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Jim Stovall Articles

Written by: Jim Stovall

Persistence and Procrastination - Click To Read Article
Down the street from my office is a very large media complex containing a TV station, several radio stations, and a large conference center. At one corner of the massive building, there is a large fenced area where several radio and TV broadcast towers soar hundreds of feet into the air. Thousands of people drive by this complex every day and have seen the towers so many times they don't even notice them any more.

Horse Sense - Click To Read Article
More than virtually any other animal, horses have impacted the way we humans have lived throughout most of recorded history. Many of us who have lived in the 20th and now the 21st centuries, have no direct connection to horses, but there is still much they can teach us.

Solutions and Excuses - Click To Read Article
All organizations and individuals have unique cultures and different methods of working toward accomplishing tasks. There is no right or wrong way to undertake a project, but people and organizations can be divided into two distinct categories that greatly affect their potential for success.

The Value Business - Click To Read Article
Everyone wants to get ahead, create wealth, and succeed. There have been countless speeches given, books written, and courses taught on the subject of how to make money and be successful. In the final analysis, there is only one way to honestly and honorably make money over the long term, and that is to deliver value to others.

The Money Maze - Click To Read Article
The current turmoil in the financial markets has created more confusion and controversy surrounding money, wealth, and personal finance than ever before. Surprisingly, money is not the key to wealth. Knowledge is the key to wealth. People who are wealthy have a high degree of knowledge and understanding as it relates to money. They did not obtain this knowledge because they have money. They have money because they obtained this knowledge.

Creative Conflict - Click To Read Article
One of the biggest challenges in a formal education is the struggle between creativity and conformity. Classroom educational experiences, by design, breed conformity. We are all taught to write, think, and process information the same way. While it is good to learn basic skills, conformity kills creativity.

New and Old - Click To Read Article
We seem to be constantly on the search for something new to replace something that is old. We are bombarded with advertisements, promotions, and sales pitches imploring us to experience the latest, best, new, and improved items that may be available. While, in many cases, new things are better than old things, there are certainly many exceptions in which old things are best.

New 80/20 Equation - Click To Read Article
Most people have heard of the "80/20 Rule." It usually refers to an inefficiency in business or in life. For example, when 80 percent of your customers produce only 20 percent of your profit or 20 percent of your students are causing 80 percent of the problems.

Eye on the Ball - Click To Read Article
Like millions of people around the globe, I've been enjoying the World Series featuring my beloved St. Louis Cardinals, and at the same time, savoring a great football season. We all marvel at the talent and skill of professional athletes but, sometimes, it is baffling why the most highly-trained and talented people anywhere will fail to catch the most routine ball that comes to them. These are players who, in many cases, are paid millions of dollars a year for the sole purpose of catching a ball. And yet, on a significant number of occasions, they drop a ball that could have been caught by a Little League player.

Dependable People - Click To Read Article
The world could be divided very simply into two distinct groups of people. There are people who you can trust to get things done, and there are people you can't.

Population Perspectives - Click To Read Article
If we want to be successful and relevant in the future, we've got to understand the way the world really is and, more importantly, the way it will be in the future. Unless you force yourself to step back and take a global look at everything around you, you will make the mistake of assuming everyone in the world looks, acts, and thinks like you.

Minimize Meetings - Click To Read Article
Every few days, I am asked to serve on a board or committee somewhere in the world. I immediately reject virtually all of these requests, not because the opportunities or causes are not valid, but because many boards and committees tend to be inefficient, ineffective, and unproductive.

The Forbes Formula - Click To Read Article
Over the last decade, I have been fortunate and privileged to develop an ongoing friendship with Steve Forbes. We first worked together in 1999 when he was producing a book entitled Great American Success Stories. After that, I began visiting Mr. Forbes in his office on each of my trips to New York City. Over the years, we have had many wonderful conversations sitting around the table in the library on the second floor of the Forbes Building. I have often wished I could include the readers of my books, those who watch my movies, and you who read these weekly columns in those wonderful discussions with Steve Forbes.

The Ultimate Financial Plan - Click To Read Article
Recent turbulence in the financial markets has caused us all to question our financial plans. We are bombarded daily with advertisements and sales pitches from self-proclaimed experts, financial gurus, and all manner of miracle money managers wanting to sell us their financial plans. Buying someone else's financial plan is much like buying someone else's shirt. Odds are it won't fit, you won't like it, and the process is somewhat distasteful.

The Ultimate Journey - Click To Read Article
Most of you became aware of me and my work through a little book I wrote entitled The Ultimate Gift. The book has sold millions of copies and became a major motion picture from 20th Century Fox starring James Garner, Abigail Breslin, and Brian Dennehy. The movie continues to be among the top-selling family movie titles everywhere.

Cost of Ignorance - Click To Read Article
Several hundred years ago, many of our ancestors lived on farms. They raised livestock, grew crops, and produced the majority of everything they needed to survive. These ancestors possessed all the knowledge that was needed to perform each of the tasks on their farm.

Judging a Book - Click To Read Article
You've heard it said that you can't judge a book by its cover. This has never been more true as the next book you buy may not even have a cover. Several months ago, retail publishers reported that there were more electronic books sold in a month than printed books. This is staggering to consider. One of the publishing experts I really respect, Dan Poynter, put it in perspective, saying, "It took cars 40 years to replace the horse, the CD took just 15 years to replace the vinyl record, but it's taken just four years for the Kindle to overtake printed books on Amazon."

Productivity Over Activity - Click To Read Article
Like most people who work for a living, I begin my day at the office by reviewing my calendar and making a list of tasks that need to be done on that particular day. Some of these activities have a time associated with them such as a meeting, conference call, or speech I will be making at a certain point in the day. Other activities such as correspondence, accounting, and returning phone calls need to be done that day in general terms but not at any specific point in time.

