The Secret to Embarrassingly Large Profits

Let me share with you this quote:

A business absolutely devoted to service will have only one worry about profits. They will be embarrassingly large.

~ Henry Ford (1863-1947) American industrialist

Henry Ford, c 1919
Photo: Wikipedia

This reminds me of the story of three people working in a construction site. A child passed by and asked them what they were doing. One said, "I am digging a hole." The second one said, "I am building a wall." The last one said, "I am building a Church."

Who among the three would you call when you want to build your house? If you're setting yourself up to be physically involved, call the first one. If you're setting yourself up to get mentally involved, call the second guy. But if you want to sit and relax while others sweat it out, you'd call the third.

Greatest Anger Tips of All Time

Dealing with anger is one of the hallmarks of a mature person. We admire a person who maintains his composure in the midst of the nastiest of circumstances. How do people do it?

Anger is a Danger warning sign. When you see it, heed it.
Photo Credit: "Almost Done!" by Tama Leaver

Anger is a natural human emotion. Because it's natural, expressing it is part of our own human processes, much like urinating or defecating. You don't stop it. You only manage where it goes. Make sense?

You Don't Have to Sacrifice Your Health to Gain Wealth

You can read this everywhere -- We sacrifice our health to gain wealth and then spend our wealth to gain back our health. Has the statement struck a chord in you?

Some things are simply good for our health and some are not.
Photo Credit: 'Mint' by T.MoE

Why is this discussion important? I had to struggle with this question myself, until the day my wife and I saw two elderly couples -- must be in their 80s -- holding hands as they walked along the city park. My wife said, "How romantic!" I said, "When I'm 80 I wish I could still hold your hands and walk beside you like that!"

Here's a Quick Way to Develop an Abundance Mindset - Give Back!

It is an innate nature of the human being to give unconditionally. It manifests itself forcefully when there's a perception of abundance. When one gives back, one is affirming the presence of abundance.

Photo Credit: "Abundance" by Kathy Mackey

When you give back, you receive from the universe even more of what you need. Incidentally, this principle seems to work only when you giving back freely and unconditionally. It shies away when you give because you want to receive.

Little Known Ways to Celebrate Without Busting Your Bank Account

To celebrate after achieving something is an innate nature of man. It's why we shout, "Hurrah" or "Yipeee" each time we get something we want. This human characteristic is something that isn't likely to change in the next 600,000 years. So, deal with it.

Photo Credit: 'Yipee' by Ian Boyd

Celebration feels good, right? When something feels good, you want more of it. That's right, you want more celebrations.

The Secret of Maintaining Your Cutting Edge

We all admire super heroes -- Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Spiderman, Wolverine, Professor X and more. In our most vulnerable moment, they come and rescue us from our tormentors. In real life, we do need support one way or the other.

We all need to constantly sharpen our ax, not just to cut more trees, but to do so while preserving our sanity.
Photo Credit: 'Hatchet' by John Lewis

A very amusing anecdote about this matter has stuck in my mind in almost similar fashion as the song "I have two hands" or "London Bridge is falling down."

Let me share it with you.

If You Don't Pick the Right Vehicle, You'll Hate Yourself Later

Just know where you are and where you're going, then take the right vehicle. Soon, you'll get there.

Habits are a vehicle to a destination. They are where the "rubber hits the road" so to speak.
Photo Credit: Ferrari 355 F1 GTS by Gerrit's in Motion

A Ferrari is a great car. I still have to meet anyone who doesn't want a Ferrari. It is sex appeal and performance rolled neatly into one.

Imagine the great smell of its interiors, your hands gripping the steering wheel and the sound of its engine as you breeze past everything with style. But then somewhere along the west coast of America you would stare at the horizon and helplessly exclaim, "This beautiful thing can't bring me to Hawaii!"

The Science Behind Men and Woman - Part II

Outside of differences in brain structures, men and women have different hormones working in their blood streams. This accounts for differences between the emotional responses of men and women towards stress.

Living with someone and growing old with someone can be two different things, if we don't understand some basic things.
Photo Credit: "It's all about love" by Candida.Performa

Without pretending to be a scientist (I'm clearly not), let me attempt to describe, how some of these operate. First, let me quote Dr. James Dobson who, in his book Briging Up Boys, said (emphases mine):

If testosterone is the gasoline that powers the brain, serotonin slows the speed and helps one steer. And ... you guessed it. Females typically have more of it than males.

What Everybody Ought to Know About Listening

We've been taught how to talk and to walk. But many of us haven't been taught how to listen. It's why many of us are limping.

My little word of advise: Ask and listen.
Photo Credit: "Plug it in, please" by Patricil Complex

There are five quotes about listening that I wish to share with you today. To me, they express very well the great attributes of listening.

Quote #1

"Most of the successful people I've known are the ones who do more listening than talking."
~ Bernard M. Baruch

The Science Behind Men and Women - Part I

There are a lot of differences between the brains of men and women that scientists still debate about. One thing however seems clear -- biological differences account for at least some of the major differences between the attitudes and behaviors of men and women. Cultural practices is the effect, not the cause.

When couples engage in the context of, instead of despite of, their uniqueness, the engagement is much more romantic.
Photo: "Chris & Jessica Engagement" by Jeremy Blanchard

If you accept that men and women are indeed different, then perhaps there is no need to read further. But it wouldn't hurt to pick up more ideas for discussion with people who interpret, in a very literal sense, the statement that "men and women are born equal."

Let me explain . . .

Four Ways of Understanding People

Human Behavior has already been mapped out. The challenge to everyone is how to put it to good use.

"This guy is born to annoy me," said one of my colleagues in the office. He just couldn't stand the behavior of someone whom he thought to be too loud-mouthed and attention-seeking. The rest of us think the other guy is great because he's good in breaking the ice (I admit sometimes he overdid it, but you get the picture).

We think people are complicated. At the end of the day, people's personalities fall under one or two of only four categories.
Photo Credit: "In Spire Wind" by Éole Wind

We don't understand other people ourselves, right? I mean, it used to make me go nuts trying to understand someone who sits down in a conversation and never talks! He just listens and smiles, never making an opinion, never siding on any debate, and just calmly stares at us who calmly do the "work" of analyzing how a great basketball player could have possibly missed that one important shoot (the discussion was over bottles of beer, of course).