who you are. When you welcome someone from a different culture into your life you suddenly realize a little more about your own identity and that is a good thing. You should absolutely celebrate who you are and how your background has shaped you, in order for both of you to maintain your own identity and embrace each other’s.

These relationships can provide you with a lot, the key is to learn that you must approach them differently.