Page 29 - Midas Touch

something even worse. The fact is that if a person makes a
mistake and lies, blames, justifies, or pretends they did not
make a mistake, they recede. They do not advance. A good
example was President Bill Clinton when he lied to the

world about having sex with a White House intern. He
could have been one of the greatest presidents but instead,
he will be remembered for his lack of moral character, for
cheating on his wife, and also for lying about it on
television. It takes courage to face your mistakes and admit
to them. It takes no courage to lie.

Mistakes Are the Gateway to Your Midas Touch
In school, making mistakes is bad. The students who make the fewest

mistakes are called “smart.” But in the world of business, making a
mistake, admitting the mistake, and then learning how to turn that bad
“luck” into good luck, is essential for success. Einstein stated that “only
two things are infinite—the universe and human stupidity.” However, I
would add that a human being’s ability to learn is also infinite.

As an entrepreneur, your mistakes may hurt your business, but so can your
employees’ mistakes. Often, if you attempt to correct employees and ask

them to take responsibility and learn from their mistakes, they may leave,
look for a new job, and let you be the one to pay for their mistakes. This is
one reason why most entrepreneurs remain small with as few employees
as possible. If an entrepreneur is a poor leader or lacks people skills,
employees can be liabilities, not assets.

Making matters worse, employees can turn into criminals when the going
gets tough, or when you turn your back, or when they believe that the

money you have earned belongs to them. There are many crooks and con
men in the business world. In the world of criminals, there are two basic
types of crimes: violent crimes and white-collar crimes. Violent crimes
generally involve a victim and a weapon or traumatic force. Most white-
collar crimes are not prosecuted because lying, stealing, cheating, and
incompetence, without a weapon or bodily harm, are tough to prove. In
other words, in business, the biggest criminals you will meet are often