Category Archives: Success

When I was young, I subscribed to all of the typical middle-class viewpoints. I believed that mutual funds were “safe” until I lose 60% of my life savings in one of the safest and most renouned funds. I believed that having a job was safer than having a business until I couldn’t find a job and then got fired from a job after spending a lot of time trying to get it. I thought that having a home in my name was safer than having stocks since stocks were “risky” until I saw people get fired and lose their home along with all of the equity.

Then, I came to my senses and discovered that life is dangerous — after all there is a 100% fatality rate. We all die, it is just a matter of time. With this attitude, you become more willing to take calculated risks, face fear, live on the edge and accomplish something with a do or die attitude. The most successful entrepreneurs I know are from Israel, Lebanon or Palestine and those folks were born on the edge. Feeling too “safe” is bad for business. It makes you not try as hard ot imagine scenarios that are out of your realm of possibilities. So, what am I getting at here?

Business is dangerous. You could go out of business, lose your livelihood, life savings, and pride all in one swoop. This is why I am cautious about my business and put in a lot of extra work to make it the most stable business in the industry. I’m paranoid to be honest. People ask me why I work so hard. I remember the two months I spent unemployed when I was 25 and the horrible taste in my mouth is still a bitter memory. If I lose my business I lose it all. That is why I work so hard to provide the best online directory searches that the world has ever seen. I have been in the online directory business since 1999 and keep getting better at it although it is a tough business and an ongoing struggle!

But, maybe i’m the one who’s safe. I have had the same self-employment lifestyle for two decades. I have stable savings. I have the freedom to take time off several times per year. People I know who have jobs have been through many jobs in the time I’ve been in business and typically have little savings to brag about.

But, business is like war. Your competitors are really like enemies. They could put you under if you aren’t careful. So, you have to always be watchful. I watch my online stats analytics daily and make sure I’m not losing ground. I keep track of what my competitors are doing (which is generally pathetic.) Business is an endless fight for survival just like trees compete for sunlight and fish compete for algae or whatever they eat. So, never stop fighting my friends and always believe that if you fight harder or smarter, then you can put the other guys out of business and then they can work for you — if they’re lucky!

I’m excited about business and want to grow my empire. It happens little by little and trust me I’m not a pro at growth. Growth is hard, but at least I’m achieving it in small ways. And now I’m investing in the stock market, so if I don’t get growth from my business at least my investments might get lucky!

Warren Buffet spends 80% of his working hours thinking. No wonder he is so thoughtful and sagacious! The rest of us including myself spend far too much time doing busy work and getting caught up. If we spent more time thinking and strategizing we might rearrange our workload in a more meaningful way to have more time to focus on the really big things.

3 hours Tuesday night is enough for me!
The question is, should we think an hour per day? Should we ponder during long walks? Or should we go to the beach to be away from the stress of the office to do some serious thinking? For me, a weekly thinking session is perfect. I can write down all of my issues during the week and then think for a few hours on Tuesday night. Tuesday night is a magical time of the week to meditate on business issues. I had a dream years ago where a Rabbi told me to meditate on business issues midnight on Tuesday evening and that miracles would happen. Good things happens and my decisions were much better when made on a Tuesday night as Tuesday is astrologically suited for business!

Where should you do your thinking?
Offices are good for being busy and having meetings. But, not for thinking. Sometimes it is good to think in a calming environment like the beach at night. Or perhaps a trip to the forest might help. I sit in my car next to the offices of creative people in the media district of Los Angeles. I pick up on the though waves of some of the most brilliant people in the city and that does miracles for my ability to come up with ideas for writing and business.

To make time to think, figure out what not to do
If you spend some time and make a list of all the things you do in a month, how long each task takes, what you can outsource, you will be in great shape. The next step is to make a pecking order of how valuable each task is that you do. The least valuable tasks are tasks you should either let stack up, or simply not do at all — otherwise, you won’t have time to think.

To really amount to something
If you want to really be big in business, that is not going to happen by just working the way others do. Those who are ultra-successful are masters at identifying priorities, and opportunities that others miss who are just too busy. So, you need to become a master at picking what not to do, otherwise you won’t be able to focus.

