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6. Sometimes you imagine things to be more serious than they are.

Next door to the hotel is a Dive school. I took diving lessons but got impatient that we weren’t doing any deeper, more adventurous dives. My instructor, a massive local who could drink ANYONE under the table and was one of the nicest guys I have ever met, decided to let me loose, more for his amusement I think.

During the brief I asked “Will there be any sharks?”

“No, unfortunately, they are mostly on the other side of the Island. Watch out for Barracudas though”

“OK” I said nervously.

Seeing my uneasiness he said “Don’t worry, the only time you need to get worried is if all the fish suddenly dissapear, that means a predator is out there. But even in that case, they have plenty of things to eat other your scrawny body”.

He laughed, so did I… just.

Cut a long story short, we were doing the dive and I looked over a group of fish that were swimming around the coral only to see them and everything else shoot off. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a fish, which I immediately I identified as a Barracuda.

As my breathing increased, I tapped my instructor on the shoulder and pointed at the blackness where the monster had been. He handed me an underwater writing board and pen. I wrote “BARRACUDA”.

Just then the monster came into view again, I recoiled a little. Even though my instructor had on a mask I could see he was laughing at me. He took the board and pen and wrote “SPANISH MACKREL” … The story was retold to great amusement in our bar. (Come on.. they look the same.. right….?)

Bottom line is that your imagination can make a situation far more serious than it actually is. Just wait for the full facts before you start to panic…

7. Information received should always be backed up

I had flown in from Barbados one day to see several American helicopter Gun ships at the airport. Having been in the Air Force I recognised an Apache when I saw one. The hotel car came to pick me up and I asked what they were doing there.

“They are hear to destroy the Marijuana fields”

Unfortunately, with subsidies being taken away and the massive commercialisation of Banana harvesting, many of the islands farmers had chosen to grow the drug. I am anti-drugs, but I also understand the farmer that needs to feed his family.

Anyway the US had come to a deal to destroy the crops apparently. Later that day I was in a ‘Rum Shop’ where a group of local Rasta’s were enjoying some of the ‘herb’ being destroyed in the hills.

“I bet you are not happy about the Americans destroying the crops” I said. In unison, the group laughed. When they had finished with the giggles one turned around and, taking a huge drag on his joint then exhaling a large cloud said in broad West Indian accent:

“No problem man, they are shooting in the wrong place”

This brought more roars of laughter. Apparently, so the story goes, someone had given the wrong information to the Air Force guys and they were burning trees and not much else.

It pays, even if you are the most sophisticated military machine in the world, to check your information… at least twice…

8. Be careful what you promise

New Years Eve 1998 was coming up. A huge event that required the best entertainment for the evening. I had arrived on Christmas Eve and had enjoyed my Christmas there. I enquired what we were doing for New Years Eve and no one knew. The manager hadn’t really organised anything other than the menus. I panicked, people were asking me all the time what the hotel was doing. I had said “Book the night, it will be spectacular” and so bookings were up. Sooner or later we were booked solid and the rumour was starting that we had booked a hugely popular band to play on the night. We had no one…

I scouted around the island for a band, to be told that everyone was booked. People thought I was doing it to cover for the fact that we had this awesome band coming to play. We had no one….

On New Years Eve Morning I had a DJ and a CD player and was prepared for a revolt when one of the staff said “Chief, my sister is in a band but they broke up because she is pregnant, only a few weeks, but she didn’t want to take bookings any more. I asked, she says she would help you out” Kissing her on the forehead I said “Great, get them to come over now”.

Power Cut

They came and began to set up, it was now one in the afternoon. Guests were due to start arriving at 7pm. The band took an hour to set up, plugged in and were ready to play me a song when the power went off. We often had power cuts. I phoned the power people, they told me it would be back on in an hour. I asked if the band had a tape, they did, we took this to the car (the only tape player at the hotel) the car stereo was rubbish and I could not get an idea of what they sounded like. The thing was now, that I had no choice, if the band were rubbish I was screwed. I would quickly tell them to shuffle off and get the DJ working, this was my plan.

The power came back on at 6′ O’Clock… The band set up, started to play a song and the circuit breakers cut out. We had not been able to install commercial electricity at the hotel as of yet, so all the bands equipment and all the air conditioning going off in the rooms was overloading the circuits. The band were told to trim down their equipment to the bare minimum…

7′ O’clock rolled around. Now dressed in a tux, I was greeting guests and making nice while panicking. Everyone was there including the islands Commissioner of Police…. All the guessed to there seats, ordered drinks and sat down for the first song, from the first session of the band. I was a light grey colour despite my tan.

The chords of “I will always love you” by Whitney Houston filled the air and I contemplated running. No one ever sung Whitney, like Whitney. As I contemplated my fate at the hands of a group of high ranking government officials something happened. An angel’s voice boomed out from the little pregnant lady on the stage. I swear, if Whitney was there her jaw would have dropped. When she had finished her first song, the hotel guests were on their feet cheering. The Commissioner of Police walked over to me and said “Everybody said you had something special, I didn’t expect this”

I breathed a sigh of relief and promised to myself that I would never, ever again promise something that I couldn’t deliver.

9. Don’t get too big for your boots

My mother is a Yorkshire woman. She has always said what’s on her mind and does not suffer fools, including any foolish behaviour my brothers and sisters come out with. I had taken her and my step father to the hotel and my mother was loving it. She was the center of attention and very proud. I must admit, so was I.

One night, however, we were having dinner. I had laid on a special night and the hotel was packed. My mum had ordered the steak, which she had been very impressed with on other nights. The waiter delivered it and she took a bite. “How is it mum?” I asked. “It is lovely, but it is a little on the lukewarm side”. I sprung into action and theatrically waived at the concierge “Jeffrey” I said, sternly “This steak is cold, take it back to the kitchen and get my mother another one” Thinking I was very cool I looked at my mum.

At the top of her voice, in that tome that only mothers can produce, she said “David! Stop showing off!” Everything in the restaurant went quiet for that split second and I felt like a 10 year-old boy again.

I have tried not to be so proud and full of myself since that night!

10. Sometimes you need a mentor.

The diving instructor mentioned above, had a boat. One day I was bored and he came over to the hotel to chat and suggested we take the day off an go over to Mustique to the famous ‘Basil’s Bar’. I was up for it so off we went to his boat, which was a fishing boat.

We always knew that if we could see white surf on the cliffs of Bequia, which was a few miles away, that there would be big swell in the sea. I asked and said “Are we OK to go, there looks like there is big surf”

“No problem” he said.

We set off and as soon as we got into the Bequia channel it was BIG sea and I don’t mind telling you I was scared… My friend just smiled, laughed and said “Man I been in sea like this a million times” this is nothing, just enjoy it”.

It got worse. “Man this is great fun, just enjoy it, think of it as a Roller coaster” he then let out a large howl into the wind, like someone who was having the time of his life. I did the same and felt better…

We got to Basil’s in one piece. My friend turned to me and said “Man that was big sea, I have not seen it like that for a long time”

“I thought you said you had seen that a million times?” I said

“I have been in bigger seas, but that was fierce. I just do what I always do when things get rough and go with it. I had to make you feel like you was fine. Truth is we both got through it and you are now a proper islander”

Mentors can help you through the bad times, even when they know things are REALLY tough..

I have travelled extensively and can say that the advetures I have had will stay with me forever. If you are just starting out on your entrepreneurial journey, then try to do some travelling. You don’t need flash hotels just stay in local places. I guarantee, when you have been touched by the locals on an island like St Vincent you, and the way you do business, will never be the same again.

Regards
David
@OneLifeNoFear