Once You Achieve Success, Savor and Enjoy It to the Fullest
February 11, 2012
I have certain habits and ways of thinking about the world that are the right ways, at least for me:
I want to enjoy everyone I know, everything I buy, and every idea I come into contact with to the fullest. I feel that we need to really appreciate what we have to the absolute fullest. A few years ago, I was taking private pilot lessons and was very close to getting my pilot’s license–and then I stopped. It has been at the back of my [Read more]
Do What You Want to Do, Not What You Think You Should Do
February 5, 2012
I know two men who worked in New York City, each of whom made millions of dollars and immediately quit their jobs, taking up completely different careers as gas station owners in New Jersey. I learned about one of these men when I was in college, and I heard about the other man several years later, when I was a recruiter. For the past several years, I have puzzled over the stories of these two men because the similarities between them just seemed so unbelievable.
- One man had originally been a financial trader with a bunch of Ivy League degrees. He made his fortune by selling some trading system he had developed for $10 million or so.
- The other man had been an attorney with an impressive pedigree as well. One day, he won a huge settlement and made around $5 million.
Both men were in their 40s, and after these major career victories, each of them quit their jobs and bought gas stations on the New Jersey turnpike. These men did not know each other and were of no relation, yet they both ended up migrating into the same profession. How does one transform from being a person with incredible qualifications to a person who simply owns a gas station on the New Jersey turnpike? From what I understood, these guys were incredibly happy after leaving their careers and taking on new positions as gas station operators. Running a gas station that sees a lot of business can be very profitable. Most gas station operators make around 10 cents a gallon in profit from every gallon of gas that they sell. In addition, they make a lot of money on the concessions that they sell inside the shop. Also, a lot of customers pay with cash, and the gas station owners often do not declare and pay taxes on their cash sales. Owning a gas station is much different from being a Wall Street lawyer or trader. You report to work in jeans, not a suit. You often work with people who are not highly educated. Selling refreshments and gas is something, it would seem, that almost anyone could do. Why, then, did these men both plan such a drastic change in profession? Here are some likely possibilities:
- They wanted to be happy.
- They enjoyed working in the gas station.
- They could earn decent money in the gas station business and could maintain a high quality of life.
- They wanted to be independent, and having their own businesses allowed them this independence.
- They realized that much of what is going on and is expected of people in the working world is just complete nonsense.
The idea has always fascinated me: If you could rise up through the ranks in your company and become incredibly successful, hypothetically making enough money to retire–would your very next move be to purchase a gas station? Most people would probably not do this. Instead, they would [Read more]
Focus on Doing–and Stop Talking About Those Who Are Doing
February 3, 2012
Throughout my career I have learned that there are generally two types of people out there:
- First, there are those who are out there doing this or that and making things happen. These people typically put in years to perfect their craft, whether they are lawyers, actors, sports stars, businesspeople–or whatever. These people are actually doing something with their careers and lives. Their sense of self-importance and achievement comes from what they do. They are committed to getting things accomplished.
- Second, there are those who sit around writing about, talking about, and gossiping about those who are doing things in the world. Those who cannot do things or make things happen in the world are generally the ones who are best at writing, talking, and gossiping about those who are making things happen in the world. Writing, gossiping, reviewing, and passing judgment on people who are actually doing things is often a cheap shortcut to a sensation of power for those who lack the discipline necessary to do and create something that has worth. In reviewing, criticizing, gossiping, and so forth about others, the person can experience a fleeting feeling of importance.
