You never really learn much from hearing yourself speak. —George Clooney, actor, director Have you ever listened to a CEO of a major company speak and wonder how in the world that person got to be CEO? Perhaps this “imposter” is not very articulate at all, or has no clue about the company and seems […]
View Post CEO, George Clooney, Steve Jobs
Begin with the end in mind. —Stephen Covey, best-selling author, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. When I shut down my college magazine (my third business), it had lasted six good years. During its run, the magazine was declared one of the top independent college magazines in the country. The last issue was published […]
View Post Dodgers, Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Exit Strategy, Great Recession, Lakers, Los Angeles, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Publishing, Retirement
“You take the blue pill—the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill—you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes.” —Morpheus, in The Matrix As I grow older, I sometimes imagine how my entrepreneurial drive will change when […]
View Post Alice In Wonderland, Chick-fil-A, Morpheus, Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Peace Prize, The Matrix, Truett Cathy, Wealth: Is It Worth It?
People with leverage have dominance over people with less leverage. —Robert T. Kiyosaki, author, Rich Dad, Poor Dad. When I started my media company, very few prospects wanted to buy advertisements. They saw the tremendous value in my media outlets, but always tried to leverage what they had instead of paying. For example, I approached […]
View Post College, Fila, Leverage, Mentor, Resources, Robert T. Kiyosaki, Selling
Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow. —Anthony J. D’Angelo, entrepreneur, education trailblazer. When I arrived at Morehouse College, I was focused on doing well in my classes so that I could get a high-paying job as a computer programmer. After catching the entrepreneurial bug during my sophomore […]
View Post College, David Kilpatrick, Dr. Thomas J. Stanley, Education, Grades, Millionaires, Morehouse College, NASA, PayPal, Pete Thiel, SAT, School, The Facebook Effect, The Millionaire Mind
Money won’t create success, the freedom to make it will. —Nelson Mandela, former president, South Africa Nothing is more irritating than hearing one of the many generalizations that permeate the business world and corrupt the minds of new entrepreneurs. You’ve heard them. You may even deal in these false aphorisms: “Follow your passion.” “Fake it […]
View Post Capital, Content Management System, Finances, Money, Nelson Mandela, Passion, Publishing, South Africa, Start-Up
I hate competition. —Marat Safin, tennis champion, Russian politician When entrepreneurs approach me to invest in their companies, I naturally want to know who their competitors are. It’s a basic question that any investor would ask. Some entrepreneurs answer the question thoroughly and confidently. They are not afraid to acknowledge what the competitive landscape looks […]
View Post Blockbuster, Harvard University, Marat Safin, N. Gregory Mankiw, Netflix
A good business attorney will provide vital assistance in almost every aspect of your business. —Cliff Ennico, author, The Small Business Survival Guide. If you’ve been in business long enough, sooner or later you will need sound legal advice from an attorney. Yes, you can use an Internet legal services firm, but you’ll eventually need […]
View Post Attorney, Brands, C corporation, Cease-and-Desist, Coca-Cola, Contracts, Copyrights, Intellectual Property, Lawyer, Legal Matters, Legal Services, Limited Liability Company, Limited Liability Partnership, Litigation, Patent. Trademark, S corporation
Exploration is really the essence of the human spirit. —Frank Borman, retired NASA astronaut. The other day while checking out new books at Barnes and Noble, I came across the story of how a young Howard Schultz, the current CEO of Starbucks, was inspired by a trip he took to Italy that would change his […]
View Post Creativity, Global Growth, Howard Schultz, International Business, Italy, Milan, Starbucks, Strategy, Travel
Ideas are easy. It’s the execution of ideas that really separates the sheep from the goats. —Sue Grafton, author I hate to rain on your parade, but your idea is not special. There are likely other entrepreneurs or companies with “your” idea, equally inspired to dominate the business world and to make millions. And when your […]
View Post Atlanta, Grand Canyon, Groupon, Harvard University, LinkedIn, Mark Zuckerberg, MSNBC.com, Noam Wasserman, Reid Hoffman, Silicon Valley, Sue Grafton