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The 'Survivor' Rules of Business: Lessons to Be Learned

Survival of the fittest--and the shrewdest--is not just applicable on this summer's blockbuster show.

By Steven D. Strauss

Like many families, our house has been watching "Survivor" this summer. After viewing it again recently, I decided that I think there is much wisdom for small businesses to be gleaned from the hit show. Here then are the "Survivor" Rules of Business:

Rule 1: Give Your People the Right Tools

On the island, good food is probably the most desired item. For the first few days of the show, the contestants were seen eating rice and coconuts, coconuts and rice. The desire for protein grew strong, but neither tribe was able to catch a fish. That is, until one tribe won a snorkel and spear in a contest. The right tools made all the difference. Fish dinner sure beat the rats the losing tribe resorted too cooking.

For the small businessperson, this means that your equipment needs to be up-to-date. Computers should be fast, and equipment should be clean and safe. If you give your people the right tools they will likely be happier and more productive. Especially in this era of low unemployment, if you don't provide your employees with good equipment, you may find some of your people working for another employer, who serves fish instead of rat.

Rule 2: Offer Incentives

On the show, two tribes competed against each other for the right to win tools, stay on the island, and potentially win $1 million. Now they are competing individually for these things. In this regard, "Survivor" closely resembles capitalism. It is a cutthroat game where the cleverest survive. And they want to survive because the payoff is great if they do. They have an incentive to do well.

By the same token, if you offer great wages and benefits, you will attract and be able to keep the best people around. Who do you want managing your restaurant--grumpy B.B. or affable Gervase?

Rule 3: Foster Teamwork

Until the two tribes merged last week, "Survivor" was a team sport with Tagi and Pagong battling it out weekly. It was clear that in some of the contests, wins resulted from cooperative teamwork more than skill. So too your workplace.

Similarly, it is clear that cliques can have a real destructive effect on morale and outcomes. When a clique is created, insiders and outsiders are formed automatically. Outsiders are not the best of employees. On the island, Richard, Susan, and two others have formed a secret alliance to vote people off the island. While smart, and within the rules, it also divides the group. That may be fine on an island, but it's horrible in a real business.

Rule 4: Value Individual Skills

On the remote island of Pulau Tiga in the South China Sea those contestants who have demonstrated some real skills have succeeded in staying on the island even as others have been voted off.

The aforementioned Richard has become the fisherman for the tribe, nabbing stingrays and eels for meals. As such, his stock amongst his teammates rose, and he is still fishing. Rudy, a crusty cantankerous ex-Navy SEAL, seemed destined for a quick boot early in the show, but is still around--even though the other "older" participants are long gone. Rudy's SEAL skills, and cooking skills-apparently--have him hanging around still. Gervase, hardly able to swim at all and the main reason why his team lost a few contests, is still playing. Why? He is so friendly, so people-wise, that his teammates like him, despite himself. The small businessperson should remember this, and value and reward employees with particular skills.

Rule 5: Reward Hard Work

In the end, hard work counts as much as anything else when evaluating a teammate, or an employee. When some employees work hard, and others don't, it creates resentment. Ramona was quickly voted off when her island-sickness prevented her from participating much at all. Others have been voted off for similar reasons.

So be sure to value that hard-working, skilled, team-oriented, goal-oriented employee, and just be thankful that you don't have to give him or her $1 million.

THE TEN GOLDEN RULES TO ACHIEVE BUSINESS EXCELLENCE by Mike Powell

It was Albert Einstein that said: "The high destiny of the individual is to serve rather than to rule . . . and former American president Woodrow Wilson said: "NO man has ever risen to the real stature of spiritual manhood until he has found that it is finer to serve somebody else than it is to serve himself."

These great men are doing nothing other than re-quoting a higher authority. As Matthew 23:12 puts its: "For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted."

RULE NUMBER ONE is centred around Service, although it takes a more worldly, less biblical stance as to why service is important.

Rule Number 1 says: "If we don't take care of the customer . . . somebody else will."

