Posts by Early to Rise
Two Jobs You Should Never Delegate
“Whether a man is burdened by power or enjoys power; whether he is trapped by responsibility or made free by it; whether he is moved by other people and outer forces or moves them — this is of the essence of leadership.” – Theodore H. White (“The Making of the President”) As a general rule,…
Read MoreWhy Employee Awards Don’t Work
“I don’t deserve this award, but I have arthritis and I don’t deserve that either.” – Jack Benny During the 25 years I’ve been in business, I’ve been involved in at least a dozen employee-award programs. I’ve done employee-of-the-month awards, most-improved-employee awards, hardest-working-employee awards — you name it. If I had to add them up,…
Read MoreGet Out of Debt Fast With This Double-Barreled Approach
“Rather go to bed without dinner than to rise in debt.” – Benjamin Franklin Do you spend more than you make? I used to. Struggling to pay for my education and start a family, I overspent because it seemed to provide some happiness, some relief. But the thrill of buying stuff soon waned. Each new…
Read MoreApprenticeship: A Fast Way to Become Great
“If one is master of one thing and understands one thing well, one has at the same time insight into and understanding of many things.” – Vincent van Gogh For centuries, people have been learning marketable skills by apprenticing themselves to masters. In a standard apprenticeship program, there are three basic stages — and for…
Read MoreHow Much Damage Can Drinking Alcohol Do to Your Diet?
In a recent “Speak Out” message, ETR reader NPR expressed concern over the fact that MMF continues to drink beer and wine, even while seriously dieting. “If you’re trying to have less than 2,000 or 1,500 calories per day, “NPR wrote, “a single beer (150 calories?) could ruin the diet for that day.” Actually, the…
Read MoreReason or Gut Instinct
“Well-bred instinct meets reason halfway.” – George Santayana Nobel laureate Herbert A. Simon, a professor of psychology and computer science at Carnegie Mellon University who has studied human decision making for decades, thinks that we are able to develop a “gut instinct” because experience enables us to “chunk” information so that we can store and…
Read MoreDon’t Waste Your Money on “Name Recognition”
“There is nothing worse than a sharp image of fuzzy concept.” – Ansel Adams Smart people do dumb things . . . and so do successful companies. Of all the foolish mistakes businesses make, the two that I see most often involve marketing. They are: 1. failing to develop and sell a USP (Unique Selling…
Read MoreHow to Avoid Being Taken Advantage Of
When you create relationships and strike up deals, there is rarely an exact point of fairness, a precise set of conditions that make all responsibilities and benefits balanced. Most business deals involve an input of capital, expertise, and other resources, the value of which can be difficult to measure. I never try to make a…
Read MoreWhen to Kill Off a Business Idea
“What man knows is everywhere at war with what he wants.” – Joseph Wood Krutch Most people will spend hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars trying to keep a favorite business baby breathing. Yet studies say (and my experience confirms) that it’s almost never a good idea. After the time and money has been…
Read MoreSet a Goal and Rally the Troops
“In the province of the mind, what one believes to be true either is true or becomes so.” – John Lilly You have an idea about how your business can do something new or better. You have run that idea through a gauntlet of trusted colleagues, individuals with the intelligence and experience to pummel the…
Read MoreA Great Opportunity
Since agreeing to write a book on getting wealthy I’ve been thinking about how I – and the wealthy people I know – made their money. I’ve come up with four ways: · Saving more · Increasing your acumen · Investing in real estate · Creating a second stream of income Of the four, creating…
Read MoreGet In Shape and Become More Productive
“Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes — but no plans.” – Peter Drucker As I said at the beginning of today’s message, I woke up this morning at 4 a.m. determined to do two things. My first resolution is to get back to getting up early. I can’t allow myself to…
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