Focusing on Facebook
My personal story was that after a lengthy analysis of my life and business, social media proved to be the most effective avenue of growing my business. I had tried seventeen social media channels and Facebook delivered the most results. I redid my Facebook campaign. I spent a few more hours on it per month. My clicks went from 300 per month to 8000 which is a miracle. I spent time picking the best photos, and analyzing the click ratios of each post that I put on my Facebook feed. My work paid off in a huge way which is driving huge traffic to my site. I have no idea how big this can become, but maybe one day I’ll have 100,000 followers on facebook and 50,000 clicks per month. Anything is possible.

Identifying what was popular on my blog
I had a premonition that my business blog would grow huge. It has been growing faster than normal recently. But, the real growth happened when I stopped trying to write quantity and stopped writing about what interested me. I tuned into what my readers like to read about and put more emphasis on that. I am spending the same amount of time now, but getting better results since the articles are catered to our readers.

There are so many people who complain that they don’t get enough work. Most of the time, if you use those people, they will do a terrible job and not pay attention to the needs of the clients. When I interview underemployed people, their dedication to work and their ability to answer professional questions is often really dismal.

On the other hand, those that pay a lot of attention to their work tend to have too many clients. They often don’t even need to advertise their work. It is hard to find people who are very good at what they do. When people find them, they tend to be very loyal to these service providers.

Personally, I am overworked. I try to prioritize my work and find smarter scheduling mechanisms that allow me to focus on the most critical tasks. My methods for valuating the various types of work I do are not always the best. So, I keep evolving my methods for valuating my work.

On a more humorous note, when I make business calls to lazy people, they always complain. Why are you calling me on a Sunday? Why are you calling me at night? Shouldn’t you be out partying tonight? It is amazing how lazy people want to twist your arm into being as unproductive as they are? Honestly, I would love to take lots of time off and travel. But, work comes first with me since I value success.

The moral of this story is that if you put a high amount of focus on work, and make it your number one priority to master and refine, that work will much more easily come your way — especially once you have attained some level of mastery or expertise!

There are entrepreneurs everywhere. Some places have more of an entrepreneur culture while others don’t. The places that stick out in my head as havens for enthusiastic entrepreneurs are Silicon Valley, Boulder, CO, and Texas. I’m not sure what is special about the Silicon Valley intrinsically. It is a place with a lot of people from all over Asia. I’m not sure what it was like before the tech boom. Boulder is a place where mountains meet plains; Where pioneers created a new life; Where there is energy in the air. I can see why Boulder does well as an entrepreneur hub. I spent a few nights there in my life and felt invigorated the next day. The people there have so much enthusiasm and happiness to share with others. They truly have a unique breeding ground for excellence. But, what about Texas?

Texas is a place that is huge. It’s a state that started out as its own country. Some of the local whites formed a militia and stood up to Mexico on several occasions to create this state. The result is that many people died, and that their state incurred a huge pile of debt. Nine years later the United States offered to annex Texas and pay off their debts — and Texas accepted. I just wonder if being in a state that fought to exist against all odds helps you as an entrepreneur. The whole spirit of that state is to create something new in dangerous uncharted territory. It is just like the world of business when you think about it. It’s also cheap to buy land there and the weather is reasonable year round.

Throughout history, many business men have made it big in Texas — really big. Thinking big will definitely help you in business, but thinking really big might help even more. My next road trip is going to be to Texas. Wish me luck and don’t forget to say “Yee-Haw” when I cross the border.

Having enough energy is tough these days. We have stress, pollution, and not enough sleep. How can we possibly amount to something in our businesses? In America, people eat burgers, fries, chicken, pork chops and other dishes. The standard American meal is 30% vegetables with perhaps a piece of fruit during the day. Indians think they are so healthy because they eat mostly vegetables. However, Indians are eating greasy potato dishes, lentils, rice, wheat in the forms of chapati, naans, etc. Indian staples are not healthy in such large quantities. So, what is missing?

