Constant Change

By Robert Ringer

David Carradine. Ed McMahon. Farrah Fawcett. Michael Jackson. Billy Mays. Karl Malden. Steve McNair. The Grim Reaper is on a roll.

What might the deaths of these high-profile people have in common with the likes of Gary Hart, Gary Condit, Jim McGreevey, Mark Sanford, and John Edwards, among others?

Or how about Lyndon Johnson, Spiro Agnew, and Richard Nixon?

Or G. Gordon Liddy, Oliver North, Mark Fuhrman, Wayne (Dog) Chapman, and Don King?
Answer: Things change!

We do not live in a static universe. Nor do people or situations remain at a standstill on our little speck of cosmic dust. Mountains erode. Riverbeds dry up. Technology moves forward. The economy fluctuates. Even laws change.

Who could have predicted that the celebrities I listed in the first paragraph of this article would all be gone within a one-month period? Or how their departures would change the lives of those they left behind?

Gary Hart is long gone from the political scene, forsaking his frontrunner position as the Democratic presidential nominee for fun and games with a good looker named Donna Rice. That opened the door for Michael Dukakis to become the party's nominee in 1988. Things change.
Some 20 years later, John Edwards in Hart's footsteps with ex-party-gal Lisa Druck (the "director" and "camerawoman" extraordinaire who decided, one day, that it would be cool to transform herself into "Rielle Hunter"). Things change.

Following in Edwards's footsteps was Mark Sanford, governor of South Carolina, one of the favorites for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012. Who benefits? Try Mitt Romney. Things change.

Let's go back to the 60s...

Following his loss to John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon turned right around and ran for governor of California in 1962 as a sort of consolation prize for his failed presidential bid. Only one problem: He lost! That's when he delivered his famous "You won't have Richard Nixon to kick around anymore" speech. Finally, the Nixon era had come to an end. Things change.

Hold it. Not so fast. On March 31, 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson stunned the nation when he went on national television and, almost casually, said, "I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your president." Which cleared the playing field for Bobby Kennedy to grab the Democratic Party's nomination in 1968. Things change.

But a not-so-funny thing happened on the way to the election: Bobby was assassinated. And that, in turn, cleared the playing field for -- Yikes, back from the dead! -- Richard Nixon. Things change.

Nixon's election to the presidency led to the rise and fall of Spiro Agnew, Watergate, and a third-stringer named Gerald Ford. Ford lasted only a few years, but just for being an accident of history, he became rich and famous. Who ever said life was supposed to be fair? Things change.
And let's not forget how Watergate catapulted a whole cast of previously unknown characters onto the national stage -- Chuck Colson, G. Gordon Liddy, and John Dean, for example. Colson has become famous for his Prison Fellowship Ministries. Liddy has hosted his own radio show for years. And John Dean still pops up periodically as a television guest and college-campus speaker. Things change.

And where would Oliver North and Mark Fuhrman be today had they not been thrust into the limelight through accidents of history? North's Iran-Contra conviction was ultimately reversed on a technicality. And Fuhrman, though convicted, never had to do jail time. But these men used their unexpected fame as a launching pad to stardom. Things change.

Of course, they had nothing on Wayne (Dog) Chapman and Don King, both of whom were convicted of murder (though King's charge was later reduced to manslaughter) and opportunistic enough to use their infamy to become wealthy celebrities. Dog, in fact, is so cunning that he was able to hold on to his celebrity even after being recorded using the dreaded "N" word in a telephone conversation with his son. Things change.
Which brings us to Sarah Palin. From out of nowhere, John McCain picked Palin, a complete unknown, as his running mate in the 2008 presidential election. Suddenly, a star was born! Things change.

Then, on the evening of July 3, 2009, Palin did her version of LBJ's 1968 surprise announcement by informing the world that she was resigning as governor of Alaska. Her inexplicable action registered 8.4 on the political Richter Scale. Following on the heels of Mark Sanford's demise, Mitt Romney must have felt as though he had won the lottery. Zap! Just like that, most of the competition was gone! Things change.

The list is of epic changes is endless...

In the 1940s, the invention of the modern air conditioner becomes the catalyst for a population explosion in the unbearably hot South and Southwest.
Fifty years ago, cash begins giving way to credit cards. Today, credit cards are giving way to bank debit cards.

Pay phones (remember them?) give way to cellphones.

In 1980, the major television networks are caught off guard by an upstart cable TV station called CNN. Sixteen years later, CNN is overwhelmed by its ideological opposite, Fox News.

In 1995, a kid from Albuquerque puts his Internet bookselling idea into practice, calls it Amazon.com, and ends up dictating the business strategy of Borders and Barnes & Noble for years to come. A few years later, two other kids start a little search-engine company called Google, which becomes the first serious challenge to Microsoft's overall dominance. Facebook... MySpace... Twitter. What's next? Things change.

