Invest in yourself to achieve the best. In the world of work, some people earn a little and some people earn a lot. What is the difference? This question has been studied for more than 100 years, and now we know the answers. People who earn a lot—the top 20% in any field—make a greater contribution and get better results than people who earn a little-the bottom 80%. Your work and earning life is very much like a marathon. All the runners assemble from different places at the starting line. The gun goes off! The runners begin to run, at different speeds. Some people sprint to take the lead quickly. Others go a little slower, preferring to run steadily over… Read more
The United States is one of the most blessed countries in all of human history. After World War II, it was the “last man standing.�? As a result, the United States enjoyed the greatest and longest period of sustained affluence and prosperity of any country in the world. An entire generation, now in politics, grew up believing that prosperity was inevitable and that each person was entitled to enjoy a wonderful life without hard work or sacrifice. Napoleon Hill once wrote, “Never attempt to violate natural laws and win.” What he meant was that there are certain laws in nature, like gravity, that you cannot violate for any time without paying the consequences. There is the story of the man… Read more
At the time of the American Revolution, Abigail Adams, a very perceptive woman and the wife of our third president, John Adams, said, “All men would be tyrants, if they could.
It was an astute observation. There is within almost every person, the “urge to power.”… Read more
Why it was that some countries and some parts of countries were more successful economically than others. Many years ago, I began studying economics. I wanted to know why it was that some countries and some parts of countries were more successful economically than others. Before my study was finished, I had spent more than 4,000 hours and assembled a vast library of books on the subject of economics. I attended conferences on business economics and national economics, and eventually got an MBA degree in which I had to study both microeconomics and macroeconomics. I finally learned a little bit about the subject. The bottom line is simple: incentives! Khrushchev once said, “Call them what you want, it is incentives… Read more
“The greatest joys in life are happy memories, and the great business of life is to create as many of them as possible.�? My family and I took three days and went to Park City Utah to ski over the President’s Day weekend. David and Sarah drove up from Las Vegas, while Christina, Damon and little Julie (15 months) flew in from Los Angeles. Barbara, myself and Catherine (16 years old) flew up from San Diego. After a little coordination, we all got together and drove up to the two condominium units we had rented at the base of the ski slopes in Park City. We have not skied for two years so we had to remember and relearn the… Read more
In the first week of October, I took a business cruise from Athens in the eastern Mediterranean around the Greek Islands to Italy and then to Sicily and Malta. In the first week of October, I took a business cruise from Athens in the eastern Mediterranean around the Greek Islands to Italy and then to Sicily and Malta. At each port of call, we went ashore for several hours to tour remarkable cities and ruins from antiquities that go back twenty-five hundred years. Perhaps the most impressive was the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, one of the “Seven Wonders of The Ancient World.” It is in ruins today, but very much restored and fascinating to explore. I walked on the… Read more
This is a wonderful world that we live in! This is a wonderful world that we live in! With more than one billion people living on less than one dollar per day, and problems of incredible magnitude affecting billions more all over the world, we here in America are preoccupied with whether or not OJ Simpson legally or illegally entered a hotel room in Las Vegas to get back some of his twenty year old sports memorabilia. Meanwhile, the newspapers are preoccupied with the sub-prime mortgage problems and predicting a potential US economic meltdown. What they don’t tell you is that there are approximately fifteen trillion dollars worth of mortgages outstanding in the US today. Of this amount, a maximum… Read more
As adults, we keep trying to go back to those lazy days of summer. When we were children, we looked forward to the summer because we had two full months of vacation. We played with our friends, went swimming, and hung out with no responsibilities and little to do. As adults, we keep trying to go back to those lazy days of summer. As we approach the end of June, most people slow down and begin working at half speed. Unfortunately, they were probably working at half speed before the end of June so it is even worse for them. This has been a busy summer for me. At the end of May, I was in the Gulf, speaking in… Read more
