Business, Like Life, Comes Full Circle - Business: Startup and Grow - Startup companies - timesunion.com on Astini News
Isn't it ironic, that business, like life, comes full circle. To hear people talk of this recession in terms of comparison to the Great Depression, is proof enough of that fact. As the recession deepens, we are all seeking advice, information and good news. I like to read, but more than that, I love to learn new things. So I own a couple (well, more than a couple) of audio books as well. What's "in my ear" these days are tools to help me control the information that comes into my life and to develop the strength to deal with the circumstances in which I work and live. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "wise men put trust in ideas and not circumstances". So I have turned from the daily grind of what my circumstance are and fallen back to the tried and truest discipline of contemplating great ideas. History is, and shall always be, the master lecturer. Therefore, I sought the great wisdom of entrepreneurs derived from the industrial period of American History and the Great Depression as they parallel an era economically most like our own. Prior to the popular invention of the television, folks filled their days and nights reading and contemplating creativity, growth, processes, and innovation. This was a period filled with many great business and financial minds, one of which I have recently re-discovered.
If you are not familiar with Napoleon Hill, then get familiar. "What the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve," is one of Hill's most famous quotes. A 1928 publication by Napoleon Hill was recently re-circulated and that is what's been in my ear for the past month. Now, let me warn you, I am listening to it for the fourth time, and while the audio book is good, this may be one best used in the book form. I am truly inspired by this book and the idea of a series of rules that guide the successful entrepreneur. At the height of the success of my own business, I was practicing all of these rules except one. Needless to say, missing one of the rules is enough to wreck the whole thing, and he actually says that in the book. Who knew!
But, if you can grasp the greater lessons of the Laws of Success, and appropriately interpret the rules within the context of our time, this could possibly the best business advice book you will ever read. The book's examples are dated, but the truths are no less solid, and so much of it goes back to our values and morals training. In effect, a great entrepreneur is a great citizen. There is also the book, the original, Think and Grow Rich, a motivational personal and self help book. John C. Maxwell, a contemporary, well respected business author, has this book listed on his, A Lifetime "Must Read" Books List (GOOGLE IT) ; enjoy this little treasure at your leisure. Don't wait for the Laws of Success; turn off the television and give your mind a feast. Have a glass of red, sit outside and enjoy the weather with a book or two that can change your personal life as well as your business life. Cheers!
