A Bug Free Mind Andy Shaw PDF Review 1 A Bug Free Mind Andy Shaw PDF Review 1 | Page 46

in sales volume because of the credit crunch, but I knew with us going to the
mass market with book sales that we would have 5 to 10 times as many
prospective clients and this was only a temporary setback.
Though things went downhill sharply in August, by September 2008 we
knew something was really wrong. Earlier in the year when Bear Stearns went
under, I thought we were on the verge of a meltdown, and now Lehman
Brothers going was awful news. I watched, as the world seemed to be oblivious
to the abyss that we were standing next to. I remember thinking, well the game’s
changed now! However, the people guiding us in Cyprus were still convinced
that it would all be ok and the banks would return to lending soon (actually they
didn’t change that view until May 2009). However, I was not convinced - I saw
the people who pull the strings make wrong turn after wrong turn and thought
this is going to get worse not better. But there was no turning back then, we
were committed to making it work and so carried on.
So in October 2008 I saw for the first time how all that I had created
could be wiped out by the credit crunch in a matter of months. I had left myself
cash-flow exposed, as I was in the process of releasing millions from my equity
when the banks pulled the plug on mortgages in March 08. The 50% sale of our
business Passive Investments, which was looking like raising us approximately
£8 million, fell through and so this was another big knock. Things went from
bad to worse, sales in all businesses imploded and nothing new was happening.
Property was no longer ‘flavour of the month’ and I was fully exposed with all of
my focus on a niche, which the world now hated. It was mid-October 2008
when I think I first accepted the fact that this could fail. This is where I am
pretty sure I let lack in, though I have not yet tracked it back to the precise
instant, however, I will find it one day.
What technically killed my financial position off was a personal creditor
who, for whatever reason, had decided in October 2009 that he thought he
would stand more chance of getting his money if my estate went into the hands
of a trustee, rather than having to accept that I could just not afford to pay now.
I think he had been given some pretty poor advice, as to me the logical action
was to wait and see. I had been a massive income producer before, so to me it
seemed only logical that I would produce massive income again. Though at the
time I could not say how, as I was going to have to create this again from the
ground up. I didn’t know how, I just knew I would.
Going back a little way, in early June 2009 I realised that I could no
longer maintain my position and now I was going to financially live or die by the
good grace of my creditors. There were about 80 personal creditors (from
memory) who could make me bankrupt with various loans ranging from £15,000
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