What My Father Taught Me about Being an Entrepreneur – Forbes

My younger brother, Brent, and I are fifteen months apart. We grew up with a father obsessed with business and real estate. Any time we passed a lot for sale my dad would take his eyes off the road and wonder aloud if the parcel was a good buy. My mom had to remind him every time he had my brother or me in the car to pay attention and not let his eyes wander. He was constantly looking for the next “big deal” in Denver’s real estate market.

Other kids would play catch with their dad but not us. The only competitive sport in our house was Monopoly. My dad, brother and I would spend long weekends in marathon games at the kitchen table. Dad would coach each of us on how to best build an empire. He’d then go off to work on Monday morning and build his.

My dad was an entrepreneur. He started in the early 1960s as a salesman of western wear shirts and jeans. By the late 1960s he owned and ran a series of clothing manufacturers. I spent summers working in the factory and weekends selling “seconds” at the flea market. When I was old enough to drive, I’d come down to the factory after school for a few hours most days. By the time I was 18 years old I’d had a master class in entrepreneurial management.

The business lessons I learned from my dad still resonate with me today. Here are a few I’ve found most helpful in my own career as an entrepreneur:

1. Take responsibility. For my dad, it meant much more than taking responsibility for your own actions, it meant protecting those who work for you as well. He would never tell a customer that an employee mistake was the cause of some mix-up. He would call the customer and take responsibility for the error and the solution.

2. Walk around the floor. My father walked around his plant a couple times every day to check in with his employees. Not just the managers, but everyone he saw. He was interested in their lives, their families and their careers. The result was unheard of loyalty. He had employees who worked for him across multiple companies for over 30 years.

3. Use technology where you can to get an edge. My first exposure to a computer was an IBM System/360 installed at my father’s office for inventory and accounting. I was probably no more than 5 years old when I played my first game of tic-tac-toe against IBM. That moment started my lifelong interest in technology.

4. Have enough self-confidence to fail. My dad’s business was not always prosperous. There were incredible successes but there was also complete failure. After any setback, he remained positive, focused and committed to learning from the failure so that the next endeavor would succeed. Importantly, true to lesson number one, he never blamed others when failure occurred.

My brother and I are now both in our mid-forties and on our second joint startup (if you don’t count the snow shoveling business we had as kids). Almost two years ago we launched Inspirato, a private, luxury destination club, after leaving our first company, Exclusive Resorts, which we started together eight years earlier. We had the same teacher and the same lessons. But we apply those lessons in different ways—each of us complementing the other. The result is, I hope, something our dad would be proud of.

I don’t believe my dad ever set out to teach my brother and me anything about business. We learned by observation. My dad was so passionate about what he was doing it just rubbed off on the two of us through osmosis.

Norton Handler died three and a half years ago. His sudden passing left a big hole in our family. Everyday I miss talking with my dad. As we run our company, I hear him in the decisions we make and the culture we build.

via What My Father Taught Me about Being an Entrepreneur – Forbes.

via http://srkgupta.wordpress.com/2012/10/12/what-my-father-taught-me-about-being-an-entrepreneur-forbes/

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How To Create Your Own IFTTT Recipes For Automating Your Favorite Sites & Feeds

There are a few web services that can be considered “priceless” and IFTTT is one of them. The service, which stands for “if this then that” has the power to automate common tasks and help you discover better uses for services you already use. If you’re sick of manually doing things, IFTTT is a breath of fresh air.

The service uses two main elements called triggers and actions which are organised by channels. Channels are the common web services you use on a daily basis, and there are more than 50 that play nicely with IFTTT either as a trigger or an action. When a trigger is paired with an action it becomes a recipe, and if you’ve yet to create an interesting recipe then you’ve been missing out.

So let’s take a closer look at triggers, actions, recipes and sharing your creations from within IFTTT.

Triggers + Actions = Recipes

A recipe is the name given to the pairing of a trigger and an action. Recipes are pre-prepared formulas, of which there are tens of thousands (just shy of 40,000 by my estimation at the time of writing) available for your perusal. If you’ve yet to use IFTTT then browsing popular recipes will give you a good idea what the service can be used for, and just how useful some of the results can be.

