Work, Details, Your Surroundings and Your Mind

Yesterday, I was getting a haircut and, before the haircut, the woman in the salon was washing my hair. As is typical in most salons, the woman also gave me a scalp massage for a minute or two while washing my hair.  I was enjoying the scalp massage and told her so: “You guys ought to start offering these scalp massages for an hour in addition to cutting hair. This is great!” I told her. “It is obvious you are feeling my cosmic aura and energy,” she said.  “You can tell that I am [Read more]

Use the Power of Contrasts to Drive Yourself Forward

The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool. Richard P. Feynman, Nobel-Prize Winning Physicist

When my father was growing up, his father used to spend occasional Sunday afternoons driving him through expensive neighborhoods around Detroit and showing him the expensive houses in these neighborhoods.  My grandfather was a newspaper man and never made a lot of money.  When I was growing up, my father also didn’t make a lot of money and did the same thing with me.  It was often uncomfortable cruising three miles an hour down these streets.  A major reason I was uncomfortable with this had to do with the fact that I knew a lot of the kids [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]

The Importance of Culture in Organizations

Employees’ level of success and overall happiness has more to do with a particular culture (which is sometimes also referred to as the personality of an organization) than with any other factor. This article discusses (a) the importance of organizational culture, (b) why some employees do not give strong consideration to culture, (c) the reason that failure to seriously consider culture prematurely ends many careers, and (d) why making a lateral move provides the best opportunity to evaluate culture and the course of your career. Just as the work, salary, and prestige level can vary from employer to employer, the [Read more]