This is a spot for young urban entrepeneurs such as myself to come and get some Motivation for your steady grind. I'll post clips, New money making methods and lots more..Keep us locked in !
Friday, November 27, 2009
The Art of Self Discipline
How To Get The Mindset To Take You From Broke To Rich
It is important to look back at past decisions and see how those decisions have affected your life. This way you can assess where you made mistakes, and learn from them for the future. If you see how your past mindset is holding you back, it will be easier to start thinking more positively.Try to improve yourself everyday.
This doesn’t have to be a chore, and doesn’t necessarily mean in relation to work. You could try widening your knowledge by reading lots and talking to lots of different people, not just about business but about all subjects, and you will become a more rounded, interesting person. You could also attend seminars or read self-help books to learn about improving your state of mind and business skills if you feel you need help in these areas.Know your goals.
This doesn’t mean a vague idea of what you’d like ten years down the line. Spend some time thinking, or writing down if it helps, about exactly what you want, both in the immediate future and for the long term. How do you see your home, business, family in the future? For example, don’t just think that you want a nice car and kids; think which nice car, how many kids. Knowing exactly what you’re working towards will help keep you thinking positively and have some real motivation, rather than just a vague idea of where your life might be going. Also, spending the time thinking about it will tell your subconscious that you are really serious about your goals.Don’t expect things to just happen.
A successful entrepreneur will go after what they want, and not stop pushing until they get it. If you just wait for things to happen, life will pass you by and you’ll find that your dreams aren’t realised. Most success is not down to luck, it is down to persistence, hard work and action. Network with like-minded, positive people.
Particularly useful will be those who are already successful in your area of business. They can provide advice, guidance and inspiration.Don’t give up.
Do you think that the world’s successful entrepreneurs gave up at the first sign of defeat? No. You will always face set backs and things will go wrong, but this doesn’t mean you can’t recover. Your new mindset should allow you to keep thinking positively and move on. It’s important to stick to your goals and not give up until you achieve them.Follow these steps and you should be on the way to having the right mindset to get you from broke to rich. Remember to always have your goals in mind and don’t stop until you’ve reached them!
jazj89@hotmail.com
The Eight Most Common Excuses For Not Starting A Business
Take a look at the eight most common excuses people use to justify not starting a business.
1. I’ve not got enough time:
Do you watch TV after work? Why not make one of those major sacrifices and ban yourself from watching TV. You’ll get the extra time you need to start a part time business or money scheme.
2. I’m not smart enough:
You don’t need to be the most intelligent to make money, all you need is the ability to absorb basic information as you go along. Learn by doing and the answers will come as you keep striving. Plus there are many free events and seminars out there to help you.
3. I am waiting for the perfect idea:
If you are waiting for the perfect idea there’s a high possibility that it will never arrive. Instead of waiting for the perfect idea, why don’t you emulate a working business structure and make it better than the competition? Almost all the successful entrepreneurs from Branson to Bannatyne have never had an original business idea.
4. God doesn’t want me to be rich:
Well, I can bet God wouldn’t want you to be poor!
5. Rich people are mean in business:
Ask yourself this question: Would you rather be a little bit tough and get the luxuries you rightly deserve in this world, or would you prefer to beat yourself up for not having the courage to chase your financial dreams? The choice is yours.
6. I don’t need a lot of money:
You might not need a lot of money, but I bet you also don’t need a lot of stress from the bills that continue to mount up. Instead of making a fortune for yourself, why not do it for your family and the underprivileged? One of the most well known formulas for happiness is the ability to have a positive affect on people’s lives.
7. I have to wait until my foundations are right:
If there’s one thing you take from this article it’s this: The time is never ever going to be right. There will always be minor or major obstacles whether it’s not having a significant amount of capital, or some personal problems. So listen to Napoleon Hill’s wise words “Don't wait. The time will never be just right.”
