The Brilliant Unemployed Kid Who Is About to be Very Successful

This is a lesson for every young person, or any person for that matter, who is looking for a job. This is also a good lesson for someone who has a job and wants to make sure they keep it. This is a true story.


I am always amazed at how little people prepare themselves for the task at hand. I've written many times before on this very blog that "80% of success is in preparation." This is so true.


Want to have that perfect sales presentation? Do a few (maybe several) "run through" practices by yourself. Know the material. Make no mistakes. Everyone knows this but few actually do it.


Want to "Wow!" that potential client? Do some research on who that client is and what they are about. If the client or contract is so important then you can surely spend at least an hour on their web site and know what they are thinking, their company policies and what their motto is. This is obvious but few actually do it.


Want to have that perfect vacation with that special someone and not have it messed up by bad weather? Doh! Go onto the Internet and make sure you are not going there during monsoon season. This doesn't need a remark from me. It's your vacation, you want it to be lousy because you were lazy? Be my guest.


Like I said, 80% of success is preparation.


Yesterday, I met a young man who was unemployed but is surely destined to succeed. I seriously doubt that, 24 hours later, he is unemployed now. How do I deduce this?


Here's what happened. We were walking to the bus stop to take a bus ride down to the shopping center. As we walked to the bus stop there was a young man (I'd guess about 18-years-old), who was well groomed and dressed, reading from a card. As he was reading, he would close his eyes and recite out loud the material he was studying. At first, I thought he was practicing for a play by this method in order to memorize his lines.


He was so involved in his recital that he didn't notice us and he backed up and bumped into my wife. In very humble and polite fashion he said, "Oh! Pardon me! I'm very sorry." (Extreme politeness and sincerity always scores points - something most young people today seem unable to do).


When the bus came, we all boarded and the young man did too. He sat next to me still intently studying the material he was holding in his hand. There I saw he wasn't reading a script from a play, he was memorizing a restaurant menu!


I surmised that he was memorizing the menu as he was starting work at that restaurant that day. My curiosity got the best of me and I interrupted him. I congratulated him on starting a new job and he floored me when he said,


"Oh, I haven't gotten the job yet. I am going on a job interview at this restaurant. I just thought it would be good for me to know the restaurant's  menu by heart."


Brilliant! Of course it would. And it just shows dedication that is a rarity in these days. Would you want to show up at this interview unprepared competing for the same job as this guy and you haven't a clue as to this restaurant's fare?


I'll bet you a dollar that this young man had also investigated on the Internet this restaurants background, history and policies.


With his sincerity, politeness and dedication, I'd be stunned if he didn't land that job. But with this kind of work ethic, even if he didn't, he will do well. Perhaps the restaurant management may not recognize the ability, effort and talent this young man possessed. But, if he keeps it up, someone soon will.


People like this guy are destined for good things. How could he not be? Just look at his competition.


As an aside, the night before I went to a bar. At that establishment the waitresses greeted us and asked me and my friend if we would like a drink. I asked for a draft beer. She said, "What kind?" I answered, "What kind do you have?" She didn't know.


She then went through the same routine with my friend over wines. She didn't know what wines they served either. Finally she said she'd call another waiter.


She then proceeded to walk away and stand at the bar without bothering to look at the menu to inquire what was on it. Gee, how long would it take to memorize the 3 or four draft beers or table wines this restaurant served? 


And if she did a good job, you think she'd get better tips?.... Nah! Tips? If you are a waitress, why bother? (Sarcasm notice!) 


Just this one episode shows me that this girl is clueless and has a very poor work ethic. 


Useless. Do you think she'll ever get a pay raise or move up to a better paying job? Not with this work ethic she won't.


How can people dream about getting a good job or even becoming rich when they won't even make the effort to become minimally informed about their business.

Image of a professional

Take this young man's example and reject this example of the young waitress. If you want to get ahead, do some preparation.


It kind of reminds me of a comic I once saw. In the comic, two guys were being chased by a Tyrannosaurus Rex dinosaur about to eat them. One guy said, "We have to outrun the dinosaur."


The other guy replied, "No, we don't have to outrun the dinosaur. I just have to outrun you."

