Dimitar Berbatov’s seven habits of highly successful people like me: #4 Joking Around

Fans,

I feel I must personally apologise for our defeat against Chelsea. This was largely because of my absence from the game, the result of a practical joke that went wrong.

The morning of the match, I told Patrice that it would be a great idea for me to hide in the luggage compartment of the team coach. The lads would then open it to put their kit bags in, and I would jump out like a crazy man and scare them a lot. This would be very funny.

Patrice agreed that this was a great joke and helped me sneak into the bus and close the door. After a while, I realised that the bus had not opened, and it was moving. When I finally got out, I found myself not in Chelsea, but in Warsaw Central Station, Poland.

To this day, Patrice swears that putting me in the wrong bus was an honest mistake. I believe him because he is not a joker by nature, and he does not have the skill to out fox me when it comes to practical joke making.

This ability of mine to create funny situations that bring people together in laughter is my successful habit #4: Joking Around

Successful Habit: Joking Around - Pretending to be a Gnome

As a child, laughter followed me everywhere I went, especially at birthday parties where the other kids confused me with the clown entertainer. As a result of my oversized head, hands and feet, I was later hired as Ronald McDonald’s official Bulgarian sidekick, Bighead McNuggetski.

It is then that I realised that my looks and my desire to pleasure people were a a powerful combination, one that could bring joy in life, not only to others, but also to me.

Today, the great team morale you see at Manchester is largely thanks to my fun bringing. Ask the lads, and they will tell you many stories where they laughed a lot at me.

There was the example when I was tied to a post and mock executed after our Everton penalty defeat; or the time I stole a tractor from Bulgaria, drove it to Manchester and invented the no running sport of tractorball, or my personal favourite, my 11 aside javelin throwing eliminator contest.

So why is joking around so important in life success? Well it is scientifically proven that childlike behaviour creates powerful energy amongst people. Gandhi, Stalin and Robbie Williams all knew this. I am fortunate also to have this gift.

So my advice in becoming a leader of men is simple. Go share your inner child with people around you and don’t be scared to let your fun side out. From funerals, to accident scenes to hairdryer treatments by your big boss, practical joking is always appreciated by everyone in all occasions. There are no exeptions.

Good Bye and Good Joking Around.