Posts by Mark Morgan Ford
Why You May Not Be Making As Much Money As You Think You Should
“Even Noah got no salary for the first six months partly on account of the weather and partly because he was learning navigation.” – Mark Twain If you’re lucky, loving your job is its own reward. But when it comes to satisfying your sense of self-worth – and building wealth – the size of your…
Read MoreThe Case of the Disappearing Copywriter
“He who wishes to secure the good of others, has already secured his own.” – Confucius I received an interesting letter last weekend. The envelope was hand-addressed in blue ink. The letter itself was 12 pages long and printed on quality, cream-colored, individual sheets of paper. At the end of the letter was a signature,…
Read MoreThe 9 P’s of a Money-Making Business
“It’s almost like a management report card. By getting a valuation done on some periodic basis, it can give a business owner a sense of how much their business increased or decreased during some certain time period.” – Alex Kindler BB, the legendary copywriter and one of my biggest clients, is a constant articulator of…
Read MoreCreating Wealth at the Cutting Edge
“Just as energy is the basis of life itself, and ideas the source of innovation, so is innovation the vital spark of all human change, improvement, and progress.” – Ted Levitt The April tragedy at Virginia Tech raised many issues about the role technology plays in communication. One example: The school’s student newspaper identified 12…
Read MoreHow to Get Your Business to the “Next Level”
“The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes This past April, 30 experienced businesspeople joined me in the Palm Beach Ritz-Carlton Hotel for five days of intensive business-building discussions. Although they had each achieved a great deal, all of…
Read MoreAre Your Employees Getting Fatter?
“Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body, it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity.” – John F. Kennedy MN, the CEO of my largest client, a $300 million publisher, is promoting a weight-loss program for employees. He is giving them financial and other incentives…
Read MoreAre Your Lousy Speaking Skills Putting Your Career at Risk?
“The best way to be boring is to leave nothing out.” – Voltaire Question: What’s worse than having bad breath on a first date? Answer: Boring your bosses when you are making a presentation. Yesterday, I had to sit through a two-hour business meeting run by a bright young executive who has everything going for…
Read MoreHow to Grow Your Business 500% in 5 Years
“For us, our most important stakeholder is not our stockholders, it is our customers. We’re in business to serve the needs and desires of our core customer base.” – John Mackey When you think about growing your business, you probably think about acquiring new customers. That is usually the right strategy. But you can also…
Read MoreMaking a Business of Your Passion
“If passion drives you, let reason hold the reins.” – Benjamin Franklin One of the most common recommendations that you will hear from business-opportunity “experts” is to “find something you love” and make a business out of it. In fact, I used to make that recommendation myself, arguing that turning your passion into a career…
Read MoreHow to Surpass the Best in Your Field
“It is well to respect the leader. Learn from him. Observe him. Study him. But don’t worship him. Believe you can surpass. Believe you can go beyond.” – David Joseph Schwartz It’s always good to get a compliment. When I rewrote the lead for a promotion that GX, a successful copywriter, had been paid to…
Read MoreThe Dirty Truth About “Bounce-Back Entrepreneurs”
“An entrepreneur tends to bite off a little more than he can chew hoping he’ll quickly learn how to chew it.” – Roy Ash Colin Morris, like so many entrepreneurs I have met, is in the middle of a whirlwind of his own creation. He has plenty of ideas about how to get himself out…
Read MoreWhen to Doubt Yourself
“Doubt is not the opposite of faith; it is one element of faith.” – Paul Tillich Gurus of success often speak of self-doubt as if it were a damning trait. Inspirational author Wayne Dyer put it this way in his book Your Sacred Self: Making the Decision to Be Free: “Keep in mind always that…
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