The Debt Dilemma - Click To Read Article
A wise man once posed the poignant question, "If you can't pay for it now, what makes you think you can pay for it later?" As a society, we have dealt with debt for so long that we have become immune to it. Most people have a hard time conceiving of a million dollars, much less a billion or a trillion. If you live in the United States and would like to get a perspective on our nation's debt, go to www.USDebtClock.org.

The Joplin Perspective - Click To Read Article
Joplin, Missouri is a relatively small city situated in southwest Missouri. I have been through Joplin many times in my life as it is located halfway between where I've lived the majority of my life and where my grandparents lived; therefore, Joplin, Missouri always seemed like more of a rest stop to me. It was a place to stretch your legs, buy gasoline, and get a quick bite to eat.

Airline Attitudes - Click To Read Article
Like many people in business today, I spend a lot of my time on airplanes, flying from point A to point B. I generally am among the very first people to board so I get to sit and relax as I listen to all of the other people scrambling to get on the plane, find their seats, and stow their carryon luggage.

The Real I.Q. - Click To Read Article
My university degree is in psychology/sociology. While making my way through my academic career, I remember studying an inordinate amount about the I.Q. (Intelligence Quotient). While a measurement of intelligence may have some validity in psychological or sociological circles, I can think of few things less meaningful in the real world.

Common and Uncommon Sense - Click To Read Article
I have long been intrigued by people who have become known as universal men and women. These are people who have succeeded at the highest level in more than one field of endeavor. The person who probably most embodies the concept of a universal man is Benjamin Franklin. Franklin was a statesman, inventor, scientist, publisher, and philosopher just to name a few of his areas of accomplishment.

Expanding Your Boundaries - Click To Read Article
My late, great mentor, friend, and publisher Charlie "Tremendous" Jones will long be remembered for saying, "You will be the same person you are today, five years from now, except for the people you meet and the books you read." Charlie was an example of this throughout his life, and the work he began continues as his legacy of sharing inspiration, hope, and possibilities with people around the world through the printed word continues.

Historical Perspective - Click To Read Article
If the name Edward R. Murrow is not familiar to you, you need to talk with your parents or grandparents, and they will likely tell you that he was among the first, and certainly most significant, television news reporters of all time. If you were to poll the news industry to determine the most influential news person of the 20th century, the top response would likely be Edward R. Murrow. He became famous for his reports from London during World War II.

The Compassionate Samurai - Click To Read Article
Recently, I was shocked to hear the news that my friend and colleague Brian Klemmer had suddenly passed away. Brian had been a happy, healthy, 61-year-old with what seemed to be a limitless future, so his death hit me very hard. When we lose someone special to us, our immediate thoughts go to the time we spent together and what that individual meant in our own lives. Brian was certainly a significant person to me in this way; but with an individual like Brian Klemmer, one must also consider the global loss to people around the world.

The Power of Deciding - Click To Read Article
I believe and have often said that we are all one quality decision away from anything we want. A quality decision is a certain state of mind. It is not the process of deciding to try, attempt, or pursue something until it becomes difficult. A quality decision means that you have firmly set your course. You are no longer flexible on your mission; however, you may be flexible on your method.

Focus and Feedback - Click To Read Article
For the last six months, I have been working daily with the movie studio that is turning my novel The Lamp into a motion picture. The movie has an all-star cast including Academy Award-winner Louis Gossett Jr., so I have been eagerly working every day to make sure we have attended to every possible detail to the best of our ability.

Writing Your Own Obituary - Click To Read Article
Those of you who are consistent readers of this regular offering, realize that I rarely recommend specific books. Instead, I encourage people to read those books that will help them in the pursuit of their own passion. However, recently I have completed both of Tom Brokaw's books dealing with the Depression and World War II era-The Greatest Generation and The Greatest Generation Speaks.

The Money Rules - Click To Read Article
There's probably nothing more misunderstood in our society than the acquisition and use of money. Nothing can take the place of money in the things that money does, but outside of the small scope where money is useful, it has little or no value. When it comes to your health, family relationships, or personal well-being, money is of little importance.

The Key to Happiness - Click To Read Article
In this day-to-day existence that we commonly call life, there are those rare and special moments when we rise above the fray and experience our true destiny. When it is all said and done, I believe that-more than anything else-life is about being happy in the active pursuit of making others happy. Most people are too busy making a living to really have a life. Happiness is often elusive and fleeting.

People and Expectations - Click To Read Article
As you have already discovered, the world is full of all kinds of different people. Some of them mesh well with our personalities and expectations and others simply do not. This is not a problem in and of itself because all of these people put together make up our world as it exists. The difficulty arises when we expect people to be other than what they are. For example, we all have a friend or acquaintance who is habitually late. If this is the only problem with a particular person, it can be dealt with. Over the months and years, we simply learn to build in extra time, because we know that they will continue to be late. The problem arises when we expect that late person to be punctual.

A Box Full of Stuff - Click To Read Article
All of us go through those seemingly insignificant points in life that, in retrospect, are turning points. I remember the day that our family came to the decision that my grandfather could no longer live in his house alone, but would need to move into a retirement center. He was well into his 90s and had called that house his home for over 60 years. It was full of trinkets, mementos, personal treasures, and memories.

Thinking In and Out of the Box - Click To Read Article
The current buzz phrase among business and creative types is, "Thinking out of the box." This means that you think in non-orthodox, non-traditional ways that lead you to new and creative conclusions. This is a powerful tool, as far as it goes, because it allows you to use your entire creative mind without limiting yourself to the way things have always been done. However, while you're thinking in the new "out of the box" way, don't forget that there are some pretty great concepts in that old box. Traditional thinking at one time was someone's creative "out of the box" thinking. Because it was successful, that thought became traditional or "in the box."

