The Profit Prophet

The teacher gave her fifth grade class an assignment: Get their Parents to tell them a story with a moral at the end of it. The next day, the kids came back and, one by one, began to tell their stories. There were all the regular types of stuff: spilled milk and pennies saved. But then the teacher realized, much to her dismay, that only Ernie was left. 'Ernie, do you have a story to share?' 'Yes ma'am. My daddy told a story about my Aunt Karen. She was a pilot in Desert Storm, and her plane got hit. She had to bail out over enemy territory, and all she had was a bottle of whiskey, a pistol, and a survival knife. She drank the whiskey on the way down in case the bottle would break, and then her parachute landed her right in the middle of 20 Iraqi troops. She shot 15 of them with the pistol, until she ran out of bullets, killed four more with the knife, 'til the blade broke, and then she killed the last Iraqi with her bare hands.' 'Good Heavens,' sai...

Everyone makes mistakes, errors, blunders in judgment, or at times just does something plan stupid. This happens in all types or relationships and if the right type of apology is not given, then the repercussions can be devastating, especially for business. While no one likes owning up to a mistake, the best thing to do is get in front of any situation by taking full responsibility for whatever happened. Violations of a trust can be perceived as a betrayal, and most people that I know absolutely freak out when they think they are being lied to, or cheated on, or deceived. There is something primordial about this. It works on our brain chemistry, and floods all our rational thought. So, anything that you can do to take the “fuel” out of a highly volatile situation is highly recommended. Still, making amends count is not quite as simple as saying “I’m sorry” when a trust is violated or a relationship is up for renegotiation. Research shows that shirking from truly taking responsibil...

It is the VETERAN, not the preacher, who has given us freedom of religion. It is the VETERAN, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press. It is the VETERAN, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech. It is the VETERAN, not the campus organizer, who has given us freedom to assemble. It is the VETERAN, not the lawyer, who has given us the right to a fair trial. It is the VETERAN, not the politician, Who has given us the right to vote. It is the VETERAN, who salutes the Flag, It is the VETERAN, who serves under the Flag. ETERNAL REST GRANT THEM O LORD, AND LET PERPETUAL LIGHT SHINE UPON THEM We can be very proud of our young men and women in the service no matter where they serve. God Bless them. For those who have perished, may their spirit live on in our freedoms!

George Carlin, yes the admittedly gross and mouthy comedian of the 70's and 80's wrote something so very eloquent below. Love him or hate him, he is a genius at writing about the ironies and contradictions in our society. Here it is: "The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less. We buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness. We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom. We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We've learned how to ma...

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat." Theodore Roosevelt Citizenship in a Republic; Speech Delivered at Sorbonne, Paris April 23, 1910

“A fine is a tax for doing wrong. A tax is a fine for doing well.” -Unknown

During these difficult times, it becomes easy for partnerships and teams to disintegrate due to the stress posed by the uncertainty and chaos caused by the weakness in the economy. One thing that is for certain is if anyone on your team, in your partnership, or marriage is not totally supportive and encouraging your pursuit of your goals, or belief in your abilities, then get them off your team or leave them. You cannot be truly successful any anything you do if you have a person on your team or partnership that is either overtly or covertly working against you. Although you may not see it, a person who does not believe in what the team is doing creates such ennui that it will ultimately not only destroy your team or partnership, but most likely prevent you from truly reaching your goals. Why were the Spartans the most fearsome fighting force ever, the Marines considered the best run organization in the US, and Nordstroms perennially one of the most customer centric companies in...

"You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving.The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is about the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it." ~~~~ Dr. Adrian Rogers, 1931