I think, and shall try to show, that it is wrong; wrong in its direct effect, letting slavery into Kansas and Nebraska—and wrong in its prospective principle, allowing it to spread to every other part of the wide world, where men can be found inclined to take it.

This declared indifference, but as I must think, covert real zeal for the spread of slavery, I cannot but hate. I hate it because of the monstrous injustice of slavery itself. I hate it because it deprives our republican example of its just influence in the world—enables the enemies of free institutions, with plausibility, to taunt us as hypocrites—causes the real friends of freedom to doubt our sincerity, and especially because it forces so many really good men amongst ourselves into an open war with the very fundamental principles of civil liberty—criticizing the Declaration of Independence, and insisting that there is no right principle of action but self-interest.…

…If all earthly power were given me, I should not know what to do as to the existing institution. My first impulse would be to free all the slaves and send them to … their own native land. But a moment’s reflection would convince me that whatever of high hope (as I think there is) there may be in this in the long run, its sudden execution is impossible.… What then? Free them all and keep them among us as underlings? Is it quite certain that this betters their condition? I think I would not hold one in slavery, at any rate; yet the point is not clear enough for me to denounce people upon.

What next? Free them and make them politically and socially our equals? My own feelings will not admit of this, and if mine would, we well know that the great mass of white peoples will not. Whether this feeling accords with justice and sound judgment is not the sole question, if, indeed, it is any part of it. A universal feeling, whether well- or ill-founded, cannot be safely disregarded. We cannot, then, make them equals. It does seem to me that systems of gradual emancipation might be adopted; but for their tardiness in this, I will not undertake to judge our brethren of the South.…

But all this, to my judgment, furnishes no more excuse for permitting slavery to go into our own free territory than it would for reviving the African slave trade by law.…

…one great argument in the support of the repeal of the Missouri Compromise is still to come. That argument is “the sacred right of self-government.”…

The doctrine of self-government is right—absolutely and eternally right—but it has no just application as here attempted. Or perhaps I should rather say that whether it has such just application depends upon whether a Negro is not or is a man. If he is not a man, why in that case he who is a man may, as a matter of self-government, do just as he pleases with him. But if the Negro is a man, is it not to that extent a total destruction of self-government to say that he too shall not govern himself? When the white man governs himself that is self-government; but when he governs himself, and also governs another man, that is more than self-government—that is despotism. If the Negro is a man, why then my ancient faith teaches me that ‘all men are created equal’; and that there can be no moral right in connection with one man’s making a slave of another.

Judge Douglas [Illinois Senator Stephen A. Douglas] frequently, with bitter irony and sarcasm, paraphrases our argument by saying ‘The white people of Nebraska are good enough to govern themselves, but they are not good enough to govern a few miserable Negroes!’

Well I doubt not that the people of Nebraska are, and will continue to be, as good as the average of people elsewhere. I do not say the contrary. What I do say is, that no man is good enough to govern another man, without that other’s consent. I say this is the leading principle—the sheet anchor of American republicanism. Our Declaration of Independence says:

‘We hold these truths to be self evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.’

I have quoted so much at this time merely to show that according to our ancient faith the just powers of governments are derived from the consent of the governed. Now the relation of masters and slaves is, pro tanto [to a certain extent], a total violation of this principle. The master not only governs the slave without his consent; but he governs him by a set of rules altogether different from those which he prescribes for himself. Allow all the governed an equal voice in the government, and that, and that only, is self-government…

Some men, mostly Whigs, who condemn the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, nevertheless hesitate to go for its restoration, lest they be thrown in company with the abolitionist. Will they allow me as an old Whig to tell them good humoredly that I think this is very silly? Stand with anybody that stands right. Stand with him while he is right and part with him when he goes wrong. Stand with the abolitionist in restoring the Missouri Compromise; and stand against him when he attempts to repeal the fugitive slave law. In the latter case you stand with the southern disunionist. What of that? you are still right. In both cases you are right. In both cases you oppose the dangerous extremes. In both you stand on middle ground and hold the ship level and steady. In both you are national and nothing less than national. This is good old Whig ground. To desert such ground, because of any company, is to be less than a Whig—less than a man—less than an American…

