We can only develop personal empathy for others when we personally identify with their pain. Whether from a sincere heart or not, one of Bill Clinton’s most appreciated comments was, “I feel your pain.” That short sentence resonated with millions of Americans. People hold their money back from others because they’ve forgotten what it felt like to be without. Generous giving is more about who…

Read More

I still remember the night. It was in the early morning hours, probably around 3:00 a.m., in August 1974. I was involved in the Nashville record scene and had received word that Elvis was in town for one of his clandestine middle-of-the-night recording sessions. So I slipped by RCA Studio B and arranged to be there when Elvis ended the session. As he walked out,…

Read More

When it comes to credit cards—there’s an important topic to consider: beware of the minimum payment trap. Millions of Americans think they’re doing just fine as long as they make the minimum payment each month. But, believe me, if that’s all you’re paying you’ve already got one foot in the financial grave and the other on a banana peel! Credit card companies love people who…

Read More

Herd-Think (when we follow others for no good reason) is one of the great killers of accomplishment. While crabs don’t congregate in herds, their behavior in groups is a perfect example of Herd-Think. Crab fishermen have learned a curious truth about the crustaceans they seize from the sea. They’ve learned that crabs hate succeeders. When a crab trap is lowered into the sea, the little…

Read More

Which type of leader are you? As I discussed in my book, ReTooled & ReFueled, there are essentially two leadership models. The first is power-driven leadership. This is where a person with power leads through fear and intimidation. At its worst, this is a slave master who abuses a slave. More often today, it’s a boss who is more focused on his own career than…

Read More

FACT: Successful Leadership is a most counterintuitive commodity. It was in late 1981, the country still in a deep economic recession, that I first noticed a forlorn-looking office building on Nashville’s world famous Music Row. Our business was still young, and so was I—just 29. Money was tight. But, at a glance, I saw what could be done with this property. So, I inquired and…

Read More

Over the last 16 years I’ve spoken to audiences hundreds of times on the topic of personal finance in my No Debt No Sweat Money Management Seminar™. I’ve written scores of articles on the topic and the No Debt No Sweat™ book has been a big seller. So it’s fair to say that I’ve got a real interest (and some experience) in the area of…

Read More

As I’ve mentioned before, I had a 25-year career as head of a Nashville advertising and branding agency. In that business, when we developed a product’s brand, we began by searching for that product’s distinctive (Differential) benefit (Advantage.) This was that special benefit our product offered that other similar products did not offer. This is what made our product distinctive, noteworthy, and special. Through those…

Read More

FACT: Successful Leadership is a most counterintuitive commodity. I first noticed a forlorn-looking office building on Nashville’s world famous Music Row in late 1981 with our country still deep in an economic recession. Our business was still young, and so was I—just 29. Money was tight. But, at a glance, I saw what could be done with this property. So, I inquired and found that…

Read More

It’s hard to see the big picture while living in a world filled with small thinking people. We tend to start projects with high goals, but somehow drift into the weeds of life, making it difficult to remember what’s most important. Take the story of Orville and Wilbur Wright who made their first airplane flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina on December 17, 1903. On…

Read More