As Japan's Nuke Troubles Deflate, So Does a Japan Blogger

The sub-title of this blog should be: "As people lose interest in Japan's nuclear problems, bloggers on Japan lose readers."

THE TEMPTATIONS - AM I LOSING YOU?

I think all of us bloggers on Japan now have much deflated egos. I know I do. I have to admit it. I'm no longer flying high. I was a hot-shot blogger but now, to borrow a phrase from George Foreman, I am a "po" blogger. I am such a "po" blogger that I can't even afford to add the "or" at the end of "po." I am not a "poor" blogger. I am a "po" blogger. 


I was all proud of myself during the "hey-day" of the nuclear crisis in Japan as this blog was getting anywhere between 4,000 ~ 6,000 readers a day, on average, for about a month there (my current record is 8,418 readers in one day!). Those numbers, now, have dropped to about 1,500 ~ 1,800 readers a day. I can get over 2,000 ~2,200 if I blog three times a day like I used too, but, as people slowly return to work, along with the rest of Japan, who has time for that?


I guess my numbers are still pretty good for a blog that is barely one-year old, but, after those skyrocketing numbers, it is a bit of a downer.


This reminds me of how it used to be in Japan when I first came here in the early 1980's. There were very few foreigners here. Foreign guys were extremely popular amongst Japanese women. You would see these shockingly beautiful Japanese women hanging onto dorky looking foreign guys everywhere. You didn't think, "Why is that gorgeous goddess hanging out with that stupid-looking guy?" back then because you, too, had your own 4 or 5 awesome babes hanging around your neck! 


If you were a foreign guy in Japan in the 1980's, Japan was like dying and going to guy heaven.


Those days are long past. Foreign men are no longer anything special and now you see dorky looking foreigners hanging out with plain looking (albeit nice) Japanese girls. You still see the awesome women, but they are back to reality and are hanging out, for the most part, with rich guys (in Japan that means rich Japanese - funny that!)


Oh, those were the days!... But I digress... This blog is about the waning popularity of English language blogs on Japan. I suppose the English language blogs on Japan that were mainly tech and gadget orientated have not felt any drop in readership, yet I would imagine the earthquake, tsunami and subsequent nuclear accident didn't really jump their readership, but I could be mistaken. 


I 'm talking about the drop in readership to blogs about Japan that are culturally, economically or politically focused have all seen recent drops in interest. I'm sure that I am not the only blogger on Japan that is experiencing this drop in readership. 


That brings me to the real purpose of this blog post. Actually, I am writing this blog post for bloggers, like me, who have seen their numbers drop, or fail to rise as expected, whether they are in Japan or not or blogging about Japan or not. 


Fellow bloggers who do not see quickly great fruits of their works do not despair! Keep up the blogging and keep up the good work! 


As for myself, I am inspired by Mike "Mish" Shedlock. Mish has been blogging since 2005 at Global Economic Analysis. He tells me that he now gets about 1.8 million readers per month. That's wonderful but realize that he's been doing it for nearly seven years! So just because your numbers haven't climbed greatly in a year or two of blogging, don't give up! 


This is not an overnight success job.


I've been blogging since 2004, but not at my own site. I blogged at Lew Rockwell (LRC) and a few other sites until last year. I still submit to LRC. In 2006, Lew told me that one article I wrote in 2005 was the second most popular post on his blog for that entire year and that I had received over 1.5 million views. That article was entitled America is Bankrupt. You can read it here: http://www.lewrockwell.com/rogers/rogers171.html  When I wrote that article, I was bombed with criticism from hundreds of people. No one criticizes me for that anymore. 


I didn't write that post to be popular, I wrote it because I wanted to tell people what I thought.


Don't forget, bloggers, to ask yourself, who do we do this labor of love for? It's not for other people. It's for ourselves. It's because this is what we want to say. 


You don't need to send out notices to people on Twitter and Facebook that say, "Please read my blog!" or "Please follow my blog!" You only need to keep writing those posts and then letting people know the subject matter. If what you write is good and you have a policy and are focused, then they will come. If you are consistent, they will follow.