Little by little, but steadily as man’s march to the grave, we have been giving up the old for the new faith. Near eighty years ago we began by declaring that all men are created equal; but now from that beginning we have run down to the other declaration, that for some men to enslave others is a ’sacred right of self-government.’ These principles cannot stand together. They are as opposite as God and Mammon [false god of riches described in the Bible]; and whoever holds to the one must despise the other…

Fellow countrymen—Americans South, as well as North, shall we make no effort to arrest this? Already the Liberal party throughout the world express the apprehension ‘that the one retrograde institution in America is undermining the principles of progress, and fatally violating the noblest political system the world ever saw.’ This is not the taunt of enemies, but the warning of friends. Is it quite safe to disregard it—to despise it? Is there no danger to liberty itself in discarding the earliest practice and first precept of our ancient faith? In our greedy chase to make profit of the Negro, let us beware, lest we ‘cancel and tear to pieces’ even the white man’s charter of freedom.

Our republican robe is soiled, and trailed in the dust. Let us repurify it. Let us turn and wash it white, in the spirit if not the blood of the Revolution. Let us turn slavery from its claims of ‘moral right,’ back upon its existing legal rights, and its arguments of ‘necessity.’ Let us return it to the position our fathers gave it; and there let it rest in peace. Let us readopt the Declaration of Independence, and with it the practices and policy which harmonize with it. Let North and South—let all Americans—let all lovers of liberty everywhere—join in the great and good work. If we do this, we shall not only have saved the Union; but we shall have so saved it as to make, and to keep it, forever worthy of the saving. We shall have so saved it that the succeeding millions of free happy people, the world over, shall rise up and call us blessed, to the latest generations.

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This is a statement of fact. “There is no road user in living in Ayobo/Ipaja axis of Lagos state that wakes up in the morning everyday without cursing due to theunbelievably deplorable state of the roads in Ayobo and Ipaja”. The churches in the area have started praying every week and hoisting banners, praying that the government will remember Ayobo/Ipaja roads and do something about it, while the Bad Roads of Ipaja as featuredin most of the Ramadan lectures hosted in Ayobo and Ipaja. The Local Council Development Area (LCDA) Chairmen of both Ayobo/Ipaja and Mosan/Okunola respectively have ceased to exist in the hearts of the people because no one knows whether they are dead or alive due to their obvious and never-before-experienced level of inactivity and uncaring existence.

In the heart of Ipaja and Ayobo People, Fashola’s promises of a Bright Rewarding Future (BRF) as been manifested majorly in the influx of more dimension of tax collectors into their communities in form of KAI, LASTMA, VIO and the even more emanding Police extortionists that had made the deplorable status ofthe roads as a reason to stand black-spot at every 100m all under the command of the Alogo Police station. The infrastructures are the craters, boreholes and bucket-holes, freshly dug canals and extensively large gutters, VIO office in place of the football pitch and more while the new facilities installed in place of the old ones are the many abandoned and dead bulldozers that are ready death traps on the road sides with a special one in front of the LCDA office atIgbogila, Inaccessible, unusable roads filled with tonnes of dugout red-earth from abandoned drainage’s and gutters, making the road slippery and dangerous even for trekking or walking as the case maybe, depending on how far you are going because once it rains, the Okadas disappear because with or without helmets, legs are still breakable when you slip and crash..

Sometimes I wonder how much car owners in Ipaja and Ayobo spend on maintaining their cars and self from the bumpy car damaging rides and I pity transporters because I keep wondering “how much do they spend on maintaining their vehicles,VIO, Police, LASTMA and Agberos.” Sometimes tears roll down my eyes when am outside Ipaja and it’s about time I go home.. It even happened when I was leaving Jigawa..felt like I was going to a”toture range”, I think about how long and how hard it will take getting home from Moshalashi to Oluwaga. Phew!

It is true that Fashola is working but”when and where?” The BRT project was Tinubu’s design, Waste management was Tinubu’s project, LASU/OJO road was Tinubu’s, LagosIsland was his work and the very new face of VI was all his doing…the only thing have seen Fashola done is plant flowers, destroy properties in the name of developing something and latter abandoning the project only to bring some more properties down and plant flowersthere for remembrance. Too bad no flowers are planted in Ipaja, they are totally left in reckless abandon. The fence of my local church in Oluwaga, Ipaja as been down for 2 years and it is still down in the name of drainage but the gutter they dug is still open, creating more gullies due to erosion.

