Justin Lukasavige's Manifesto – November 2009 Archive (17)

I'm not a big fan of certifications and degrees. Statistics tell us that 10 years after college graduation, 80% of graduates are doing something completely unrelated to their degree.



I am a big fan of learning however. Books, college and community college classes, seminars, workshops, teleseminars, webinars, ecoaching, hiring a coach, mastermind groups; they all help you increase your knowledge.



And since we live in a knowledge-based economy, now is the time to learn.… Continue

On holiday weeks like this one I find it interesting that most of us get the same, if not more, work done as we do during normal weeks. But we do it in half the time.

What if every week were a holiday week? That's what happens in a Results Oriented Workplace (ROW). Do the work and leave. Who came up with 9 to 5 anyway?

Are you losing clients because you can't spell? It happens to the best of us, but there is a… Continue

In his book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell shows how nearly everyone who has become successful at something has put in a minimum of 10,000 hours working at it. From Olympic athletes to concert pianists, they've all committed and put in the time.



"If people only knew how hard I work to gain my mastery, it wouldn't seem… Continue

"Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle." - Abraham Lincoln

Planning is great, but I have a feeling it's time for you to take action. I don't know what it is but you may have to jump into it. Start your business, get out of debt, take your wife out to dinner. Stop talking and start doing.



President Lincoln was obviously smart enough to get his face sculpted into a mountain in South Dakota. If… Continue

Most of us need a phone in our house.

We want things that make our lives easier like cell phones.

We love the iPhone.

When you create a product or service, design it with love in mind. It's one thing that will set your business apart from all of the other mediocre businesses, and they'll never be able to compete.

You only have to look to Gary Vaynerchuk and his book Crush It which has been at the top of nearly every best seller list for the past few weeks. Gary spoke the entire book which was then transcribed into written form.



Anyone can be a writer. You don't even have to be the best writer in the world. Notice the lists that Gary's book sits atop? They all say best… Continue

It's true, now is the worst time in history to start a business.





You have to make the decision now... will you be average or will you be… Continue

I'm not a huge fan of Wal-Mart but the company just built a new store near our house. It rocks! Seriously, it's clean, has open space, the people are very friendly and my wife Christine has a new favorite store.



She's been shopping there (groceries and all) for the past 30 days. Today, that all changed. She may not be back.



She wheeled her cart to the front to check out after her big grocery run. There were only a few lanes open and each one had a minimum… Continue

It wasn't Windows or even Apple.





It was actually Xerox working out of a research center in California. While they were at it they also invested the mouse.



What's your passion? Are you doing something about… Continue

Wal-Mart has a killer business because their prices are low. They're the best at low prices and no one can beat them in a price war.



Saddleback Leather is expensive but they're the best. No one can compete with their quality and their 100 year guarantee (or Dave's wit and sense of humor -- buy the best, cry once).



If you're the low-cost provider most people assume you have a decent product at the best price; a… Continue

I used to fail all the time. I'd plan and plan then step back, analyze and plan some more trying to get it perfect. I planned so much trying to get things perfect that I'd never make anything happen.



Most of my clients try to plan their businesses, products, and services to 100% before launching. They might get to 98% in their plans and have trouble with the remaining 2%; so they never launch.



It's rare that I ever plan beyond 40 - 60% in my business now. I have clearly… Continue

It takes a lot of financial backing to make to the presidency of the United States. You spend years of hard work (some say a lifetime) to get there. You sacrifice through long hours, dinners away from family and other family activities. It's a lot of work but for those become elected to the presidency, it's worth it.



After all those years of struggling to make it I don't think anyone ever stops struggling. Now there are ideas to sell bills to pass and people to win over.



I… Continue

At 13 years old Bill Gates snuck out of the house nearly every night for the only computer access he could find at the time. The year was 1968 and he would set his alarm so he could arrive to the lab at 3 am. He'd do his thing until 6am and then sneak back home.



Years later his mom found out and finally put the pieces together. She had wondered why he always had a hard time getting out of bed.



What is it that you're so passionate about that you'd sacrifice sleep? Why… Continue

What you think of yourself is not necessarily what others think of you. This kicks off our Image Success Videos series. What you wear matters. It may not be right, but people judge… Continue

A recent News & Observer article highlighted a "successful" father who was fired from his job after adopting his youngest child from Russia.



While there's much to the actual story, Jim Dotson was, from the outside, very successful in his career. Jim's job at Pfizer as a salesman had him earning $250,000 per year before bonuses. He had stock options, a great retirement account, company car and a nice… Continue

It's true, many people are down on their luck after a job loss, an investment decline or some other circumstance. It's easy even for business owners to feel like they're on their own in the world of business.



I had an interesting question this week that made me wonder...



"If you're down in life right now, do you want to be surrounded with people who are also experiencing difficulties, or would you like to hang out with people who are doing… Continue