The Profit Prophet

Some time ago I came upon a list of 18 Things Mentally Strong People Do with a wonderful graphic. While it was a great list, it did not give any advice on how to achieve these 18 Things. What I would like to do here is expound upon this list with some insight. While having a list is always good, reasons behind the list are usually better in getting a person to act and grow. As Amelia Earhart’s quote goes, “The most difficult thing is the decision to act. The rest is merely tenacity.” So, let’s all decide to act towards being a stronger, better person! 1. They move on I would put it more like they do not dwell on things that they cannot control. They fully understand their limits and realize when the return on effort nets zero (or something less than zero). As Helen Keller put it, “When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.” Those people who are mentally tough see those ne...

Over the 100,000 plus years we and our brains have been evolving. During that time, our minds have grown past our primitive lizard brains and as such have brought us intelligence; which in turn has allowed humans to accomplish some fantastic things. Even with all that time and evolution, we and our brains are still guided by these four most important motivators: avoiding threats, minimizing energy, seeking certainty (reducing risk) and obtaining rewards (increasing pleasure). It is easy to see why these four conditions motivate us not to change, because change usually involved reducing certainty while simultaneously increasing risk and expending energy, often without any guarantee of obtaining a reward. Essentially, due to in a large part to our primordial past, when we find ourselves confronted with change, either on a personal level or say at your company, all the fears from our lizard brain are triggered. So, how can we get past those fears and anxieties that our gene...

While taking statistics during my quest to get an MBA and while earning my engineering degree, the professors always emphasized the importance of finding the statistical mean of any population by using the Central Mean Theorem (a.k.a the highest point of the Bell Curve). As an engineer, this was essential in order to maximize throughput, minimize cost and waste, and ultimately make a better, faster, cheaper widget. A funny thing happened on the way to the dark side of marketing. I discovered that the only thing in the middle of the road was quite literally dead road kill. I do not know if you remember stores like Bradlees, Ames and Service Merchandise (just to name a few), but they all folded because the environment changed and they were caught trying to service the mythological “average customer.” Part of that change came when Wal-Mart began its juggernaut with the discount department store. Wal-Mart did two things right: 1) Focused on “mobile” consumers, and 2) Fo...

Of course, we all want to be successful and have dreams of ‘making it big’ one day, but how many of us actually take at least one step in the process of following through with those dreams? We make excuses for our lack of success, saying things like, “There was never the right time,” or “I did not have enough money saved,” or “I was too busy,” or “I just was too scared?” But what about you? How can you tell if you are going to “make it” or not? Is there any talisman that can indicate your predisposition to be successful or not? Some of us are on the cusp of deciding if we should take the chance and move forward, and doubt if we got what it takes to make it big. After reading innumerable books and studying hundreds of successful people, I have distilled that there are 7 indicators that might help you decide if you have what it takes to be successful, and can give you a indication now of your chances, even before you get there.. 1. You are able to go it alone (differentiatio...

The one thing I have come to realize in life is how well or poorly you spend your time, reflects how happy your are. It is also amazing to me how little people value the one thing they cannot control, or create, or get more of: TIME . Because of this, I complied what I believe are the 27 best quotations dealing on the subject.  I hope you enjoy them and feel not they be a waste of your time.    “Until you value yourself, you won't value your time. Until you value your time, you won't do anything with it." --M. Scott Peck  “Does't thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of.” --Benjamin Franklin “How you spend your time is far more important than all the material possessions you may own or positions you may attain.” —Denis Waitley  “Too often man handles life as he does the bad weather. He whiles away the time as he waits for it to stop." --Alfred Polgar "The strongest of all warriors are...

While I try to talk about startups, strategy, and how to manage growth, every now and then I need to be reminded that there are some very critical things that we take as common sense, but unfortunately is not that common. Sometimes, when we start up a business, we get attached to a certain set of beliefs that as we grow and change, need to change with us. To drive home the point is a story below..about believing something too long...   The couple were 85 years old and had been married for 60 years. Though they were far from rich, they managed to get by because they watched their pennies. Though not young, they were both in very good health, largely due to the wife's insistence on healthy foods and exercise for the last decade. One day, their good health didn't help when they went on a rare vacation and their plane crashed, sending them off to Heaven.   They reached the pearly gates, and St. Peter escorted them inside. He took them to a beautiful mansion, furnished...

Many of us in business want to set the world on fire with our ideas..we want to radically and profoundly change the world...but you know what..there is only one way to change the world..and that is to change yourself first...as the old monk professes here is the process: When I was a young man, I wanted to change the world. I found it was difficult to change the world, so I tried to change my nation. When I found I couldn't change the nation, I began to focus on my town. I couldn't change the town and as an older man, I tried to change my family. Now, as an old man, I realize the only thing I can change is myself, and suddenly I realize that if long ago I had changed myself, I could have made an impact on my family. My family and I could have made an impact on our town. Their impact could have changed the nation and I could indeed have changed the world. - Unknown Monk (1100AD).

When a company falls on difficult times, one of the things that seems to happen is they reduce their staff and workers. The remaining workers must find ways to continue to do a good job or risk that their job would be eliminated as well. Wall Street and the media normally congratulate the CEO for making this type of "tough decision," and his board of directors gives him a big bonus. Our government should not be immune from similar risks. Therefore: Reduce the House of Representatives from the current 435 members to 218 members. Reduce Senate members from 100 to 50 (one per State).   Then, reduce their staff by 25%. Accomplish this over the next 8 years`(two steps/two elections) and of course this would require some redistricting.   Some Yearly Monetary Gains Include: · $44,108,400 for elimination of base pay for congress. (267 members X $165,200 pay/member/ yr.) · $97,175,000 for elimination of their staff. (estimate $1.3 Million in staff per each member of the House, a...

Below is a video how much things are changing in the modern era. Cool statistics and just all around interesting, especially about how many jobs our kids in college will have by the time they are 38!

You know in business as in life in general, adversity hits. We are all met with adversity from time to time, but how we handle it makes us or breaks us. As Ben Johnson once said, "He knows not his own strength that has not met adversity." So in saying, I thought this little story about how some friends' adversity changed them might shed some light on how you might handle the next hurdle you come across. Four friends went fishing. They found a perfect campsite in a pine grove next to a river that shimmered with promise. As fast as they could, they set up their big tent, stowed belongings, and set off eagerly down the river with their rods and reels. When they returned to their campsite a few hours later, tired but happy, they stood open-mouthed in disbelief. There was a big empty space where their tent had stood. It was gone! A quick search showed that everything else was still there -- stove, tools, food, sleeping bags, etc. Their stunned confusion soon changed ...

One thing I have found out is that your first idea about a product or service is usually not your best idea. As a general rule, be prepared to change your original idea in order to hit the moving target you planned on hitting. Some notables on this rule are Intel: It started out as a memory company, and its original numeric processor was made for factory automation, not the PC. Motorola: started out making radios receivers for automobiles. MCI: It started out as a radio network for truckers. Google: It started just looking up the number references to a particular thesis. Part of the reason why this happens is because when you start your product or company, you are only guessing what your potential customer might want or need, or how they will use a product. When you first release your product or service, you are trying to solve a problem or fill a need that you think needs to be solved or filled. Your perception of that need might not be totally accurate, or the need mig...