Before buying a home on the water, make certain the business plan can float. — YNOT! There is something particularly cruel about selling somebody a retirement dream and then giving them until two in the afternoon to pack it into a suitcase. A canceled … Continue readingThe Cruise to Nowhere… An Unfortunate Business Venture or a Ponzi Scheme?
The best way to save CNN may be to stop trying to save CNN as we know it. — YNOT! CNN does not need a new paint job. It does not need another slogan. It does not need another reshuffling of anchors, another executive with a … Continue readingHow I Would Fix CNN — Because It Needs Radical Surgery to Survive Anyway
CNN is not disappearing. What may be disappearing is the CNN we grew up with—built for the cable age, now being rebuilt for the age of streaming, algorithms, AI, and media empires. Change or die is always the lesson — YNOT! CNN is not going … Continue readingThe End of CNN as You Know It — What Is Happening?
If someone else controls your money, customers, suppliers, technology or ability to deliver, how much of the business do you truly own? — YNOT! How to Control What You Build, Create a Moat and Survive the Next Wave of Change Ask an entrepreneur who … Continue readingWho Really Owns Your Business?
Brightline may be a good railroad, a popular service and a terrible investment—all at the same time. — YNOT! Florida’s most impressive passenger train may be a transportation success trapped inside a financial disaster Brightline has accomplished something that many people said could not be … Continue readingCan Brightline Survive?
One thing you learn from cats is this: control the high ground. See first, decide first, and move before you are forced to move. Survival isn’t about size—it’s about awareness. — YNOT The older I get, the more I realize that cats understand something many … Continue readingControl the High Ground: What Cats Know That Most CEOs Don’t
The future is not being written by artificial intelligence. It is being written by people who know how to use it. — YNOT! Every few generations, a tool comes along that changes the rules of the game. The steam engine multiplied muscle. The tractor multiplied the … Continue readingThe Future of Work Belongs to People Who Master AI
The planners had theories. Joe had waffles. — YNOT! Every few years someone comes along and says, “Socialism will work this time.” Fine. Let’s run a little experiment. Take a Waffle House and turn it into a worker-owned collective in the glorious Socialist Communist … Continue readingThe People’s Waffle House
Diversifying is admitting you’re smart enough to invest… and humble enough to know you can still be wrong. –YNOT! Most people think wealth is built by a lone genius sitting in a garage with a laptop and caffeine addiction. That story gets told because it … Continue readingHow to Use Partnerships to Make Real Wealth
You mean you want me to jump over a shark? “Ayyyy!” – FONZIE The funny thing about famous phrases is this: they usually don’t sound important when they’re born. Nobody stands up and says, “Gentlemen, we are about to create a cultural landmark.” No, it … Continue readingWhere Did “Jump the Shark” Come From… and Why Did It Stick So Well?
“996 isn’t ambition — it’s your life rented to a spreadsheet, with the profits paid to someone else.” — YNOT! There are two kinds of people in this world: The ones who think “996” is a work schedule. The ones who have done it. … Continue readingIs 996 a Waste of Your Life Time?
“Clear thinking builds a plan. Flexible action wins the day.” — YNOT! Most businesses don’t fail because they lack effort. Most people don’t lose because they’re lazy. They lose because they inherited a script. A business model someone else built.A career path someone else approved.A … Continue reading🥋What If the Best Business Strategy Is to Have No Strategy at All? Burn the Playbook and Start From Zero
“Coulda, woulda, shoulda is how businesses explain failure after the market has already moved on.”– YNOT! For most of corporate history, finance/accounting has behaved like a historian with a calculator—brilliant at explaining what already went wrong, and strangely quiet about what’s coming next. If you … Continue readingWhat happens when Business Decide the Rearview Mirror is a Strategy
“It is always better to lose an opportunity than to lose capital. Opportunities return; capital does not. Smart planning and hedging allow you to seek growth without endangering survival.” — YNOT! When you learn to fly an airplane, one of the first things you’re taught—before … Continue readingFly With Glide Options: Why Every Leader Needs a Plan B
Defense keeps you from losing. It never makes you win. Cost-cutting alone won’t save a dying company. Playing not to fail is just a slower form of failure. At some point, you have to move first — launch, pivot, acquire, or walk away — and … Continue readingWinning in Business Is Not About Fancy Moves — It’s About Surviving the Chaos Long Enough to Win
When you slow your voice, the truth has room to breathe — and people have room to understand and they think you are smarter. — YNOT! Most people think communication is about talking. But talking is cheap — you can get plenty of that for … Continue readingHow to Communicate With Clarity and Confidence
