Posts by Harvey Mackay
Cultivate Creativity to Grow Success
Paul was majoring in zoology at college. One semester he took a course in the study of birds – ornithology. For the final exam, Paul studied until he had the textbook nearly memorized. He knew his class notes backward and forward. He was eager to take the exam, certain of getting a good grade. The…
Read MoreEveryone Has to Start Somewhere
Jim Carrey took a job as a janitor at a tire factory at age 15 when his father lost his job. He also worked as a security guard. To relieve his stress, he visited local comedy clubs, which instilled his love of comedy – and prepared him for a blockbuster career. Everyone has to start…
Read MoreThe Road to Millions Is Paved With Hard Work
The game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? is a suspenseful half-hour that offers contestants the opportunity to dramatically improve their financial picture.
Read MoreFollow the Leader?
The kindergarten teacher handed out a coloring sheet and gave what she considered to be simple instructions: Color the duck yellow and the duck’s umbrella green. But when little Betsy turned in her paper, the teacher asked, “Didn’t you understand the directions, Betsy? You colored the duck red and her umbrella blue. How often have…
Read MoreWhat Drives Creativity?
Imagine if you could turn on creativity like starting a car, rev the engine to get up to speed, cruise along in the fast lane, and then park it in the garage until you needed it again. Is there anything you couldn’t accomplish? We’ve all had days when the engine stalls, the tire is flat,…
Read MoreLearning Quality Assurance
I recently had the opportunity to speak to members of the Food Processing Suppliers Association. In doing my preparation, one thing that kept coming up was food safety. One mistake can destroy a company.
Read MoreNever Lose Hope
In Greek mythology, Pandora opened her fabled box and let out all evils except for hope, which the Greeks considered to be as dangerous as the world’s other evils. Soon they discovered that without hope to offset their troubles, humanity was filled with despair. So Pandora let out hope as well. In the myth, hope was more potent than any of the other major evils.
In modern times, we consider hope to be anything but evil. It’s what gets many of us through our worst days. Lingering unemployment, foreclosures, dwindling retirement funds, businesses folding — any of these could make a person lose hope.
Read MoreBe Picky About Picking Fights
Disagreements happen. You can’t always get your way. Everyone has an opinion. There are two sides to every argument. When you’re dealing with family or friends, you expect to have differences of opinion. Perhaps you are willing to fight for your views and what’s important to you. And often, because of the personal relationships you…
Read MorePeople Who Talk to Themselves Have a Captive Audience
How many people talk to themselves? As you’re reading this, you might even be saying to yourself, “Who me? I don’t talk to myself.” There are those who think people who talk to themselves are crazy, but nothing could be further from the truth. People who talk to themselves are competitive and they are often…
Read MoreThe Other Seven Wonders of the World
A group of students was asked to list what they thought were the present “Seven Wonders of the World.” Though there were some disagreements, the following received the most votes: 1. Egypt’s Great Pyramids 2. Taj Mahal 3. Grand Canyon 4. Panama Canal 5. Empire State Building 6. St. Peter’s Basilica 7. China’s Great Wall
Read MoreThinking: It’s One of the Most Difficult Tasks We Do
Henry Ford once hired an efficiency expert to go through his plant. Ford directed him to find the nonproductive employees and, he said, “I will fire them!” When the expert finished his evaluation, he reported to Ford that he was particularly concerned with one of his administrators. “Every time I walked by, he was sitting…
Read MoreDon’t Take a Chance on Luck
Luck seems to have a peculiar attachment to work. I’m sure that you have heard the Dave Thomas quote: “It seems the harder I work, the luckier I get.” I would tend to agree with that statement, but I think there are a few other conditions that affect your “luck” — things like instinct, timing,…
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