Of course, there are some pretty useless recipes too that are either built for fun or for specific individuals, and that’s another big bonus – the ability to create your own recipes.

By connecting various different services that you use, IFTTT allows you to use them as either triggers or actions with varying input options for each. Some channels have only a few actions, and others are infinitely customisable using search strings or custom URLs.

If you’re worried about your personal recipes being there for the world to see, bear in mind that a recipe has to be published before it is public meaning any new recipes you create will be private until you explicitly share your creation with the world.

Before adding a new service you will have to authorize the channel you wish to use, which is the IFTTT equivalent of authorizing a web app to use your Twitter or Facebook accounts. Until this time, available but unused channels will be greyed out. IFTTT needs access to your services in order to act on information received or to write to a private location, like your Google Drive for instance. If you’d like to revoke IFTTT access, do so within the app rather than IFTTT.

Creating & Sharing A Recipe

Creating a recipe is easy and the hardest part of using IFTTT is working out what you can do with each channel. Luckily, for every channel there is a list of potential triggers and actions on that particular app’s page. Take a look at the IFFFT channels list and if you see a service you’re fond of click it to see some popular recipes and beneath this a list of things you can do.

There are some very useful and broad triggers, like Date & Time which allows you to set up timed reminders, and some very specialised triggers for niche services like ffffound and even hardware devices like Belkin’s WeMo motion.

For the sake of creating something a little more interesting simple RSS feed actions or a backup of all your Tweets, I’m going to assume you’re a musician who collects guitars and use the Craigslist channel to sniff out some bargains.

First of all register and login to IFTTT using an email address that you value (don’t use your spam account, because you’ll never see any email alerts you set up) click Create at the top of the page and choose a service. Once you’ve selected your channel you may be asked to activate, which may require you login and authorize IFTTT. For Craigslist this is as simple as clicking a button, as the information is publicly available.

For our trigger we only have one choice here, and that’s to detect new posts by search. Luckily that’s pretty much all Craigslist is good for, and the ability to use the native search on the site means you can set up your own, local filter. In my case I will be using melbourne.craigslist.com.au, and this guarantees me relevant results. I’ve chosen to query for “guitar” with a minimum price of “100”, which means I won’t get alerts for guitar tuners and sheet music, but only guitars and equipment over AU$100. Conversely, this technique is useful if you’ve had something stolen and would like to monitor the service in case the goods turn up for sale.

After pasting the URL into the box it’s time to associate an action with my bargain hunt. There are a lot of useful actions here, and depending on what you’re using the service for then you can set up anSMS notification, push a notification to your mobile device using Pushover or add the alert to a service like Instapaper. Here, I’m going for good old email which guarantees I’ll see the message regardless of whether I’m out and about with my iPhone or sat at my desk working.

Once you’ve chosen email then you’ll notice there’s only one action and that’s to email you – hardly surprising. The email field is definitely one of the most customisable, with a number of “ingredients”. You can add ingredients using the drop-down box on the right, with elements like search URL, post URL and post content available. The default message will usually suffice, but personalising your alert is a nice added bonus, and I’ve added some extras to mine as you can see in the screenshot below.

Finally create and then activate your recipe, adding a small description to remind yourself what you new creation does.

Sharing this recipe is as easy as finding it in your dashboard and clicking the share button (it looks like a box with an arrow sticking out of it). Here you can give your recipe a proper title, so for mine I specifically pointed out that this recipe is for Melbourne, Australia to avoid confusion.

Conclusion

And that’s basically all there is to IFTTT and personalised recipe creation. It really couldn’t be that much simpler, other than the many pre-prepared recipes that are ready to be clicked and activated on your own accounts. Have fun and don’t forget to post your favourites and any you have personally created in the comments, below.

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3 Best Ideas to Make Extra Money Online in 2012

“Looking for the best ideas to make extra money online in 2012?” This article will show you three of the quickest and easiest ways to make money on the Internet.

