Law's blog: "Law's Eclectic Bag of Tricks"

I was recently asked a rather strange question. Now, make no mistake, this question will seem completely ordinary to the vast majority of the populace, but it always strikes me as odd and illogical. Here was the question: "What should I do?" All I could answer with was something along the lines of 'do whatever makes you comfortable looking in the mirror in the morning.' Then I got hit with another odd question: "What do you mean?" I answered with something along the lines of 'you have to think with your own mind and feel with your own heart.' Like clockwork, again came the second question: "What do you mean?" I decided to elaborate a bit this time. If for any reason, probably to keep from getting asked the same question again for the 4th time. It went something like this… There are no gray areas in life, No, not one gray area. There is simply right and wrong, good and evil. You have to learn to distinguish between right and wrong before you can ever make proper decisions. Everything in life is a choice and there is always a good and bad choice. Some good choices on the surface appear to do the most harm, but they really don't. The truth never, ever hurts as bad as a lie. Likewise, some of the worst choices appear as the least likely to do harm. Don't be fooled by this. Not me, nor anyone else, can teach you to see which choice is which. The only advice I can give is to do whatever makes others around you feel good, and more importantly, feel good about themselves. With each decision ask yourself a simple question: "Which decision will bring the most joy to those around me, and least importantly – to myself?" When you've learned to live for others then you've finally figured out how to live for yourself. -Law

Let me ask you a question. It'll only take a moment, but you may learn a lot about yourself. When confronted with a Goliath-sized problem, which way do you respond: "He's too big to hit" or, like David, "He's too big to miss"? Think carefully before you answer to yourself. You see, those mindsets are what separate the men from the boys, success from mediocrity or even total failure. No matter how bad things get in your life and no matter what life is forcing you to endure, if you reach down inside, stoke your inner fire and fight – there is nothing you cannot overcome like a true champion. Nothing whatsoever. When life gets you down you cannot hide in your shell like a sissy girl. You cannot run away like a doomed coward. Running is by far the worst of the two failed methods, because as a former sniper, I can assure you that if you run… you'll only die tired. Just as our bullets never miss, neither does life's bullets. Running doesn't wear you out; it tires and disgruntles your loved ones – the ones you're dragging behind you. Eventually, they'll fall and you won't be strong enough to stop running to reach down and pick them up. -Law

A few weeks ago I was criticized for writing the article "To All Fellow Employers" also found on this blog. I heard everything from "you aren't thinking about your investors" all the way to "a business's prime objective is to make money." I could not disagree more. In my opinion, a business's prime objective is to produce the very best product possible regardless of cost. Let the product's quality sell the product; its price should not be a factor as long as it is a fair price, be it high or low. I believe that a company should think of making money to be sure, but only after everything else is factored into the equation. Your primary responsibility as CEO, founder or whatever high n' mighty position is to provide your consumers with the highest quality product that you possibly can. It sure as hell isn't shooting your best on the back nine. Since when should a CEO get paid for playing golf? That isn't working, that is vacationing. Leave golf to Tiger Woods. It seems as though every time I start ranting on about a business's prime objective I get hit with the "what about cutting costs for the consumers" question. I don't think a company should ever cut corners. Why? It simply isn't honorable. That's why. Once you fall into the cost-cutting trap, you'll never crawl out of it. Your products' quality will plummet like a brick thrown off the top of the Empire State Building. Once you lose your good name there is no getting it back. I feel companies should spend lots of money on R&D for cutting edge manufacturing processes that allow you to build at lower costs while keeping 110% of your products' quality. Just don't sacrifice quality for the almighty dollar. Why? Because what you really do is sacrifice your dignity and honor for money. I fully believe that a company's product is a direct reflection of what kind of man their CEO is. Perhaps the CEO should cut his salary to cut costs. Generally speaking, CEOs are the most worthless employees at the business. A man who plays golf every other day during business hours certainly doesn't need to make 5 million a year… Does he? -Law