In the United Kingdom we are novices at giving good customer service. Forget Comet's Customer Charter and its list of lofty aims and goals. It still took them over a year to repair my camcorder without a hint of an apology or remorse and in doing so a pristine new camcorder was reduced to a scratched old heap.

Saying it, doesn't make it happen. Just having written ideals doesn't make it happen - though I suppose it's marginally better than not having ideals at all.

RULE NUMBER TWO is also about Customer Service; Customer Care and even extends to the complex field of Corporate Image.

It states: "We never get a second chance to make a good first impression." With a business like radio, 90% of peoples' impression of our business is made up by what they hear from their own radios. But then again, prospective advertisers may not listen to us, but might recognise that a great many potential customers do. So their first telephone call to us, or their casual dropping in at our North Street, Guildford office, might indeed represent the FIRST impression.

And then again, what about the devoted listener who drops in one day as she's passing to pick up a presenter card? What sort of impression will she get? Will all the goodwill we have generated on air be destroyed as she walks in the front door to be greeted by the typical surly British receptionist? The imagery of which also prompts me to remind you that it often takes MONTHS to find a customer - but only seconds to lose one.

So are you accessible? If people arrive to see you is it obvious where they have to go and what they have to do? Is it easy to understand the form? If you work from home are visitors directed to your front door? Or is there an office round the side? Is it well sign-posted? Do you have hours of operation clearly on display?

If your small office is in a block without a centralised reception, can people find you easily? When they get to your office door should they be encouraged to knock first? Or is there a rudimentary reception beyond. Is it clear on the door?

There's a double-glazing shop in Guildford High Street. I never pass that shop without seeing the receptionist smoking.

I'm in complete agreement with people being able to live their lives with maximum freedom - and that includes the freedom to smoke. But in a place where the public is being enticed inside? Does that strike you as politically or medically correct in 1997? What an old-fashioned, tatty B-movie impression it gives.

RULE NUMBER THREE concerns itself with your product - and this rule applies whether you are a double-glazing contractor, consultant (of any type) or my mythical glass blower.

RULE THREE says: GOOD ENOUGH, NEVER IS. or, to put it another way: "If better is possible, GOOD, is not enough!"

No business escapes this maxim. Whether you are in a service industry or making widgets and grommets. Good Enough, Never Is. If you have already slaved until midnight and you find upon eleventh hour rereading that there is still a LITERAL in the copy, then run off replacement pages and rebind it.

If you have made an intricate piece of furniture and there is a flaw which will NOT polish out, don't let it go out the door on the basis that it'll get damaged in delivery anyway, and if they've been using Debenhams to buy their furniture they're probably so cynical about quality that yours is going to appear to be a Rolls Royce product.

Good Enough, Never Is. Sand it down and start again. Or take out the complete affected assembly and rework it.

Good Enough, Never is. Someone once said: "Every job is a self-portrait of the person who did it. Autograph your work with excellence."

RULE NUMBER FOUR continues our transition into the theme of quality.

There are many definitions of quality, but RULE FOUR is the most succinct maxim of all: QUALITY REMAINS LONG AFTER THE PRICE IS FORGOTTEN

It may seem obvious to say "nothing attracts customers like quality" but many of you will confirm that this statement ISN'T something which has reached the service departments of most garages yet.

I am convinced that the first garage that sets itself up with a friendly service reception; where trouble is taken to understand your problem; where courtesy cars are a basic part of the deal, and not grudgingly provided if all else fails; where receptions are spotlessly clean, with beautiful flowers, fresh coffee (and not the hint of grease on the walls or tatty remnants of adhesive tape from long discarded notices); where there is better than the current 50/50 chance of your car being returned first time with the problem fixed; where if it isn't, you are told BEFORE you come back to pick up the car so that you can continue to use the courtesy car with the minimum inconvenience; where your car is delivered back to you WITHOUT black grease all over the steering wheel . . . I am convinced that people would pay a PREMIUM for that kind of service. QUALITY REMAINS LONG AFTER THE PRICE IS FORGOTTEN. In other words: Why should a visit to a garage be as dreaded as a visit to the dentist?

