|
|
| |
success: Why Honesty is The Best Policy
- 07/12/10 04:20 AM
"Oh! What a tangled web we weaveWhen first we practice to deceive."- Sir Walter Scott
Some people think they’re so smart. As if their trickery and manipulation will never catch up them. Eventually, though, these people always end up caught in their own web of lies.Here are four reasons why honesty is the best policy, other than because your mother says so:1. Deceit is transparent.Most people can sense when a person is coloring the truth. Artifice often backfires.2. You may fool someone once, but you can never fool her twice.Also, people talk, but angry customers shout from the rooftops. If … (5 comments)
|
success: A Life-Changing Strategy
- 05/17/10 06:41 AM
I am speaking tomorrow morning in Trumbull, Connecticut. The theme of my speech is the need to create in your routine some activity that can lead to a life-changing event. I have studied successful people for thirty years and concluded that very few of them are uniquely intelligent, talented, good-looking or even lucky. Rather, they are for the most part people who identified something they felt strongly about, and then took off after it with all they had. My belief is that everyone has some kind of greatness inside of him or her. Maybe it’s an instinct for computers … or … (3 comments)
|
success: Thinking Against the Grain
- 03/29/10 06:46 AM
One of my goals with these entries is to introduce readers to new, well-written books.One I read this weekend is The Big Short, by Michael Lewis. Lewis is the brilliant writer who has also penned, Liars Poker, The Blind Side, and Moneyball.The Big Short is the story of a dozen men who made fortunes betting against the housing market during the years 2003 – 2007. Hence the name of the book: shorting a stock or financial instrument means betting it will drop in price. Having read the book, I now have a much better understanding of credit default swaps and synthetic … (2 comments)
|
success: Networking: Careful use of Social Capital
- 03/22/10 06:10 AM
I am currently writing a new book, The Skinny on Networking, and in preparation, I am reading every book I can find on the subject. One of the best is Keith Ferrazzi’s, Never Eat Alone.Ferrazzi’s premise is that the way to build a network is to help everyone you can achieve their goals. In this way you create a group of people who are then going to want to help you. While that general idea is hard to dispute, I think he misses the mark when it comes to a use of social capital.Here’s a set-up from his book:Ferrazzi wants to … (0 comments)
|
success: Choking on Thought
- 03/08/10 04:58 AM
Our brain is divided into two parts: the rational, analytical side. And, the instinctive, emotional side. For hundreds of years philosophers and scientists presumed that if we could just gain more control of our rational side (think Dr. Spock), our lives would be less chaotic and even happier.But, there is a downside to allowing our rational side to dominate. Putting aside the issues of how uninteresting life might become, the fact is that there can be a human cost to thinking too much.Anyone who has ever done a sport knows that, at times, you can outthink yourself. Sometimes instinct and reflex … (0 comments)
|
success: Bode Miller’s Comeback
- 02/22/10 02:57 AM
Last night I watched the Olympics on TV. And I saw U.S. downhill skier Bode Miller win a gold medal. I had some faint recollection of Miller from the 2006 Olympics. I did some homework: although he entered those Olympics as America’s great male hope, he had a very poor week: no medals, two DNF’s (did not finish) and one disqualification.In 2007 and 2008 Miller won some races, but in 2009 he had a dismal season – not winning one race. He did however make the U.S. Olympic team late in the year.And now it’s 2010 and he has already won … (2 comments)
|
success: It's the Saints!
- 02/08/10 03:48 AM
After 42 years of futility, after one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history, and just a few years after fans wore bags on their heads, the New Orleans Saints are today the best team in football.
To me, the story is a metaphor for the principle of never giving up on your dream.
Somewhere in our hearts we all harbor a serious dream. Something that would separate us from the pack … that would put an exclamation mark on the life we lead.
