Modern business literature is filled to the brim with books, audio programs, and seminars about success.  People have developed an all-encompassing obsession with learning what they can do to get ahead.  And what’s wrong with this you ask?  Not necessarily anything … except for the fact that all to many people are only interested in trying to get ahead if it doesn’t involve any substantial work or sacrifice.
Put another way, people are trying to figure out the “easy” way to achieve success.
This begs a natural question … is there an …

It is certainly true that many people need a helping hand at some point in their life, but this week I was thinking about where to find a helping hand with your personal success.  Not surprisingly, the answer to this question is that your helping hand is attached to the end of your arm.  This is not to say that you cannot receive help from others, or that you should not accept help if it is offered.  What we must all eventually come to terms with is the fact that …

One of the greatest questions that mankind has dealt with over the years is that of determining what causes success.  There have been many notable authors such as Napoleon Hill, Dennis Waitley, and Zig Ziglar who have tackled this subject, and produced spectacular works.  A common theme among all of the success literature is the notion that success is something you must go out and achieve.  One cannot expect success to come and find them in the middle of the night and announce its presence.  This analogy may sound silly, …

The discussion of what makes us successful has been going on for a considerable period of time.  Many of us are tempted to fall for fads, schemes or popular culture concerning the meaning and methods for achieving success in our lives.  Many of us have come to believe that success is about setting personal goals, and tracking our progress on those goals.  Others view success as a “life purpose” that we seek to accomplish.
Many of these perspectives contain important elements of truth, but many of them are also missing some …

There is a disturbing trend among both people and politicians to find somebody to blame for each setback, difficulty, or annoyance they experience.  This phenomenon frequently provides a convenient alibi for failure, as some opaque persona such as ‘big business’ or ‘the man’ is blamed for our problems.  The most critical danger of focus on these ghosts of failure is that they give us a subconscious excuse to avoid doing what is necessary for success.  However, the realization of our goals, dreams, and aspirations will require many of us to …

The current world is becoming very polarized and divisive.  There is an increasing trend of people to think and act as groups, instead of as individuals.  The subtleties of unique individualism are being concatenated into “black” and “white” or “Republican” and “Democrat.”A  The problem that is created by this brand of mass conformity is that people stop looking to learn from people that are not a part of their group.
Ralph Waldo Emerson is famous for his belief that every person possesses some talent that exceeds his own, and that each …

If you take the opportunity to walk into a bookstore and wander over toward the section on business books, you will see a vast multiplicity of titles on all manners of business, investment, and strategy.  Many of these books outline a ‘system’ for acquiring wealth that involves some clever means of generating superior profits from what appears to be a minimal amount of work.
However, there is a relatively simple principal that is the basis of all business success.  That principal is that you should always seek to offer a product …

Each of us has read compelling stories of great innovators who overcame unbelievable odds to create great achievements and realize success.  These stories are often told to be inspirational by showing the persistence and resolve that has been demonstrated by great people.  Unfortunately, these stories can sometimes serve as a basis of comparison that makes my personal achievements seem weak and feeble.
When thinking about this subject further, it is easy to think that I will never be able to be a great innovator, since I haven’t successfully invented anything.  It …

One of the NFL’s greatest coaching legends is former San Francisco 49ers coach Bill Walsh.  In one of his books entitled The Score Takes Care of Itself, he lays out his philosophy of leadership that helped to catapult the 49ers from the bottom of the league to three super bowl victories and built a system that won two more after his retirement.
A central theme in Coach Walsh’s philosophy of leadership is teaching.  Not only teaching players, but teaching coaches.  Not just finding people that will fit into your system, but …

Many people are familiar with the sentiment that “the end justifies the means” when pursuing goals and ambitions.  However, in the realm of business and life, ends and means are quite important.  In many cases, ‘how’ you go about doing something is equally (if not more) important than what you are doing in the first place.  Many times, it is easy to pursue short-term results by bending or breaking rules.  However, long-term success requires attention to both the goal and the methods used to reach it.
Most people recognize this fact …