Sympathy, Morale, and the Importance of Being Organized
In every job I have ever had, I have been happy for the most part. When I was an attorney, for example, I liked many aspects of being an attorney. When I worked in the asphalt business, I loved many aspects of that business. Most people are able to find some level of enjoyment in every job that they do. What is interesting, though, is that in every job I ever had, there were always people around me who were more than happy to stop by my office and go out to lunch with me, just to give me the [Read more]
The Better Your Product, the Better Your Life
One day, when I was growing up, I had a pain in my foot and my stepmother took me to see a podiatrist. I had never heard of a podiatrist and I have never been to one since, but I remember hearing the most unusual story at the time about a girl who became a podiatrist. Several years ago, some friends of one of my parents’ had a daughter who completed a few years of college and was pretty out of control. She had gotten horrible grades, had gotten into all sorts of trouble, and seemed to [Read more]
Concentrate on Your Product
When I was growing up, I used to spend most weekends with my father. Like most fathers I knew, my dad loved to watch sports. Football was always on during the season, and he always seemed most interested in college sports. I have always been amazed by college football because of the high level of enthusiasm that students, alumni, and others have for it. My mother went to the University of Michigan, my father attended law school there for some time, my grandfather went there, and my grandmother got a master’s degree there as well. My grandparents liked the school [Read more]
Help and Promote Expansion
Whenever I speak to other business owners and ask them how they are doing, one thing I hear over and over is the following: “Things are going well and we are expanding.” In fact, I hear this statement so often, it is difficult to believe. It is as if the people believe that the only sign of a successful business is if it is expanding. The funny thing about this is that I get this response even when I know the opposite is really what is occurring. Companies state they are expanding even when they are laying people off. Today I read [Read more]
Order and Disorder and Your Career
Every single person, place, or thing that you encounter follows these laws, which present and repeat themselves time and time again. In fact, both order and disorder are good things because they can be used to lead to great improvement in our personal lives and in society. How you make order and disorder work for you will in large part determine your success and failure in life and in your career. A few years ago, a very intelligent friend of mine, an attorney, came over to my house and started telling me about what a good investment [Read more]
Gravitate Towards People and Organizations that Appear to Have Good Luck
The Rothchilds have another maxim: “Never do anything with an unlucky man or place.” That is to say, never have anything to do with a man or place which never succeeds, because, although a man may appear honest and intelligent, yet if he tries this or that thing and always fails, it is on account of some fault or infirmity that you may not be able to discover but nevertheless which must exist. –P.T. Barnum
I have spent a large portion of my life finding jobs for people. In this career, I have gradually come to realize that there are some people and organizations out there that simply have what I would call bad luck. Something seems to go wrong with everything these people or organizations get involved in. Others appear to have good luck–everything they touch seemingly turns to gold. One of the keys to your success in your career and life is avoiding the people and organizations that seem to have a never-ending streak of bad luck. Generally bad luck is not the real cause of failure. Instead, an almost unfathomable variety of complex and numerous factors are probably the cause.
- From the moment successful people get up in the morning until they go to bed, they are doing a variety of things too numerous to count that make them successful.
- From the moment unsuccessful people get up in the morning until they end their day, they are doing a variety of things too numerous to count that make them unsuccessful.
- Successful businesses do things a certain way that involves so many variables it would be difficult to count.
- Unsuccessful businesses do things a certain way that involves so many variables it would be difficult to count.
All people and organizations work the way they do for various reasons. Try as you might, you will never understand all the reasons one succeeds and one does not. In your career and life, you are just better off avoiding what does not [Read more]
The Power of Resistance in Your Career and Life
Every single day in business and in our personal and family lives, most of us face difficult choices. One of the hardest things to do in life is to resist pursuits of immediate gratification. However, the more we resist immediate gratification, the more success, happiness, and long-term fulfillment we generally end up experiencing. The power of resistance is something that can transform your life. Very few people realize the power of resistance–how it can make a major difference in their lives and the lives of those around them. Resistance is a sign of leadership and a sign [Read more]
You Need to be in the Right Environment
For the past several years my wife and I have kept a saltwater aquarium. We did not get one of these intentionally, but when we moved into a new house several years ago, it had a saltwater tank built into the living room wall. Outside, there was a huge Koi pond with waterfalls. We could not watch television and enjoy the house if we had a bunch of dying fish, so we immediately found a fish service. In each house I have owned over the past decade, the previous owner had a series of hobbies that I [Read more]
You Always Need a Backup Plan
Being in the asphalt business in Detroit taught me very early on that things frequently go wrong. In fact, things go wrong so frequently, it is difficult to believe:
- Pumps break.
- Tanks break.
- Trucks break.
- People get injured.
- Employees do not show up to work.
- It rains.
- The police give you a hard time for the condition of your equipment.
- People do not pay you for the work you have done for them.
- Suppliers go out of business.
- Customers get incredibly angry with you.
- Accidents occur, and materials get spilled on roadways.
- People rob you.
- People steal your equipment.
- You need to “pay off” certain people in order to operate in certain geographic areas.
The list of things that go wrong in the asphalt business is virtually endless. I will mention this again: So many things went wrong when I was in the asphalt business, it was difficult to believe. I [Read more]
The Power of Perceptions
In 1991 I purchased a four-year old Audi 5000 automobile for $2,500. When the car was new, it had been listed at $40,000. It was really beautiful inside. It had all sorts of electronic controls, powered everything, and it drove incredibly well. In fact, I can honestly say that the Audi 5000 was one of the nicest cars I have ever owned. In the entire time I owned the car, I had very few problems with it. The car was very comfortable in all respects and it cost me less than a much older, cheap compact car would have. As [Read more]
