How Are You Spending Your Time?
“The secret of success is constancy to purpose.” – Benjamin Disraeli (speech, June 24, 1870) I was looking at last month’s daily-task lists and was struck by how much of my time is spent prodding people rather than in other, more creative, activities. By memo, meeting, fax, e-mail, or phone,…
READ MOREDon’t Even Think About Fooling Around On The Internet
“Those who make the worst use of their time are the first to complain of its brevity.” – La Bruyere (Characters, 1688) MN just told me that “38% of employee time on the Internet is personal.” That completely freaks me out. At one business I consult with, that would translate…
READ MORELiving Rich: Watch Great Movies
Last Tuesday, in Message #325, I tried to talk you into reading a really great book. I argued that since you probably have very little time to devote to pleasurable reading, the books you read should be the kind that will give you the most pleasure. I said that there…
READ MORE17 Ways To Brighten Up A Gloomy Day
It is inexcusable to pass along bulk mail as a daily message, but every so often I come across something that I am sure you will appreciate. The following, sent to me by RH (and I don’t think I even know RH) were designed to “maintain a healthy level of…
READ MORELiving Rich: Read Great Books
Jane Austin’s “Pride and Prejudice” may be the best-loved novel of all time. Yet, when I first read it — in my late teens — I found it both formidable and inconsequential. Its language — the diction and the syntax — was too antiquated for me then. And the content…
READ MOREGet A Realistic View Of Your Productivity
Successful people are usually those that spend most of their time in productive pastimes. From least productive to most productive, there are four types of activity: 1. Destructive: fighting, drinking, suing, being angry, etc. 2. Fun but wasteful: watching television, reading fiction, shopping, drinking late 3. Knowledge building: learning almost…
READ MOREScheduling Stress Breaks
If you work as hard as I do, you will be forever on the verge of a nervous breakdown unless you do something about it. One of the best things you can do is schedule at least two (and preferably three or four) stress breaks every working day. A stress…
READ MORELiving Rich: Fake It Till You Make It: How To Tour An Art Museum
Nothing will enrich your life as much as the appreciation of art. By art, I mean the fine arts — painting, sculpture, and all that — but also the crafts (woodworking, needlepoint, masonry, etc.) and sports. If you want to Live Rich, you have to — absolutely have to —…
READ MOREHow Often Should You Change Things?
You know how bad I think most small-business periodicals are. Fortune Small Business might be the worst. Staffed by a boatload of (I’m sure) very smart and capable (mostly) young women, it is full of feel-good stories and equal opportunity reporting. There is also an inexcusable level of innocence when…
READ MOREThe Best Way to Surpass Your Peers and Rise To The Top Of Any Business
What’s the best way to surpass your peers and outdo your competitors? Work harder than they do. If that sounds daunting, consider this: Most people dont work very hard. Some people spend their time doing as little as they possibly can. Most do stay busy, but they are not always…
READ MOREWhat Role Should Fun Play In Your Business?
I’ve been thinking about fun lately. (Like money, its something we never seem to get enough of.) If you read the business press, you know that fun — having it, creating it, and promoting it — has been one of the primary business concerns of young dot-com entrepreneurs. Some of…
READ MOREBuy A Pack Of Index Cards Today
In Message #185, I recommended that you start to use index cards to keep track of the big and small ideas that come to you at random times throughout the day — ideas that could have a big impact on your life but are too easily forgotten if not written…
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