The Web is a great place to make money quickly, without needing anything more than your imagination and a bit of hard work. Accordingly, all of the money making techniques discussed in this article are easy to implement, don’t require any programming or technical experience, and, if done correctly, can earn a lot of money.

Also, if you’re looking for plenty of great home based business ideas I recommend you also take a look at a related article entitled “Top 10 best home based business ideas to make money online in 2012“.

How to make money online in 2012

2012 has seen a number of huge changes in the way the Internet works. This means that the fields of SEO (Search Engine Optimization), marketing, eCommerce, and content creation are all going to be in a state of flux.

One of the most important things you can do to ensure that your blog or website makes money is to understand what SEO, Google search and Internet marketing is all about. I’ve included a list of must-read articles and resources for small or home based Internet businesses at the end of the post, and I strongly recommend you browse through these before trying to make money online.

1. Make money blogging

Blogging is a great way to make money online because it is super quick, easy to start, and doesn’t require any technical Web programming or development experience.

Large blogging platforms like WordPress offer a convenient place to start blogging.

In order to make money blogging, you will first need to get plenty of visitors (traffic). To do this, you need to:

1. Find a niche topic (i.e. “the best hamburgers in the world“, “Training your goldfish“, and so on)
2. Write great content
3. Learn about SEO
4. Learn about Internet marketing and social media
5. Be persistent and consistent

Many people fail to make money blogging because they don’t properly focus their content, don’t do adequate research into their niche market and readership, don’t understand SEO or social media, and above all, they give up too soon.

With plenty of great traffic arriving at your blog, it is easy to make money in any way you can imagine. The most commonplace and easy to implement are:

• Embedding Google AdSense ads (or ads from other networks like Chitika)
• Using affiliate links for sites like Amazon or an affiliate network like Commission Junction
• Selling advertising directly
• Writing paid reviews

To learn more about making money blogging, I recommend you read the following articles:

• How to make money blogging
• Small business SEO tutorial: How to attract higher quality Google traffic
• Five top SEO tips for small business bloggers
• SEO basics: Increase website traffic with long-tail Google keywords

2. Make money from an online store

eCommerce, or online stores, are a great way to earn money for a home based or small business startup. With modern shopping cart software, setting up an online store is easier than ever and doesn’t require any programming or development experience.

To make money from an online store, you will need:

1. A product, or products, to sell
2. An good online shopping cart software solution

Setting up an online store is the easy bit. Marketing and promoting it is the tricky bit. Without plenty of visitors (traffic), even the best products in the world, on the best eCommerce solution in the world won’t make money.

Operating a successful online store is about having a great product, great marketing and great customer service.

Since so much of the success of an online store depends on marketing, I recommend you set up a blog as part of your online store (See Make money blogging). In addition, I recommend you read the SEO and Internet marketing articles presented at the bottom of this post.

3. Make money selling ebooks and information

An online store is a great way to sell tangible products – like cushions, cupcakes, gadgets and cars. Selling information is even more suited to the Internet because it doesn’t require many of the “traditional” business overheads, like warehousing, transport and manufacture.

If you have expert knowledge or experience in any field, then you have something to sell. You don’t need to be the world’s best expert either. Provided you are prepared to put in the effort to create a high quality information resource that people will spread via word of mouth (something that is critical to success in this field), selling information and ebooks can be lucrative.

Personal trainers, for example, might create workout plans and sell them via Amazon, or their own eCommerce store or blog. A kindergarten teacher recently earned $700 000 by selling her lesson plans online.

In order to sell ebooks and information, you will need:

• Formatted and laid out document(s) for sale
• One or more online sales channels

A sales channel can be anything from your own blog or online store, to selling self-published books viaCreateSpace or via Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing to eBay, criagslist and other third party websites.

While word-of-mouth plays an important role in the sales of ebooks, it is crucial that you also learn as much about Internet marketing and social media as possible. By using the Internet properly as a marketing tool, you can help drive sales and revenue online.

To learn more about marketing and social media, I recommend you read allthe articles in the following section.

Articles and resources for making money online

The three common threads running through each of the above methods for making money online are:

• Content
• SEO
• Marketing

All three inter-relate to help drive and convert traffic into money. In fact, no matter what small business startup you try, your success will depend on how well you can implement and use the above three online business disciplines.