It is not only so in Ipaja, take a tour of Surulere, go to Ikoyi and if you must drive through GRA Ikeja and you will see lots of abandoned road projects and plentiful tax collectors. Tinubu’s regime was far more better and humane and there is no proof that this regime is even more credible than his reign.Even if he was a thief, our roads never went this bad before they get repaired or patched as we always have them, we paid less tax and sawmore of our government and not in the form of tax adverts on our TV.Fashola currently runs more tax adverts on our radios and TVs than Cadbury and Nestle do combined for Bournvita and Milo respectively. The Lekki/Epe express road is not new and it has been under construction for so long but the tax booths are finished and ready to collect. I just keep wondering, what will Fashola’s campaign theme be for Ipaja and Ayobo,

“Badder roads, Blackouts, Totally disfunctional LCDAs, more properties destruction, badclassrooms and more abandoned projects”,

I just cant stop wondering!

Now I know it’s “Same of the Same”like Jimi Agbaje said, it is just the faces that as been changing and I dont feel Agbaje would have done better, he’s one of them “same of the same.” I think I will rather have Uncle Say (Sakiru) our former and very useless councillor under Alimosho local government contest for the Lagos state governorship rather than have Babatunde Raji Fashola contest as the chairman of our LCDA, I will rather not vote than vote them into power again…all the noise is about nothing..Fashola as really done nothing better than a politician will do. All I pray for is someone better than most of them… I will work for change and still pray for a miracle.. God we need divine intervention. Amen!

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Is there something, buried deep inside of you, that you never want to dig it out and you let it lay there and fester and grow inside of you like a bad disease?

There are so many people who run from their problems. They run and run and never face them. They run from people that they do not like or have harmed them in some way, or avoid places that may trigger a reaction and bring up bad memories. And the big one that people run from, is the past.

Instead of dealing with these issues, people take the easy way out and ride down the comfortable path called “Least Resistance.”

Do you know when you face these problems in your life and attack them head on, you become stronger and you will grow spiritually??

Do you know when you face your fears, those fears (most of them) go away??

If you want to lead a great, healthy, happy life for yourself, with values and hopes and dreams, you must first get rid of that heavy baggage you carry around inside of you…Just drop it off and never pick it back up again.

Every time this uncomfortable situation comes up in your life, do not bury your head in the sand. Greet the problem head on and with a positive mindset and you will realize that the huge problem that has been beating you up mentally, for so long and so many years, was just a figment of your imagination. It was never real to begin with and certainly will never hurt you.

Live free of mental anguish…

Live free of anxieties of what you think is going to happen…

Live free from the fears of the unknown…

Live free from something that happened so long ago and has been keeping you chained down for years, stuck from forward progression….

Let it all go…

Declare freedom from all of this and watch your life flourish with healthy positive faith filled thoughts.

Happiness is right around the corner peeking it’s head out at you. Go get him and welcome him into your heart. Hasn’t it been long enough??

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You might be wondering what the money game is. The money game is a game which we all play. It is played by everyone of us in today’s modern world. It is a game played by all whether you like it or not. It is played by you whether you want to or not.

The money game is simple.

It is a game of “Who Is Paying Who”.

We all play the money game because we all work for money, we all earn money and we all spend money. In this modern age, money cannot be done without. It is a primary means of exchange.  This is why we all are in this game whether we like it or not. The question now is whether you are paying The Money Game to your advantage or to your disadvantage.

The problem here is that most people are playing the game to their disadvantage because they do not understand it or realize it. Whereas, the rich, the TOP 10% of most societies understand it and they play it to their advantage that is why they are rich. They play it, they win in it and they get rich and richer and richer.

My purpose here is to shine some light into it so that you too will start playing it to your advantage.

Do you know that the total amount on money in circulation in a particular economy is fairly constant over a period of time? And it is available to everybody, but the irony is that majority of the money in circulation held by a few people, The Rich. The rich are rich and they get richer because they are able to look for avenues to get other people to give them their portion of this money in circulation.

In our modern society, we all know money to be a primary means of exchange for goods and services but this has not been always so. Before money was invented, goods and services were exchanged by means of “Trade By Barter”.

