AACS World Wide Web PagesBy John J.O'Callaghan
When I was young I enrolled at the local Evening Institute and signed up for three classes. I took English literature, Psychology and Business Studies. But it was the simple things that Aunty Aggie believed in and taught me, that helped me most, in my life and in my business.
"There are only two kinds of people in this world," Aunty said. "There's those who do, and there's those who get done to. On the one hand, there's the lions and on the other hand there's the sheep. A lion stands his ground and he roars and he growls and he fights for what he wants; not just because he's hungry, but because he wants to be king of the jungle and believes he can be. But the sheep are meek and mild and all they do is cry, "Baaa," run away, get chased after, get killed and then gobbled up."
"That's all very well Aunty," I said, "if you happen to be a lion, and it's your nature to be aggressive. But what if you happen to be a sheep, and it's your nature to be meek and mild, then what do you do?"
"Life's a lot of play-acting and pretend " Auntie said. "The thing to do when you're afraid is pretend you're not afraid. Remember the Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz Story? Well, at first, he just pretended to be brave. Then after pretending for a while, he really became brave. When you want to be something you are not, just pretend and act like you already are, and in a little while, you'll find you will be."
"The Bible tells that King Solomon, one of the world's wisest men who ever lived, said, 'As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.' Today, that's like saying, 'You are what you think you are.' So, stand tall, J.J., (which is what Auntie Aggie always called me) hold your head high, stick out your chest, fill your heart and soul with hope, and start acting like it's well nigh impossible for you to fail. There's a terrible war going on. People are killing each other by the thousand every single day. It's dog eat dog world and you have to be tough to survive. People will respect you for your bravery and courage. 'Look" they'll say, 'Look at him. He's a fighter. You mark my words now. Some day that boy is going to go places.' On the other hand, if you go about looking and acting like a bum, people will say, 'Look at that bum,' and treat you accordingly."
"But what about fate, Auntie," I inquired. "Isn't it all life preordained and already decided for us? And if it is, there's not much we can do. I remember once reading something like you said but when I tried to discuss it with dad, all he said was, 'Those books you are reading won't do you much good, son, so don't be filling your head with foolish notions that are way over your head.
'You are born. You work. You're old. Then you die and that's all there is to it. So, better make the most of it while you are here, son, and the devil take the hindmost.'"
Aunt Aggie just smiled at me and said, "Far be it from me to contradict anything your dear father ever told you, J.J., but, I think there's more to life than just that. True enough, as your dad says, you're born and you die, and none of us has much say in the matter. But, and it's a big but, there's a crossroads in the middle of life where what we think, what we do and what we say, can change the rest of our lives for the better. We can change some things. We have free will and we do have a choice. We can choose to stay on the hum-drum-mediocre well-beaten and predictably safe path along with everyone else, or, we can choose a less crowded, more individual, and riskier way, in the hope of finding something better for ourselves. My advice to you is start questioning things and start wanting a lot more for yourself than you have now. 'Seek and ye shall find.' That's the solemn promise Jesus makes to us in St. Matthew's Gospel.
"We Irish have no love for Oliver Cromwell and his English heathen troops for the way they murdered and burned and pillaged our country, but," she added somewhat grudgingly, "I have to give the devil his due for what he said to his troops just before they vanquished us, 'Put your trust in God, but keep your powder dry,' he said."
"What exactly did he mean by that Aunty?"
"He meant it's a good thing to pray to God and ask for His help, but that it's a bad thing to do nothing at all to help yourself and leave it all to God expecting a miracle. When you get up off your backside and lend God a helping hand, that's when He does some of his finest work. And there's another thing you should know, J.J. George Bernard Shaw, a fellow Irishman and a playwright put it like this. He said, 'I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and when they don't find them, make them."
Author John J.O'Callaghan's new book, 50 Secrets of Success -- How to Start-up and Succeed in a Small Business of Your Own is crammed with good tips and practical advice for would-be entrepreneurs. Soft cover. Size 8.5 x 11. 96 pages. Price $14.95. Free shipping. Available from Entrepreneur's Network Inc, 264 Fieldstone Drive, Venice, Florida 34292-4600. Tel: 941-497-1663. E-mail: John@demc2.com
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