RULE NUMBER FIVE is a sort of composite of two maxims, but they are very closely related: Rule Number Five states: "While never promising more than you can deliver, always aim to give the customer slightly MORE than they expect to receive."

Let me tell you - in the UK, this would generally be a very easy rule to apply!

A true story: This morning I did something unusual. I accompanied my wife to take my children to school in Alton. I intended to go back to my home in Dockenfield, rather than going on in to my office in Guildford, so that I could finish the notes for this speech.

We dropped into a nice place on our way home for a coffee and a toasted tea cake. This place fails most of the rules, by the way, of making it easy for the customer to know what the form is. Inadequate signage; unfriendly entrances; doors that are closed in your face without so much as an 'open' sign . . . and so on. Which is a shame, because once you're inside, it's a very nice facility.

I was looking forward to that nice teacake, split down the middle, spread with thick cold butter which would gradually melt temptingly into the hot bun.

The coffee, unusually for this country, was very pleasant. And when the teacake arrived, it was large, split down the middle with lots of juicy raisins in view.

And then the waitress plonked down the tiny single catering-pack pre-wrapped pat of butter that was obviously our ration.

My wife and I looked at each other open-mouthed, and in typically British fashion, said nothing until the waitress had disappeared.

"Which quarter do you think we're meant to spread this on?" my wife asked. She wasn't kidding. This large tea cake was split open into two large halves. The butter spread exactly over a half of a half! (In other words, a quarter of the surface area of the tea cakes!). And even then it was spread very thinly!

After eating my quarter, I got up and went to ask for some more butter. I was given another miserable little package for each of us.

I was too bemused to complain. I think my sarcasm would have got the better of me. So instead, I went back to the table thinking "it must be me!" and I tried to spread the contents of this tiny packet all over the remaining one and a half pieces.

Try as I might, no amount of scraping and scraping would achieve this task!

But this disappointment reinforced my commitment to Rule 6: Always give the customer slightly MORE than they expect to receive. In Britain, we are expert at generally giving the customer slightly LESS than they expect to receive.

The funny thing is that I never asked how much the tea cake cost. All I wanted was a hot tea cake with plenty of butter! The fact that the restaurant had charge 50 pence and therefore had no margin for the butter, was the last thing that occurred to me. If there had been butter on the table; not to mention a choice of preserves; QUALITY would have been what I remembered; PRICE would have been the first thing forgotten.

Should I complain? No. I'm not going back there knowing that I'm going to have to feel bad just to get some butter for my tea cake! I just won't go back. (Remember what I said earlier: It takes months to gain a customer . . . seconds to lose one.)

RULE NUMBER SIX:

Without understanding Rules One to Five, my belief is that you shouldn't be going into business on your own anyway. But assuming you accept at least the target of working towards One to Five, then the next couple of rules are basic maxims to get you started on the right road and to keep you focused.

Rule Number Six states: "Success or failure is usually determined on the drawing board." In other words, when drawing up the initial plans for your business, have you seriously researched the market; do you really understand the niche; are your forecasts realistic and complete; does your plan adequately map the route you must follow?

Research is often a very inaccurately used expression. "I did a lot of research before I opened this restaurant." Often this means: "I asked a couple of friends" (who told me what they thought I wanted to hear, rather than what they really believed.). Or it means: "I walked up and down the High Street" (ignoring the fact that there were already more restaurants per head of population than anywhere else on the planet).

And you'll hear people say: "Research showed there was a market gap" which translated means: "Although it is true to say there are no restaurants in Esher serving soggy Yorkshire puddings filled with gristly lamb, carrots and gravy" that does not indicate a market niche, it reflects the fact that only a handful of people in Yorkshire actually like such a hideous apology for food!

RULE NUMBER SEVEN

Prioritise Your Time. Include Your Family.

I hear people all the time claim that they are always busy. "I never have enough time" to do this, that or the other. And yet, sometimes these are the same people who can tell me every thread of Coronation Street, East Enders, Emmerdale Farm, Brookside and half a dozen Australian TV soaps for good measure!

If you never watch television in your life, but you still seem to work all your waking hours, ask yourself: "Is what I am doing, or about to do, getting me closer to my objectives?"