You Are Not Your Performance - Click To Read Article
We live in a totally results-driven society. You are only deemed to be as good as your most recent victory. This has set up a consistent state of low self-esteem for many people. Recently, I enjoyed the NCAA National Championship Basketball Tournament. For months, every team in the country has a goal of making it to the tournament. Then, at the end of the season, 64 teams are selected from various parts of the country. As the tournament progresses, teams are eliminated one-by-one until, at the end of the season, the team remaining is named the national champion.

Doing One Thing Well - Click To Read Article
Our society rewards people handsomely who can only do one thing, but can do it well. It's not imperative that the thing they do well be of large significance. News reports are full of the fame, success, and notoriety of Mark McGuire and Tiger Woods. In a global perspective, playing golf or baseball is not terribly important. What matters in this case is how well they do it.

Beyond the Barrier - Click To Read Article
All of us have fears that we face. These fears cause us to do certain things and cause us not to do other things. Fear is a very natural and normal response in most cases. However, from time to time it is important to ask ourselves, "Are my current fears well-founded concerns that are keeping me out of trouble or are they irrational thoughts that are keeping me from where I should be?"

Worry vs. Concern - Click To Read Article
I believe that concern is worry with action. Worry in and of itself does nothing other than diminish focus. Concern has the potential to release creative solutions to the obstacle that one is facing. I heard a story about an elderly monk who was training a number of younger monks learning to live their dedicated lives of service. One of his pupils came to him and told him that he was so weighted down with all of his worries that he could not perform his tasks. The old, wise monk said, "I have a gift for you. It was given to me by an old and wise monk when I was your age. This gift has allowed me a life of grace, peace, and focus."

The Rules Apply - Click To Read Article
Success and happiness in life come when we begin to understand that the universal rules apply to us. Remember when you were a teenager? You were never going to get old. The concept of being 30 was so foreign to you as to not have meaning. Then, before you know it, you are 30, but you are certain that you'll never be as old as 40, etc. I can remember being a small child and unaware that the law of gravity did, indeed, apply to me. A few bumps and bruises later, the reality became clear.

The Ultimate Gift - Click To Read Article
In the past few years, I have had the privilege of writing several books and a number of these syndicated columns. Recently, I have completed my first novel. Writing fiction is a venture into a new arena as you have the privilege of writing about the world and the way you think it should be instead of the way it really is. Without spoiling the story, when one of the richest men in the country dies, he leaves all of his relatives money, businesses, or property, with the exception of one young man. He leaves his great-nephew a 12-month odyssey which results in The Ultimate Gift.

Your Grass is Green - Click To Read Article
It is important to realize that success is success and failure is failure in any and every endeavor of life. It is easy to get caught up in the notion that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. This type of thinking tells us that "If I would just switch jobs, switch careers, move to a different city, etc. I would be successful."

The Sleeping Giant - Click To Read Article
Recently during a speaking engagement in Hawaii, I had the privilege of touring Pearl Harbor and the Arizona Memorial. It is a moving experience that I would recommend to anyone who has the opportunity to take advantage of it. From time to time, it is good to be reminded that freedom comes at a very high price.

Problems and Priorities - Click To Read Article
Every day, we are all faced with two important questions that greatly impact out productivity. These two questions are What are we doing? and How well are we doing it? Most of the emphasis in human behavior and personal development deals with the second question How well are we doing it? Very seldom do the success gurus focus on the primary element which is What are we doing?

Open Mind, Close Mouth - Click To Read Article
As you have more milestone birthdays-the ones that end in "0"-you come to learn the myriad of things you don't know. Life's experiences give us wisdom, but for every answer there seems to be two questions that pop up that are not answered. When you were a teenager or a young adult, everything was simple, easy, and fully understood by you. As time passed, the simple black-and-white world faded into complex shades of gray. We come to realize that people are products of their environment, their thinking, and their attitudes.

Some Get It, Some Don't - Click To Read Article
Have you ever noticed that in the most mundane daily activities, there are some people who get it and some people who don't? When you are trying to merge onto the freeway during rush hour, you will notice that most people simply move up into the acceleration lane and politely and efficiently merge into the flow of traffic. They get it. On the other hand, there are those few lost souls who want to stop at the junction of the entrance ramp of the freeway and wait until traffic is completely clear. They don't get it.

Keeping up with the Joneses - Click To Read Article
As you may know, when I am not pursuing my passion of speaking, writing books, and developing these columns each week, I am in the television business. It is important for you to understand how the media and big business views you. You, by virtue of the fact that you are breathing, are lovingly known as "a consumer." Consumers, in the minds of media and big business, exist for the sole and singular purpose of buying goods and services. Whether you buy the appropriate goods and services is not nearly as important-in their minds-as how much and how often you buy.

Finding Your Place - Click To Read Article
If you don't know what you're doing in the world, how will you ever know what in the world you are doing? We all meet people every day who are like the arrow in search of the elusive target. As the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland taught us all, if you don't know where you're going, it really doesn't matter which path you take. I believe that each of us has a life's work or a destiny that is unique.

Bridges and Boundaries - Click To Read Article
In every human relationship, there will be either a series of bridges or a series of boundaries. Bridges are the trust emotions that link us to others. Boundaries are the distrust emotions that create barriers of perceived protection around us. Both bridges and boundaries will be tested by those we relate to as soon as they are established.

Your Past does not Equal your Future - Click To Read Article
Your future, along with your personal and professional goals, are not as fragile as you might think. Failure is often the fertilizer that makes future success blossom. Recently, I had this principle confirmed to me via nine Irishmen from the 19th Century. It seems that in 1848 as Ireland was attempting to break away from England, nine young Irish rebels were captured and sentenced to death. As they were brought before the queen for punishment, Queen Victoria could not bear to have them executed, so she sent them to England's prison colony in Australia.