This is a quick note to remind you fellow business owners that there is a tremendous difference between "tough and demanding" and "rude and disrespectful." Being tough and demanding is fine and is normally to be expected out of an employer, just remember not to cross the line. Keep in mind that the line is so narrow that it becomes very difficult to see after a while. However, it is still there. Remember that people have lives outside of the workplace. Period. People do not eat, shit, and sleep their jobs. Those that you might be quick to chastise are the real backbone of your income, not just their own. Your title may command respect in the workplace, but no more respect than what you show your subordinates. To get respect you have to give it. To get honest, truthful employees, you have to be honest yourself. To get honorable employees, you have to first be honorable yourself. To get devout, highly driven employees, you must first be driven and devout, creating a charged atmosphere within the workplace. To get timely, "clockwork" employees, you'd best not be showing up late all the time… even if you are the company founder, owner, president, CEO or similar. If you don't care enough about your own company to show up on time and give it 110% then do not expect your employees to do any different. If you want independent thinking employees who aren't afraid of a little extra responsibility - do not stand over them breathing down their necks seeing if they can handle it or not. A little up-front trust is needed to get the ball a rolling. If you want to command respect, then you had best be confident in all your endeavors. Confidence is admired by nearly all civilized human beings (even those who aren't); if you walk tall your employees will look at you with pride and reverence. Important to note is that most of the time confident people are accompanied by many loyal followers. In this case the followers will be employees. Remember that in order to be a good leader you must first know how to be a good follower. If you haven't mastered the latter, then by no means will you ever succeed at the former. -Law

So, your love life is stuck in a rut and you cannot figure out what happened. Well, I'll bet you're thinking one of a few things: 1: "Love life in marriage just gets dull. Period. There's nothing anyone can do about it." 2: "Maybe my wife/husband doesn't love me anymore." 3: "I just cannot perform well enough in bed." 4: "Maybe he/she is cheating on me and just lost interest." 99 times out of 100, none of those things are true. So, what's the problem then? Perhaps you forgot how to be you. You forgot how to live life. You forgot how to communicate verbally and physically. I can tell you right now the key to sizzling sheets is affection, attention, and learning to read your loved one's body language. After having learned to read it, that is when you learn to do the other two things: to give and receive affection and attention. A good general rule is that if mommy is happy, daddy is happy. And if both are happy, then so are the kids. Not always, but the majority of the time that saying rings true. So many people go through life with their eyes closed, their ears turned off to everything around them. They aren't living life; they merely exist. I want you to do me a favor. It isn't a big favor, I promise. Here's what I want you to do: I want you to get up and go look at your loved ones wherever they are. Take a close look at them - really close. Now, close your eyes and picture your life without them; picture them gone for good, never to come back. Wow. All those petty little arguments over who ate all the leftovers, who stole the paper, who forgot to check the oil, who left dirty socks out and didn't finish their homework – seem pretty petty, huh? You probably want to hug them don't you? Well, go do it! Just what is it that you're waiting for? You never know when you may lose them; tomorrow may indeed never come. I can tell you, the last words you ever want to say to someone is 'I love you'. So, tell them that, too. Go on. Do it. You said you'd do me that favor. Now, let's talk about other things. I'll bet you when you get home from work you walk right up to the door, pull out your keys, perhaps grab the mail, unlock the door and walk right inside. Am I right? I'll bet so. Now, let me tell you what you've missed during that brief walk inside your home. You've missed the birds chirping in the background, the geese making sounds overhead as they travel south for the winter; the sun, and the way it glistens on the horizon, the crimson reds, golden yellows, and fiery oranges; the feel of the cool air blowing across your cheek; the smell of leaves burning in the ditches at your neighbor's, and the approaching train rumbling beneath your feet. Now that you are inside, I'll bet you toss your keys down, let out a long sigh of relief that it's Friday, and shout out, "What's for dinner?" Instead, why don't you go sneak up behind your lover in the kitchen, turn her around with force and kiss the heck out of her. Tell her you love her with everything you've got and everything you're ever going to have. Then, go upstairs and talk with your kiddos. Ask 'em how school went, take 'em outside and wrestle with them. Watch their smiles, their faces lit up with joy and love… for you, their daddy. When you're done, go in the dining room, hand-in-hand, say grace and eat as a family. Don't forget to crack a joke or two and kiss mommy while you're at it. Let the kids see how much you love their one-and-only. That's right, eat as a family, and give thanks to God for everything you've taken for granted thus far. Don't sit in front of the TV laughing at Archie Bunker. Go sit next to your wife and laugh at your kids slurping up their spaghetti, their faces already a mess. Let me ask you a question: What do you see when you walk into your living room? I'll bet you see the entertainment center, the TV, couches and chairs, perhaps some knickknacks scattered about. What about the bible with its worn pages sitting on the coffee table, the candles lit at its side? How about the pictures your kids made just for you hanging above the couch, tape and all? How about your wedding pictures over the fireplace… Remember how happy you were to take her as your own? Remember all those things about her that made you fall head over heels in love? …Those things are still very much a part of her, whether you see them or not. Never take for granted anything. If you do, you can bet others will take you for granted and, most importantly, so will life. It'll pass by in a blink of an eye. After all, you only get once chance to enjoy it, and all of your loved ones in it. You get one chance to do the right thing. You can either live or exist. It is a choice made by you, not those around you. If you have eyes to see with, see. If you have ears to hear with, hear. -Law