8. I have children:
Having kids might be hard but you can still reach your goals. If Chris Garner can do it, so can you.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
FEMALE SCARFACE:
A rape victim, abused child, prostitute and street pocket who came from extreme poverty, Blanco came to Queens in the late 1960’s with her boyfriend (Carlos Trujillo) the father of three of her four sons. Trujillo introduced her to Alberto Bravo, a trafficker from Medellin and Bravo introduced Blanco to his world. One day, Bravo said something that offended Blanco, she stuck the muzzle of a loaded gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger. In 1971, she started her own cocaine network. She used numerous sources who supplied her with cocaine.
Blanco was also bi-sexual who only used female mules. They often wore lingerie Blanco had designed herself and which were sold in her Medellin Boutique. The underwear contained special pockets capable of concealing two kilograms of cocaine. Soon, Blanco was grossing $8 million dollars a month in drug profits. She traveled frequently between New York and Miami. She moved to Florida in 1978 where she assembled a group of young assassins called “The Pisteleros.” To become a member, one needed to kill someone and cut off a body part as proof of the deed.
In 1979, Blanco orchestrated the infamous Dade County Shopping Mall Massacre. A van advertising party supplies unleashed two hit men, armed with automatic weapons, who converged on a liquor store where Blanco had arranged to meet two drug competitors to whom she owed a great deal of money. Her intention was to kill the competitors and erase her debt. The shooters killed two targets. In 1982, Blanco ordered a hit on Chucho Castro, a former employee who had angered her because he refused to meet with her. Blanco’s assassins drove up alongside Castro’s van, fired shots, and missing Chucho, killed his toddler son Johnny, instead. Later that same year, she ordered the hit of a couple who owed her drug money, the Lorenzo’s. Afterwards, Blanco became enraged that the hit men left the couple’s three children alive.
Blanco inspired such fear and insulated herself so successfully, it took law enforcement 16 years to find anyone willing to testify against her.
Between 1981-1984, Blanco began smoking a highly potent form of cocaine, she became addicted and smoked her way through $7 million dollars worth of cocaine and began slowly losing her mind. She bought Eva Peron’s diamonds and the Queen Of England’s tea set. She killed strippers and topless dancers for fun and once shot a pregnant woman in the stomach. She ripped off her best friend for $1.8 million and then tortured, beat, shot and wrapped her in plastic and tossed her in a canal. Around this time, her current lover bought her a Christmas present, an emerald and gold encrusted MAC-10. Blanco also loved to attend lesbian and bi-sexual orgies.
Over time, Blanco became fat and sloppy and forced men to have sex with her at gunpoint. Eventually she also became addicted to painkillers and tranquilizers.
The police finally got a break when a former member of her crew agreed to testify against her if his life sentence was reduced. Blanco was arrested in 1985 in a cocaine trafficking case in New York.
On October 1, 1998, state prosecutors in Florida decided to negotiate a plea with Blanco. If she pled guilty to ordering the murder of Chucho Castro, resulting in the death of his son. Her sentence? Twenty years in a Florida prison, credited to time served in New York. Blanco accepted the plea deal. Due to her poor health, she had one heart attack behind bars but survived.
After serving 20 years in prison, Blanco was released in 2004 and deported back to Columbia. The same place where three of her four sons were killed within days of their return to Columbia.
Mery “La Senora” Valencia (COCAINE QUEENPIN)
On February 7, 1997, an international fugitive who had undergone extensive plastic surgery, stepped off a plane at the Rio de Janiero airport preparing to don a real mask to participate in the biggest party in the world, ‘Carnival.’ The fugitive, aged 44, carried 13 passports and a ledger book containing names of cocaine-trafficking clients and was immediately arrested by a bevy of Brazillian police and federal agents. The fugitive’s name was Mery Valencia (no photo available). Her nickname was “La Senora” and she was one of the pre-eminent international cocaine traffickers in the formerly male-dominated Cali cartel.
The scope of her operation, which begun in 1986, involved multiple millions of dollars and over 25 tons of cocaine, which were shipped from Columbia to the United States via Puerto Rico and then transported to NY, NJ, IL, FL, OH and CA. On the same day she was arrested, 56 other members of her organization were either arrested or indicted in America. Raids netted over 320 kilos of cocaine and $20 million in cash. Stash houses in Long Beach, CA. were also raided.
