Are You Too Competitive?
“Man has risen so far above all other species that he competes in ways unique in nature. He fights by means of complicated weapons; he fights for ends remote in time.” – Charles A Lindbergh (Autobiography of Values, 1978) Hollywood would have you believe that successful businessmen are competitive creatures…
READ MORECheating Yourself In Your Spare Time
“When a finger points at the moon, the imbecile looks at the finger.” – Chinese proverb Theres a young man I know — someone Im mentoring — who has great potential but no obvious advantages. He doesnt have a good education, has no money to speak of, and has only…
READ MOREYes, You Can Get Rich By Teaching
“He who can, does. He who cannot, teaches.” – George Bernard Shaw (Man and Superman, 1903) What George Bernard Shaw didn’t say in today’s oft-repeated quotation — but should have — is that those who teach also do. A friend of mine has been very successful as an executive in…
READ MOREHow To Break Into The Lucrative World Of Catalog Sales
“The secret of success — if there is one — is the ability to put yourself in another person’s shoes and to consider things from his or her point of view as well as your own.” – Henry Ford Whether you sell old books, cigar lighters, clothes, or furniture, a…
READ MOREDon’t Befriend Your Business Contacts
“Business, you know, may bring money, but friendship hardly ever does.” – Jane Austen (Emma, 1816) I know a couple that has an unusual number of rich and successful “friends.” We circulate in many of the same social circles, but they end up becoming chummy with the billionaires, movie actors,…
READ MOREDo You Need A Strong Personality To Be Successful?
“You don’t have to be nice to people on the way up if you are not planning to come back down.” – Dan Stone If you read the wrong career advice, you might conclude that being successful in business is about being tough and aggressive, attacking the competition, and taking…
READ MOREYou Don’t Need To Be A Creative Genius
“There are three ingredients in the good life — learning, earning, and yearning.” – Christopher Morley I had lunch with JS today. JS owns and runs a very successful business in South Florida. He sells medium- and discount-priced jewelry directly to customers and through the catalogs of some very large…
READ MOREHow To Survive And Prosper During The Coming Recession
“Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or to lose.” – Lyndon B. Johnson (address to the nation, November 28, 1963) In addition to following the news reports and pondering the moral and practical issues of fighting a war against terrorism, I’ve been keeping an…
READ MOREThings May Get Worse Before They Get Better
“I walk firmer and more secure uphill than down.” – Montaigne, Michel The stock market took a dive yesterday. Internet resolutions to hold and buy stocks failed to thwart the flood of panicked sellers. Airline stocks crashed. Thousands of workers were laid off. At least one airline has shut down…
READ MOREIs Your Business Floundering? What Are You Doing About It?
“Vitality shows in not only the ability to persist but the ability to start over.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald (The Crack-Up, 1945) If your business isn’t going the way you want, make sure the problem isn’t you. You may have been a wunderkind in the old days, but it’s the…
READ MOREHow To Overcome Price Resistance: The Gentle Art Of Persuasion
As you know, I’ve gotten involved with a local Jiu Jitsu Academy. It’s run by several young people, none of whom has much business experience. Teaching martial arts is probably among the 10 worst businesses you can be in. Every year, thousands of new academies open up all over America.…
READ MOREWhen It Comes To Growing Your Business, Stick To Knitting
“To do two things at once is to do neither.” – Publilius Syrus (Moral Sayings, 1st century B.C.) In a recent article in Newsletter on Newsletters, marketing pro Betsy Morris identifies “nine ways to market your product line on a shoestring.” Some of her ideas include using feedback forms (comment…
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