“To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.

  This is to have succeeded.”

 Ralph Waldo Emerson

A FIRST IMPRESSION BUSINESS

Years ago there was a survey of life’s greatest fears. The apprehension of speaking before an audience ranked first (death was 7^th). Many successful people will tell you that speaking to the right groups helped them achieve their success….after they overcame their stage fright.  Life’s a first impression business, so Check out this fun 8 minute TED video by a folk music singer/songwriter who shares how he confronted life’s biggest fear.

 CONS AND ENTREPRENEURS

Few would hold that confidence artists and entrepreneurs are morally equivalent; but one writer thinks that there are several qualities that both require to achieve their goals. In many ways, with one important exception, both are “doing the hustle.”

19 HARD THINGS

So many books on success claim to have the secret thereto. One writer doesn’t think it’s a secret; it’s just that winners do things others don’t. Check out this one page Business Insider article on the 19 Hard  (but easy to understand) Things that can get you there.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAC!

It’s hard to believe that it’s been THIRTY YEARS since the introduction of the Apple Macintosh….a machine that weighed 17 pounds! This article from the Smithsonian revisits that launch and shares some of the critics’ comments at the time. It’s worth reading to appreciate how revolutionary this machine was and how far we’ve come in a generation.

ECON RECON

Right thinking on Unemployment Rate: We’re constantly focused on the unemployment rate as the most important economic indicator because it’s about people. Vistage Staff Economist and ITR Principal Alan Beaulieu offers a quick primer on what’s important and what’s not when you get this number thrown at you….and he has some thoughts on “exuberance” as well. Q4 Looking Good: Economist Brian Wesbury looks ahead to the announcement of Q4 GDP and thinks the conventional wisdom is understating how well things will turn out. Check out why he thinks Q4 will be stronger than predicted.

JUST FOR FUN

Thanks to modern technology, we can hold a meeting anytime.  That conference call can save travel dollars, but sometimes the meeting doesn’t go as well as we could hope. Here’s a look at a conference call in real life. I think I was on this one last week. There aren’t too many folks who didn’t like the STARWARS movies.  If you were transported to “Long ago, in a galaxy far, far away,” which character would you be?  Find our here.  “Wise is he who himself knows.”