Posts by Early to Rise
I Now Believe in Job Descriptions
After resisting them for most of my career, I’ve changed my feelings about job descriptions. I think they are useful. Useful, but sometimes dangerous. Job descriptions are dangerous because of their tendency to limit an employee’s work, responsibility, and — most important of all — his imagination. In an environment where job descriptions are revered,…
Read MoreHow to be Perfect in Emergencies
You can’t appreciate the value of gracefulness under pressure until there’s pressure. Hurricane Frances created a certain amount of pressure for me . . . and I’m sorry to report that my grace tank was nearly empty. I was marvelous in the beginning. Buoyed by a certainty that the storm would veer off its path…
Read MoreAre You Putting Off Your Dreams?
How are you doing with your transformation? Are you moving forward at a rewarding rate? Or have things slowed down recently? Is your life visibly changing the way you want it to? Or are you still stuck with the same problems? I woke up this morning thinking about three people I’m mentoring — two relatives…
Read MoreWhat You Can Learn From Kilwin’s Ice Cream Shop About Attracting Customers
The place: ETR’s hometown, beautiful Delray Beach, Florida. The time: A Saturday night in August, 8 p.m. The scene: The town’s main drag, Atlantic Avenue. Hip shops and restaurants line the street. The sounds of live music emanate from Elwood’s BBQ and the City Limits club. Mobs of tourists and locals peregrinate up and down…
Read MoreLife Lessons from the Toughest Man Alive
If you met Randy Couture at a dinner party, you’d probably walk away with a vague impression: nice guy, funny ears. He is a nice guy — soft-spoken, courteous, and considerate. And he does have funny ears — small, bunched-up little things that are the unmistakable mark of an experienced wrestler. Randy Couture is one…
Read MorePreserving Your Emotional Autonomy
“He liked to observe emotions; they were like red lanterns strung along the dark unknown of another’s personality, marking vulnerable points.” – Ayn Rand One of the most important things BB has taught me is the value of being emotionally autonomous at work. By that, I don’t mean distant or frigid or…
Read MoreThe Richest Man in Babylon, Part 5
“A bag heavy with gold or a clay tablet carved with words of wisdom: If thou hadst thy choice, which wouldst thou choose?” That was the question Old Kalabab asked his students, wealth seekers who had come to ask his advice in George S. Clason’s classic parable “The Richest Man in Babylon”. And how did…
Read MoreETR Can Help You…Now More Than Ever!
“Do you want my one-word secret of happiness? It’s growth — mental, financial, you name it.” – Harold S. Geneen On Monday, ETR will have a new format. It was designed to give you better, faster, more useful advice to help you become healthier, wealthier, and wiser. You’ll get everything you’ve been getting each day…
Read MoreGet Rid of Your Inner “Obstacle Man”
“Nothing stops the man who desires to achieve. Every obstacle is simply a course to develop his achievement muscle. It’s a strengthening of his powers of accomplishment.” – Thomas Carlyle If you work for a normal company or have normal friends or come from a normal family, your schemes for making a better life for…
Read MoreOrganizing Your Office
What does your office say about you? That you are orderly and businesslike? Sloppy but (maybe) creative? Hopelessly overwhelmed? Whatever your natural tendency might be — anal-retentive, loosey-goosey, or whatever — you’ll do more and do it all with less anxiety if your office is well-organized. All kinds of studies prove this to be so.…
Read MoreIs Your Competitive Behavior Sabotaging Your Future?
“Man has risen so far above all other species that he competes in ways unique in nature. He fights by means of complicated weapons; he fights for ends remote in time.” – Charles A. Lindbergh Yes, horrible people sometimes succeed in business . . . but it’s not their meanness and greed that works for…
Read MoreSelf-Publishing vs Selling Your Book via Mail-Order
“Goals provide the energy source that powers our lives. One of the best ways we can get the most from the energy we have is to focus it. That is what goals can do for us; concentrate our energy.” – Denis Waitley Dear Mr. Dreads: I’m going to do more than answer the questions you…
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