Bob Parson's 16 Rules for Success in Business & Life In General

1. Get and stay out of your comfort zone.
I believe that not much happens of any significance when we're in our comfort zone. I hear people say, "But I'm concerned about security." My response to that is simple: "Security is for cadavers."

2. Never give up.
Almost nothing works the first time it's attempted. Just because what you're doing does not seem to be working, doesn't mean it won't work. It just means that it might not work the way you're doing it. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it, and you wouldn't have an opportunity.

3. When you’re ready to quit, you’re closer than you think.
There's an old Chinese saying that I just love, and I believe it is so true. It goes like this: "The temptation to quit will be greatest just before you are about to succeed."

4. With regard to whatever worries you, not only accept the worst thing that could happen, but make it a point to quantify what the worst thing could be.
Very seldom will the worst consequence be anywhere near as bad as a cloud of "undefined consequences." My father would tell me early on, when I was struggling and losing my shirt trying to get Parsons Technology going, "Well, Robert, if it doesn't work, they can't eat you."

5. Focus on what you want to have happen.
Remember that old saying, "As you think, so shall you be."

6. Take things a day at a time.
No matter how difficult your situation is, you can get through it if you don't look too far into the future, and focus on the present moment. You can get through anything one day at a time.

7. Always be moving forward.
Never stop investing. Never stop improving. Never stop doing something new. The moment you stop improving your organization, it starts to die. Make it your goal to be better each and every day, in some small way. Remember the Japanese concept of Kaizen. Small daily improvements eventually result in huge advantages.

8. Be quick to decide.
Remember what General George S. Patton said: "A good plan violently executed today is far and away better than a perfect plan tomorrow."

9. Measure everything of significance.
I swear this is true. Anything that is measured and watched, improves.

10. Anything that is not managed will deteriorate.
If you want to uncover problems you don't know about, take a few moments and look closely at the areas you haven't examined for a while. I guarantee you problems will be there.

11. Pay attention to your competitors, but pay more attention to what you’re doing.
When you look at your competitors, remember that everything looks perfect at a distance. Even the planet Earth, if you get far enough into space, looks like a peaceful place.

12. Never let anybody push you around.
In our society, with our laws and even playing field, you have just as much right to what you're doing as anyone else, provided that what you're doing is legal.

13. Never expect life to be fair.
Life isn't fair. You make your own breaks. You'll be doing good if the only meaning fair has to you, is something that you pay when you get on a bus (i.e., fare).

14. Solve your own problems.
You'll find that by coming up with your own solutions, you'll develop a competitive edge. Masura Ibuka, the co-founder of SONY, said it best: "You never succeed in technology, business, or anything by following the others." There's also an old Asian saying that I remind myself of frequently. It goes like this: "A wise man keeps his own counsel."

15. Don’t take yourself too seriously.
Lighten up. Often, at least half of what we accomplish is due to luck. None of us are in control as much as we like to think we are.

16. There’s always a reason to smile.
Find it. After all, you're really lucky just to be alive. Life is short. More and more, I agree with my little brother. He always reminds me: “We’re not here for a long time, we’re here for a good time!”

Copyright © 2005-2007 Bob Parsons. All rights reserved.

Law of Attraction: Visualize Yourself Winning

I was at a seafood festival yesterday. Out of the four aisles of stands, one aisle was especially set up for brands to market their products. Geico had a stand set up and was giving typical event marketing prizes such as caps, t-shirts, mugs, and bags. They had this game board set up like Plinko on the Price Is Right. The contestant drops a ball, the ball hits a few pegs during the five foot drop, and then ends up at the bottom in one of five slots. There were five slots with labels: cap, mug, t-shirt, bag, and mystery prize. There were about seven contestants in front of me winning caps, t-shirts, and mugs. I was curious to know what the mystery prize was because no one was winning it. I began to visualize myself winning the mystery prize. I imagined the ball hitting pegs as it descended down the five foot board and then eventually landing on the mystery prize slot. When my turn came up, guess which prize I won. . .