The Resolution Solution - Click To Read Article
I am very fortunate in that last May I began a regular workout and exercise schedule at a local health club facility. Between May and the new year, I was pleased that I had made it three times each week. The credit for much of my consistency belongs to my workout partner. We had just settled into a nice routine three evenings a week when January 1st rolled around. The following day, we went in for our regularly scheduled workout, and I was amazed to find a multitude of people occupying the space where we had been exercising all by ourselves for months. These people had obviously been bitten by the dreaded "resolution bug."

The Search for Normality - Click To Read Article
Recently, I heard about a group of advertising agencies that constantly seek what they call a "normal" city or town. Apparently, what they are looking for is the demographically perfect example of the United States. They spend a great deal of time searching for this elusive pocket of normality. Even when they find a city or town that they deem to be normal, within a year or two they have to move on, because the existing site is-for whatever reason-no longer "normal."

Why and Why Not? - Click To Read Article
I am reminded of a quote that became famous at Robert Kennedy's memorial service. "Some men see things as they are and say ‘Why?' I dream of things that never were and say, ‘Why not?'" In our society, we have become so risk-averse that we often endanger creativity. We hire consultants to tell us what is possible, but they define "possible" by determining what has already been done. It is important to realize that prior to every great advancement of humankind, the experts of the day would have assured you that it was impossible.

Input and Output - Click To Read Article
All of us are moving into the technology age. Some people are embracing technology eagerly while others are being dragged-kicking and screaming-into this brave new world; however, for better or for worse, computers, the Internet, and technology still being developed will all play an integral part in how we all live the rest of our lives. I find it fascinating that, even with all the miracle developments, ancient principles still govern 21st Century technology. One of the leading principles of the computer age is that the information you get out can never be better or more accurate than the information you put in.

Perspective is Everything - Click To Read Article
Reality can be best defined as one's perception based upon their own perspective. Recently, I was enjoying an old, rather antiquated spy novel in which four opposing secret agents are sitting around a table, engaged in a card game. One of the agents was to receive a secret coded symbol that he was to write on the tablecloth. The secret coded symbol was to be picked up by a hidden camera in the ceiling of the card room. The other three secret agents were to observe the secret symbol as soon as it was written on the tablecloth and then report back to their respective spymasters.

Lessons from the Top of the World - Click To Read Article
Recently, I have been reading quite a bit about expeditions on Mount Everest. I am intrigued by the fact that so many people over the years have been driven to climb the tallest mountain on earth and stand on the top of the world. While studying the expeditions, I have been amazed at how much time, preparation, and energy goes into getting to the mountain with all of the equipment necessary to make the climb and to set up each of the base camps along the route. An expedition is literally years in the planning stage and months in the preparation stage before an attempt can be made on the summit.

Keeping On-Course - Click To Read Article
There comes a time in everyone's life when you become extremely frustrated with your progress toward your goal. There are days when you seem to be making incredible strides, and nothing can stop you. Then, there are those days when your best efforts seem to take you nowhere. That is the time to "stay the course."

Long Days and Short Years - Click To Read Article
When he was well past 90 years of age, my grandfather shared with me a lesson regarding having a sense of urgency about life. He observed that, when we are young, a day can go by in the blink of an eye, but a year seems like forever. We all can remember playing outside on a wonderful summer's day and then observing, as if by magic, somehow the entire day slipped away. But, at the same time, when we are young, the calendar can seem like eternity. The next birthday, Christmas, or the last day of school is impossibly distant.

Find the Right Game - Click To Read Article
We've all been taught that there are two kinds of people in the world-there are the winners, and there are the losers. But, like any other belief that we all hold dear, it's not quite that simple. The reality is that everyone potentially is a winner. They are simply competing in the wrong game. The skill level and passion needed to become a champion will not transfer from game to game. When the sports history of the 20th Century was written, there was much debate among sports writers as to who was the century's greatest athlete. Virtually all agreed that if he was not the best, Michael Jordan was certainly among the top two or three athletes of the last 100 years.

Do or Don't Pending List - Click To Read Article
As a blind person in a print and paper world, I have learned several lessons that I think can benefit us all. Since I have people read all of my mail and other printed material, I have formulated a policy over the years. That is, to handle all paperwork only once. Initially, this started as a means to maximize the time and effort of those whose eyes I use to decipher printed documents. I have discovered that this policy is even more effective in creating efficiency and priorities in my life.

Facing the Fear - Click To Read Article
Fear is the number one obstacle and barrier to all success. Often we are fooled into thinking that top performers are people who feel no fear. The reality is that champions feel the fear and perform in spite of it. Shortly after losing my sight, I faced a fear that I had never before imagined. The only way to avoid everything that I was afraid of was to move into a little 9-by-12-foot room in the back of my house. This small room became my entire world.

You Are Here - Click To Read Article
As a blind person myself, I am always intrigued with the way that sighted people get or fail to get from point A to point B. It is fascinating to me that people who can see perfectly spend a great deal of their time being lost. Recently, I made one of my rare trips to a giant shopping mall. As usual, I was listening to all the conversations going on around me. I discovered that most people spend a great deal of effort during their shopping experience trying to figure out where they are in relation to where they wish they were.

Priorities and Schedules - Click To Read Article
Each of us on a daily or weekly basis somehow reduce our activities to a schedule. Some people use formal organizers or planners; others scribble notes on blank sheets of paper; and still others use obscure systems that defy description. But, in our own way, we each come up with a mental or literal "to do" list for the day. As we examine our list of activities each day, we generally prioritize them. That is, we determine which of these activities is the most important and which can wait till later if necessary.