Also, don't be ashamed of low readership! Be proud of what you are doing! I think everyone needs to put a visitor counter on their blog or web page if they can. If you don't put a counter on your blog, it seems that you are hiding a possible embarrassment over low readership numbers! Being embarrassed about something like that is not cool! It's like worrying too much about what the neighbors might think. Don't do it.


Like the hilarious remarks by Ian Faith in the classic movie, "Spinal Tap" your attitude shouldn't be that your popularity is low, your attitude should be that your popularity is becoming more "selective." After all, you only want the beautiful, intelligent, cool people reading your blog, right?

"Oh, no, no. I don't think the band's popularity is waning, 

I think their appeal is becoming more selective." 

- Ian Faith from Spinal Tap

So be proud of your audience and place that counter on your blog!


I am also reminded about my youth and playing in a Punk band. One time we played at a place called Madame Wong's in Los Angeles with Black Flag and Fear. All the bands expected a massive turnout. I thought we'd have at least 300 people there. Nope! I think there were only 8 customers.


My band's set was sh*tty and uninspired because of this. Black Flag's set was awesome! After the show I asked one of the members of Black Flag about it and he told me, "It doesn't matter if you are playing in front of 3 people or 300 people, you go out there and give it 10,000%!" Wow! He's right. Spoken like a true professional.


That was the difference between Black Flag and my band. They played their hearts out every time, like professionals, regardless of the crowd. My band's performance was influenced by outside factors beyond our control.


Bloggers! Do not be influenced by outside factors! Write your hearts out. Give it your all. Remember that blogging is not something you do for three months and then get thousands of readers! Think about getting a few thousand readers a day after two or three years solid effort. That's the way to approach the very rewarding effort of blogging.


Inspire and they will come. 

Pocket Notebooks: The Secret of Millionaires and People Won't Listen!?

I've read so many success books written by millionaires. These books about becoming a millionaire all say the same thing (basically): Hang around millionaires and successful people and copy what they do. 

ELVIS COSTELLO - EVERYDAY I WRITE THE BOOK

OK. I started doing that. I'm lucky, actually, I do have friends and work acquaintances who are millionaires. Five of them to be exact.


Five good friends who are all millionaires and they all do the very same thing. 


In Brian Tracey's best-selling book "Goals!" he talks about writing down your goals everyday. He says something like, "How can you be successful and how can you know where you are going without having your goals written down? Writing down your goals gives you a road map to where you want to go."


He also recommends carrying around a pocket-sized notebook. Pocket sized so that you can always have it with you in your pocket to write down your goals daily and things you think about or things so that you don't forget.


The notebook idea is also recommended by Napoleon Hill and Andrew Carnegie too (among others).


This notebook idea was recommended to me by some friends who started companies and built them into corporations that were listed on the Tokyo Stock Market and had earning in excess of $50 million dollars a year before they went public. Of course these guys earned millions when they sold their shares. 


One day, I was at a meeting with one of these friends. He and three others all pulled out their pocket notebooks. I pulled out my notebook pad from my briefcase. I was impressed that all three of them each had a pocket notebook.


After the meeting ended two of them left. My former boss looked up and said to me, "Why haven't you bought a pocket notebook like the kind that I recommended to you?" (He was also the guy who recommended the Goals! book and to read the Napoleon Hill and Carnegie books too.)

Been doing this now for over 4 years. It

really does work! Everything has come true!

Puzzled, I said, "I have a notebook!" I then showed him my B5 sized book.


He sighed and then said to me, "I gave you good advice. I know that you've read this same advice in the books I told you to read. You've been to meetings with me in front of other extremely successful people. Now why in the world do you not take such good advice because of ¥100 (about $1.00)?"


That hit me like a bullet right between the eyes. 


He was right. Here was a millionaire giving me advice. I had read in several books how millionaires all had pocket notebooks. Yet I didn't do it. Why didn't I do it? I don't know, when I stopped to think about it. From the way he said it, it sounded like I was too cheap to use ¥100 to take the advice of millionaires.


I was an idiot. When you think about it like this, then it is complete stupidity not to have a pocket notebook like these people. Imagine what it must have looked like to them when they all pulled out a pocket notebook and I opened up a book that was the size that elementary school kids use. Yes, I was an idiot. 


