Your Ultimate Goal: How You Can Find Job Security

One of the worst things that can happen to people is getting fired from a job with no notice whatsoever. It can be devastating to lose your source of income unexpectedly, especially in a contracting economy. Losing a job can color our perspective on the world and our future. Going forward, we have a difficult time allowing ourselves to ever feel secure again. We believe that things can change in an instant and that we might be suddenly out of a job again. This fear of sudden job loss is something that many people who have been terminated from jobs [Read more]

Slipping, Falling Down, Gravity, and Your Career

Over the past few years my wife has watched a television show called Project Runway pretty religiously. Since she likes to watch television in the evenings after our daughter has gone to bed, I have seen countless episodes of this show. It involves young, aspiring clothing designers who are given assignments to make various outfits, and they ultimately participate in little runway shows with models and judges for each design. After each runway show, one aspiring designer is sent home, and the remaining designers are left to compete during the next episode of the show. The designer who wins is typically given immunity from being sent home at the next round of competition. For the majority of the show, the designers are creating their outfits for the competition. Each 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]

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]

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]

Are You More Motivated by the Opinions of Others–or Your Own?

When I first moved to Los Angeles, I found myself spending the occasional Saturday or Sunday going to Beverly Hills with a girlfriend to look in clothing stores. One of the stores that I usually ended up in was a store like Barneys, which carries both men’s and women’s clothing. Instead of sitting idly on couch near a dressing room, reading fashion magazines with the other occasional bored male, I typically would go upstairs and look at men’s clothing. What always fascinated me about the menswear I saw during these trips was that it seemed drastically different each year. One [Read more]

Are You More Specific–or More General?

One summer I was working in New York City for a big law firm and was told to go see an important partner about an assignment. I went into the partner’s office and was handed a file: “We have a deadline of next Thursday. Make sure we have filed the proper form with the SEC.” “What sort of file are you talking about, and what is the deadline?” I asked. Keep in mind that I was a law student and had no legal experience whatsoever. “I do not have time for this [Read more]

The Importance of Your Sense of Self

Once, when I was around 17 years old, I was sitting in a car with a friend of mine, waiting for another group of kids. My friend was very wealthy and by this age had already inherited several million dollars–and he was very arrogant about this. In addition, he had been raised to think very highly of himself. He seemed to believe he had done the absolute best in everything he did. Even though he was not a great student, he reasoned that this did not matter, since the best students would one day be working for him. He had [Read more]

Your Ability to Be Free Will Determine Your Success

A crucial part of your future success and happiness is having the ability to be free. The concept of freedom is difficult for most people to truly understand because hardly anyone is really free, in the deepest sense of the word. Most people are trapped by their own mental barriers, by obligations to others, by financial constraints, by habits, and in many cases by actual physical barriers. Moving toward true freedom is something that will forever change your life and career and will help you reach your full potential. The founding principles of the United States were largely based on the idea of freedom for all citizens, as exemplified by the First Amendment to the [Read more]

Group Rules, Walking Off, Suffering, and Your Career

When I was growing up, I lived a few doors down from a very observant Catholic family that had strong opinions about what is right and what is wrong. There was a son around my age whom I liked to play with now and then, but his parents eventually banned me from fraternizing with him. The reason was that, after being warned by his parents a few times not to do so, I forgot and shouted “Jesus Christ!” during some game. The first time I had done this, I had received a very stern lecture about using Jesus’ name in [Read more]

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