Just as remarkable as the fact this operation was headed by a woman is the fact that all of Valencia’s top lieutenants were also female. Included were her sister Luz Valencia-Castrillon, who was allegedly overseeing money laundering operations from Columbia. Another sister, Alba Valencia was also involved as well as an ex-sister-in-law Josephine Valencia and a first cousin, Flor Castano. Valencia has been described as a behind-the-scenes taskmaster, demanding an exact accounting for every ounce of coke sold. She even intimidated the male members of her organization, one was heard on a wire tap saying, “I would never do anything without Le Senora’s permission.”
Valencia was also known to have an affluent lifestyle. She enjoyed extensive foreign travel and owned several apartments and country homes in Columbia, she also owned a discotheque called “Black Streets,” and a health and beauty store called ‘Beverly Hills’ in Cali, Columbia. Not since the 1970’s, since Griselda Blanco earned millions has a woman attained so much power and profit in the notoriously sexist world of drug cartels.
While the Brazil authorities had remained adamant about the policy that prevented them from extraditing Valencia for being a narcotics trafficker, they finally relented when it was insisted Valencia be returned to the US to be arrested on money laundering and drug charges.
In 1999, Mery Valencia was sentenced to life in prison and ordered to pay a $250,000 fine.
reprint from: 'the Panache Report'
Source: “Queenpins Of The Cali Cartel” by Hariette Surovell
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
The Most Ruthless Businessmen To Ever Do Business
THE LIST
Real Name: Harry LevyPlace of Birth: Manchester, England
Moment of Ruthlessness:He allegedly was responsible for provoking his dog to attack his very own daughter Sharon Osborne, over contractual disagreements. This goes to show that if he can be violently aggressive towards his own flesh and blood, imagine what he would do to you!
Real Name: Donald King
Date of Birth: 20th August 1931
1. First degree murder of two civilians;
Real Name: Marion Knight
Real Name: Aristotle Onassis
Place of Birth: Sierra Navada, California
some of the Top female entrepreneurs of all time..
Industry: Cosmetics
Why we rate her?
Anita defined the phrase “making something out of nothing” back in her early beginnings she used the resources around her to the fullest. She recycled bottles to make her first soap products and used a felt tip pen to label them. Anita’s small cosmetic shop with a conscious soon became a successful Body shop.Anita Roddick Quote: - “Nobody talks of entrepreneurship as survival, but that's exactly what it is and what nurtures creative thinking.”
Ms Zhang is the richest self-made women in the world, She is richer than the like of J. K. Rowling and Oprah winfrey simple because of her remarkable business skills.
Ms Zhang is the founder of Nine Dragon Paper, a company that buys scrap papers from various countries, recycles theose scraps into containerboards, and then sells them to companies.
Walker is an example that you can achieve anything regardless of the odds stacked against you; She made tons of money in an era where African Americans where racial discriminated against. Madam C.J Walkers
Madam
Oprah Winfrey has the power to influence the mainstream consumer trends in America; if Oprah rates a book, film or any other product on her highly rated talk show, you can expect that product to rocket up in sales.
Industry: Magazine PublicationWhy we rate her?
Anna Wintour is known as the most powerful women in the fashion industry. She is the fashion trend dictator; the fashion world follows whatever she chooses to feature in the Vogue Magazine. Her greatest ability is to rarely express her emotions through her face, which makes her team to work harder to please her.
FRANK MATTHEWS: (ORIGINAL GANGSTA)
Matthews aspired to make more when he realized, his piece of "policy bank" earned him $100,000 dollars annually in the 70's. But, there were 18-year old drug punks making more by just turning over a load of narcotics.
Matthews managed to get an audience with two big Italian crime families, the Bonnanos and the Gambinos. The godfathers listened to Matthews pitch but turned him down. Normally, this would have left the typical aspiring young black drug dealer out in the cold, but Matthews was not typical. Instead, he hooked up with Harlem numbers operator Raymond Marquez-who put him in touch with a Cuban cocaine dealer.