When I was eleven years old, in February of 1981, the only television in our Detroit home was in my bedroom, and one time in the wee hours of the morning my mother and my four-year-old sister came into my room and watched Prince Charles and Diana get married. I have vague recollections of images from this wedding coming through as I tossed back and forth, incredulous that my mother and sister [Read more]
Seek the Experience and Knowledge of Others in Your Job Search
February 1, 2012
Back in college there were men I knew who would always shadow other men at parties. The first man would typically spend his entire evening drinking and talking to a woman he met at the party. At some point he would have had too much to drink and would start losing his focus. At that point, the shadow would appear, talk to the girl and, oftentimes, end up going home with her. Since the woman was usually also a little drunk at this point, she was not processing if she liked the shadow as much, and she was discounting the [Read more]
The Danger of Driving Sharp Bargains
January 31, 2012
Every time I have ever seen someone drive a sharp bargain, it has ended up coming back at the person in some negative way. People who get paid more than they are worth, or who receive more benefit than they provide, always run into problems and have difficulty achieving success. The most successful people in the world are, for the most part, the ones who give more value than they receive. They contribute so much value that people want to do business with them, to buy their products and services over and over again. When I was practicing law, I [Read more]
Change Your Thermostat
January 30, 2012
One day several years ago, I was sitting in my office in Los Angeles when two barefooted women walked in. Their feet were dirty, and I can assure you, it is not normal for women to walk around downtown Los Angeles without shoes. Both of the women had scabs on their face and were in their late 20s or early 30s. They were dressed like prostitutes and they both looked quite frightening, their eyes glassy and hair unkempt. They did not smell good. All it took was one look to see that the women had been living on the streets, [Read more]
The Better Your Product, the Better Your Life
January 25, 2012
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]
Getting Referrals from Powerful People (We All Know Someone)
January 21, 2012
When I was practicing law at a major Los Angeles law firm several years ago, something happened that was difficult for me to believe. The firm where I worked employed some of the top law school graduates in the United States. For example, in the year before I joined, they had hired three of the top five ranked graduates out of Harvard Law School. Most of the attorneys were students from the top of their class at either Harvard, Stanford, or Yale, and the ones who were not, were often first in their class from the top ten or twenty [Read more]
Why the Best Executives Are So Highly Paid
January 18, 2012
The higher I have risen in my career, the more criticism and the more obstacles I have faced. In today’s world, if you lay off an employee, fire someone, or make any other decision that potentially upsets people, you face incredible scrutiny. Former employees will go on blogs and criticize you and your leadership style. You will be attacked by many people. This is something that has happened to every leader and every organizer throughout the ages. The leaders of companies, organizations, and religions are subject to incredible criticism and attacks by virtue of the position they are in. In some countries, the leaders are assassinated. Anyone who organizes groups of men and women, whether it is a country, a religion, or a company, will face criticism and pressures that the average working man and woman simply do not face. When you go to the worst neighborhoods in any city in America, you will find areas where there is rampant unemployment–people are living on the street, and drug use, prostitution, and murder rates are all high. The people you will find in these areas are those who are unable to follow orders and to successfully work for others, for the most part. They are people without jobs. When you drive out of the ghetto, you will find middle-class and working-class neighborhoods where you will pass rows of houses in which the televisions flicker each night. Inside each of these homes is a man or woman who goes to an average job each day, follows orders, and gets paid. This person lives much better than the people in the ghetto, and his or her ability to follow orders and work in an organized system is rewarded. This person gets a roof over his head and a job that brings him a steady paycheck. The better the area, the more likely you will find people who are incredibly skilled in following orders. And in addition to following orders, they are usually in positions where they are giving orders–and are highly skilled in doing this. The better middle-class neighborhoods will contain doctors, lawyers, and other high-level professionals who have gone to schools and learned to follow orders and procedures properly. These neighborhoods may also contain highly skilled laborers. The best neighborhoods will contain the upper-level managers. Again we are talking about highly skilled people. Then, in every city–as there has always been–you will find homes that are gigantic and have gates and other amenities that boggle the mind. These are the homes that are lived in by the wealthiest people. Some of these homes are so fantastic that the average person cannot even imagine setting foot inside them, much less living inside. These are typically not the homes of those who follow orders or who are skilled in following orders. Instead, these are the people who are skilled at giving orders, creating procedures, and getting incredible amounts of work done through hundreds, if not thousands of people. The most successful men or women become this way because of the amount of work they can accomplish and, often, the number of people they can get to do all the work that needs to be done. Those who shovel a ditch each day are only affecting the dirt in front of them. They are paid accordingly. Those who supervise a group of ditch diggers are paid more because they are able to ensure that more work gets done by a group. The people who manage the group that supervises the ditch diggers is paid even more. And so on. The more skilled the executive, the more this person is able to control, and the more work he or she is able to accomplish. This requires an understanding of people, the environment, and the economy, and it involves making numerous decisions and calculations while taking every factor into account each day. One of the most fascinating questions that I have heard is why do certain executives in major corporations earn so much money? When you see a large company like General Electric, Home Depot, Disney, or Apple, you will generally find Chief Executive Officers who are earning millions and sometimes tens of millions of dollars per year. It may seem hard to believe that someone’s efforts are actually worth $50 million a year; however, there is a reason these people are paid so much, which is very easy to see. It relates to how much these executives contribute to their companies. Nevertheless, throughout my entire life I [Read more]
Production Assistants–and Assessing Your Employer’s Needs
January 12, 2012
Ninety percent of the people I have ever interviewed as a prospective employer never tried to determine the wants, requirements, and needs of our company. How can someone possibly obtain or do well in a job if he or she does not take the time to understand what the employer is looking for? It’s hard to believe, but few interviewees ever take the extra step. Instead, most people come into interviews concerned only about what they need. People are concerned about
- the hours they are going to be working,
- where they will be working,
- the benefits the company offers,
