The Profit Prophet

There is an excellent tale, by American poet John Godfrey Saxe (1816-1887),  that is based on a fable told in India many years ago. It is a good warning about how our sensory perceptions can lead to some serious misinterpretations; especially when we focus on one part in relationship to the whole.  It also deals with how people perceive things from where THEY stand not from were YOU stand. The tale in entirety follows this post. While this is an excellent tale about perception, it is also a cautionary tale for anyone trying to market a product to a general population.  While you are trying to "sell" an elephant, certain features of the elephant will be more important and more pronounced than others.  So, what you as a good marketer have to do is figure out what are the most profitable market segments to sell to and then highlight those features prominently, that includes determining if someone wants the "whole" elephant.  In some instances, and if possible, ...

Here is a list 20 things that on the surface have quite a bit of wisdom, but are just plain funny as well. Some are priceless, and all are pretty humorous. As we all need a little humor every day, I hope these quips turn up the corners of your mouth. All the best and Excelsior everyone! 1. I asked God for a bike, but I know God doesn't work that way. So I stole a bike and asked for forgiveness.  2. Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.   3. I want to die peacefully in my sleep, like my grandfather. Not screaming and yelling like the passengers in his car.   4. Sex is not the answer. Sex is the question. "Yes" is the answer.   5. The last thing I want to do is hurt you. But it's still on the list.   6. We live in a society where pizza gets to your house before the police.   7. Women might be able to fake orgasms. But men can fake a whole relationship.   8. Light travels faster t...

Many people dream or manifest or wish to become rich with an unimaginable amount of money.  Incredibly that might be easier than it looks if you just realize your magic bank account. Imagine there is a bank account that credits your account each morning with $86,400. It carries over no balance from day to day. Each and every evening the bank deletes whatever part of the balance you failed to use during the day. What would you do? Draw out and spend every cent, would you not? Incredibly, each of us has such a bank. Its name is TIME . Every morning, you are credited with 86,400 seconds. Every night it writes off as a lost what was not used, whatever of this you have failed to invest to a good purpose. It carries over no balance. It allows no over draft. Each day it opens a new account for you. Each night it burns the remains of the day. If you fail to use the day's deposits, the loss is yours. There is no drawing against “tomorrow.” It cannot be traded, or escrowed, or bartered f...

Yes, yes, yes we all want to be successful and have tried multiple ways and means to get there, but in actuality, success comes from three things: a goal, a commitment to action, and service to others.   In 1908, Napoleon Hill , (the famous motivational author whose book “ Think and Grow Rich ” became all-time best-seller in the field) conducted a series of interviews with 500 successful men and women and discovered and publish the formula for success. The book “Think and Grow Rich”  was the result of 25 years of study by Napoleon Hill, under the guidance of Andrew Carnegie. Later in 1956, Earl Nightingale, the Dean of Personal Development, recorded a concise version of the book “Think and Grow Rich” into a record known as “The Strangest Secret”. This record sold over million copies and continues to motivate thousands of people to move towards success. The Strangest Secret   is a ‘secret’, because there are only few who understand it and use it to be...

Many talk about how to improve yourself, and that involves first and foremost being able to love yourself. Here are 14 things you should do to practice self-love. A more detailed explanation is found here: Why Self-Love Must Come First  1. You Cannot Give to Others what You do not Give to Yourself First 2. Surround Yourself with Positive People 3. Deal with your past hurts and fears (they are ruining your future) 4. Live in the Present 5. Develop a High sense of Integrity and Personal Beliefs 6. Be Mindful of Your Thoughts 7. Only focus on what YOU can Change 8. Take Care of Your Body, Mind, and Spirit 9. Live with an Attitude of Gratitude 10. Maximize Your Abilities and Minimize Your Weaknesses 11. Find Your Passion, and pursue it without any Reservations 12. Learn to Forgive Yourself 13. Less Is More: Simplify and Balance Your Life 14. Practice REALISTIC Optimism about the Future

Ok, here it comes again.  The run up to the Presidential Elections of 2016 and now we will get bombarded with ads and promises and debates and more ads and analysis and polls, and yada, yada, yada. Some time ago I read an article about a 3rd grade class that was being taught a civics lesson about the President and how we go about electing one. The presidential election was heating up and some of the children showed an interest of what was going on outside of their classroom. So, the teacher decided to have an election for a class president. The children would choose their nominees. Those nominees would make a campaign speech and the class would vote. To simplify the process, candidates were nominated by other class members. The class discussed what kinds of characteristics these students should have. There were many nominations and from those, tow students, let's call them Jamie and Olivia were picked to run for the top spot. The class had done a great job in their selecti...

I have often written about the characteristics on what makes a successful person, or boss, or entrepreneur, but have never offered any practical advice on how to get those “characteristics” in the first place. Well, this post will go into what “steps” you can take to develop and practice self-love. Why is this important anyway? Well, essentially having self-love means you have the capacity to love others and be more aware of how you effect other people and the world. Essentially, in the first step I state "you cannot give to others what you do not give to yourself first." If you are not honest with yourself, you cannot be honest with others; if you are fearful, you will make others fearful; if you are courageous, others will gain courage through you; and so it is with love. If you do not love yourself, you can never love another. And we do NOT intrinsically know how to love. It is a learned art, something too few of us have ever mastered. Still, it is the single best cop...