Required Reading for Success - Click To Read Article
I have often heard it said by one of the great leaders in the field of personal development, my friend Charlie "Tremendous" Jones, that five years from now you will be the same person that you are today with the exception of the people you meet and the books you read. I find that by reading books, we have the ability to meet the greatest minds in recorded history. They are simply waiting to give us the secrets of a successful life that have transcended the decades and centuries.

Tolerance - Click To Read Article
Have you ever read something that failed to impact you and then - upon re-reading the same thing - you find it to be revolutionary? This happened to me recently with a book by Napoleon Hill. This particular book contains a lot of excerpts from that legendary writer and speaker. There was an essay entitled "Tolerance" that I know I have read more than once, but for whatever reason, I had not found it to be memorable. Upon my most recent reading, I discovered that it was one of the most significant things that Napoleon Hill ever wrote. The beginning of the essay is as follows:

Just Say Yes - Click To Read Article
For the past ten years, I have had the privilege of speaking with thousands of elementary and middle school students. The media would tell us that the state of our youth is alarming. While I would be the first to agree that we have some unique challenges facing us, this generation of young people is very impressive. When I visit with them, I try to focus on the critical issues they are facing, including drugs, alcohol, destructive relationships, and negative peer pressure. These young people have been pounded with the message "Just Say No." That message was brought to the forefront by former First Lady Nancy Reagan.

Fishing Lessons - Click To Read Article
Recently, I had the opportunity to spend an afternoon fishing with my father. This is something I highly recommend. He and I spent a lot of time fishing when I was growing up, but now we seem to get out once or twice a year. I find that the fishing is irrelevant. The key is the outing itself and the time we spend together, as well as the lessons I learn. Fishing is simply an excuse to enjoy an afternoon outdoors with someone you love and respect. Fishing somehow makes it legitimate. If you were to take an afternoon off work, stand at the lakeshore, and talk, you would be considered lazy or unproductive. But if you hold a fishing rod during the process, it makes it all somehow legitimate.

If I Were King - Click To Read Article
Sometimes it's fun to imagine how the world would be different if you were in control. IF I WERE KING, people who did not vote would not be allowed to complain. The three good TV shows on each week would not be aired at the same time on different channels. Good weather would be given a priority on weekends and holidays. Telephone solicitors would only be allowed to call your house when you're not home; that way, they could talk to everyone's answering machine. Food that tastes good would be good for you. Junk mail would only come one day a month. Airlines would have to tell you the truth about when you were really going to leave-if ever. When a store advertised a half-price sale, it really would be.

Bridges and Walls - Click To Read Article
Each time we interact with another person, we are given the opportunity to build a bridge or a wall. There are no neutral meetings among people. Each contact either builds up or tears down the relationship. Recently, I had the opportunity to have breakfast and lunch in the same hotel dining room on the same day. During breakfast, it was a bit crowded and the food was somewhat slow in coming; however, the waitress was polite, pleasant, and professional. She inquired about me and the purpose of my trip. She seemed to genuinely care. I was left with a very positive impression of what otherwise could have been a mediocre to poor experience.

Starting Over Every Day - Click To Read Article
Success in life, both personally and professionally, is dependent upon our ability to successfully interact with the people around us. There is no success without positive relationships in our lives. A successful relationship is not a relationship without conflict. There is no such thing as a relationship without conflict; therefore, a successful relationship is one in which conflict is resolved. Too many people make the mistake in their personal or professional lives of avoiding conflicts and simply not dealing with them. While, in the short term, this tactic may result in a brief period of peace, the reality is that the conflict continues to build to an unmanageable point when it explodes, often making a resolution at that point impossible.

The Magic Card - Click To Read Article
Just last week while listening to a radio newscast, I heard the most disturbing statistic imaginable. The statistic shocked me so much that I listened to the same newscast a half hour later to be certain that I had heard it right. The radio announcer proclaimed, "Less than 5% of Americans have a library card, and less than ½ of 1% use their card with any degree of frequency." As a blind person, I think back to when I could read a book with my eyes like you are reading this column now. I'm embarrassed to say that at that time in my life, I took reading for granted, and I don't know that I ever read an entire book cover-to-cover. Today, with books-on-tape and a high-speed tape recorder, I read a book every day. This has literally changed my life.

The Wisdom of the Snapping Turtle - Click To Read Article
When I was 8 years old, during one of my journeys into the woods, I successfully captured a rather large snapping turtle. I immediately brought him back to my grandparents' house, selected an appropriate box, and made him my official pet. As I was being particularly quiet, my grandfather came onto the back porch to determine what mischief I might be pursuing. I showed him my prize turtle and explained that it was now my pet.

Someday Isle - Click To Read Article
All of us had wonderful dreams, goals, and plans when we were teenagers or young adults. But at some point, this thing we call reality set in, and we let our dreams and goals slip further and further back into our minds. We actually ship all of our dreams and goals to a mythical place I call "Someday Isle."

Success is your Baby - Click To Read Article
There were two warring tribes in the Andes, one that lived in the lowlands and the other high in the mountains. The mountain people invaded the lowlanders one day, and as part of their plundering of the people, they kidnapped a baby and took the infant with them back up into the mountains. Although the lowlanders didn't know how to climb the mountain, they sent out their best party of fighting men to bring the baby home. They first tried one method of climbing and then another. They tried one trail and then another. After climbing only a few hundred feet after several days of effort, the lowlander men decided that the cause was lost, and they prepared to return to their village below.

The Magic of Mentors - Click To Read Article
If you are traveling on an extended road trip along a divided highway, there are two sets of cars. There are the cars on your side of the road going the same direction that you are, and there are those on the opposite side of the road going the other way. If you were to stop at a rest stop to inquire about weather or road conditions ahead, you would not want to ask those traveling the same way you were. Instead, you would want to ask those traveling in the opposite direction, because they have already been where you are going.

