1. The Donkey and the Tiger

Have you ever had an argument with someone who will never admit that he’s wrong despite the facts being in you favor? Here’s how to win that argument:

The donkey told the tiger: “The grass is blue.”

The tiger replied: “No, the grass is green.”

The discussion became heated and the two decided to submit the issue to the lion, king of the Jungle.

Before reaching the clearing in the forest where the lion was sitting on his throne, the donkey started braying “Your Highness, is it true that grass is blue?”

The lion replied “True, the grass is blue.”

The donkey rushed forward and continued “The tiger disagrees with me and contradicts me and annoys me please punish him.”

The king then declared “The tiger will be punished with 5 years of silence.”

The donkey jumped for joy and went on his way, content and repeating “The grass is blue…”

The tiger accepted his punishment, but he asked the lion: “Your majesty, why have you punished me, after all, the grass is green?”

The lion replied, “In fact, the grass is green.”

The tiger asked, “So why do you punish me?”

The lion replied “The punishment has nothing to do with the question of whether the grass is blue or green. The punishment is because you, a brave, intelligent creature, waste time arguing with a donkey, and then come and bother me with a silly question.”

The moral of the story is, teach those who are willing to learn, rather than bickering with those who aren’t.

2. Dad’s story

What’s the best unusual business advice you received?

My dad was in India on a business trip. He’s not the type of guy that likes being cared for. He likes to take care of his own stuff. He ironed his own shirt.

His room host came into his room, completely dismayed (almost to the point of tears) that my dad had ironed his own shirt. He told him not to do that again. My dad thought it was odd. He was just trying to make the host’s job easier!

He had a driver while he was there. This man took him everywhere. He sometimes even waited for him during his meetings in the hot car. The level of service was rare.

My dad said, “You don’t have to wait on me like these, please! You should go be with your family while I am in my meeting. I will call you when it’s done. I don’t mind the wait.

“Do not worry, Mr. Muir. I have a maid, a groundskeeper, and a babysitter. They are well taken care of.”

“But if you took the time to head over there during my meeting, you wouldn’t have to pay them and you could save a ton of money!”

“My job is a blessing. With what I am given, it’s my responsibility to create work for others. This way I focus on what I do best, and they focus on what they do best, and everyone prospers”

It’s not dishonorable to pay others to do work for you. Work is a blessing.

I’m a software salesman. That’s what I do best. I create more value in the world while I’m selling software, not mowing my lawn. So I pay someone to mow my lawn.

Win for the kids who take care of my yard, win for me, win for my company.

It is a noble action to create opportunity for others

Excerpt by Zac Muir

3. The unique mindset of an Entrepreneur

Nearly all entrepreneurs can relate to this.

“Dad, please take me to the shopping mall. I need to buy a couple of gifts” my daughter said.

“No” I immediately answered.

“Please, Dad! I really need to buy these Christmas gifts today.”

She has that magical smile that I can’t resist and gets me every time. “Okay, do it quickly,” I relented.

We got to the store. While my daughter searched for gifts, my mind was working. I do this instinctively. I remember how I was carefully watching her reaction to each item she showed some interest in.

“Look, Dad. My friend would love this” she said showing me some items.

I observed and asked questions.

“What are you doing, Dad?” my daughter asked while I was taking pictures of this product.

“I’m studying” I said.

“Oh, come on, Dad. Seriously, why are you taking pictures?”

“I’m learning” I said.

“What are you learning?”

“I’m curiously trying to understand why women buy this for $29 dollars”

I couldn’t believe the price of this “pillow spray.”

My wife says I’m always documenting everything and loves to make fun of me. She just doesn’t understand me.

Wherever I go, I instinctively observe everything. That’s the way I learn and identify opportunities.

• I’m always analyzing businesses around me. I like to understand how things work. It’s a subconscious action. It happens naturally.
• Very commonly, when I walk into a restaurant or business, I will observe and analyze how many employees work there, and what are the roles of each employee. I try to estimate the potential sales of the business to measure their success.
• Sometimes I pose questions to the employees so I can make my assessment. I do this just to feed my brain. (I know … It’s crazy)
• I will analyze how things could be done better, identify efficiencies, and their biggest problems.
• I ask myself, “What can I sell them?”
• Franchise expos are like brain candy for me because I can analyze their business models and understand how they do business.
• I’ll try to see ahead and predict results.

All this happens without effort and in a matter of minutes — even while I’m doing something else.

I guess this is a similar experience of a chef walking into a supermarket; all their instincts immediately turn on and start creating their next culinary experience.

Excerpt from Hector

4. The journey of an entrepreneur

Matt Rosenthal grew up poor in New Jersey, and tried over a dozen jobs trying to find a career to plug his passion for serving others.

He drove a truck for two and a half years for fourteen hours a day, worked for a roofing company, a gutter installation company, a cellphone store, drove a forklift, and the list goes on.

He eventually found an opportunity in the cyber-security & IT space where he now runs a successful 7-figure business by the name of Mindcore.

In an interview, Matt was asked how long it took him to find himself and figure out what he wanted to do.

Matt explained that he was in that search period pretty much from age 12 until age 46. He says those years were required for his current success because of the invaluable lessons and experiences he went through.

Jumping from job to job, Matt didn’t really know what he was looking for, but he just knew he wanted to do something that was in service to others.

It’s not becoming a millionaire that’s important. It’s the person that you must become in order to become a millionaire. Be patient, time is a multiplier.

Full interview here

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