If you are in any way a follower of the UK entrepreneurial scene, you can’t possibly have failed to notice Reuben Singh. He’s the one who started a hugely successful retail chain with more than 100 shops while he was still in school. He then endured a savage and completely false media campaign directed against him. And then finally emerged fully vindicated, a clean reputation, and a business that has grown more than 10 times larger than before the attacks began.
Being a Sikh has undoubtedly been a huge advantage for Singh. It is a religion that encourages introspection and self-reflection, where people are taught to look inward rather than outward for the solution to their problems.
Regardless of your own religious views, if you are a business owner of any kind, this is a highly valuable skill for you to develop. In fact, anybody can benefit from developing it, whether they own a business or not. It is one of the things that helped Reuben to persevere and prevail, even when it seemed some of the most powerful people in the UK were determined to bring him down.
When faced with a problem, there are a variety of sources we can consult. You can, for example, read a book that is written by somebody with experience and knowledge of similar situations to your own. You can talk with friends, family, and business associates to see what they think. And you can obviously also consult with professionals such as doctors, lawyers, and engineers.
The amazing thing is, though, that we often already know the answer to our problems. It’s what some people call “intuition”, and entrepreneurs really must have very good intuition in order to reach their full potential. The awkward part is that there is a tendency for people to clutter up their minds with all kinds of things. So while the answer may be tucked away in the subconscious, with all this other stuff in the way, the information you need could be difficult to access.
Many Eastern religions, such as Sikhism, Buddhism, Hinduism and even Yoga are meditative religions. Meditation, when done properly, is a way of de-cluttering the mind, leaving you with focus and clarity. When your mind is still and clear, the answer you seek will probably reveal itself to you.
Of course it is also vitally important to be able to recognize when your intuition is wrong. You can measure this by the feedback you get from the world around you. If you get a persistent and obvious negative reaction to your efforts, that is the cue that you have chosen a wrong path, and it is time to consult the experts.
When choosing whom to consult, we should not be too hasty, nor should we try to be too thrifty. This is another lesson from Reuben Singh’s experience he is sharing with us, because the major cause of his troubles was buying “cheap advice”.
The best way to be successful as an entrepreneur is to pay attention to everything that happens around you. It is what allows you to identify opportunities, notice barriers or obstacles, and solve problems. With good intuition, a well-focused mind, and the right people advising you, it is much more likely that you will enjoy success in the long term.