In less than a year, he became New York City's biggest dealer, exhibiting brilliant business skills and the ability to forge productive relationships with other gangsters.
In dealing with fellow Blacks, Matthews worked to project a Robin Hood image but if someone crossed him, he employed two of the most efficient killers to enforce his will.
By the early 1970's, Matthews organization was handling multi-million dollar shipments in at least 21 states. According to the US government, "Matthews controlled the cutting, packaging and sale of heroin in every major East Coast city."
As his drug empire grew, Matthews began to play the role of the "Black Caesar." Decked out in his large sable mink coat and leather safari suits, the cigar smoking drug kingpin could be seen traveling about Harlem with a harem of beautiful women. He also maintained several of his mistresses in the six apartments he owned in New York. Black Caesar was a regular patron of Harlem's most popular clubs and got the best tickets to see Duke Ellington, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Cab Calloway. He paid cash for his fleet of Cadillacs and bought dozens of expensive tailored suites.
He also traveled frequently to Las Vegas where he lost as much as $190,000 in one session at the gambling tables. He was also using his contacts in Las Vegas to launder money. Matthews was treated like a king in Las Vegas.
Black Caesar was chauffeured in a Rolls Royce to a front row seat at Madison Square Garden where he enjoyed watching his idol Muhammad Ali's latest big fight. He also traveled frequently to Atlanta on business. At the local Playboy Club, he met with one of his mistresses, a blonde Playboy bunny.
Eventually, Matthews and his family moved into a multi-million dollar home and he sent his three kids to private school. Paul Castellano, the godfather of the powerful Gambino crime family did not take kindly to having a young flamboyant black man moving into the neighborhood. Castellano was contemplating whacking Matthews but before he could put his plan in motion, he got killed.
During this time, Matthews was generating $600,000 per day in drug profits and he had a net worth of $60 million dollars.
Matthews was the only black man affiliated with the "French Connection," pipeline, this deal made him a fortune.
Instead of reinvesting his profits into his drug business, he began to invest in real estate and he put additional funds in overseas money laundering havens. Authorities estimated that Matthews was putting at least $1 million dollars per month into a special savings account.
In 1972, Matthews drug supplier was arrested in Miami. Matthews was arrested a few weeks later and faced 50 years in prison.
On July 2, 1973, Matthews was scheduled to appear in court but he never showed. Matthews disappeared with $20 million dollars in cash. His girlfriend, Denise Brown, accompanied him.
MOST FEARED & DANGEROUS MOB BOSS SHOT BY BLACK ASSASSIN:
The idea of uniting the major African-American and Italian underworld leaders became an obsession with him which would be his life's credo. It would later be a philosophy that was later put in to practice by several fellow capos and mob bosses and led to building ties to other criminal organizations.
While in jail, Gallo was an outsider among his fellow incarcerated Italian counterparts and was constantly seen with an entourage of African-Americans.
They had long discussions and agreed to organize all of the city's top black gangsters into a 'family' to rival the Mafia. Gallo told Barnes, early on, I always had blacks in my crew despite objections from Italian gangsters. I was often shunned because of my black friendships. Gallo planned to school the black gangsters on the art of racketeering. First, they would organize in New York and put together a national syndicate of black gangsters.
When Gallo was released from prison, he immediately hired a superstar attorney to work on Barnes appeal. Barnes’ 25 year sentence was thrown out on a technicality. After his release, Barnes called a meeting of Harlem's top black racketeers to discuss the proposal of a 'black family' to rival the Mafia. The idea was presented and defeated by a vote of 7-3. This is the closest the nation has ever come to having a "Black Underworld."
Gallo dispatched a black triggerman, Jerome Johnson (3rd photo) to assassinate Joe Colombo, at the time, the most powerful and feared mob boss in the world. This broke ranks, and was the first time in history, a black man was assigned to take out a powerful underworld figure.
Joe Colombo was shot on June 28, 1971 by Jerome Johnson. Johnson, who was immediately shot dead by Colombo's bodyguards, was known as an Gallo associate, thus shifting suspicion to Gallo.