First, I'm going to repost a past blog of mine that I promised to elaborate on at a later date. Then, that's precisely what I'm going to do – elaborate with specific examples. Here is the original blog: .......................... Practicing to be the very best you can be is quite different from practicing to be the very best that anyone can be. The mindset of the latter is what inspires and creates greatness while the former usually ends up creating and perpetuating mediocrity. If you want to be the best, you have to have a heaping helping of self discipline and love for your craft. Only having one of those two ingredients is simply not enough. Simply put, if you wanna be the best you have to train like the best. Self-discipline. Self-sacrifice. These are the two traits of masters, virtuosos, and the accomplished. They are the two traits not found among the masses. You hear it from ignorant mentors and trainers all the time: 'Be the best you can be.' These well meaning teachers are inadvertently creating and propagating mediocrity. That statement is very limiting in nature. Without some form of outside competition from peers, by what standard do you measure your success? Healthy competition is what is absolutely necessary for any type of success in life, even if the area of success is a private one. Be careful when looking to others for competition. Be careful not to feed your ego; competition should be an internal – not external – matter. It is a matter of the heart and mind, and you should take care not to let it bleed over into your relationships with others. On the flipside of the coin, remember that if you go about comparing yourself to God you'll always come up short. There may be temporary comfort in fitting in with the crowd [mediocrity], but that small comfort zone can never compare to the personal satisfaction of knowing you're original, unique, and perhaps head & shoulders above the masses. I'll elaborate on this topic much more technically in upcoming blogs with specific examples. -Law .......................... Folks, there's no reason to waste twenty years blazing your own trail when there is already an Interstate right up to your front door. Success leaves clues, folks. Modeling an Expert and Cloning Success People are not born with blackbelts hanging around their wastes; they aren't born being able to play sweeped arpeggios at the speed of light on guitar; they aren't born having a degree in medicine, law, or physics. You know what they are born with? Nothing, the same as you and me. They are born knowing how to cry, suck, and poop their pants – that's about it. No one has taught them speed hitting mechanics, tactical knowledge, knowing the second law of thermodynamics, or what the harmonic minor scale is. They busted their ass acquiring knowledge and applying knowledge. Some would like to attribute success to intelligence or IQ. Some know the truth though… Success is usually never associated with intellectual prowess unless it is in a highly technical field such as physics, mathematics, engineering, or the like. What is success associated with? Self-discipline. Self-sacrifice. Shedding buckets of blood, sweat, and tears. Sharing success with others and pulling others up to their level. That's what. The level of success one achieves in life in whatever area – career, relationships, etc. – is largely dependent on not only the amount of time dedicated to practice, but more importantly the quality of practice they perform. The old saying of… "Practice makes perfect….." …Simply isn't true. What is the truth? Try this out and think on it: Perfect practice makes perfect. Now, let's look at another false proverb: "Knowledge is power." Why is it false? Simple really: The application of knowledge is true power. Study the way the experts studied. Practice the way they practiced. There is no real secret to their success or precision. Their only "secret" is the fact they had the self-discipline and drive to be the very best. That's it. They learned at an early age how to use negativity as fuel for their inner fires, and their bodies and minds were forged with the fire of their will. Don't worry about being original or not. Why? Because being original isn't so much what you do as it is how you do it. I'll use a personal example of mine, Steve Vai, guitar virtuoso. This guy wasn't born knowing how to play Paganini. Hardly so. The guy busted his ass, 7 days a week, nearly 365 days a year, practicing 8 hours – or more – every day using highly structured lesson plans. The man had what? Self-discipline. Drive. Determination. He was willing to sacrifice his precious time to pursue perfection in a life passion. Steve Vai's wunderkind ability did not happen by chance or because of intellectual prowess. He knew that in order to become one of the very best he had to practice like the very best players in the world did. He didn't merely pick up a guitar and haphazardly jam. Mr. Vai busted his ass practicing in perfect slowness in order to obtain laser-like precision at maximum speeds. He used highly regimented practice sessions that developed every possible area of his physical technique [playing mechanics], one small chunk at a time, hour after hour after hour. He poured out buckets of sweat and burned tons of hours studying music theory – and applying it. He didn't merely acquire knowledge; he applied it. He succeeded in becoming one of the most technically proficient, emotionally expressive guitarists of all time. Learn from Mr. Vai. Success leaves clues, remember that. Look at what successful people do. Then do what successful people do. Practice like they did. Work like they did… Succeed like they did. -Law