Law of Attraction: I MUST VS. I SHOULD

When you know something needs to get done and you speak to yourself out loud (we all do), how many times do you say "I Should..." vs "I Must... "? If you are most people, you probably say "I Should..." 9 out of 10 times.

When I was in college (not too long ago), my study habits were not the best. Two weeks before an exam, I would tell myself daily, "I should really start studying soon." This would go on until the night before an exam when I really had no choice but to study. That night, my "should" turned to "must". I had no choice. When we say "should" we give ourselves the choice to be lazy and not do anything. Imagine what we could accomplish if we were in the "I Must do this" state of mind all the time.

How many times have you said "I Should lose weight?" Have you accomplished your goal? Try saying "I must lose weight," "I must eat less", "I must excercise". Then follow through with what you say.

Don't Think, Don't Try, Just Do! - I love Nike's logo, "Just Do It".

For many people, we have to overcome intertia to get anythig done. For me, I want to lose weight, but I have trouble convincing myself to get on the elliptical machine. However, once I finally make the decision to get on the machine, it's ok. I notice that during those times when I have trouble convincing myself to get on the elliptical machine, there usually is a battle going on in my mind. Part of me is saying, "Anna, you need to do this! GO EXCERCISE." The other part of me is saying, "wow this chair feels sooo comfortable, why do you want to move? You can excercise later on!" Then of course, "later on" I will create an excuse not to excercise.

When I have the "Just Do It" mindset, it's great. I usually focus on one process at a time. For instance, I'll focus on putting on my socks and shoes first. Then I'll put on the work out clothing, then I'll focus on working out just 5 minutes. Then, i'll focus on another five minutes. Before I know it, I have completed a 30 minute workout.

I love the saying, "Dont think, dont try, just do" as well as Nike's "Just Do It". If I took the time spent over the past year thinking about excercising and just excerised I probably would have lost 20 pounds by now!!

This Law of Attraction Stuff Really Does Work, Seriously!

I received a call yesterday from my younger sister Amanda who is in her last year at Boston University. The first thing she said was, “Anna, Anna, OMG, this Law of Attraction stuff really does work, seriously!” My sister is the least positive person in our family and when she is in the room, sometimes you can feel the tension when she is not having a “good day,” which in the past, used to be quite often. Three months ago, she was visiting me one weekend and I said to her, “YOU MUST watch The Secret before you go back to Boston.” Ever since Amanda was introduced to the Law of Attraction, I have noticed a change.

Anyway, Amanda was telling me that she was going to meet up with her friend Melissa for coffee at Starbucks. Melissa thought they were going to meet up there but my sister thought that Melissa was going to pick her up at her apartment in Allston, which is just outside of Boston. Melissa, who doesn’t like to drive in Boston and Allston, became annoyed and when Melissa finally got to Amanda’s apartment to pick her up, Melissa said, “I hate driving around in Allston because people are careless and the last time I was here, someone bumped my car.” Literally after she said that, someone bumped her car. The driver, this Asian woman in her late 20’s, drove by the left side of Melissa’s car, waved with a smile, and then sped off. Melissa became angrier. Then, they were heading back towards Boston and Melissa said, “I hate it here, there is always a lot of traffic.” You know, I’ve been to Allston quite a few times and traffic is not so bad. However, Amanda told me that day that there was a lot of traffic and it was perhaps because Melissa was thinking those thoughts.

Amanda and Melissa decided not to go to Starbucks and instead eat out in downtown Boston. Amanda suggested to head down this tiny one way street by the Boston Commons to see if they could find parking. Melissa said, “There is never parking there, why are we evening bothering?” Amanda said, “You never know, let’s try anyway.” Amanda then started to think positive thoughts and started to create visions in her head of a free parking spot. When they went down the tiny one way street, they found a parking spot.