So what is “Trade By Barter”?

Under the barter system, if I have yam, and I needed a horse, I would simple look for someone that has a horse and needs yam, then we would determine the amount of yam tuber(s) to exchange for a determined amount of horse(s) and vice versa. But if I get this guy that has horses and he is not in need of my yams, what do I do? An alternative will be to determine what he is in need of, look for someone that has that thing and needs my yam, exchange my yams for that thing, and then bargain and exchange with the horse seller.

Now imagine this. What if nobody wants my yam or what if my yams have little or no value? It simply means I will not be able to get anything for my yams.

Under the barter system, you need to render a service or have a product that is valuable and people. The more valuable or more needed what you have is, the more you would be able to collect in exchange for it.

Under this system for me to be rich, all I need do is come to the market with what everybody wants, this way I will be able to collect from everybody else and I’ll become wealth. The more I have to exchange for other things I want.

If I come to the market with what is not needed or not valuable, I simply go back home with nothing, a poor man.

With the introduction of money, the underlying principles guiding exchange did not change. Instead of exchanging one good or service for another good or service we now exchange it for money.

The richest person is the person who is collecting the most money from the most people in exchange for one thing or the other. The more value your product or service has, the more you are able to charge for it. Also the more people want your product or service, the higher the number of people willing to pay you. The richer you get.

If you don’t have something others are willing to pay for, you get no Money.

The rich get richer because they understand that money is just a means of exchange are able to come up with products or services that people pay for. They continually buy things that will bring them more money, (Things that generates income for them) or things that appreciate in value. Such things include Properties, Businesses, Bonds, Stocks, e.t.c.

They look innovative for ways to collect money in circulation from others.

They play The Money Game to their advantage.

The poor on the other hand pay everybody else and do not look for means of providing what others need and are willing to pay for. The allow The Money Game to be played against them.

They play the game to their disadvantage.

In our modern society, to be rich, all you need do is seek out innovative means to provide products and services that are valuable and that are needed. You need to seek out ways to make more and more people pay you.

I hope that I have been able to give you some insights into the world of money and I hope that henceforth, you will seek out innovative ways of playing The Game Of Money to your advantage like the rich do.

For more Insights, Resources and Freely Downloadable eBooks on Personal Development, Wealth, Finance, Career, Jobs, Stocks, Investments, e.t.c. logon and join other Nigerians on www.getinspirednigeria.com . Registration and Access is absolutely free.

Thank you and see you at the top.

Yours

Idowu Tolulope, AKINRELERE

President: Get Inspired Nigeria

(www.getinspirednigeria.com)