Debt turns your wealth into spendable money and leaves the IRS waving from shore. That’s the system — get over it and learn to play the game. — Some guy on yacht somewhere. Most folks go through life believing the financial system is like gravity … Continue readingTHE DEBT GAME: HOW THE WEALTHY DODGE THE TAXMAN UNTIL THE VERY END
You know, folks love to argue about the Cybertruck—whether it’s genius or junk, spacecraft or stainless-steel headache. But that’s not even the point. The real comedy starts when the home-remodeling guy rolls up to your house in one of those things. Because the moment he … Continue readingHow to Lose a Customer Before You Say Hello
“Life is a storm. The Stoics just learned how to stand still in the rain.” — YNOT A Calm Mind in a Loud World Mark Twain once said, “I’ve had a lot of worries in my life, most of which never happened.” That might as … Continue reading🏛️ 10 Stoic Rules for a Better Life: Wisdom That Still Works in the Modern World
“There’s nothing more dangerous than yesterday’s success.” – Carl Eschenbach, You know the funny thing about success? It’s sneaky. It pats you on the back, tells you you’ve made it, and while you’re smiling for the cameras, it quietly starts digging your grave. Complacency creeps … Continue readingYesterday’s Success Can Be Today’s Trap – Complacency
“Risk is our business.” 🚀 Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and the Art of Decision-Making When I was a kid, I’d come home from school, drop my backpack, and turn on Star Trek. Little did I know that I wasn’t just watching science fiction — I was … Continue reading🚀 The Four Approaches to Problem-Solving (Enterprise Edition)
Progress these days looks a lot like juggling knives while riding a unicycle. Companies cut staff, slap an “AI-powered” sticker on the door, and declare victory. But what actually happens is the accounts payable clerk suddenly chasing overdue invoices, the IT guy moonlighting as a … Continue readingThe Hidden Cost of Wearing Too Many Hats – Multi-Role Personnel
When I was a boy, I thought the “Federal Reserve Bank” was a mighty vault buried under Washington, full of gold coins guarded by men in uniforms. Later I learned it was neither federal, nor much of a reserve, nor a bank in the way … Continue readingThe Fed – Neither Federal, Nor Reserve, Nor a Bank –
A friend of mine is studying to be an accountant. I found her yesterday pulling her hair out, tangled up in the United States tax system. She asked me for help, so I said, “It’s easy, I’ve been doing taxes for decades.” But the moment … Continue readingWhy Your Ears Burn When You Do Taxes
Starting a business is like setting out to sea in a rowboat — some folks won’t leave shore because they fear the waves, and others insist on bringing a deck chair and a waiter before they’ll dip an oar. The truth is, the most seaworthy … Continue readingAgainst the Wind: Starting a Business with Little or No Money – but Worth it!
AI Is Here! Billions of dollars are flooding into artificial intelligence right now. The pace of AI development is staggering, and like every technological revolution before it, there will be clear winners — and painful losers. The truth? We may be in an AI bubble. … Continue readingAI Is Here. Are You Ready, or Will You Be Left Behind?
Everybody lies. — Dr. House — TV Show “HOUSE” When I was young and a little too eager for my own good, I’d wander into open houses like a stray dog looking for a new home. I’d find a place I liked, talk to the … Continue readingThe Art of the Fake Deal
Now, I ain’t one to go chasing fairy tales—unless, of course, they’re prancing around with a horn on their head and a billion-dollar valuation on their back. These days, folks don’t dream of white picket fences or a good retirement plan. No sir, they’re out … Continue readingChasing Unicorns: The Myth, the Magic, and the Mindset
Now, I’ve always said that the biggest lies in life wear the prettiest costumes—especially when they’re wearing a three-piece suit or swinging a sword on a green screen. If you learn about battle from the movies, you’ll think sword fights are slow dances and business … Continue readingOne Cut and You’re Done: The Brutal Truth About Business
I’m going to tell you a story of technology that no one wants to tell you. It’s the story of software as an asset. You see, somewhere along the way—while we were all gawking at shiny apps and clicking “I agree” faster than we read … Continue readingThe Truth About Software: The Asset Nobody Wants You to Own
When you’ve got engine trouble, you don’t call a plumber—you call a mechanic, and hopefully one who knows their way around an engine block. Likewise, if your pipes are leaking, you don’t ask your car guy—unless he was a plumber in a past life. Same … Continue readingThe Future Is Coming Fast— And Ray Dalio Says These Are the 5 Forces Steering It
THE GOOD: Donald Trump just Shook the world—and the tariff plan is not what you think. Understanding the Tariffs I love these tariffs, but no one seems to understand them. To understand what Trump is doing, you just need to read The Art of the … Continue readingTrump’s Tariff Power Play: The Deal of the Century or NOT!