For many of us, that dream falls by the wayside as life takes over. The demands, … (3 comments)
|
success: I Hate Hubris
- 11/10/09 04:59 AM
I don’t even like the sound of the word: WHO – BRIS.Hubris is an overarching self-importance. Someone who thinks that he or she is different from (a better version of) the rest of us.Oftentimes hubris is the result of some high level of success. That to me is particularly galling because after studying success stories for many years, I have concluded that some people just catch the wave right, while others don’t. Call it luck, right place/right time, or whatever you want, but there are some people whose particular abilities and efforts just match up perfectly with what the world wants … (0 comments)
|
success: A “Rage to Master”
- 10/27/09 01:39 AM
What is it that drives some people to uber-success? What drives people who become Olympic gold medal winners, self-made billionaires, Presidents of the United States?There are of course a variety of factors. But one that psychologists seem to find consensus on is a childhood sense of loss.In the sixties, a psychologist by the name of Martin Seligman conducted a study with the Encyclopedia Brittanica. Back then – when it was a 30-volume print product – he pulled out every volume and counted the name of the individuals with at least a ½ page of text devoted to them. He figured that … (0 comments)
|
success: Sheer Absurdity
- 08/17/09 06:24 AM
One of our most fascinating discoveries about successful people is that sometimes the only point of differentiation between them and others is that the succeeders stopped deliberating and took action in the pursuit of something about which they felt strongly. In other words, the idea that success stories are about special individuals - really smart or talented or good-looking or even lucky people - is not supported by fact. Oftentimes the success story is just a person who said to himself/herself: "I am tired of thinking about it, I am going to JUST DO IT." I am not suggesting impulsive conduct. … (52 comments)
|
success: Why Persistence is all Powerful
- 08/04/09 05:56 AM
I have had the good fortune to become friendly with many highly successful individuals: world-class athletes and entertainers, national politicians, CEO’s of major corporations and very wealthy entrepreneurs.
The one predominant, common-thread characteristic they all share is incredible staying power. These are folks who will just never quit on a goal that they set for themselves. I mean NEVER.
Everybody of course says that persistence is critical to success. What I have been thinking about lately is why persistence and tenacity actually produce success.
Here are my reasons:
1) The longer you work at something, the better you get at it. … (2 comments)
|
success: Flow: The Classic Work On How To Achieve Happiness
- 07/15/09 06:41 AM
One of the most thought-provoking books that I have ever read is Flow, written in 1992 by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, at the time Chairman of the Psychology Department at The University of Chicago.
This small print, 300-page book is full of important thoughts. And it is with a lot of humility that I summarize Professor Csikszentmihalyi’s main points:
1. People are happiest when they are in a state of “flow,” the experience of being so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter. These are those situations when time seems to fly, when you know there are dogs barking and … (2 comments)
|
success: Time-Tested Keys To Success
- 07/02/09 03:39 AM
Last night my wife and I had dinner with friends. They were telling us about a new couple they had met.
The couple they met were very well travelled. Stories of great hotels. Had a deer problem on their 8-acre property in the Hamptons.
“OK, I get it, they’re rich,” I said. “What did you tell them about you?”
“Nothing,” my friends answered. “Why?” I asked (already knowing the answer).
“They didn’t ask,” my friends responded.
“Did that bother you?” I pressed.
“Not too much … they are nice people and we were happy to hear about them.”
“OK, let me … (3 comments)
|
success: Nobody Cares
- 06/01/09 07:55 AM
Last week a friend of mine asked me to review his son's resume. His son is graduating college next month and trying to get a job. Since I know people in the business his son is interested in, he also thought I might be of some assistance (and I will try).The resume was by-the-book and well prepared. But nothing about it jumped off the page. I tried to communicate to my friend's son that his resume needed to reach out from the page and grab the reader by the throat.And it occurred to me that what I was really saying to … (2 comments)
|
success: The Lonely Pursuit of Success
- 05/27/09 01:56 AM
Great achievers are often loners who find sustenance in the pursuit of something they feel strongly about - caring, of course, what others think but not needing interaction or confirmation to continue their quest.
I have a friendship with a four-time Olympian who has held 10 world records in track and field. He built his success over hundreds of hours training by himself. As a high jumper, he found happiness in ¼” increments - the kind of happiness that others find in human contact. His life entailed thousands of hours of aloneness (distinguish loneliness) interrupted by brief periods of adulation (track … (4 comments)
|
success: The Thinnest of Margins
- 05/11/09 05:01 AM
I feel that if my blog entry’s are going to be valuable to you, I need to read as much as I can about subjects of personal achievement and financial literacy. I feel that my job is to uncover, distill and select the most important points or concepts you may wish to know. My hope is that this information may be in some way helpful to you.So, this weekend I read Tom Peters’ (famous for In Search of Excellence) book, Talent, and Spencer Johnson’s (famous for Who Moved My Cheese?) new book, Peaks and Valleys. Both of these books had some … (4 comments)
|
success: Success In The Shadows
- 03/30/09 08:38 AM
My office is on the perimeter of a golf course. I enjoy watching the golfers. There is a member of this club who is a world-class, amateur golfer. He has won several international tournaments. And here is what I have learned from him: success is earned in the shadows. Let me explain.This man is out on the golf course practicing every day, usually at dawn or at dusk. In fact sometimes there is hardly enough light to see. But, he is always there - before or after his work day (he is a stockbroker). This man's example is a metaphor to … (2 comments)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"Oh! What a tangled web we weaveWhen first we practice to deceive."- Sir Walter Scott
;)
;)
;)