The following articles will provide everything you need to know about how to make money online in 2012 and beyond:

• What is SEO? Here’s the ultimate small business SEO guide
• Small business SEO & Internet marketing strategy guide, 2012
• How to sell stuff online
• How to make money blogging with Google Adsense and affiliate marketing
• The top 5 marketing ideas for small business, 2012
• How paid Google product search results affect the future of SEO and Internet marketing
• 5 best Internet marketing services for small business, 2012

Have your tried to make money blogging? Do you run a successful home based online store? Have you tried other techniques to make money online in 2012? Share your money making thoughts, experiences and advice in the comments below, or join me on Twitter and LinkedIn to continue the conversation.

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5 Common Security Mistakes That Can Put Your Privacy & Money At Risk

How vulnerable are you? Ask any person who’s been robbed if it came as a surprise – I guarantee you it did. As the saying goes, the thief always comes in the night when you’re sleeping, when you’re least prepared. But even when you’re awake, you might be passively committing security mistakes, thus inviting hackers and crackers to fiddle with your things.

Privacy and money are arguably the two most important things when it comes to the whole concept of security. We all want to protect our identities, our privacies, and definitely our financials. No one looks forward to the day when they check their bank statements and sees nothing but zeroes – or even worse, negatives.

Here are some of the most common security mistakes that are committed by computer users all over the world. Neglecting any of these will open you up to a world of vulnerability and put you only one or two steps away from identity theft, malware infections, or worse.

Mistake #1: Not Updating Anti-Malware

This is one of the most prevalent security tips out there: install anti-malware software and keep it updated! Yet as widespread as it is, people still ignore it. If you’re reading this and you don’t have an anti-virus or anti-malware program setup, go and do it now! There are plenty of top-quality FREE anti-malware programs out there. I personally use Advanced SystemCare and MalwareBytes.

But just having one isn’t enough. You have to keep it updated – not just the program itself, but also the database of potential threats. Most programs have the option for automatically updating on a schedule or whenever you open the program. Keep them up-to-date or else they won’t keep you protected against the latest and greatest threats.

Mistake #2: Not Using A Firewall

Few are the people who use anti-malware software. Fewer are the people who use both anti-malware and a firewall. “Do I need to use both?” you might ask, and the answer is a resounding, “YES!” Anti-malware and firewalls are not the same things. They fulfill two different purposes, thus you will need both to keep yourself as secure as possible.

Think of a firewall as like a fence whereas anti-malware software is more like a shotgun. The fence is a general-purpose protective barrier that keeps out most unwanted intruders. However, your fence will occasionally have holes that allow entry by certain thieves. The fence does a lot of the work, but the shotgun comes in handy when the fence is breached.

In the same way, a firewall will keep out most malicious intentions. However, when a particular virus or Trojan makes it through and onto your computer, that’s when the anti-malware program comes in to clean up the mess.

Mistake #3: Unsafe Email Habits

After so many years, after the introduction of blogs, instant messaging, social networking, and everything else, email is still one of the most popular ways to communicate over the Internet. It’s also one of the most frequent ways in which users fall into the hands of scammers. Losing your identity because of a sneaky email can be devastating.

Beware of phishing scams. Learn how to identify them and learn to avoid them like an angry swarm of wasps. If you receive an unsolicited email that seems sketchy, do not open it. Do not respond to it. Send it straight to the trash bin. But how will you identify a phishing scam? Look for fake phone numbers and addresses. Multiple spelling or grammar issues are often a dead giveaway, too. And if you don’t recognize the sender, always assume it’s spam.

There are lots of other email procedures you should observe to maximize your security. Here are 7 important email security tips you should know. Otherwise, just stay alert and keep an eye out for fishy emails (no pun intended).

Mistake #4: Universal & Stagnant Passwords

Password security can be tricky. Not because it’s difficult to find a strong password – which can be generated for free using any number of online password generators – but because password security is inconvenient. When I type in my password to log onto Facebook, I’m not thinking about how secure my password is. I’m thinking about what I’m going to say to my friend.