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1. Journey of a thousand miles, starts with one step. Action is what counts so, take action, even if its not a very significant progress towards your business, this step would get the ball rolling. Do it.
2. Solving a problem or filling a gap is the only way to entrepreneurship. Be a good observer. Look at the current players and their services, interview a few customers and identify a problem or issue with current product and service. Then, solve it.
3. KISS – Keep it simple, stupid. No matter what you do, nothing beats simple, be it a business plan or an email communication or anything in between. Staying simple would make you far more efficient and save a lot of time, headache and money too.
4. Help comes where you expect it the least from. So, network. Talk to anyone and everyone, tell them about your business when they ask what you do, soon you’ll master your business pitch and be connected to lots of people.
5. The “right time” is a delusion. Tell me about one thing you did in perfect time…Perfect timing doesn’t exist. It’s either now or never. What’s your pick?
6. Don’t Try to do it all by yourself. No one can. So learn the art of delegation and outsourcing.
7. Don’t Fall in love with your idea. This one is the most important because you don’t want to blindfold yourselves to the feasibility part of the business. A business in order to be profitable has to be feasible and sustainable.
8. Not everyone is as excited about your business as you are. Yes, and that includes your friends and family. So, try to gauge the interest level of people before you ask them for partnership and/or any help.
9. For entrepreneurs, failure doesn’t exist; it is mistakes. Not everything you do is going to be a success so, learn to learn from mistakes and make the best use of that experience to turn it into a success next time. Remember, the only difference between losers and winners is that losers quit when they fail, winners fail until they win.
10. Always have a plan B. Plan B, according to me is Plan B(est). Not everything you plan would work out the way you planned simply because there are way too many micro and macro elements in business and market that are out of your control.
11. A business needs a plan to be successful. You don’t need to write a 100 page business plan to dust on your shelf, but you need to jot down a quick and actionable plan to guide you through the process. Yes, you need a business plan, even if you are not seeking loans or investment.
12. A business needs a system to be successful: A business without a system is merely a job you’ve bought for yourself. You’d still be trading hours for dollars and would stay in a rat race unless you build a system to scale your venture.
13. Learn to say ‘No’: Enough said!
14. Avoid business with your “friends”: Be very careful in setting up expectations if you’re working with friends. You don’t want to ruin a good relationship/ friendship for anything. So, make sure you keep the communication open and transparent, avoid polarization at any cost, appreciate (express that you do) the help, and most importantly try to manage and not boss around.
15. Partner with friends: Although contradicting to lesson#14 (above) Avoid business with your “friends”, a friend in need is a friend indeed. This is very important, friends who stood by me when I was in need, made me realize how fortunate I was to have them as my friends and I knew I could count on them. Make sure you don not put them on test again and be there when they might need you.
16. Don’t fritter the earnings right away: Save for the rainy day, save for the shiny day… You have no idea how wildly your cash flow may fluctuate in a startup setting so, set aside some savings to fund those dry days or weeks.
17. Money matters: You are in it for money, make sure you make money. Changing the world is great, doing what you love is great, but check the financial viability or sustainability for the idea otherwise you won’t be able to do it long enough for the first two reasons.
18. Money does NOT matter: May sound contradictory to the #17 above but it is not. If you’re in it ONLY for money you’ll be outrun sooner than you could imagine, do something because it solves a problem, it fills a gap, it makes a difference and not just for quick buck.
19. Never Lie: It’s a small world, be truthful, because a lie has a very short life and it will not help you get far enough…
20. Luck favors the bold: As an entrepreneur, it is a practice to get out and make luck work for you and the only way to do it is hard work and bold moves.
21. A big goal is only achieved when every little thing that you do everyday, gets you closer to that goal…
22. There’s a big difference in giving up and changing directions. Be savvy and sensible enough to realize if something is not working you need to change the direction. And the fact that you’ve to change the direction doesn’t mean you failed or that you’re giving up.
23. Ignore the naysayers: Oh these guys are idiots, in most cases these are the guys who never did anything themselves and they want to keep the rest of the world just like them. When you see a naysayer, just look at him and ask yourself, do you want to be like him. If yes, follow what he’s saying and if the answer was ‘no’, ignore the guy and stay away from him.
24. A coach is necessary. I once heard a wise man say “we are so immersed in doing what we are doing and what we think is right, that we miss the obvious”. And a coach helps you not miss that obvious and hence succeed.
25. Accept faults: Accepting a fault is the best way to deal with the situation. You can either keep wasting your time and brain on arguing a fault or you can accept it and move on. I have gained more respect whenever I have said, “I stand corrected”.
26. Accept criticism and act on it: Listening is very important and especially to those who are thoughtful enough to give you constructive criticism. It is easy and pretty ego inflating when everyone is telling you how awesome you are but make sure the constructive criticism never goes unheard.
27. Writing helps. Write your goals, reminders, tasks, dreams, plans, write everything. Writing helps your sub-conscious program our mind in much a better way than if you just keep thinking of those.
28. Dreams are always out of comfort zone, so you need to step out of it.
29. Sow the seeds of opportunity. You know the old saying, do a good deed every day; I have a similar philosophy about opportunities. Make sure you seed at least one opportunity a day, it could be searching and connecting with a potential client or it could be connecting two people in your network who you think can benefit from each other’s connection, or anything these are seeds of opportunities, they’ll fruit in future.
30. Learning never stops. I love to learn and share what I learn. Please take a minute or two share your lessons and help me learn more.

Devesh Dwivedi is an entrepreneur who helps cubicle imprisoned aspiring entrepreneurs break out of the 9 to 5 cubicle jail and start their business. More info: www.entrepreneurinmaking.com

Adapted from under30ceo.com

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2. Only the emancipation of each individual in a nation can lead to freedom for a nation.