The Opinion that Counts - Click To Read Article
We always live up to the expectations that we have for our lives. Sometimes, these expectations are those we have of ourselves, but too often these are expectations that we allow other people to place upon us. If we're not careful, we can find ourselves winning someone else's battle while we lose our own war. For years, societal pressure and the media have encouraged us to keep up with the Joneses. Unless your last name is Jones, there is no practical or logical reason you should set your standards based on theirs.

Today is the Day - Click To Read Article
Those of you who are regular readers of this humble offering may have noticed that each column ends with the phrase "Today is the day!" This is not an accident.

Lessons from a Funeral - Click To Read Article
Sometimes, in the midst of grief and despair, we can learn lessons that help us to emerge as better people. Recently, I had the difficult task of speaking at a funeral for someone I really cared about. This experience caused a flood of emotions. Inevitably, on such occasions you reflect upon the brevity of life and the misguided priorities that we all pursue on a daily basis. After the funeral, I had the opportunity to meet and greet a number of people. I was struck by the number of individuals who told me, "I really hadn't talked with her or seen her in over a year." And similar comments.

Making Money vs. Earning Money - Click To Read Article
There has never been a money shortage. There is, from time to time, an idea, inspiration, motivation, or creativity shortage. This shortage may manifest itself in the lack of money. It's important to realize that the only people who make money work at the mint. Everyone else earns money. There is a fair exchange between what an individual does and what he is paid for completing that task. The pay for a task increases as its degree of difficulty, danger, expertise, or the amount of training required increases. There are many jobs that you could be trained to do and be in a position to accomplish the required task by the end of the first day. In most cases, these jobs do not pay particularly well. On the other hand, if you wish to be a neurosurgeon-while you will not be performing the task by the end of the first day-at the point you ha

Passion is the Key - Click To Read Article
One of the benefits of being president of the Narrative Television Network is that I have the privilege of interviewing many celebrities. These celebrities represent those who are at the very top of their field in sports, politics, television, and movies. These people can teach us many lessons. My very first interview was with legendary film actress, Katharine Hepburn. After I got over the initial intimidation of talking with her, I began to understand more about her and why she was so successful.

Nothing and Everything - Click To Read Article
As a bit of time has passed, hopefully we are able to put the death and destruction from the Oklahoma tornadoes in some type of perspective. Although a tragedy of that nature can never be fully understood, there are lessons to be learned. My most lasting memory is of a young father being interviewed on the radio. As he stood with his wife and two children on the spot of barren dirt that hours before had been his home and everything he owned, he spoke the words I will keep with me always.

Passing the Torch - Click To Read Article
In 1976, during a routine eye test to enter college, I was diagnosed with a rare disease that would eventually result in my blindness. As a teenager with my whole life ahead of me, the devastation that I experienced was indescribable. Several weeks later, a family friend called and offered to pick me up and take me with him to an event known as a "Positive Thinking Rally." I cared nothing about anything having to do with positive thinking, as I was settling into my own form of depression; but for some reason, I agreed to go.

Cornerstones - Click To Read Article
Several years ago while I was speaking to a group of young people, I was presented with a dilemma. I was explaining to my audience of pre-teens that it is vital to always stretch ourselves and grow into tasks that we have never attempted. One particularly energetic young man asked if there was anything I wanted to do that I had not attempted. Before I could think about it, I heard myself say, "I've always wanted to write poetry."

Being the B.E.S.T. - Click To Read Article
In our society, we revere those who are the best at what they do. Chants of "We're #1" are heard frequently. You will never hear, "We're #2," or "We're not great, but we're better than we were last year." If we want to be the best at whatever we do, we've got to break it down into its individual components.

Expect the Best - Click To Read Article
I hope that I am not the first person to inform you of the solemn and inevitable fact that life is not fair. Unfortunately, we do not always get what we want or deserve or earn. We do, however, inevitably get what we expect. We move inexorably toward our most dominant thought.

Cost and Value - Click To Read Article
People in our society today know the cost of everything and the value of virtually nothing. We treasure things that bring us very little, if any, pleasure, and we ignore the truly priceless. When you establish your financial goals, it is important that they really be "your goals," not someone else's. We are constantly bombarded with messages that tell us to feel good or be important we must drive a certain car, drink a certain beverage, or wear a certain brand of clothes. These messages have an impact.

Creating Overachievers - Click To Read Article
In our society, there is a constant, never-ending struggle for normalcy. We seek to fit in at all costs. The advertisers tell us what we should look like, feel like, and smell like, and there is not enough of a premium placed on becoming outstanding. When we study the lives of overachievers, we find that many of them were faced with a disadvantage or a disability of some type that made it harder for them to be considered normal. In most cases, these overachievers were simply working harder than the rest of the world to be considered normal. But, a funny thing happened to these overachievers on their way to normality. It is called greatness.

Doing Business with the World-One Person at a Time - Click To Read Article
In the beginning, business was done person-to-person, in the form of bartering, or verbal contracts for personal services. I might trade you my camel for your baskets of wheat. Then we became "more sophisticated." Markets were set up, currencies were formed, and the medium of exchange became very complicated. People were relegated to doing business through established channels that were controlled by governments or big business. The smallest business person was forced to do business through these channels in order to meet the wants and needs of his individual customer. For example, advertising in the media, doing business through the yellow pages, etc.

A Disease Called More - Click To Read Article
Years of success and prosperity in our economy have created a consumer-based society. We are no longer worried about our physical or financial survival; therefore, we have undertaken a new challenge. As a people, we have embraced the illusive challenge of accumulating more. Please understand that there is absolutely nothing wrong with enjoying material possessions. It is important, however, to draw a distinction between the possessions we have and those possessions that have us.