All of the above comprise but a tiny sampling of some of the major changes that have taken place fairly recently. If someone were ambitious enough, he might spend a few years putting together a book -- a very large book -- on all the major changes that have rocked the world over, say, the past 100 years.

But you don't need to read such a book to reflect on what change means to you. I've given it a lot of thought over the years, and my conclusions boil down to this:

1. Life does not stand still. Count on it. Never carve your plans in stone. Strive to make flexibility an integral part of your being.

2. Rather than fearing change, think of it as an exciting aspect of being alive. Sometimes the unknown disappoints -- even devastates -- when it makes its appearance. But more often than not, it brings with it incredible opportunities. Practice expanding your mind to be on the alert for the offsetting positive in every negative situation.

3. Fight the numbing effects of homeostasis -- the tendency to maintain the status quo. Hanging on to yesterday's reality is psychologically unhealthy and can cause you to be out of touch with today's reality. Yesterday is a cancelled check. Tomorrow is a postdated check. But today is cash.

4. Keep moving forward. Action is the oxygen of success. You have to keep hitting those singles and doubles to stay in the game of life. Because if you're at bat long enough, that perfect pitch eventually will come across the plate. And that's when you have to be ready to hit it out of the park.
Simplistic. But it works for me.

Just realize that the way you view change will have a dramatic impact on the decisions you make, the quality of your life, and your future success (or failure).

Things change. Think about it.

[Ed. Note: To learn how to survive and prosper during the turbulent years ahead, check out Robert Ringer's powerful audio series Succeeding in a World of Chaos. And be sure to sign up for a FREE subscription to his one-of-a-kind e-letter A Voice of Sanity in an Insane World.]

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, the Internet’s most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary

Is Free the New Economy?

While the question is provocative it may also be a good indication of where things are headed. Chris Anderson, in his new book, “Free, The Future of Radical Price” opens the world of free to us on the internet and elsewhere. Whether it is the free access to Google and many other on-line resources or musicians deciding to give away their music to stimulate interest and loyalty to their group this is a very significant trend in marketing. Anderson not only discusses how free is being used to drive customers to websites and products but also discusses how this is changing the expectations of the buying public concerning what they will pay for.

Are we moving toward an economy where something must be given free before consumers will patronize a business?

Is this merely one of many marketing strategies or will this be the dominant model for marketing in the future across all businesses?

Look for a complete book review in the near future on this title in our newsletter, Creating True Wealth, and if you want to know a lot more about how free is changing our marketing culture get the book. [Free by Chris Anderson ©2009 by Chris Anderson, Published by Hyperion, New York]

Fast Company

Want a magazine and website that is on the cutting edge in design and business? You should check out Fast Company. It is a magazine and add the .com and it is a website. It has blogs and videos and is very content rich. Sometimes it is good to get out of your own world and see what is new and developing in the world of business. Looking at this magazine or site is a good way to do that.

You can also sign up for free ezines from the website sent directly to your email with new information on business, technology, design, etc. Check out the site at http://www.fastcompany.com/ and if it interests you check out the magazine. You can test drive on from a newsstand but the introductory subscription rate is very low and you can get Inc. magazine with it.

Both are a good source of ideas and good way to keep up. (Books2Wealth is not affiliated with the Fast Company or Inc. magazines or organizations in any way. This is an independent review and was not requested nor endorsed by the magazines.)

Why I write this Blog

Paul Zane Pilzer, the bestselling author, professor, economist and millionaire, said, “Prosperity belongs to those who learn new things the fastest”.

I will add to that that success in today’s world comes to those who learn faster.
All my life I have wondered why some people are successful, rich, famous, happy, and accomplished in whatever they set out to do, and others are not? Is there a simple answer to this question?

For decades now I have read every book and article on the subject I could find. I’ve studied history, economics, investing, and sociology. I’ve read biographies of the rich, famous and accomplished. I have studied the works of others who have made a careful study of success such as Napoleon Hill, Jack Canfield, Stephen R. Covey and others.

While the answer to this question is not really simple, it is also not elusive. There are certain habits, disciplines and methods used by successful people and largely not used by those who fail. While nothing guarantees success and nothing assures failure with absolute certainty, it is clear from the examination of thousands of lives, that success does leave clues as many have said, and that if one faithfully follows those clues one’s chance of success is increased so significantly to be near a guarantee.

Those clues require a commitment to learning. Continued self education and the application of the lessons learned in that education to life is the key to success. I created this blog to help others learn this first lesson of success and then to have a continuous source of this information to aid them in their self education toward success.