I have a friend who runs a business who prints newspapers for a variety of companies throughout the UK. He's probably one of the biggest independent printers in the land. So is he successful? Well, apparently not. He works around the clock; he never has time for his family and he says he hardly takes any money out of the business.

Simple observation suggests that in his desire to build this empire with hundreds of people serving hundreds of newspaper companies, he has cut his margins to zero. So the more business he brings in, the harder he works. But he's like a drowning man furiously flailing his arms around in the water hoping this will get him to the river bank. No matter how hard he tries, he doesn't get to the safety and comfort of the river bank - and as he tires, he starts to sink in the water.

If he charged more, he might have fewer customers. But the customers he had would get better service and he would make more money. Volume doesn't always equate to profit.

Prioritising your time, by the way, means prioritising your family too.

A famous Canadian time management consultant called Harold Taylor once said something in a seminar which initially filled me with horror. He said: "Schedule time in your diary to take your wife out to dinner." In other words, schedule time with your wife the way you schedule any business appointment.

Initially I thought, how inhuman! How uncaring; how unemotional.

But his point was this: If you schedule the time; if you book the restaurant; you will go. You will avoid scheduling other appointments around this time and you will take your wife to the restaurant. So extending techniques you are happy to use for most of your day, will help you maintain a family life; will help you stay married! For many of us, NOT using this technique means we hardly ever have quality time with our partners. Often, only realising our mistake when its too late.

RULE NUMBER EIGHT is about Teamwork.

If you are a one-man band, you can be your own team. But often, even if you're a one-man band, your team are your suppliers or subcontractors.

When you have two or more people working together in any business, you have a team. And the definition of team is Together Everyone Achieves More.

So Rule Number Eight uses the words of Alexander Graham Bell, who said: "Great discoveries and achievements invariably involve the co-operation of many minds."

They know about this in the services, where teamwork is often simply a matter of life or death. But whether it is in the services or in commerce, it is still true to say that "Teamwork is the fuel that allows ordinary people to attain extraordinary results."

There is no doubt that many of the best ideas come from individuals, not committees. But few people who have worked in creative team environments would deny that ANY germ of an idea; whether it is the first spark of genius, or a mundane notion to solve a workaday problem; is almost always ENHANCED when it is pounced upon and pulled apart by your colleagues. What starts off as a great idea can become a STUPENDOUS idea if you involve others in the process.

The dictatorial and Dickensian boss who hands down orders, rather than floating ideas, misses out on so much talented input that he, or she, deserves to fail. The best bosses understand that hiring people who are BETTER than they are, particularly in certain skill areas, is a sign, not of weakness, but of STRENGTH. And there is NO LIMIT to what you or you company can do if you don't care who gets the credit.

RULE NUMBER NINE

Is about managing your team. It is a simple but enormously powerful rule:

A good manager must KEEP ON, KEEPING ON.

In other words: Saying it once, doesn't make it happen. Even circulating it once in a written memo doesn't ensure that it is always going to happen in the future. People come and go. People forget.

So a good manager must keep on, keeping on.

Have written guidelines. In my own company every new employee gets a document called "The Welcome Pack". It talks about our history; it deals with mundane issues like not sticking things on walls with adhesive tape or Blue Tack. It deals with easily forgotten rules like how to drive sign-written company cars. It even deals with interpersonal relationship issues and how people should deal with disputes.

How many times have you been in a shop or other business environment when someone has received a dressing down in front of you. It embarrasses and de-motivates them, and worse, it embarrasses the customer.

And finally, to . . . RULE NUMBER TEN

What is the measure of success. How do you know when you are there? Is it to have more than 9 employees? Is it when you have a seven figure turnover or a six figure profit?

The answer, or course, is infinite. But it still depends on Rule Number Ten to guide you. And rule Number Ten distils down to just five words.

BE ALL YOU CAN BE.

The same theme was expressed by Robert Louis Stevenson, in 20 words, when he said: "To be what we are, and to become what we are capable of becoming, is the only end of life."