I notice that for me to have energy to perform at night, I need enzymes, something India gets not enough of. I knew only one girl in India who ate salads regularly. She was Assamese and her father was a doctor. No wonder she was so healthy. Salad is good because it has raw vegetables. Vegetables have lots of minerals. But, when eaten raw they have prana or energy in them. Fresh fruit drinks also have energy. However, if the liquid sits around for more than three minutes, you lose most of the energy.

I drank juice from the juice bar at Whole Foods that made juice fresh for me. I felt good and felt better the next morning. But, when I had juice that had been sitting for six hours, I felt only 30% of the result. The answer is that humans need fresh energy. Most people have too much meat and starches, but not enough water rich foods like fruits and vegetables. Tony Robbins claims that you need to be eating 80% water rich foods and only 20% meats, fish, rice, bread, etc. That is hard for most of us to do, but if you do, you will have tremendous energy.

The rest of the solution is to keep fit, exercise regularly, or at least walk 90 minutes a day. Keep your weight at a healthy level, and breath fresh air.

I was watching a video of Tony Robbins while I was relaxing at the beach. I use my beach time to ponder the universe at night and also to read online. But, Tony said that he met a guy who was once a very capable manager. But, twenty years later, he had lost his mojo. He was tired, he didn’t have energy when he communicated, his enthusiasm was dampered. He just wasn’t the same leader. When he was feeling in charge, he moved his hands around more, he behaved as if he was in charge, and people listened more to him and did what he said.

Posture Helps
Part of the secret to being more in charge is to assume postures. Smile, stand up straight, and put your chest out. Behave like you are superman. Move your arms around like someone who is in charge. Think of yourself as being in charge. And also, decide that you are going to be in charge. A guy who feels in charge will have different body language from one who looks like he has given up. A guy in charge will gain more obedience from his workers because their animal instincts will tell them they better obey. The point here is to be more aware of this in charge body language vs. not in charge.

Energy is Essential
It is hard to be in charge if you don’t have energy, are not physically fit, or don’t think like someone who is in charge. It might help to visualize what life would be if you took charge. Visualize how you would interact differently with people. What people you would stop talking to, who you would talk more to, and how you would manage your company.

Take Charge of Yourself
Another factor is that it is hard to be in charge, if you are not in charge of yourself. If you have too many things to do, and not enough time, you’ll be constantly overwhelmed. When you have a schedule that is liberal enough that you are always on top of things, you might feel more in charge. Most of us are running around like we are tied to a back of a train — running just to keep up. This is not good for developing the mentality of being in charge. It is overwhelming.

Have Role Models
To be successful in a big way, you have to be in charge. Maybe it’s good to witness others being in charge. See how good conductors boss around an orchestra. See how the military guys assert their authority (it’s easy because the military will back them up.) See how a good boss from the English upper class says, “And see to it that it gets done before 5pm!”

Summary
When you run a small business and do not have a million dollar budget, sometimes it is a little hard to be in charge. After all, vendors don’t value small clients. So, how can you be in charge when others don’t fear your authority to fire them? I don’t know — I’m still working on that. Maybe offer them 15% more than their asking price if they do good work. I know one very successful company who does exactly that.

Are in you charge?

This fact may surprise you, but 60% of Jamaica’s managers are women. Part of the reason for this phenomenon is that men become attracted to the musical culture and sometimes to crime, while more women are on the straight and narrow. Moreover, the lyrics of the music today in Jamaica celebrates criminal activity which further perpetuates the problem. Additionally, I might add that in the motherland of Africa, women tend to lead families and get things done while men fall into bad habits. On the other hand, in Islamic parts of Africa, the men have to do everything for the woman — according to a Muslim West African who I met at Beni Hana while enjoying the seafood special.

In the United States only 43% of managers are women and in Japan the number is a mere 11%. While the success of women in Jamaica is wonderful, is this a sign of achievement or an indication of an underlying problem? Men are not doing that well academically and have a much higher crime rate than women in Jamaica. This trend seems to mirror sociological trends in the black communities in the United States in many ways as well.