3. Conferences and programmes are fruits of ideas. The fruit will be consistent with the root from which it . emanates. It is either rooted in godliness or godlessness.

4. History proves it is futile to fight over civil rights, women’s rights, ethnic rights, etc, without accepting the root cause of every imbalance in society -greed, avarice, nepotism, etc.

5. The Holy Books says, “You will know the Truth and the truth will set you free”; but our people have resolutely accepted the bondage of falsehood. Our people have sold their votes, their conscience and their integrity to the highest bidder.

6. “We do not need to get good laws to restrain bad people. We need to get good people to restrain bad laws. The problem is that the majority would rather not accept such responsibility; therefore, it generally falls to the minority to protect the majority from its own predilection to foolish acquiescence to tyranny” – G.K. Chesterton

7. Nigeria must never depend on the benevolent auto-cratism or the goodwill of the self-styled messiahs, but that the law of the land is supreme – and everyone is equal under the law, and this law is inspired by God.

8. EFCC, ICPC, SSS, CID, etc may arrest criminals, punish crimes, legislate control of crimes, but a dead conscience is not subject to legislation.

9. An inspired constitution is not an exercise in the politics of legalism. It is based on the core principle that the greatest good is offered to the greatest number of people in our nation.

10. Nigeria’s Constitution has always been legalistic, imposed and put together by undemocratic governments. thus, it always lacks the ability to cater for the common good. Only an open, or sovereign assembly of elected representatives of the people of nigeria can create a living and acceptable and binding covenant. It cannot be imposed by a government based on the work of a selected minority, no matter how knowledgeable.

11. The smallest unit in a nation is the nuclear family. The family feeds the community, which feeds the cities and the regions and the nation at large. If there is fundamental corruption at the family level then the nation is doomed. Branding and building are both whitewashes that cover the malaise.

12. The nation has a dearth of true national leaders and heroes…instead we have political super heroes, television or magazine heroes etc; People who have become platform performers and soft sell hot cakes but whose works in the national life lacks true depth or sacrificial benefit to the people. These are the people that the next generation have as models.

13. Government’s economic policies are having the desired results – creating more wealth for the government, large corporations and connected individuals – leaving the majority of the people impoverished. All “reforms” without the input of the people are ultimately for the benefit of the “inspirer”.

14. Nigerian leaders have never listened to the ordinary people that God entrust to them before formulating policies and programmes. They listen however, to the IMF, World Bank, Paris Club, G8, UNO, multinational corporations, party leaders and godfathers, special advisers, diviners, sorcerers etc. Everyone but the people they are elected or appointed to serve.

15. “Unless a man becomes the enemy of evil, he will not even become its slave but rather its champion. God Himself will not help us to ignore evil, but to defy and defeat it” – G. K. Chesterton.

Take your own stand TODAY!

God bless Nigeria

GHA.

******A Big THANK You to George H. Ashiru and Kayowa Ogunrinde for granting the permission to reproduce this.

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While sales are important to the survival of any business, you don’t need to push your business on everyone you meet, including friends and family.  Furthermore, it’s a waste of time to try selling to people who simply don’t need what you’re offering.

Selling to the wrong people includes trying to sell to everyone.  Some customers are much easier to sell to than others.  Feel free to say no to customers that are more trouble than they’re worth.  Let your competitors sell to them instead.  You’ll save yourself many headaches, and you’ll free up more time to focus on serving the best customers.

Just because someone is interested in doing business with you doesn’t mean you should accept.  Learn to say no to the weak opportunities so you have the capacity to say yes to the golden opportunities.

2.  Spending too much money.

Until you have a steady cashflow coming in, don’t spend your precious start-up cash unless it’s absolutely necessary.  invested in the business was another dollar that eventually had to be recouped from sales.

Your business should put cash into your pocket, so before you “invest” money into it, be clear on how you’re going to pull that cash back out again.

Obviously some businesses require lots of cash to start, but in the age of the Internet, you can very easily start a lucrative business for pocket change.

3.  Spending too little money.

It’s also a mistake to be too stingy with your cash.  Don’t let frugality get in the way of efficiency.  Take advantage of skilled contractors who can do certain tasks more efficiently than you can.  Buy decent equipment when it’s clear you’ll get your money’s worth.  You don’t have to overspend on fancy furniture, but get functional furniture that helps you be more productive.  Don’t use an antiquated computer with outdated software that slows you down if you can afford something better.