Even more eloquently, Abraham Lincoln used just four more words, but had the same basic message. He said: "I do the very best I know how - the very best I can; and I mean to keep on doing so until the end."

So now let me summarise.

Rule 1

If we don't take care of the customer . . . somebody else will.

Rule 2

We never get a second chance to make a good FIRST impression.

Rule 3

Good enough, never is.

Rule 4

Quality remains long after the price is forgotten.

Rule 5

While never promising more than we can deliver, always AIM to give the customer slightly MORE than they expect to receive.

Rule 6

Success or failure is usually determined on the drawing board.

Rule 7

Prioritise your time. Include your family.

Rule 8

Great discoveries and achievements invariably involve the cooperation of many minds.

Rule 9

A good manager must KEEP ON, KEEPING ON.

Rule 10

BE ALL YOU CAN BE.

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Ruben Schattevoy

- Golden Rules -

There are two rules for success in life:

Rule #1: Don't tell people everything you know.

Rule #2:

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July 10, 2000 A Subcontractor's Rules for Success

When the U.S. Small Business Administration named SBS Technologies Inc. its Small Business Subcontractor of the Year in the Southwest, the agency cited the company's technological achievements. But if you ask SBS, its success comes more from good customer service than from technical prowess.

"If you're going to play in the game, you've got to be quick and responsive," says Rich Wade, general manager of SBS's Avionics Products Division. "In any world, I think that earns respect."

Raytheon Company's Electronic Systems division, one of SBS's biggest clients, nominated the Albuquerque, N.M., company for the award. Not only did Raytheon support its nomination with SBS's embedded computer solutions, it raved about the company's high degree of service.

"The technical achievements and dedication to customer service demonstrated by SBS Technologies are great examples of the vital contribution that small businesses make to our nation's economy and technological stability," said Stephen Ogg, director of supply chain management at Raytheon, when the award was announced.

SBS hit the market in 1986 as a manufacturer of flight simulators. In order to simulate various parts of the aircraft, SBS needed an embedded computer to enable those parts to communicate. When it couldn't find any products to fit its needs, SBS developed its own embedded computer. The solution quickly attracted attention

and orders

from defense contractors. The company eventually sold off its flight simulator businessToday, SBS provides embedded computer solutions to the defense and telecommunications industries. Its clients include Raytheon, Boeing, NASA, Lockheed Martin, Kodak, GE, Lucent and Ericsson. Its products can be found in virtually every military aircraft, as well as the Space Shuttle. SBS's revenues grew from $16.2 million in 1995 to $106 million today; its employee base grew from 114 in 1996 to just over 500 today.

But having a great product is only half the battle. Wade attributes his success to a few key factors that he says can be applied to virtually any company. They are:

Make sure your product fills a need. "Know your market very well," says Wade. "Enter with a product that is going to make sense in your market."

Be responsive to customer needs. "Even if your product isn't necessarily better than the other guys, I think a key point is the attitude of your company in terms of responsiveness," says Wade. "There are markets we've entered where the incumbent is slow. It will take them a week to get a quote. It's important to get your quote out in a matter of minutes, and to have somebody who can answer customers' questions."

Work from the bottom up. "We aim at the bottom level, engineer to engineer," says Wade. "We weren't in the program office talking to the vice president. We earned the respect of the engineers who have to do the job. Once we earned the confidence of the key engineers on a given program, they were in there pushing our products and solutions. They were our best salesmen."

Give guarantees. "We guarantee a successful integration, even if that means we go on site on our dime and make sure the system works," says Wade. "That commitment is what gave people a lot of confidence in us. They know that whether the problem is our fault or theirs, we will solve it."

Deliver the goods. "Do what you say," insists Wade. "And if you can't do it, don't say you can."

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Trading Rules

Do not be a Tradaholic.

You trade to make money--not for fun & games or to escape boredom.

Never add to a bad trade.

Once you have a profit on a trade, never let it become a loss.

NO HOPING - NO WISHING - NO WOULD'VE - NO PRAYING - NO OPINIONS - NO SHOULD'VE.

Don't be a one-way trader be flexible.