And in the interest of convenience, we tend to use the same password over and over again. My Gmail password becomes my Facebook password, which also becomes my forum password, and so on. But the problem here is that if anyone discovers your singular password, they can use it to unlock the rest of your accounts. Bad idea.

The solution, then, is to use different passwords for different accounts. But don’t stop there! Once a year, you should also change your passwords to something new.

Mistake #5: Giving Away Personal Information

Have you ever seen a sitcom or a comedy movie where someone accidentally lets slip an important piece of information? On the big screen, it might be funny, but it’s a pain in the butt when it happens in real life–and it doesn’t always happen in idle conversation.

In the world of video games, a vast majority of the perpetrators for hacked accounts are close friends or relatives of the account holder. You give your password to them so they can play on your account, then they stab you in the back and steal it. This could happen with Gmail, Facebook, or any other account that you share.

Or you might accidentally show your credit card number or social security number to someone. You might think it’s okay since that person is your friend, but you can never be too sure.

The best policy is this – if you don’t want the whole world to know about it, it’s best to keep it to yourself. That applies to passwords, PIN numbers, SSN numbers, CC numbers, home addresses, and anything else that could count as personal information. Keep your guard up.

Each and every one of the security mistakes listed in this article has the potential to really screw up your life. Sure, maybe you’ve shared your account with someone before or you’ve been using the same password for ten years and nothing bad has happened to you. Great! I’m glad that you’ve been so fortunate. But there are times when I’ve left my front door unlocked and I haven’t been robbed–that doesn’t mean it was a smart move.

Avoid making these mistakes and your personal security will be much stronger. You owe it to yourself. Stay safe and stay alert.

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10 Ways Startups Can Deal With Patent Troll Demands

It’s no fun receiving a patent demand, but rest assured, you are not alone. When that dreaded “invitation to license” or, worse, “complaint” arrives at your doorstep, what should you do? Here are some tips based on our collective experiences counseling over a hundred startups and surveying hundreds of technology companies about their practices. (The full report on startups and patent trolls, including how often survey respondents used different strategies, and how much it cost them, can be found here.)

1. Don’t Panic

This is perhaps the hardest advice to follow. Being on the receiving side of a demand can be extremely upsetting. But patent demands are now increasingly a fact of life, and investors, underwriters, board members, and potential acquirers know this. Most troll demands will go away before a suit is filed and most cases are not bet-the-company-litigation. Your supporters will not likely back away from you just because of a patent troll suit. Just as in business, keeping your cool will help you stay in control of the situation, rather than vice-versa.

1. Keep A Low Profile

If you’re small, there’s a reasonable chance you’re only one of many receiving a demand letter. Take a look at the patent and the allegations; if you can form a reasonable belief that a license is not needed, file the letter away. Twenty-two percent of respondents to the survey referenced above resolved the threat by doing nothing.

1. Find A Lawyer With A Long-Term View And Business Savvy

Your lawyer is a great resource, but make sure she understands and has your business interests in mind. Some lawyers are reluctant to advise you to do nothing. Yet, that is often the best strategy. Choose someone who you trust to watch your back business-wise, and who is interested in a long-term relationship with you. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to these cases.

1. Know Yourself

Though your first instinct when seeing a demand may be to think of the million reasons the patent is rubbish, the easier way out is to assess whether the patent has anything to do with your business. By reflecting on your own business, you may be able to come up with easier ways out – that you don’t practice the patent, are indemnified, are licensed, or don’t have any revenue. If the patentee is persistent, these defenses are more likely to convince them to drop their case. As appealing is it may be to “kill” the patent, principles can be expensive in patent litigation. Your priority should be getting yourself out. One exception is if you have your own unique prior art; then, go ahead and focus on invalidity and leverage it to try to obtain an early resolution.