It takes time to develop the wisdom to know when you’re being too tight or too loose with your cash, so if you’re just starting out, get a second opinion.  Often the very thought of getting a second opinion makes the correct choice clear.  If you can’t justify the expenditure to someone you respect, it’s probably a mistake.  On the other hand, there are situations where it’s hard to justify not spending the cash.

4.  Putting on a fake front.

Many one-person businesses refer to themselves as “we.”  That’s something a lot of new entrepreneurs do, but it isn’t necessary.  There’s nothing wrong with a one-person business, especially today.   Pretending that you’re a we when you’re really an I is a bit silly.  It’s not going to gain you any respect in a way that matters.  Promoting yourself as an I may even be an advantage today, since people will know the buck stops with you, and if you make a promise, you’re the one who will carry it out.  Promises from a we sometimes aren’t worth very much.

If you’re have just started your business, don’t pretend you’re anything else.  Price your products and services fairly for your level of skills and talents.  Some newly self-employed people think they must become actors.  The business they promote to the world is pure fantasy.  Trying to fool your customers in this manner will only backfire.  If you’re so desperate for business that you need to lie, you shouldn’t be starting your own business.  If you can’t provide real value and charge fairly for it, don’t play the game of business.  Develop your skills a bit more first.

5.  Assuming a signed contract will be honored.

A signed contract is just a piece of paper.  What’s behind a signed contract is a relationship.  If the relationship goes sour, the contract won’t save you.  The purpose of a contract is to clearly define everyone’s roles and commitments.  But it’s the relationship, not the paper, that ultimately enforces those commitments.  Creative (and lucrative) business deals almost always stray from the paper contracts that represent them.

Written contracts are still necessary, especially when dealing with larger corporations where people come and go, but they’re secondary to relationships.  Just don’t make the mistake of assuming that the contract is the deal.  The contract is only the deal’s shadow.  The real deal is the relationship.  Keep your business relationships in good order, and you won’t have to worry so much about what’s on paper.

It’s sad but true that there are loads of scoundrels in business.  Many of them hold titles like CEO, President, and CFO.  There are indeed people out there who seem to care about nothing but money, and they will lie, cheat, and steal to get it.  In recent years some of the more despicable ones have gotten themselves indicted (or are already behind bars).  But there are plenty of others to whom the word honor has no meaning.

6.  Going against your intuition.

Intuition is just as important in business as it is in other settings.  You’d be amazed at how many gigantic corporate deals are green-lighted or red-lighted because of some CEO’s gut feeling.  While you might think that logic is the language of business, that’s far from reality.  If you base all your business deals on hard logic and ignore your intuition, most likely you’ll be in for a world of hurt.

We humans aren’t very logical to begin with.  We simply don’t have enough data to make truly logical decisions because business deals depend on human beings, and we don’t have a logical system for accurately predicting human behavior.  Not being able to predict how other humans will behave is a pretty big gap in our logic.  And intuition has to fill that gap.  The real performance of human beings is what makes or breaks business deals.  But to assume everyone will perform as expected is unrealistic in the extreme.  No deal ever goes perfectly.

It’s hard to say no to a deal that seems juicy by the numbers when my gut is saying, “You’ll regret it,” but more often than not, I later see evidence my intuition was right all along.  Sometimes I just get a bad read on someone, and then years later, several people I know are complaining about being ripped off by that person.

Intuition is a critical part of the decision-making process in business.  Since business deals depend on relationships, you need to get a read on the other people involved in any deal you consider.  If you get a bad read, walk away.  If you get a good read, proceed with caution.

7.  Being too formal.

I’ll say it again.  Business is built on relationships.  In some settings a certain degree of formality is appropriate, but in most business situations being too formal only gets in the way.  Business relationships work best when there’s a decent human-to-human connection behind them.

Treat your business relationships like friendships (or potential friendships).  Formality puts up walls, and walls don’t foster good business relationships.  No one is loyal to a wall… except the one in China.

Formality is boring and tedious.  People want to enjoy their work.  If someone address me like a computer, I’ll respond in kind — by hitting delete.  But if someone demonstrates they have a real personality and a good sense of humor, a connection is far more likely.