Know your risk on each trade. Trade with stops.

Look for a 3-1 profit objective.

When initiating a trade, always get your price.

When liquidating a bad trade, always use a market order.

A scratch trade is a "winner."

Make ten points on a million trades not a million points on ten trades.

Learn from your own mistakes.

Have a plan. Trade it. Monitor it.

3 Losing Trades in a Row Rule. Stop! Take a break.

DISCIPLINE! 90% of the public lose without it.

Pay attention to weekly lows and highs.

"Guru" software systems make money for the sales rep. Develop your own approach.

Understand spreading and options.

Technicals and fundamentals are equally important.

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Not much need for an introduction, explanation or commentary.

The basics ...

Rule #1 Commit to your business. Believe in it more than anything else. If you love your work, you'll be out there every day trying to do the best you can, and pretty soon everybody around will catch the passion from you - like a fever.

Rule #2 Share your profits with all your associates, and treat them as partners. In turn, they will treat you as a partner, and together you will all perform beyond your wildest expectations.

Rule #3 Motivate your partners. Money and ownership aren't enough. Set high goals, encourage competition and then keep score. Make bets with outrageous payoffs.

Rule #4 Communicate everything you possibly can to your partners. The more they know, the more they'll understand. The more they understand, the more they'll care. Once they care, there's no stopping them. Information is power, and the gain you get from empowering your associates more than offsets the risk of informing your competitors.

Rule #5 Appreciate everything your associates do for the business. Nothing else can quite substitute for a few well-chosen, well-timed, sincere words of praise. They're absolutely free and worth a fortune.

Rule #6 Celebrate your success and find humour in your failures. Don't take yourself so seriously. Loosen up and everyone around you will loosen up. Have fun and always show enthusiasm. When all else fails put on a costume and sing a silly song.

Rule #7 Listen to everyone in your company, and figure out ways to get them talking. The folks on the front line - the ones who actually talk to customers - are the only ones who really know what's going on out there. You'd better find out what they know.

Rule #8 Exceed your customer's expectations. If you do they'll come back over and over. Give them what they want - and a little more. Let them know you appreciate them. Make good on all your mistakes, and don't make excuses - apologize. Stand behind everything you do. 'Satisfaction guaranteed' will make all the difference.

Rule #9 Control your expenses better than your competition. This is where you can always find the competitive advantage. You can make a lot of mistakes and still recover if you run an efficient operation. Or you can be brilliant and still go out of business if you're too inefficient.

Rule #10 Swim upstream. Go the other way. Ignore the conventional wisdom. If everybody is doing it one way, there's a good chance you can find your niche by going exactly in the opposite direction.

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The Success Prayer

God, Grant Me The Wisdom Of Your Will. Give Me The Courage, The Motivation And The Inspiration To Pursue It.

Make My Life An Example Of The Blessings Of Your Favor !

Rules & Truths For Success In Life & Money

" ...A truth known is not known. A truth owned is a truth utilized, this is true knowing, this is wisdom..."

"...Truth is wasted upon all of those who do not live by that truth daily..."

"...Of what use is a tool if not put into the hand and used for it's intended purpose?"

- Ladd A. Webber IV

The Basics

1. Total honesty and integrity, no gray areas.

51. The Law of Momentum, as it applies to success, states that if you are moving in a given direction, you will tend to continue in the same direction.

52. Failure cannot cope with persistence.

53. The Law of Continuous Improvement states that even small and regular improvements will result in geometric levels of growth.

54.The Law of "Process Control": Specific directed action is required to bring about the desired results in a given situation. PMA does not bring results by itself.

55. The Law of Reality: You must recognize when a problem exists. Assess that your plan is sound and worth pursuing, upon honest appraisal, correct your plan. Believing that everything will work doesn't make it so.

56.The Law of Mental Control: Your mind is the only thing over which God has given you complete unchallenged control. Control of the mind is the only means of mastering self and achieving success. (see rule 28)

57. Be creative. Adapt and apply innovative techniques from outside your specific field.

58. Think before you act. There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.

Copyright (c) 2000 by Steve Mays, Randy

1 Be an opportunist

2 Bet against the crowd. You'll never make money if you follow like a sheep

3 Never lose the ability to persist. Persistence always wins in the end

4 Focus clearly and ask yourself what you want to achieve. Ask yourself "Where do I see myself in five years' time, following the path I am now?