1. Check Out The People, Not Just The Patent

If the patentee is persistent, check them out. Who is holding the patent, who represents them, have they been involved in other litigations or campaigns? Get as much information as you can. Who is behind the suit can matter as much if not more than the patent they hold. Some patent trolls are out for quick cash. Others may have different reasons for targeting you: They think you are an easy target; they are using your money to go after someone bigger; or they are hoping to use you to set an example for their future campaigns. But few actually want to take their cases to trial. Check the company out using Secretary of State websites, conducting online searches, and checking patent ownership (assignments.uspto.gov). If they’ve sued before, find out how the story ended, including by calling up other targets or their lawyers. Your local public law school library, or tools like PACER or Docket Navigator may be able to provide some information; Lex Machina, a company one of us advises, offers a report on who has sued you and to put you in touch with others who have requested the same report. Find out who the decision makers are, whether they are involved in other businesses subject to countersuit, whether they have perhaps sued you before (it happens; these guys change their names and change counsel and sometimes go back to the already-licensed well).

1. Poverty Defense

These cases are about money. Don’t be shy about telling the patentee about your financial situation and that you really aren’t worth their time. Ask what it will take for them to go away, and educate them that there’s really no revenue from the accused products. Your lawyer can do this by sharing information about your financials on a confidential basis. Or you can make the call yourself, explaining that you have a little cash to resolve the problem and don’t want to spend it on a lawyer. Often it is best to focus on economic defenses, as the patent troll is unlikely to agree that you don’t infringe and even less likely to agree that the patent is invalid. But they don’t often want to pursue costly litigation when there is no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

7. Team Up

If you’re small and you’re sued, the odds are good that you will have company. Seek out joint defense groups and allow codefendants with more exposure to lead the way. Be a member in good standing of a joint defense group, but be careful that you don’t end up committed to costs that you would not have incurred on your own. While you may be able to put the case on “life support” (see below) the other defendants may opt for a more aggressive defense and split costs on an equal basis with you. Joint representation —when a single firm represents multiple parties and the costs are evenly split among them— makes the most sense when parties have similar exposure and goals. When the parties have different exposures and goals, joint defense—where parties coordinate but have their own counsel — is likely the more economic choice.

8. Life Support

Lawsuits are expensive, but they can be done efficiently. Keep a low profile. Produce documents without a fight. If you can, offer to help with the defense so you don’t have to pay a lawyer to do all of the heavy lifting, e.g. you can have an engineer assess non-infringement defenses or search for prior art. The distraction is costly, but perhaps less so than the lawyer’s fees.

9. Pick Battles Carefully

Prioritize the fights that matter; typically “I don’t infringe” or defenses related to your exposure will win the day. In certain circumstances, an administrative challenge (reexamination or post-grant review) to the asserted patent may also provide you with leverage. Be aggressive where it counts most. There may be opportunities to set a precedent that you won’t go down without a fight, and to do so without breaking the bank. Other times the adage, “even when you’ve won, you’ve lost” — in terms of time, attention, and resources — applies.

10. Advice For All Times: Don’t Be An Easy Target

Trolls pick their targets by studying websites, looking at product specs, and trying to make out a case that you need their patent. Don’t make it easy for them. Require registration before granting access to whitepapers, detailed documents, or video tutorials that delve into the behind-the-scenes details. Think twice about being on customer lists or advertising the ins and outs of your business, the products you use, etc., unless there’s a good business reason for doing so. Often it is the companies that advertise most successfully that are the most frequent targets of troll demands — troll threats should not drive business decisions, but don’t be surprised when your successful marketing campaign is followed by an onslaught of troll letters.

Tags: patent, patent litigation, patent trolls

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Be Happier: 10 Things to Stop Doing Right Now

Happiness--in your business life and your personal life--is often a matter of subtraction, not addition.

Consider, for example, what happens when you stop doing the following 10 things:

1. Blaming.

People make mistakes. Employees don't meet your expectations. Vendors don't deliver on time.

So you blame them for your problems.

But you're also to blame. Maybe you didn't provide enough training. Maybe you didn't build in enough of a buffer. Maybe you asked too much, too soon.

Taking responsibility when things go wrong instead of blaming others isn't masochistic, it's empowering--because then you focus on doing things better or smarter next time.

And when you get better or smarter, you also get happier.

