Fight for the Right to Work
In a bad job market, the most important thing you can do is to keep trying. Never give up. Life is a race and your career is also a race. The problem with most people is that they are often willing to give up at the first sign of difficulty. The harder you keep trying and the more effort you put in, the more things are likely to go your way. From the time I was about 12, I had paper routes that required me to home deliver hundreds of papers all over my neighborhood by 7:00 am each morning. It gets very difficult to do paper routes in the winter in Michigan, and it was not a fun job. The worst part about the paper route was that I had a corrupt manager. I think he was paid based on how many papers were being delivered on his route, so he kept increasing the number of papers I had to pay for, despite the fact that my customer base was not increasing. I tried to keep up with this for some time but eventually it got to be too much. He was raising the numbers of papers he sold me each week faster than I could cancel the newspapers. Eventually I gave up. This was a huge mistake. There are people around you like my manager, who are trying to undermine what you are doing, often for their own personal gain. You should always fight back against people seeking to undermine you–and hold them accountable. Had I fought back, I am sure I would have made a lot more money back when I was delivering newspapers. 
Each day I would be left with a huge pile of undelivered papers, for which I would still have to pay. For years these papers accumulated in my mother’s garage. Rats came and created elaborate nests out of them. I knew this because when I would throw the undelivered papers into the garage each morning I could hear the sound of the rats scattering. I became alarmed to set foot in there. Even my dog refused to go in the garage. She would yelp and scream if anyone tried to take her in [Read more]
The Benefits of Being Unemployed and Doing Nothing
A few years ago, I was on an airplane and was seated next to a woman who appeared to be in her mid-40s. It turned out she had started a well-known business and was married to a well-known business tycoon. For most of the five-hour flight we went back and forth discussing business in some depth. In fact, I do not think we stopped talking more than a minute or two the entire flight. We didn’t even watch the movies. At the time, the United States was in a severe recession and the economy was not doing [Read more]
Your Life Is the Product of Your Rituals
I just returned from a two-day conference where the only choices I had for lunch each day were sandwiches with a side of potato salad or chips. After eating this lunch, I found myself far less productive than I was in the morning. The meal was too heavy for me. In fact, for years I did not eat lunch at all, but when I am in a group, I often feel obligated. I have never liked eating a big lunch during the workday. The very process of eating lunch slows me down and makes the rest of [Read more]
The Greek Parthenon and Your Career
One of the most important lessons for our lives and careers comes from the Parthenon in Greece. The Parthenon has been standing in the same location for almost 2,500 years and is considered one of the world’s great cultural monuments. It is largely because of the Parthenon’s multiple columns that the Parthenon has survived for so long. If you understand and employ the lessons of the Parthenon, you should never have any issues with feeling secure in your career and life. I personally have run my career according to what I call the Parthenon Principle (the “Principle”). [Read more]
Avoid Creating “Fatal Friction”
The worst thing you can ever do in a professional relationship—and in a personal relationship, for that matter, is introduce what I call “fatal friction”. I have seen more careers stalled, held back and even ruined by fatal friction than I can count. In addition, people create all sorts of social problems for themselves by introducing fatal friction into their social relationships. What is fatal friction? It is anything you say or do that creates some sort of tension between you and another person, or an organization, which is so severe it is unlikely to ever go away. Once this [Read more]
Why You Must Change and How to Overcome Resistance to Change
Two of the largest impediments to our living better lives, having better careers, and being everything we are capable of being are (1) not changing, and (2) not taking the action necessary to get us to a new place. The more consistent action you take, the more you can grow, and the more you grow, the better you become. Since most people are motivated to improve and have better lives and careers, it stands to reason that to reach their full potential they also need to change, and in order to change they need to take action. [Read more]
Seek Out And Work With People Who Share Your Beliefs
A few years ago on a chilly December evening, my wife and I were having a late dinner one night at a restaurant in Malibu. The main restaurant had closed so we were seated near the bar. A man walked in through the front door, who looked like he was on a very serious mission, but at the same time seemed in good spirits. I would estimate he was in his early 40s. It was probably around 10:30 in the evening and it was Saturday night–the weekend before Christmas. There were various drunks sitting and chatting at the bar. [Read more]
Five Gallons of Soup: Are You a Moving-Away-From or a Moving-Toward Sort of Person?
When I was a freshman in college, one of my older fraternity brothers once dumped a giant pail of soup over my head while I was eating dinner. This was during my “pledge” period when I was in the process of joining the fraternity. Each of the kids in my pledge class experienced similar humiliations at one point or another, something that we all endured until we were officially inducted into the fraternity. The older fraternity brothers loved these sorts of pranks and mischief and I am sure it is still going on to this day. [Read more]
Are You Structured or Free Spirited?
Around six months ago, I was going to meet with an important investment banker in Los Angeles. It was not an ordinary bank-type office because it was located high in a skyscraper, and was full of wood paneling, dark fabrics, oriental rugs–and there was almost a complete absence of people anywhere. In fact, after entering the front door to the office, it felt like I had to walk a full 10 seconds down a long hall before I encountered an immaculate receptionist, sitting in front of what looked like a painting I had remembered studying in an art history class. [Read more]
Are You Motivated by Power, Relationships, or Achievement?
I have been restoring two old Aston Martins for probably close to a decade. I have had various parts of the cars repainted, new carpets and upholstery installed, the dashboards redone, and the engines rebuilt. I am not sure what got me interested in this project in the first place, but my efforts have been well rewarded; during the restoration of these cars I have had countless hours of enjoyment, and the cars have appreciated in value. While you may be wondering how my restoring cars is relevant to your career and life, I have found that [Read more]