5 Communicate with and motivate your staff. "Manage by wandering around" as Tom Peters would say.

Top 7 Tips For Proven Success: Guest Top7Business Contributor: Bill Seavey

Take inventory of your life. No matter where you are right now, you are there because of choices made, your choices, unless you let someone else do it for you. Be a product of your own decisions. Accept where you are but do not be satisfied with it. There are much higher grounds for you and I.

Accept no second best for yourself or your family. As a wonderful creation of God, you do not accept any place other than top of the line, top of the shelf, blue ribbon, and the winners circle. You are not a second rate citizen!

Make up your mind what you are going to do and do it. Procrastination is a killer of success seeds. You were born to be a winner! Be so by applying sound principles of success for your life every day. Every day is a class room experience. To let a day pass without growth means you have let some weeds grow. Get to weeding!

Have a plan! Do nothing until you have a sound plan for your goals and then implement it. A plan is not a wish, I hope so, I guess so. It is a sound written out plan, step by step, that gets you from point A to B. Do not circumvent any of the steps.

Stand on what you believe. Be prepared to defend what you believe as long as it is morally right for all concerned. Everything else, in the long run, will back fire.

Accept where you are and start from there. Don't wait. Don't rely on others. Be a product of your own thoughts, others help and advice, and what you know to be good. Do not reply on feelings. A "feel good" is not a plan.

Get busy with your plans and goals today. Write every day, the plans for your life. Keep on looking for new plateaus in life. Continue to grow. Let yourself be stretched to the maximum. You will never be stretched beyond your capabilities. Never be satisfied with today. But remember that no man can pull himself up by his own bootstraps.

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Older women make better lovers An older woman will never wake you up in the middle of the night and ask you, "What are you thinking?" An older woman doesn't care what you think. An older woman is a cheaper date. A younger woman will cost you 12 beers, but an older woman will sleep with you after a cup of herbal tea. An older woman can wear bright red lipstick during the day without looking like she just had an adventure inside a jam jar. Older women can run faster because they're always wearing sensible shoes. An older woman is almost always already attached to someone, so there's no need to develop a phobia about committing to her. The last thing she needs in her life is another clingy, whiny, dependent man. Older women are more honest. An older woman will tell you that you are a jerk if you're acting like one. A young woman will say nothing, fearing you might get mad and break up with her. An older woman always carries a condom in her purse. A younger woman is still hoping the guy might have one on him. An older woman will never get pregnant, then suddenly demand that the two of you get married. In fact, if you impregnate an older woman, you will probably be the last to know. Older women have jobs with dental plans. Younger women can't help you when your teeth get knocked out playing hockey. Older women take charge of the situation. An older woman will call you up and ask you for a date. A younger woman will wait forever by the phone for you to call. An older woman will agree to go to McDonald's with you for a meal. Younger women are too nervous to eat anything in front of somebody whom they might boff later. Older women know how to cook. Young women know how to dial Pizza Hut take out. Older women are psychic. You never have to confess to having an affair, because somehow they always know. Older women often own an interesting collection of lingerie that they have acquired from admirers over the years. Young women often don't wear underpants at all, thus practically eliminating all possibility of a striptease. Older women know what Kegel exercises are. Older women are dignified. They are beyond having a screaming match with you in the middle of the night in a public park. Older women are experienced. They understand that sometimes, after 12 beers, a guy just can't get it up. A younger woman may need some time to grasp this fact. An older woman will introduce you to all of her girlfriends. A younger woman will avoid her girlfriends when she's with you, in case you get any ideas... An older woman has lots of girlfriends ... and most of them will want to screw you too. An older woman will always meet the minimum height requirement to go on an amusement ride. An older woman will never accuse you of stealing the best years of her youth because chances are someone else has stolen them first. An older woman will never accuse you of using her. She's using you.