Work and Play - Click To Read Article
I will always remember George Burns stating, "If you love your job, you will never work a day in your life." George Burns enjoyed his life and his work for a century. If you enjoy what you do, you can substitute the "Thank God it's Friday" club for the "Thank God it's Monday" club. Beyond what you do for a living, you will receive tremendous benefits if you enjoy the people you work with.

Satisfaction and Success - Click To Read Article
A recent consumer survey of satisfaction levels with respect to a variety of industries revealed that the airlines score consistently at the lowest levels of customer satisfaction. If you fly regularly, this will not shock you. I realize that with increasing regulations and skyrocketing fuel costs, the airlines are facing unprecedented challenges; however, it is important to note, with the same regulations and fuel prices, that one airline consistently scored good marks in consumer satisfaction.

The Right To Choose - Click To Read Article
Today we are inundated with talk about all of our rights. We hear about civil rights, equal rights, women's rights, minority rights, and many other worthwhile principles. But when you come right down to it, you and I only have one right in this world, and that is the right to choose. We can't always choose what happens to us, but we can always choose what we are going to do about it. You are where you are in every area of your life because of the choices you have made in the past. Put another way, all of the choices you've made in your life, put together, have brought you to this place, at this time, reading this article.

The Well-Worn Path to Success - Click To Read Article
As a former national champion Olympic weightlifter, a successful author and speaker, and as the co-founder and president of the Emmy Award-winning Narrative Television Network, I am often asked What is the key to success? People seem to be particularly interested in my success because I am a blind person. The secret to my success is a very simple one. Follow the path of individuals who have already proven themselves to be successful.

The Banner of Success - Click To Read Article
Each of us is born with unlimited potential and unlimited options. As infants, we are quite certain that the entire universe revolves around us. Things are only important as they impact or relate to our lives. It's almost as if we were born with a banner that proclaims I'm lovable; I'm capable; and I'm able to do anything I set my mind to. As time goes on, we make the mistake of allowing other people to write things on our banner. And they will write things such as You're ugly; You're stupid; or You will never amount to anything.

Chicken or Beef? - Click To Read Article
As a former national champion Olympic weightlifter, one of my prized possessions is my gold medal. It is a very special momento to me, which I display in my office. Recently, I was traveling on an airplane, and I met a unique gentleman seated next to me. If they ever add an Olympic event called the Marathon Bad Attitude, this gentleman will have a gold medal, too. Shortly after introducing myself, he told me he didn't like the airline we were flying on, the seats, the aisles, or our flight attendant. He went on to inform me he didn't like the city we were in, the airport we were connecting through, or our final destination. I don't think he liked me either, but we didn't get that far into the conversation.

A Lesson from a 4-Year-Old - Click To Read Article
If we were to conduct a poll among the readers of this column to determine how many of you could sing or dance, I fear that we would receive the overwhelming message that the vast majority of adults feel they have no talent in these areas. On the other hand, if we were to conduct the same poll among 4-year-olds, we would find that virtually all of them are convinced they can sing, and virtually all of them have confidence in their ability to dance.

Chaos and Communication - Click To Read Article
A recent worldwide survey revealed that there are 6,800 languages and dialects spoken globally today. While I am often amazed how inaccurate communications can get, when you consider the number of languages spoken, it is somewhat amazing that we communicate at all. It could be argued that most problems in human interaction arise from poor communication. Assuming that none of us set out to miscommunicate, it is important to explore why our best intentions to transfer knowledge, emotion, and details fall short. Remember, just because you're talking doesn't mean anyone's hearing. If they are hearing, it doesn't mean they're listening to you. Even if they are listening to you, it doesn't mean that they understand what you're saying.

Excuses and Explanations - Click To Read Article
None of us are perfect; therefore, we all must deal with people in our personal and professional lives, realizing that they are not perfect. The challenge arises when we try to determine how best to deal with one another's imperfections. All we can expect from ourselves and others is that we give our best effort. When our best efforts fall short, as they will do from time to time, we must first acknowledge the deficiency and the fact that it has hurt someone else. Next, we must do all in our power to remedy the situation. And, finally, we must take steps so that it won't happen again.

Magic Black Pearls - Click To Read Article
If a picture is worth a thousand words, a good story may be worth a million. Recently, I read about a young man from a fabulously wealthy family. He was traveling on his yacht which was temporarily docked at a luxurious resort on a tropical island. Next to the young man's yacht was an even larger yacht, owned by a successful, retired entrepreneur who had just sold his business interest and was enjoying his retirement years.

Final Exam - Click To Read Article
I believe among the most valuable traits of any human being is the ability to honestly, objectively, and realistically assess themselves. It is easy to look at friends, neighbors, and colleagues and judge their success in their personal or professional lives. This ease in judging others comes from our tendency to look at everyone else's actions and results while only viewing our own intentions. We all start out with great intentions that can often become an excuse when we fail to perform.

The Desperation Solution - Click To Read Article
You have probably heard it said that necessity is the mother of invention. If necessity is its mother, desperation must certainly have been its father. Creative people often come up with breakthrough solutions only when they're forced to. Professors from the University of Chicago and Harvard determined that there is direct correlation between when unemployment runs out and when people get a job. While desperation may be a great motivator, it's not always the most productive way to perform with excellence. I believe there is a win/win solution here as you and I-as mature, functioning people-can set our own deadlines.

Spending and Saving - Click To Read Article
Whether you make millions of dollars a year or earn minimum wage, there are only three things you can do with your money: You can spend it, save it, or give it away. Your spending may range from absolute necessities to outrageous luxuries. Your savings may be prudent investments or coins in your piggy bank. And your giving may be coins you drop in a donation jar or launching your own foundation. But there are still only three things you can do with every dollar.