It does not matter if your goal is to win an Olympic medal, break a sales record, gain a promotion, raise a healthy and wise child, build a loving home, advance in your career, attain financial security, invent something and successfully market it, improve your world or your community or to earn a fortune – no matter what the goal, success comes from the disciplined application of certain balanced principles and practices. True Wealth and Success itself come from this application.

I invite you to join me here in our search for these clues to success and for the real identify of true wealth and how to acquire it.

Wishing you success and prosperity-

Daniel R. Murphy

Learn Less, Study More

"Learn less, study more" ... Darren Hardy, the publisher of Success Magazine, recently wrote this as part of a blog entry and an article in the magazine. While it may sound contradictory, it is not. Many of us read a great deal. We read blogs and other internet pages, magazines, and books – many books. I probably average a book a week these days, cover to cover. I probably skim two or three more.

But think about how much you actually learn from all that reading. Reading and skimming through volumes of information does not internalize much of anything. You can do this all day and really absorb very little. And if you do not understand and absorb what you are reading at a deeper level you do not retain it and it may be so much wasted time and effort.

What Hardy is suggesting is that we study – quietly taking time to really think about what we read, to take notes on it, outline it, study what we note down and think about how we can incorporate what we use in our work and our lives.

This comes to the other thing most people do not do enough of: thinking. There is benefit to just taking time to think, reflect, meditate and ponder.

In Japan executives are required to devote up to 3 hours a week simply thinking and reflecting on goals and plans. No calls, no interruptions during this time, just quiet contemplation.

We Americans tend to be very action oriented. We may even feel guilty if we are not taking some form of action. The idea of simply sitting and thinking may seem like a waste of time. Hardy and others suggest it is not a waste of time and I agree.

The more you carefully study, review, internalize and apply what you read, the more you actually learn and the more benefit there is to it. The more you think and reflect the more deliberate and planned is your life and the more opportunity for creative thought and genuine improvement.

By all means read – read as much as you can. But just don’t read it and file it away and forget about it. Read, study, review, contemplate and apply. That is the process that will gain you the most from your reading.

Happy Lammas Day!

August First was called Lammas Day in old England. It was called that because loaves of bread were baked from the first harvested grain and then consecrated in churches.

The word “Lammas” came from Old English “hlaf” (loaf) and “maesse” (mass). It was the mass for loaves. It is very old. Over time the words loaf mass evolved into lammas.

It derives from an ancient pre-Christian English festival called the Gule of August, marking the beginning of the harvest. The English church adopted the day and made it a Christian feast or holiday.

It is interesting and good to know our heritage. (Source: The Old Farmer’s Almanac)

The Secret to Dealing with People

Dale Carnegie taught us that the only way to get other people to do what we would like them to do is to get them to want to do so. Humans have a number of needs but none of them exceed the need to be appreciated. Humans need appreciation more than anything else – even more than food. This has been demonstrated by a number of studies.

If you want to influence people you must appreciate them and you must communicate that appreciation frequently and sincerely. Equally important one must be very reluctant to criticize and do so very carefully when needed. This may be the most difficult discipline to learn. People are all very adept at criticizing others – it is easy for us to see the deficiencies in others while it is very difficult to see them in ourselves.

Charles Schwab became Andrew Carnegie’s chief operating officer during the first decade of the 20th century and ultimately Schwab created US Steel from that empire. Schwab was extraordinarily adept at working with people and getting from them their voluntary cooperation and agreement. He said that he considered his ability to “arouse enthusiasm” in others as his greatest personal asset. He also said that there “is nothing that so kills the ambitions of a person as criticisms from superiors”. He firmly believed in being hearty in his approbation and lavish in his praise. It paid off very well for him.

It will in fact pay off very well for you. Schwab was not unique in his talent for working with people nor was his view rare. Most successful people, especially those who owe their success to working with other people, which is nearly everyone, has learned this lesson.

Dale Carnegie taught that the most important secret to dealing well with people is to never criticize, always compliment and to endeavor to generate an enthusiasm in people which will serve your common interest. The more you follow that advise the more effective you will be working with others, whether they be employees, colleagues or superiors. The same basic principles of human behavior and relationships apply to everyone regardless of their station or their relationship to you.

Few men have demonstrated the ability to effectively motivate and work with others as President Lincoln did. On is death a number of letters were found rolled up in his desk. Each letter was written to a general or other government official under the President who has misbehaved or had failed to meet the President’s expectations. Each letter chastised the recipient for their failures and demanded that they perform. None of the letters were ever sent. Lincoln satisfied his own frustration by writing them but never sent them. They were squirreled away in his desk. He often wrote notes and letters of commendation and approval for those who did well. However he rarely if ever wrote anyone a letter of criticism. Lincoln’s success both in policy and as a leader speaks for itself – we all have a lesson to learn from his gentle handling of others. He understood this important principle – this secret of dealing with people.

“The greatest principle of human nature is the craving to be appreciated.” – William James.