8.  Failing to focus on value creation.

It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that the purpose of a business is to make money.  But the real purpose of a business is to create value.  While it’s possible to make money in the short run without creating much value, in the long run it’s unsustainable.  Even criminal organizations have to create value for someone.  When you know your business is just sucking value away from others without providing anything in return, it will erode your self-esteem, and the business won’t be much fun to run.

Why does your business exist?  It exists to provide some sort of value, both for you and your customers.  The better you understand what value you’re trying to provide, the better you’ll be able to focus.  The basic value provided by my games business was cerebral entertainment.  The basic value provided by StevePavlina.com is personal growth.  Too often business owners aren’t clear on what value they’re trying to provide.  They just sell stuff and hope for the best.  That’s a lousy business model.  The world doesn’t need more selling or more stuff.  But it always needs and wants genuine value creation, and that’s where you should direct your efforts.

9.  Failing to optimize.

Although value creation is essential to a sustainable business, it’s equally naive to assume you can simply focus on creating value, and the rest will take care of itself.  You may build a business that provides good value but loses money.  As a business owner, you need to find a way to deliver your value in a cost effective manner.  Most likely your first attempt will be very suboptimal.  You’ll waste too much time, money, and resources trying to produce and deliver your value.  That’s OK though.  Many businesses start out that way.  Just don’t let yours stay that way.

Once you have a particular business process in place, pull it apart and re-optimize it from time to time.  Look for ways to make it more efficient.  Can you get it done in less time?  At less cost?  Can you do it less frequently?  Can you outsource it?  Can you dump the process altogether?

Don’t fall into the trap of using archaic methods for doing routine tasks that could be automated, including inventory management, billing, accounting, order processing, communications, and marketing.  If you find yourself doing the same repetitive tasks month after month, make sure you put some effort into optimizing them.  Not optimizing is like throwing time and money down the drain.  It’s often much easier to save time and money than it is to create them.

It takes significant effort to build a successful business, but it’s also a tremendous growth experience.  I know many people who have quit their jobs to run their own businesses.  Many of them didn’t do as well as they’d hoped, but I don’t know any that regretted taking the plunge.  There’s simply no substitute for holding the reins of your own destiny.

Adapted From 10 Stupid Mistakes Made by the Newly Self-Employed By Steve Pavlina

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She is one of America’s leading experts on the art of maximizing human potential, an Entrepreneur and Entertainment Attorney, Marshawn Evans is Founder of ME Unlimited (Marshawn Evans Unlimited), a corporate life enrichment consulting firm focusing on peak performance and maximizing potential. As a pioneering woman in the world of professional sports, she is also Owner and President of EDGE 3M Sports & Entertainment – a brand management firm responsible for elevating the profile of elite entertainers and athletes in the NBA, NFL, WNBA, and Major League Baseball.

6 years ago, her successes in the classroom and the courtroom took her to the infamous boardroom as one of Donald Trump’s handpicked cast members on NBC’s hit show “THE APPRENTICE.” Using the power of expectation to surpass stereotypes and define her own success, Marshawn, who is also a Harry S. Truman Scholar and a former U.S. ambassador to the International Summit of Achievement in Dublin, Ireland, received over $200,000 in scholarships and graduated magna cum laude from Texas Christian University with honors and distinction.

A graduate of Georgetown University Law Center, Marshawn practiced with one of Atlanta’s most prestigious law firms, and has been featured by Glamour Magazine, USA Today, The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch, ABC, Fox News, and NBC.

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Alder consults for the leading lights in financial services, oil and gas, telecoms, and professional services.

Leke is a highly regarded speaker and has delivered lectures within and outside Nigeria. He was a panelist at the 8th Annual Africa Business Conference at Harvard Business School in 2005, the 9th Annual Africa Business Conference, Wharton 2006, Africa Leadership Forum, Ghana 2007 and Financial Mail AD Focus Conference in South Africa, 2004.

Leke is the author of Life as I see it, Minding Your Business, Conversations of a 21st Century Saint, The Wealth of Modern Nations and a number of e-books. He is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association, Nigerian Institute of Management and Nigerian Institute of Public Relations.

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