Activity vs. Productivity - Click To Read Article
Most of us work very hard. We get up each day and spend eight hours or more doing something we call work. If you talk to the most successful and the least successful persons you can find, they will probably both tell you they are working extremely hard. If this is true, why are so few people actually getting the results they want from their hard work?

The Forbes Factor - Click To Read Article
This past week, I had several speaking engagements and a broadcast event on the East Coast. My travels ended up in New York City, and as I always do when I have extra time in The Big Apple, I called to see if my friend and colleague Steve Forbes had a few minutes to spare. Mr. Forbes' staff graciously adjusted his schedule so we could spend some time together. After discussions of our individual books and businesses, the talk, as it often does, turned to the economy. Steve Forbes is a great person to talk to if you want to rise above the minute-by-minute gloom and doom predictions from the media and get an overall perspective on the economy and the opportunities that lie before us.

Extending your Expectations - Click To Read Article
Earlier this week, I had a lengthy conversation with the head coach of a major college basketball team. We were discussing the recent NCAA tournament, better known as The Big Dance or March Madness. My friend, as a player, assistant coach, and now a head coach, has been to the tournament many times. There are 65 teams that make it to the tournament. Some get there by winning their conference while others are invited due to their national ranking, difficulty of schedule, or strength of their program.

Ultimate Productivity - Click To Read Article
We are all being bombarded daily with reports of business failures, economic downturns, home foreclosures, inflation threats, and the ever-present dreaded monster known as recession. There is very little, if anything, that you and I can do about these conditions on a global or national basis, but we can have an immense impact where it really matters in our own home and business.

Time and Money - Click To Read Article
We’ve all heard the timeworn adage that Time is Money. Like most timeworn adages, this one— at its center—has a real practical truth for all of us. Most of us go to work each day and spend eight-to-ten hours or more in exchange for a paycheck. While many of us enjoy our jobs, if we are honest or even practical, we will admit that we are exchanging our time for someone else’s money. This makes sense to us in the professional area of our lives, but too many of us miss the time-and-money equation as it relates to our personal lives.

The Wealth of Work - Click To Read Article
Work is among the most misunderstood activities in our society today. Too often, people try to avoid work in every way imaginable, and they look forward to weekends, days off, sick days, vacation, and--most significantly--retirement. Many lottery players daydream of walking into their boss’s office holding the winning lottery ticket and telling their boss, “I quit!” or any number of other phrases not suitable for publication in this column.

The Adversity Advantage - Click To Read Article
What is it that causes some people to perform at an extremely high level while other people seem to be mired in mediocrity? This is a question that has plagued those who have studied personal development since the beginning of time. There may be an answer hiding in an unlikely spot.

The Idea List - Click To Read Article
Sometimes we feel like there are two kinds of people in the world: Those who have great ideas and those who don't. Often, when we see a new product, a new business, a new book, or a new movie, we wonder how people come up with these ideas. Sometimes if we will explore the deep recesses of our minds and be honest with ourselves, we'll realize that we have had similar or even better ideas in the past.

Succeeding and Serving - Click To Read Article
I am very grateful to think that this humble weekly column I began writing a decade ago for a local paper is now read by countless people in a multitude of newspapers, magazines, and online publications spread over four continents. For those of you reading this humble offering other than here in America, I will beg your indulgence or at least your attention as we all try to learn an important lesson from the political process here in the United States.

Pursuing your own Goals - Click To Read Article
Recently, I made one of my rare and infrequent trips to a retail store. It's not that I don't like to buy things. I simply do not enjoy the process of shopping, so I leave it to others. While at the store, I took the opportunity to observe people who had selected the items they wished to purchase and were waiting to pay for their items in the checkout line. Some people simply picked the nearest line, stood in the back, and waited. Others roamed back and forth looking for the shortest line and waited there. Then there was the third group of shoppers who constantly got out of one line and got into another, thinking they would save time by getting in the faster-moving line.

Living ‘On Purpose’ - Click To Read Article
It has been my experience that we spend an inordinate amount of time worrying about the wrong things. The vast majority of our waking hours are focused on schedules, tasks, finances, and other trivial matters that, in the final analysis, have little to do with our happiness, wellness, and quality of life.

Focus - Click To Read Article
Focus is the key to turning energy into productivity. It turns our dreams into goals into reality.

Financial Intelligence - Click To Read Article
For years, academic experts have been measuring people’s intelligence by administering an I.Q. test. More recently, behavioral scientists and those in the field of psychology have been discussing a principle they call emotional intelligence. I would submit there is another intellectual area of expertise I would call financial intelligence.

Balancing Your Day - Click To Read Article
In the field of human performance and psychology, there has been a lot of new information surrounding life balance. With the increasing number of personal and professional commitments, people are struggling to find a proper balance for their life. Unfortunately, too often we put off the important things in deference to the immediate things.

Best and Worst - Click To Read Article
In most areas of human endeavor, we are not judged in a vacuum, but instead, we are judged in comparison to the performances of others. Sometimes it is hard to quantify a mediocre performance, but when something is the absolute worst or the very best, it is easy to identify, evaluate, and learn from.

Advice for Small Business - Click To Read Article
I have been recognized by the President’s Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity as the National Entrepreneur of the Year. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has awarded me their top honor, the Blue Chip Enterprise Award. Steve Forbes included me, along with Donald Trump and Tom Monaghan, as one of the Twelve Great American Business Successes in his 2000 book. This certainly does not mean I have all the answers, but I have identified a few of the questions.

Lessons from Worst Bosses - Click To Read Article
If you are one of the 85% of people in our society who work simply to receive a paycheck, you are missing one of the great joys of life. Much of our identity, satisfaction, and fulfillment comes from the work we do. In a strange way, work might be a little like raising a child in that if you take it as an overall process, it is an amazing experience; but if you simply take a snapshot of one challenging moment, it can be exasperating.





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