Now, I’ve seen some peculiar things in my day—nothing—quite prepares you for the tale of the soda pop company that damn near became a superpower. You see, back in the days when men with thick mustaches argued about nukes and nations played chicken with missiles, … Continue readingThe Soda That Sank a Fleet – A True Story of Cola, Cold War, and Corporate Chess
You ever notice how people can talk for hours without saying a darn thing? It’s a real talent, like juggling but with words that don’t mean much. We spend half our lives discussing the weather like we’re all amateur meteorologists and the other half asking … Continue readingBeyond Small Talk: How to Have Conversations That Expand the Soul
As I lean back in me chair, and tell you that the only things certain in life are death, taxes, and the never-ending itch of a man wanting to be his own boss, most people know what I am going to tell you but will … Continue readingYour Own Business – The American Dream – and TAXES
Picture yourself knee-deep in a drawer full of mismatched screws—some stripped, some rusty, none fit for the job. That’s your business, your inbox, your day: turning chaos into productivity. With equal parts wit and wisdom, this post offers a remedy—not a sermon—on how to stop … Continue readingSTOP WASTING TIME – MAKE A MONEY MACHINE INSTEAD
If there’s one thing folks ought to learn before they sit down at a table with their so-called enemies, it’s this: The truth’s got nothing to do with it. What matters is who’s holding the bigger stick and how tired their arm is from holding … Continue readingThe Unforgiving Table: A Masterclass in Negotiation and the Hard Lessons of Power
“The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” But what if you don’t know where to start? You’re staring into the great unknown, searching for a business idea like a prospector panning for gold—sifting through dirt, hoping to strike something shiny. The world is full … Continue readingHow to be Reluctant Entrepreneur
Imagine a ship’s captain so obsessed with adjusting the sails himself that he never looks at the horizon. The crew? They spend more time bracing for his outbursts than steering the vessel. That, my friends, is bad leadership in a nutshell. A company with poor … Continue readingA Culture of Bad Leadership
In an age where the horse has been replaced by the automobile, the candle by the electric bulb, and the humble town gossip by the Internet, it is only fitting that the entrepreneurial spirit should find its latest muse in artificial intelligence. Once, a … Continue readingHow to Use AI to Plan Your Business or Side Gig
There’s an age-old saying that “No one is a prophet in their own hometown,” meaning people who know your humble beginnings often struggle to see beyond them. Trust me, I’ve roamed from bustling companies to one-horse towns, and if there’s one inescapable conclusion, it’s this: … Continue readingNo One is a Prophet in Their Own Town: Why Leaving Can Be the Key to Growth
Well now, folks, it seems the world hasn’t changed much since old Machiavelli took up his pen and started handing out advice on power and persuasion. People still want respect, still fear getting taken for a fool, and still hesitate when it’s time to take … Continue readingHow to be a Prince by Machiavelli
Ladies and gentlemen, gather around and lend an ear to a most peculiar spectacle of our era: artificial intelligence—an invention so cunningly contrived. It’s cutting a trail through offices and courtrooms faster than a runaway stagecoach, rustling up jobs and redistributing them like poker chips … Continue readingAI – the JOB DOZER
If I were a criminal and wanted to steal your identity, your financial information, and basically your entire life, I wouldn’t hack into your accounts—I’d make you hand everything over willingly. And the easiest way to do that? A fake job website. Here’s how it … Continue readingThe Dark Side of Job Hunting
The Game of Business: Allies, Enemies, and the Illusion of Loyalty You see, a man in business is a lot like a politician and a guy crossing the Amazon in a canoe. He knows the rocks are there, he knows the current is strong, and … Continue readingAlliances, Allies, Allies and more damn Allies – the Illusion of Loyalty
In the submarine service, the concept of everyone being required to learn and perform all emergency procedures is rooted in the unique and high-stakes environment of operating underwater. Unlike surface ships or other military units, a submarine operates in an environment where a single failure … Continue readingCross-Training: Building Resiliency and Agility
Now, let me tell you about something called the P/E Ratio, which folks on Wall Street act like is the gospel truth for picking stocks, though it ain’t quite that simple but a good starting point.. What in Tarnation is a P/E Ratio? Picture this: … Continue readingP/E Ratios: The Good, The Bad, and The Downright Ugly – How to Spot a Smart Lemonade Stand
This isn’t about Donald Trump as a president, a nice guy, or someone you’d want as a friend. He might be the worlds best bull crap tosser. It’s about his raw, ruthless ability to negotiate and get what he wants. He knows how to get … Continue readingThe Art of the Deal – Not Trump
It’s a curious thing, this life we lead—whether you’re swinging a bat, building a fortune, or building a family, the rules don’t change much. You can aim for glory with a mighty swing or chip away patiently with smaller steps. Either way, you’ll get where … Continue readingLife, Investing, and Baseball: Winning by Avoiding Mistakes
Introduction: Why the World Studies Sun Tzu he Art of War is a guide written by Sun Tzu, a master strategist and philosopher who walked the path of wisdom during China’s Warring States period. His teachings arose not merely from the need to triumph in … Continue readingWhy the World still Studies Sun Tzu