The 3 Business Commandments

IGNORE the Bullshit Artist, AVOID the Incompetent, RESIST the Naysayers.

Ferzona's Intro

When you try to start anything new, resistance will always appear. Whether it's a YouTube Channel, Writing a Song or Starting a Business. Resistance alway shows up. (Haters/Dickheads as they are formally known) I have met a few of them in Cambridge. They are the topic of this blog post. Enjoy :)

The solution to overcoming resistance is quite simple: Sit down, figure out what you want, set up a plan, go out in the world and GET IT! (See Ferzona Events story). Ofcourse working with people along the way is gonna be a necessity BUT the moment it stops you from living your dream...you have to quit it. Confidence in yourself is going to be a massive boost.

But with all your hardwork and enterprising spirit, you mustn't forget this: Insidious people do exist - people who will stop at nothing till they crush your ambition and rid you of your dream. Some come under the guise of help - a pretty face and lots of smiles. Others come with direct effrontery - Clubs and Sticks in hand.

You must expect it. Just as we have difficult people in society, the business world is not immune from such characters. Let's Expose them....

The Bullshit Artist

Everybody hates manipulation. Well, say hello to the Bullshit Artist. They speak smoothly, appear friendly, mirror your ambitions so strongly but ultimately cause chaos and conflict. Oh, and I must add....they secretly work against you. They can be likened to the abusive boyfriend. He loves you ever so abundantly from the start but once you become hooked, he controls who you talk to, what you wear, how you view the world and your life becomes a whole mess. The Bullshit Artist invites you on a roller coaster ride laddened with the amusement and excitment of promises and offers. They come in the most innocent ways "Change this, to make it better", "Use this, to have an advantage", "Don't take that deal, choose this instead" etc. Somehow they think they know what you should be pursuing and how best to go after it. The trick is this, little by little, you start relying on somebody else to make critical and important decisions about your dream. Soon enough you find yourself in the driver's seat of a rented car. Everybody knows the deal about rented cars - If you can't pay the bills, it gets taken from you.
Bullshit artist are almost always motivated by 3 things: Control, Money and Fame. They want to control your business, take your money and claim credit for your success. If you deny them that, they attack you viciously. One of their most potent weapon is malicious lies. They spread it far and wide. To everybody and everyone, just to see your reputation burn and your business crumble. Clinical psychologist have rightly labelled such characters predatory aggressors [Video]. They see you as prey - another individual to manipulate for their many desires.

IGNORE the Bullshit Artist from the very beginning. He comes only to sabotage you!

The Incompetent

Isn't there something about brilliance that is so seductive? The masterful accomplishment of a well set out plan that cut through all barriers and produces insanely great work. That's brilliance! And that's what you should be striving for every minute you're working on your dream. Brilliant work connects with your audience in a very meaningful way than superficial. It is what create fans around celebrities and addictive love around an iPhone.
To produce brilliant work, you need competent people! People who have the necessary skills and hardwork to give you want you want. [E.g Paul Rand x Apple Inc] Without such people, you lose valuable time and resources. The Incompetent come in 3 ways: Plea (Please I want to work with you),  Reputation (Look at the list of my clients) and Arrogance (You won't find somebody better than me). You fall for the bait and decide to work with them. Gradually, you notice they cannot give you what you're looking for. They either lack in hardwork or necessary skills. This is where it gets dangerous - they will try their very best to get you to stay. The arrogant-incompetent will even try and convince you he knows better than you "You really don't need more than two strokes to get the portrait right" he says. Do not be fooled, it is your dream, and your idea. Only you know what the final work should look like. You must cut all relationships fast and never look back. The moment you start accepting 'good work', you unconsciously teach yourself to forget all about great work. With the incompetent, the danger is the erosion of the very quality that makes your dream great - Brilliance.

AVOID the Incompetent and don't feel guilty. Brilliance is your reward.

The Naysayers

Doubters have existed since time immemorial. From the ancient skpetics to the modern day protesters. You can't avoid them, they permeate the very fabric of our society. The only solution is to resist them. The most telling story of naysayers (and the reason why you must resist them) is the story unveiling the London Underground.
Many people dont know this: The idea for an underground railway was first developed by a man named Charles Pearson - a British Lawyer and Member of parliament. Middle of the 18th century he proposed and campaigned heavily for this new system of transportation. For 9 years, his idea was met with ridicle and rejection. Both from governement officials and the public. Newspapers, Poets, Councilmen all made vicious attacks towards this man and his 'silly' idea. Even in the face of bitter criticism, his persitent belief and dogmatic pursuit of this idea led to the open of the metropolitan line in 1863 - The world first underground railway. The success in the first year was insane. Solving all sorts of overcrowing, transportation and business issues in London at that time. The rest is history. Let me predict this: at least 99% of people reading this blog post has used an underground train at some point in their lives. That, ladies and gents, is the power of unwavering belief in your idea. [Video: The London Underground]
The Naysayers are really coming from a place of uncertainty. You can't blame them. They just can't see how your idea is gonna work. They are buried under years of experience (Experts) and years of listening to that experience (Layperson). Unlike the others, overcoming this one is on you. You must resist them by developing a thick skin and working harder to prove your idea - study day and night, work round the clock. Put out a dossier if you have to! If you really believe in your idea and want it to manifest in reality, this is what you must do. The danger the naysayer present is this - The moment you stop and listen to one, you realise you're a crazy person because the whole world has been telling you the same thing from the beginning.

RESIST the Naysayer by working twice as hard. Your dream depends on it!

PostScript

"Good ideas alter the power balance in relationships, that is why good ideas are always initially resisted." - Hugh MacLeod

The most important thing is the ability to spot these characters when they do come around. The BS Artist will say he is just a Naysayer waiting to be proved wrong. The Incompetent will say he needs just a little more time. The Naysayer will always whisper 'look around you, you're crazy!'

In all of this the rule remains the same: IGNORE the Bullshit Artist, AVOID the Incompetent, RESIST the Naysayer.

Love,
The Ferzona Group.