12 tips for late bloomers in business

I’ll tell you, there is nothing better in life than being a late bloomer. I believe that success can happen at any time and at any age. —Salma Hayek

I’m such a late bloomer. —Ang Lee, Oscar Award-winning director

Do you have a student or family member who isn’t doing well? Are you a fledgling entrepreneur who has failed. not just once or twice but more times, and are your bankers and business associates already fed up and exasperated?

Recently, a top Western corporate executive in Makati asked me to explain the phenomenon of our Philippine President Noynoy Aquino doing seemingly well in his governance and socio-economic reforms, despite his previous lackluster political career as a congressman and senator. I added that even his academic record as a college student at the Ateneo de Manila University was also undistinguished.

My response to this Western executive was that perhaps P-Noy hadn’t yet found his calling or role in life before becoming president and was tasked by voters to cleanse the pervasive culture of corruption in Philippine politics. Perhaps P-Noy was a late bloomer, similar to businessman Colonel Harland David Sanders, who was already 65 when he started Kentucky Fried Chicken, which would become the world’s biggest chicken chain. For half a century, the grade-school dropout tried various odd jobs like farmhand, army mule-tender, motel operator, aspiring lawyer, failed political candidate and even amateur obstetrician.

I told this Western multinational executive that some professionals and entrepreneurs may have been lost or uninspired in their youth, but somehow find their way or true calling late in life. This should give hope to all people to never give up, keep persevering and work hard.

In addition to Colonel Sanders, I pointed out that P-Noy is actually better off since he was just lackluster as a student and as legislator, while the late US President Abraham Lincoln was a failure at many previous endeavors, ranging from entrepreneur to fledgling politician. He only flourished and made his mark as a great president of the United States.

In Asia, two of China’s greatest modern leaders had to endure so many failures and crises before achieving success: the revolutionary Dr. Sun Yat Sen and reformist leader Deng Xiaoping. Dr. Sun failed 10 times before winning the revolution on the 11th attempt.

My advice to professional, business, social and political late bloomers?

Keep healthy and live longer. If we’re unhealthy physically or allow failures to mess up our physical and emotional well-being, we won’t last to fight another day. Let us maintain minimum good health so we can keep on striving and working. What is the use of genius, talent and character if one has bad health?

Maintain a good reputation. Among the early overseas Chinese immigrants of Southeast Asia, the concept of “shinyong” or “trustworthiness” is more important than one’s financial capital, intellect, abilities, experiences, and other credentials. Even if a person or family encounters failures, if their sense of integrity or trustworthiness is intact, they can still make a comeback in the future with credit support and cooperation from others.

Be kind, most especially to those who oppress you. A self-made person recently talked to me and complained about how some relatives had mistreated and disrespected their family, how things were unfair, etc. Instead of being bitter or angry at those who had seemingly oppressed and looked down upon them, I advised them to reciprocate with basic human kindness, which is the civilized way to do things. I pointed out that they might not have become successful if they hadn’t been riled up by their oppressed or disadvantaged past. In fact, I told them that their family should, in the future, actually thank their oppressors for making them strong and determined! Success is the best revenge!

Conserve resources. Even for those who are not late bloomers, thriftiness is a positive virtue that can multiply success. For those who are late bloomers or who have not yet attained success in a profession or business, it is essential to conserve money and resources in order to survive and be able to keep on trying.

Never give up. As long as we are alive, we should never give up. In the face of failures or lackluster results, it might be time to change professions or strategies or jobs, but never give up. Try and try until you succeed. Even if one needs to try a thousand times, never, ever give up!

Don’t fear losing. I wish to share a secret that I once confided to my sister’s sons after one had declined his classmates’ nomination as class president in grade school: Most people (even you yourself) will forget if you tried and failed how many times, so it’s not shameful to lose, but they will remember when you win.

Know your strengths. One way not to be discouraged by failures or lack of initial success is to know one’s strengths and weaknesses, build upon strengths and improve on weaknesses. Also, find what your passion is.

Be humble. One good strategy for people who are succeeding in a profession or business and even for people who are still struggling is humility. Why? It is my belief that envy or jealousy is basic to human nature — look at what happened to the brothers Cain and Abel. By being humble, one keeps possible detractors or competitors at bay and even encourages more people to support one’s efforts.  Being proud or arrogant can attract unnecessary attention from potential detractors, critics, rivals and foes, who might seek to undermine one’s efforts.

Work smart, not just work hard. Hard work is a basic requirement for the minimum level of success, but I always believe that we should analyze and be resourceful about how to work better, more efficiently and smarter. Think out of the box!

Think positive. As a kid, whenever things didn’t turn out well, I’d always think that those were “temporary setbacks” or even mere “aberrations,” because I’ve always believed that success was my ultimate destiny here on earth. We should be forever optimistic. Any and every crisis that hits us is meant to make us stronger and wiser as we go forward relentlessly.

Learn nonstop. Like our physical bodies, which need regular exercise at least three times a week to be fit, I strongly believe that our minds need to keep on being exercised intellectually by constant learning and studying. We shouldn’t stop reading and absorbing knowledge. Most especially in our profession or business, let us seek to keep abreast of new ideas, new technologies, new strategies or paradigms to improve our situation. Even if we have attained success, it is imperative for us to keep learning how to maintain success.

Pray. Even for non-religious people like me, prayer is essential to achieving our dreams and strengthening our self-confidence. One of my favorite Bible verses, even when I was a grade school student, is Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ, which strengtheneth me.”

* * *

Thanks for your feedback! E-mail willsoonflourish@gmail.com or follow WilsonLeeFlores on Twitter, Facebook and http://willsoonflourish.blogspot.com/.