2. Impressing.

No one likes you for your clothes, your car, your possessions, your title, or your accomplishments. Those are all "things." People may like your things--but that doesn't mean they like you.

Sure, superficially they might seem to, but superficial is also insubstantial, and a relationship that is not based on substance is not a real relationship.

Genuine relationships make you happier, and you'll only form genuine relationships when you stop trying to impress and start trying to just be yourself.

3. Clinging.

When you're afraid or insecure, you hold on tightly to what you know, even if what you know isn't particularly good for you.

An absence of fear or insecurity isn't happiness: It's just an absence of fear or insecurity.

Holding on to what you think you need won't make you happier; letting go so you can reach for and try to earn what you want will.

Even if you don't succeed in earning what you want, the act of trying alone will make you feel better about yourself.

4. Interrupting.

Interrupting isn't just rude. When you interrupt someone, what you're really saying is, "I'm not listening to you so I can understand what you're saying; I'm listening to you so I can decide what I want to say."

Want people to like you? Listen to what they say. Focus on what they say. Ask questions to make sure you understand what they say.

They'll love you for it--and you'll love how that makes you feel.

5. Whining.

Your words have power, especially over you. Whining about your problems makes you feel worse, not better.

If something is wrong, don't waste time complaining. Put that effort into making the situation better. Unless you want to whine about it forever, eventually you'll have to do that. So why waste time? Fix it now.

Don't talk about what's wrong. Talk about how you'll make things better, even if that conversation is only with yourself.

And do the same with your friends or colleagues. Don't just be the shoulder they cry on.

Friends don't let friends whine--friends help friends make their lives better.

6. Controlling.

Yeah, you're the boss. Yeah, you're the titan of industry. Yeah, you're the small tail that wags a huge dog.

Still, the only thing you really control is you. If you find yourself trying hard to control other people, you've decided that you, your goals, your dreams, or even just your opinions are more important than theirs.

Plus, control is short term at best, because it often requires force, or fear, or authority, or some form of pressure--none of those let you feel good about yourself.

Find people who want to go where you're going. They'll work harder, have more fun, and create better business and personal relationships.

And all of you will be happier.

7. Criticizing.

Yeah, you're more educated. Yeah, you're more experienced. Yeah, you've been around more blocks and climbed more mountains and slayed more dragons.

That doesn't make you smarter, or better, or more insightful.

That just makes you you: unique, matchless, one of a kind, but in the end, just you.

Just like everyone else--including your employees.

Everyone is different: not better, not worse, just different. Appreciate the differences instead of the shortcomings and you'll see people--and yourself--in a better light.

8. Preaching.

Criticizing has a brother. His name is Preaching. They share the same father: Judging.

The higher you rise and the more you accomplish, the more likely you are to think you know everything--and to tell people everything you think you know.

When you speak with more finality than foundation, people may hear you but they don't listen. Few things are sadder and leave you feeling less happy.

9. Dwelling.

The past is valuable. Learn from your mistakes. Learn from the mistakes of others.

Then let it go.

The past is just training; it doesn't define you. Think about what went wrong, but only in terms of how you will make sure that, next time, you and the people around you will know how to make sure it goes right.Easier said than done? It depends on your focus. When something bad happens to you, see that as a chance to learn something you didn't know. When another person makes a mistake, see that as an opportunity to be kind, forgiving, and understanding.

10. Fearing.

We're all afraid: of what might or might not happen, of what we can't change, or what we won't be able to do, or how other people might perceive us.

So it's easier to hesitate, to wait for the right moment, to decide we need to think a little longer or do some more research or explore a few more alternatives.

Meanwhile days, weeks, months, and even years pass us by.

And so do our dreams.

Don't let your fears hold you back. Whatever you've been planning, whatever you've imagined, whatever you've dreamed of, get started on it today.

If you want to start a business, take the first step. If you want to change careers, take the first step. If you want to expand or enter a new market or offer new products or services, take the first step.

Put your fears aside and get started. Do something. Do anything.

Otherwise, today is gone. Once tomorrow comes, today is lost forever.

Today is the most precious asset you own--and is the one thing you should truly fear wasting.

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