30 “If Statements” in Life Worth Learning
March 20, 2008
Here are 30 “if statements” worth learning if you have the intentions of leading a more productive life.
1. If you don’t understand the product or service, don’t buy it until you do.
2. If you do not take ownership of your actions, your actions will eventually own you.
3. If you are not saving at least 10% of your salary, you are not saving enough.
4. If you talk too much, people will stop listening. If you don’t talk enough, people will never hear your point of view.
5. If you are lazy, you will fail. Laziness will always overshadow your true potential.
6. If you hate your job, you also hate half of the time you spend on this planet.
7. If you are not investing (120 minus your age) percent of your savings in the stock market, you are giving up thousands of dollars over the course of your lifetime.
8. If you don’t finish what you start, your success rate will always be zero.
9. If you don’t consume enough liquids, you will never be healthy.
10. If your monthly debt payments exceed 40% of your total income, you will go broke if you don’t fix your spending habits promptly.
11. If you avoid your problems, your problems will steer the course of your life.
12. If something sounds too good to be true, it is too good to be true.
Elephants Never Forget - An Amazing Story about Elephants
March 17, 2008
In 1986, Dan Harrison (see picture left) was on holiday in Kenya after graduating from Northwestern University. On a hike through the bush, he came across a young bull elephant standing with one leg raised in the air. The elephant seemed distressed, so Dan approached it very carefully.
He got down on one knee and inspected the elephant’s foot and found a large piece of wood deeply embedded in it. As carefully and as gently as he could, Dan worked the wood out with his hunting knife, after which the elephant gingerly put down its foot.
The elephant turned to face the man, and with a rather curious look on its face, stared at him for several tense moments.
Dan stood frozen, thinking of nothing else but being trampled.
Eventually the elephant trumpeted loudly, turned, and walked away.
Dan never forgot that elephant or the events of that day.
Twenty years later, Dan was walking through the Chicago Zoo with his teenaged son. As they approached the elephant enclosure, one of the creatures turned and walked over to near where Dan and his son Dan Jr. were standing.
The large bull elephant stared at Dan, lifted its front foot off the ground, then put it down. The elephant did that several times then trumpeted loudly, all the while staring at the man. Remembering the encounter in 1986, Dan couldn’t help wondering if this was the same elephant.
Dan summoned up his courage, climbed over the railing and made his way into the enclosure. He walked right up to the elephant and stared back in wonder. The elephant trumpeted again, wrapped its trunk around one of Dan’s legs and slammed him against the railing, killing him instantly.
It probably wasn’t the same elephant. 
20 Things I’m Glad Life Taught Me
March 13, 2008
How many times have you heard someone say, “Hindsight is always 20/20″? If you are like me, you hear it a lot and think it a lot more. Last year Jay wrote an article listing things he wished he’d known earlier. It got me thinking that the most crucial lessons in life and success aren’t taught in books or written on blogs, but they are found by living life itself.
Sure, there may be nuggets of wisdom that we pick up from Dumb Little Man, Zen Habits, or Life Remix, but it is up to us individually to act upon them and learn the lessons. If it takes a failure for us to learn something important, so be it.
Here are 20 things that I personally came to understand and believe in. Your 20 could be totally different. Perhaps you only have 5, it doesn’t matter. The key is that you learn from your life, your failures and your successes. Neglect any one of those and you are taking a rocky road to learning and personal development.
1. You must create and look for opportunities: Opportunities rarely ever come knocking on the door of someone who’s not seeking them. You have to create and seek opportunities for yourself. You have to take the initiative to get the ball rolling and the doors opening.
2. Negativity will only bring more of it: When you focus only on negativity, obviously that’s all you will see. You will not seek out positivity, and even when positivity comes into your life, you’ll look for the negative part of it.
3. Where you are does not determine where you can go: It doesn’t matter if you’re homeless or living in a mansion, poor or rich, or if you have a 4.0 grade point average or “failing”, it won’t make any difference in the future. There are countless rags to riches stories to back this point up. If you have the drive and talents, you can go anywhere. You create your own limitations and horizon.
4. If you can’t help others, you can’t help yourself: Even if it’s just to hold the door for someone or some other simple gesture, it will do wonders for your life. You’ll feel great and you’ll eventually be returned the favor sometime during your life, whether you realize it or not. If you don’t want to help others, then others won’t want to help you, and nor should they.
5. Follow your passion, money will follow: If you have passion and have fun doing your job, then I wouldn’t consider it a job. You can focus on creating even more passion for that subject and money will eventually follow you. If you focus only on the money, it won’t come because you’re focused on the quantity of your work and not the quality.
6. Enjoy yourself: Have fun as much as possible, don’t take everything so seriously. Push your worries aside and bring enjoyment closer.
7. If it were easy everyone would do it: This is why get rich quick schemes will never be true. If it was so quick and easy then everyone would be millionaires. Making money and accomplishing tasks is hard work, but well worth it.
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8+ Ways To Train Yourself To Be Creative
February 27, 2008
by John Hoff @ eVentureBiz.com
A short time ago I received an email from a young entrepreneur asking me how he was suppose to compete in a marketplace where the competition was high and more established companies had big advertising bucks. I mentioned a few ideas to him but the one that concerned him the most was creativity. Give him numbers and he’ll work them, but tell him to come up with some creative idea, forget it.
He said he doesn’t have a creative bone in his body.
People who tell themselves that have already lost unless they decide to do something about it.
The development of a creative thought process is no different than learning martial arts. At first, someone shows you how to stand, execute proper body movement, and teaches you a Kata (a.k.a form - a set of movements that help develop your technique).
Once these techniques are learned you must practice them to become a good fighter. When fighting, it is taught that the best place for your mind to be is no where at all, called Mushin (means “no mind”). The point of Mushin is to blank out your mind so that you are in a state of “openness.” In other words, it allows you to simply react and not worry about what might happen when fighting.
To be creative, you have to first believe you are creative.
The same can be said when learning to be creative. You first learn what techniques help develop a creative thought process and then you have to practice them while keeping your mind open to endless possibilities no matter how ridiculous they may seem.
But how do you train your mind to become a well-oiled creative thinking machine?
Like the first sentence of this post says, you have to first believe you are a creative person. Following that you need to exercise your mind in various ways.
Let’s take a look at some creative mind-pumping ideas and activities that will help widen your mind’s creative eye.
I. Listen
Don’t Jump the Gun
It is important listen to everything and not judge or come to your own conclusion prematurely. This is vital if you are to create a product that wins in the eyes of your customers and employer. Remember, listening does not equal simply hearing.
