“A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him.”

David Brinkley

Legendary TV Anchorman, NBC News

Co-anchor of the “The Huntley-Brinkley” Report

Dilbert’s Creator on Failing to Succeed

Scott Adams, the creator of the wildly successful comic strip “Dilbert” offers a terrific reflection on where success really comes from (including a few of his own foibles) and concludes that failure along the way was not only an inevitable part of the journey, but a necessary one as well. His recent guest column in the Wall Street Journal,  “Scott Adams’ Secret of Success: Failure”  should be widely read, especially by young people.

 The Wildly Successful are Different

While we’re on the subject of success, F. Scott Fitzgerald held that “The rich are different than you and me” in an age characterized by consumption excess. While money is still vital, the focus today is more on career success. Here are two quick offerings that may give some insight into what it takes. First, check out the “The Five Traits of Wildly Successful People.”  You may not be able to do exactly the same things these five did, but you can create your own version.

Second,  Malcolm Gladwell’s new book “David and Goliath” has been mentioned here the past two weeks. If you don’t have time to read it, I suggest you at least review these Five Critical Business Lessons from Gladwell’s new book.

The Business End of the Affordable Care Act

Several articles in this newsletter in the past have expressed concern about the effects on business of the Affordable Care Act.  In the interest of a balanced treatment, check out this short article from the New Yorker “The Business End of Obamacare” for a different view of how the legislation might impact entrepreneurial activity positively.

Econ Recon:  The Only Story in Town and Debt Ceiling Drama

The government is still shut down and economist Brian Wesbury continues his analysis of the situation and finds reasons to be optimistic about The Only Story in Town.  Vistage Staff Economist and ITR Economics principal Alan Beaulieu reassures us about the debt ceiling and provides some useful insights about housing and the shutdown.

A question in these political histrionics is how much is bluster, posturing and hypocrisy, and how much is genuine interest in getting our country’s fiscal house in order. After all, if a family had income less than 66% of total outlays and 10% less than mandatory outlays, and debt more than 7 times annual income that was increasing by 10% per year, the fiscally responsible thing to do would not seem to do nothing more than ask for an increase in the family’s credit card limit.

For a short historical view of this political theater and how the more things change, the more they remain the same, check out “If it were true then; it might be true now“ on our blog, where a famous American is quoted (from a previous debt ceiling drama) on the need to take leadership action now to prevent saddling our children and grandchildren with debt resulting from Congressional and Presidential fiscal excess and irresponsibility.