Not anymore.


I started using a pocket notebook about 4 years ago. I write down my Top 10 goals everyday like clock-work. I also always keep it in my back pocket and pull it out whenever I need it and write things down. I never forget anything anymore.


Now I see people who never take notes at meetings and do not have a pocket notebook. You can imagine what I think now.


I have written before about the value of writing your goals down everyday in One Step to Becoming a Better Parent and More Successful in Life:

I write down my goals every day religiously in the morning when I wake up and, not only does doing so help me to achieve them, it also helps me to relax and stay much more focused through the day. Who doesn't want to stay more focused in this day and age when our "in-box" includes, for most people, several e-mail accounts that are constantly filling up as the day goes by and consistently altering our priorities? Add on an Internet world filled with Social Media like Facebook and Linkedin accounts to attend? Twitter is no longer for just sending messages to your friends, but it too, has been co-opted into the business world and your boss orders you to use them, or blogs and SNS, to get the company message out...

How in the world can anyone today get ahead of the pile in the "in-box"? Any person in their right mind would be stressed.

.....let me point out that writing down your goals and purposes is like having a sort of road map to where you want to go. When you write them down, they enter your subconsciousness and they cause your inner brain to focus upon the Law of Attraction. If you do not write down where you want to go — if you do not have a map — then how will you know where you are going?

All these millionaires and successful people have a pocket notebook and they write down their goals everyday in it. They keep their pocket notebook with them everyday, close-by in their pocket!


Excellent advice on how to get ahead by people who've done it. Now, when you think about it like that, what kind of idiot wouldn't take that kind of advice from millionaires for only a dollar?

Procrastinators, Go-Getters, Mistakes & Time Management

"Procrastination is one of the most common and deadliest of diseases and its toll on success and happiness is heavy" - Wayne Gretzky

FRED ASTAIRE - PUTTING ON THE RITZ

I love people who are positive, get things done and are go-getters. There's another type that I don't like. They irritate me.


They are the kind of people who pick up a pice of paper on their desk, look at it and put it down thinking, "I'll do it later." What a waste of time. Why don't they do it now and get it over with? 


Procrastinators. There's tons of them everywhere. Japan seems to have more than their fair share. These people are always too busy and never seem to get ahead at work.


They are busy because they procrastinate and put too many things off until later.


Most of us are guilty of procrastination at one time or another. The problem is that, it seems that 92% of the people procrastinate constantly. Of those people, at least 80% know that they procrastinate too much, yet they still do it.


That's really a crime. I mean, knowing that you are procrastinating; knowing that the procrastination is bad for you; yet you do it anyway. I think it is also a symptom of manic behavior when someone knowingly does something that will have a negative result, yet they proceed to do it anyway.

Just look at this! This places just looks like it reeks!

Does this photo say, "I'm successful" or "I procrastinate"?

We have to fight off this procrastination that attacks us during the day. It is so easy, when you see that pile of papers that need attention, or that desk that needs to be cleaned to put it off. You think, "I'll get to that later." The problem then becomes when you think, "I'll get to that later" several times in the day. Next thing you know is that your work load keeps piling up and so do your stress levels.


Being stressed out is not a good way to handle in a calm and patient, level-headed manner, important work. 


I suppose that there are two types of people at work; procrastinators and go-getters. I'll bet that they both make mistakes. In fact, considering that the go-getters are out making things happen, I'd wager that they might make more mistakes than the procrastinators. Procrastinators, because they procrastinate are always putting things off or awaiting orders on what to do and what to think. They never get ahead.


The go-getters might make more mistakes, but they make much more happen. With every mistake the Go-getter makes, they learn and grow. The procrastinator puts off this experience any chance they can get.


It seems obvious to me which type of person is more valuable to a company in this day and age. I'll take the go-getter over the procrastinator any day.


"I believe that life is constantly testing us for our level of commitment and life's greatest rewards are reserved for those who demonstrate a never-ending commitment to act until they achieve. This level of resolve can move mountains, but it must be constant and consistent. As simplistic as this may sound, it is still the common denominator separating those who live their dreams from those who live in regret." - Anthony Robbins