Rational Lies

Was on the phone with my friend Judy, who told me she was enjoying a cup of coffee. Nothing unusual there, except that she said it was a “huge” cup of coffee. “Why so huge” I asked. “Because” she explained, “My doctor allows me only one cup of coffee per day.” 🙂 Being that is…

No Trivial Arguments

I recently tweeted a quote from Napoleon Hill that he considered one of the “14 Secrets to Success” (from his book, The Magic Ladder to Success). The quote read: “I enter into no arguments with people over trivial matters.” It reminded me of a situation last week when I nearly allowed myself to fall into…

Oh, Those Basics

Whether in business, interpersonal relationships or sports, it’s the fundamentals; the basics, that will make or break you in terms of success. I thought about that this weekend as I watched my Florida Marlins lose their second two-out-of-three game series in a row, first to the Houston Astros, then to the Atlanta Braves. This after…

Standing Out

My friend, Patricia Fripp, built her fortune, first as an owner of salons, and then as a speaker and author, by living the following principle: “Don’t concentrate on making a lot of money, but rather on becoming the type of person people want to do business with.” “What!?” you may be asking. “But, Burg, you…

The Power of Third-Party Credibility

A quote by David H. Comins reads, “People will accept your ideas much more readily if you tell them Benjamin Franklin said it first.” Humorous, yes. And profound! Although I believe Mr. Comins was pointing out the universal respect people have to this day for the wisdom of Benjamin Franklin, his quote leads us to…