The price of a whistleblower
As German authorities contemplate paying for data stolen from a Swiss bank, the industry is rethinking its security strategies
Business diary: Sophia Harris
Founder of the Solomon Harris law firm in the Cayman Islands says it was fortunate that it could not afford a big, flash opening
The public image: Bank of Scotland
A homely campaign seeks to re-establish the troubled lender's appeal
The woman helping to build the new China
The head of Soho China, one of the country's biggest property groups, insists that changes in government policy are the most important factor in determining the business's strategy
The careerist: Attracting headhunters
'If you associate yourself with the best it rubs off'
The job: Embalmer
'In two weeks you know whether or not you can do it'
Ports think outside the container
Owners and operators of shipping terminals are responding to environmental concerns. AP Moller Maersk's facility in Maasvlakte has cut its carbon emissions by 45% a year
Billionaire battle of the seas
As the America's Cup kicks off, Sir Keith Mills, founder of Airmiles and the Nectar card, tries to mediate between the warring teams fighting over one of sport's biggest businesses
20 questions: Jon Moulton
An insight into the maverick of the private equity industry
The call of the Russian investor
In a country where natural resources are the biggest lure and Silicon Valley-style venture capitalists are rare, a few investors are funding opportunities in the technology sector
Ambassador of cheese
Glyn Woolley has taken an imaginative approach to building his company, a leading exporter of British artisinal cheeses that is credited with helping to change perceptions of the country's produce
A matter of interpretation
For companies that do business in international markets, employing the right translator can be the difference between winning or losing a big contract
An inside job?
Research shows that someone from outside the group must be twice as strong to get the job, and yet Morrison's and ITV have both brought in outsiders
When the train takes the strain
Airport security and the environment are two reasons to go by rail
Business diary: Neil Jones
Interead founder says 2010 is year of the e-reader
The public image: Alfa Romeo
Textbook example of how to maintain aspirational brand values when making deep price cuts
Real people value
Jim Goodnight, head of SAS, the world's biggest privately held software group, ignores hierarchy and talks to as many employees as he can
The careerist: Socialising with colleagues
'Don't try too hard to impress and don't get too drunk'
The job: Fraud accountant
'A reputation for indiscretion can haunt you'
20 questions: Michael Morley
Coutts chief says wealth managers improve with age


how you have behaved, and what you need to do next. You don’t need to do everything they tell you, but the simple fact that you are being totally honest with someone will keep you accountable for following through on your better intentions, which in the past may have fallen by the wayside.

Once these elements are in place you are well on your way to establishing your own self-coaching system.

Some other things to consider include

Take Care of Your Health

There is little point in building wealth, having great relationships, growing a beautiful family, and being a high achiever if you become invalid or die early because you neglected your health.

Devote Sufficient Energy to Your Relationships

Be sure to devote an appropriate amount of time and energy to your family and friends. It won't be much fun if you make a pile of cash, but your spouse leaves you, or you have no friends to go on holidays around the world with.

Set Your Goals High, and then break them into bite-sized chunks.

If life were perfect, what would it look like? What would you do, be and have if you could wave a magic wand, and make it so? What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail? Why not try and do these things anyway?

You really have a choice of two approaches to life, first choice is you aim high and maybe you don't acheive everything you set out to do, but you still achieve a massive amount. Alternatively you can aim low, and even if you achieve everything you set out to do, it will still be a dogs life! ... Could you really be happy with that?

The trick however is to take your massive goals and break them into lots of little believable and achievable steps along the way.

Take Action

The best laid plans all amount to nothing if no one actually puts the plan into action… don’t fall into the paralysis by analysis trap. Do your homework, sure, but sooner or later you just have to start… and have faith in whatever higher power you believe in to provide a net if you need one.

Go All Out

If you had only 10,000 litres of fresh water to last you your whole life, would you be careful about how you used your water?

I'd say you absolutely would, in fact you would come to value it more than just about any other resource. You would get as many uses out of each bit of water as possible, You would use the same water to wash yourself, then wash your dishes, then wash your car, then water your garden.... you'd squeeze every little bit of use out of every little bit of water you had.

Fortunately we are not in that situation with water (yet) but we most definitely are in that position with time.

We get so many seconds per minute, so many minutes per hour, so man hours per day all the way up to years in our life. We have a finite supply of time. As a result TIME IS OUR MOST PRECIOUS RESOURCE.

Don't waste your time by going about your life in a halfhearted fashion.

When you are working, work hard, when you are playing play hard, get enthusiastic and give whatever you are doing everything you have got while you are doing it, then when you move onto something else, move on with a clear conscience and give the new thing everything you've got. Not only will you get more into your finite life, you'll have more fun in the process!

Don't lie on your deathbed saying IF ONLY!

Stick to Your Guns

Shakspeare hit the nail on the head when he wrote "This above all, to thine own self be true". Don't let circumstance or naysayers get you down on your dream, or make give up on yourself and your success! Sure... if something isn't working, try a different tactic or approach, thats called learning, but remain true to your integrity, remain true to your word, and remain true to your dream!

Finish what you Start

95% of winning is just finishing, most of the crowd falls away in the last half of the race, to finish you have to keep running where most people turn back or pull out!

Think of your journey to success as a marathon, chances are that at some stage in the race you are going to really hurt, and that you are going to have to work through your pain barrier. Just like a marathon, the important part of success is finishing, coming first is nice, but the race is truly a race against yourself, and winning is more about self mastery than about beating the other runners.

What you become is far more important than what you 'get', and one thing you definately don't want to become is a quitter.

To finish is to win no matter how long it takes!

Expect to Win!

Life will give you what you honestly expect, but it will test you along the way… all you need to do is stand fast by your dream and see the course through…

You Can Do It!! God Speed!! Send me a postcard from the Top of the World!

For FREE success education resources subscribe to Timba Free Stuff at www.timbaent.com/freeA Veteran of the Afghanistan Campaign and Anti Piracy Operations in South East Asia, Tim is now an online entrepreneur and is actively involved providing life education and positive mentoring to youth in his local community. Copyright 2006 Tim BairdThis Article can be reprinted freely upon the condition that resource box is reproduced intact and without alteration, (this clause may be excluded.)

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