Posts by Mark Morgan Ford
How to Eat Like a Frenchman and Stay Lean
“God made only water, but man made wine.” – Victor Hugo (“La Fete Chez Therese,” Les Contemplations, 1856) * forPierre’s breakfast, nothing but coffee * for his lunch, a little salad and meat and a small glass of red wine * for his dinner, meat, poultry, or fish covered in some rich sauce, fresh vegetables,…
Read MoreYour Once-a-Year Wake-Up Call
“I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work, the more I live.” – George Bernard Shaw The single most powerful, most life-improving, most intellectually expanding, most emotionally uplifting thing you can do for yourself is to wake up earlier than you are waking up now. For the first…
Read MorePummel Your Best Prospecs with Direct Mail
“Much effort, much prosperity.” – Euripides (Hippolytus, 428 B.C.) Your customer list should be mailed to at least twice a year. If the list is good and reasonably large, you can mail to it once a week — even once a day. Prime prospects are people who, for one reason or another, you believe SHOULD…
Read MoreA Simple Way to Make Your Business Memorable
“Memory is a net; one finds it full of fish when he takes it from the brook; but a dozen miles of water have run through it without sticking.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. (The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table, 1858) “People spend $185 on a bed-and-breakfast and remember the name of the place for…
Read MoreThink Like a Customer and Act like an Owner
“First, say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do.” – Epictetus (Discourses, 2nd century) We’ve talked a good deal about how you can elevate yourself to the top position in your business. I’ve recommended that you: * Get to work earlier than everyone else. * Develop a network…
Read MoreWhen Your Boss is Looking Over Your Back
“A bad workman quarrels with the man who calls him that.” – Ambrose Bierce (“Saw,” The Devil’s Dictionary) Second-guessers — bosses who delegate authority and then take some of it back — are a very odious sort. And most management books advise you to confront second-guessers and try to get them to see things from…
Read MoreHow to Respond to Potentially Embarrassing Questions
“Mistakes are a part of life; you can’t avoid them. All you can hope is that they won’t be too expensive and that you don’t make the same mistake twice.” – Lee Iacocca (Iacocca: An Autobiography, 1984) You are making a sales presentation or speech, feeling your oats, when someone hits you with a very…
Read MoreHard Access Versus Easy Access Businesses
“For easy things, that may be got at will, / Most sorts of men do set but little store.” – Edmund Spenser (Amoretti, 1595) In a recent issue of Inc. magazine, business expert Norm Brodsky says “given a choice, I’d always go for a hard-access business over an easy-access one,” because “in an easy-access business,…
Read MoreDo the Dirty Work Yourself
“I am inclined to believe that a man may be free to do anything he pleases if only he will accept responsibility for whatever he does.” – Ellen Glasgow (Vein of Iron, 1935) They say that players who got fired by New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner resented the fact he always used a…
Read MoreThe Most Important Persuasion Tip
“If you would convince others, seem open to conviction yourself.” – Lord Chesterfield (Letters to His Son, Feb. 22, 1748) When I critique advertising copy, I use a bag full of tricks I’ve collected over the years to make the job easy and quick. I’ve detailed these in AWAI’s copywriting course (www.thewriterslife.com/etrpd) and have told…
Read MoreThe Easiest Way to Fix a Broken Business
“Progress is a nice word. But change is its motivator. And change has its enemies.” – Robert F. Kennedy (“Federal Power and Local Poverty,” The Pursuit of Justice, 1964) She was very impressive. Smart. Assertive. And had exactly the working history we wanted for someone to run our business. We hired her, and everything went…
Read More15-Minute-a-Day Program
“‘Tis not knowing much, but what is useful, that makes a wise man.” – Thomas Fuller, M.D. (Gnomologia, 1732) If you want to be really good at what you do, you must do more than just work hard. You must stay au courant with your competition. If you are a ballet dancer, that might mean…
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