Posts by Early to Rise
You Can’t Fix What’s Broken With Good Policies
“Honesty is a question of right or wrong, not a matter of policy.” – Author unknown When I was young and inexperienced, I tried to “fix” such problems with policies. I figured — correctly, I think — that any problem I uncovered was just the tip of an iceberg. Since I wanted smooth sailing in…
Read MoreNo-Money-Down Real Estate – Does It Really Work?
“No one can possibly achieve any real and lasting success or ‘get rich’ in business by being a conformist.” – J. Paul Getty Russ Whitney acknowledges that the promise that you can buy real estate with no money down draws a lot of skepticism. “But,” he says, “try telling that to my students — people…
Read MoreMake Your Business 12 Times More Powerful
“When we treat man as he is, we make him worse than he is; when we treat him as if he already were what he potentially could be, we make him what he should be.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe If you work hard on the hiring process and fire hires that turn out…
Read MoreAvoid This Extremely Common “Mega” Mistake
“I believe in looking reality straight in the eye and denying it.” – Garrison Keillor Your business is growing at a good rate. Every year, you boost it forward by creating one or several new product lines or divisions. One of these products becomes a favorite of yours. You like it so much, you…
Read MoreHow to Accomplish A Lot Without Going Nuts
“Don’t worry about the world coming to an end today. It’s already tomorrow in Australia.” – Charles M. Schulz There are men my age who are just as successful as I am — but they worry less, work in a more relaxed way, and take time every day to laugh and play. When I’m…
Read MoreFraud Alerts on Your Credit Card
According to Ron Lieber writing in The Wall Street Journal, “banks and retailers have an army of computers sniffing out unusual spending patterns, and every year they freeze spending on thousands of credit cards with little or no warning.” Unfortunately, many of these cards are held by honest consumers who become victims of what…
Read MoreA New Credit Law
According to some “news” I read online, beginning July 1st, the major credit bureaus in the U.S. will be allowed to release credit information, mailing addresses, phone numbers, etc. to anyone who requests it. The source then listed a phone number (888-567-8688) to call in order to protect yourself. I was concerned but also…
Read MoreFive Ways to Fight Back If You Are Turned Down for a Raise
“Raise your sail one foot and you get 10 feet of wind.” – Chinese proverb I’ve never been turned down for a raise, but I have had the awkward duty of declining raises to dozens of people. Most of them simply sulked and disappeared. But a few of them took the experience as a…
Read MoreMake Your Business Writing Twice as Good
“From writing rapidly, it does not result that one writes well; but from writing well, it results that one writes rapidly.” – Quintilian (Institutio Oratoria, circa A.D. 95) You can double the power and clarity of your business communications simply by stating your primary message earlier. When business writing is bad, it’s usually because…
Read MoreHow to Use Deviance to Predict Your Future
“Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future.” – Niels Bohr In “The Deviant’s Advantage,” the authors argue that most companies never make big breakthroughs because they focus all their talent and energy on mainstream stuff — stuff that’s popular today — and not on the Fringe stuff that will become super-profitable tomorrow. You…
Read MoreKnowledge and Action: Getting the Mix Right
“Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.” – Douglas Adams After 30 years of starting businesses and taking account of which failed right away, which lingered and then failed, which puttered along, and which…
Read MoreYou’re the Boss – Friendship Is Not Up To You
“Be courteous to all, but intimate with few, and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence. True friendship is a plant of slow growth, and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity before it is entitled to the appellation.” – George Washington You diplomatically read an employee the…
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