Jamaican and Caribbean culture is laid back as a rule. However, women have more motivation to earn. Perhaps it is instinctive so they can support their children or children which they will bear in the future. Or perhaps they are not attracted to the idea of smoking ganja for the rest of their lives. Other developing countries have similar behaviors in the slums. India for example has many men in slums who fall into alcohol dependency while the women tend to stay sober. Men in Indian slums will often beat up their wives to get money for alcohol or hooch which is India’s dangerous form of moonshine. While I was in India, an elderly lady went blind from ingesting tainted hooch. The mafia who brewed it put in too much battery acid which is how it gets its kick. I hope they remember to put just the right amount of battery acid in their next brew of pooch so that nobody else needs to be hospitalized.

My friend once told me about an organization that specializes in micro-loans. These loans are for people (mainly women) in the third world living in abject poverty to be able to afford small investments to get a tiny business going. Some needed some metal bowls to sell their goods in outdoor markets. Others needed to be able to buy some basic inventory. The needs were so simple, yet out of reach without wealthy people from the West giving them a chance. Most of the borrowers were women. Why were the men not interested in getting ahead? Had the men given up or had they given in to substance abuse?

Other Caribbean countries are also experience some similarities in these types of trends as 70% of the students in Universities across the West Indies are women.

I personally feel that there is a reason why religions like Judaism and Islam ban intoxicants or “sorcery” which could be interpreted to include drug production and use. Drugs not only ruin lives, but ruin entire societies. Worse yet, the effects of drugs on society empower women — and what could be worse than that?

I first saw this quote on Twitter. It is perfect for Twitter because it is short, fun, and true! But, this quote has a deeper meaning which I learned about yesterday. One of my blog writers is truly brilliant. He writes the most interesting content around. But, he obsesses with small issues and we had an exchange of ten emails over a Paypal fee. He is concerned with small issues rather than looking at the bigger picture! He should acknowledge that he is a popular blog writer with my audience and doing a great job. He is successful where others don’t even try.

As humans, we tend to get stuck thinking about the headaches of the day. What we need to be able to do is to transcend this and look at the bigger picture. Maybe we have to do some task that ties up all of our time. But, maybe this is the task that makes us successful. We need to see the deeper meaning in the small tasks we do. All of the little things we do every day add up to a bigger picture. And perhaps we do a few things daily that add up to ultimate failure as well. I should really stop eating ice cream so often! So, let’s change our perspective, and focus on the bigger picture, and on our success.

It is funny, but a long time ago I figured out what doing business boils down to. Sure there are complicated deals and sophisticated analysis that occur in business. But, the majority of what we do is writing addresses down on pieces of paper, Fedex envelopes, and databases. It is funny that business is really that simple in many ways. Most of the tasks we do are actually pathetically simple. But, if you do them in a disciplined and timely way, those simple tasks can add up to tremendous wealth! So, keep at it!

Were you voted most likely to succeed in high school? Or did your friends think you were most likely to fail? The truth is that school is not at all like life. In many ways school doesn’t prepare you for life. The types of things that are important in life are relationships, marriage, being a good parent, work skills, and getting along with those at work, health, spirituality, and enjoying yourself. How many schools teach the principles of child-rearing or how to pick a good spouse? Sex-ed maybe, but not the other useful skills. I always joke that the only useful classes I took in Junior High that gave me information I actually was able to use were typing, and sexual education (scared me more than it taught me, especially when we got to the part about AIDS — yikes.)

I had a friend who did really well at school. He even studied at Harvard extension. But, in life, he couldn’t hold a job. His inability to relate to people and commit to developing a career got in his way. I did particularly poorly at school, but had the passion to start a business and succeed. So, although in high school I was not someone who others thought would succeed, I did anyway!

I think that we need to lead ourselves in many ways as school doesn’t know what we really need. Try to challenge yourself daily to deal with your weak points. What are you worst at that will limit you in your future? Do you think you should work at that? I think you should make a list of things you are bad at or don’t like to do that limit your success and work at those. Are you bad at relating to people? Maybe it is time to start meeting more people. Are you bad at organizing your time? Start working at that — at a time that is convenient for you of course. Are you timid around authorities? Start hanging around with professors, police officers, and others in high places (even if they don’t want you around.) It is hard to know what we need to succeed, but I can guarantee you that school will not furnish you with what you need other than some boring math and history classes. Good luck!