Colombo would survive the shooting but remain in a coma for the rest of his life (a vegetable).
In retaliation for the Colombo shooting: On April 7, 1972, Joey Gallo was celebrating his 43rd birthday with friends including his bodyguard, Peter "Pete the Greek" Diapoulas at a restaurant, Umberto's Clam House at 129 Mulberry Street in Little Italy, Manhattan. At least two gunmen burst in the doors and opened fire with .32 and .38 caliber revolvers. Gallo was hit five times while he burst away from his table. Diapoulas was shot once in the hip during the melee. Joey stumbled into the street and collapsed while his killers sped away in a car. The gunmen were never positively identified. At his funeral, Gallo's sister cried over his coffin, between tears she said: "The streets are going to run red with blood, Joey!"
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Are you Really Built for this
1. Do you believe you have what it takes?
We don’t mean personal characteristics — or not just personal characteristics, anyway. Do you believe you have all the skills, energy, money, people, and knowledge to start a business? Founders who carefully identify and evaluate their resources in pursuit of a well-defined goal display “entrepreneurial self-efficacy,” a trait many academics believe to be the best predictor of success.
2. Are you able to let other people down?
A founder may set out in a rowboat, but pretty soon, he is piloting a cabin cruiser with investors and employees on board and their families huddled belowdecks. Risking your own fortunes is easy compared with risking the fortunes of those who believe in you. “These people may not completely understand the business,” says J. Robert Baum, an associate professor of entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland. “They may not understand the level of risk. But they think they’ll be OK because you are so smart. Breaking their dreams is very painful.”
3. How do you handle setbacks?
When you are smiling, the whole company smiles with you. In their book Resonant Leadership: Renewing Yourself and Connecting With Others Through Mindfulness, Hope, and Compassion, Richard Boyatzis and Annie McKee explain that emotions are contagious: Morale rises and falls with the mood of the leader. Consequently, people who succumb to black moods or depression can fatally infect their own companies.
Because some people have an inflated idea of their resilience, Mayer suggests performing a kind of reference check on yourself — ask people who know you well how you handle adversity.
4. Are you really an inventor, rather than an entrepreneur?
Raising a child is generally more challenging than creating a child, and the same is true of new products. Some people mistake the act of invention for the tough part. “Too many times, these inventor types spend an inordinate amount of time on the patent and making the prototype just so,” says Mike Drummond, editor in chief and co-owner of Inventors Digest. “They think once they’ve done that, the world will beat a path to their doorstep. My take is that product development is a team sport. Inventors don’t get that. Entrepreneurs do.”
5. Can you accept that your company may outgrow you?
Some entrepreneurs love to brag that they don’t need an exit strategy, because they are not going anywhere. But at some point, your business may need you less than you need it. That’s particularly true at fast-growth companies, at which entrepreneurs may not have enough time to develop the necessary leadership and business skills. Mayer has seen founders bring in presidents or senior executives from the outside, only to sabotage them. “They do it by not giving them the necessary information,” says Mayer. “They do it by not stepping back and by involving themselves with managers in a way that is inappropriate in the chain of command. They can be disruptive during meetings.”
6. When you look in the mirror, does an entrepreneur look back?
If so, and if that’s the reason you are starting a company, beware. Many traits — persistence, creativity, and risk tolerance among them — are commonly ascribed to entrepreneurs. But having those traits doesn’t much improve the odds that you will succeed. “Research into entrepreneurs’ personal traits says things like persistence and need for achievement explain only about 5 percent to 10 percent” of the difference between people who start companies and those who don’t, according to Baum. “They are less important than external predictors like the spirit of the times, the economy, and changes within an industry.
Source: Inc.com
The Notorious CEO: Ten Startup Commandments From Biggie Smalls
Yesterday, my iTunes shuffled its way to “The Ten Crack Commandments,” a classic and often-referenced track from The Notorious BIG’s 1997 double-album ”Life After Death.” The track is meant to be a crash-course for would-be crack dealers, but Biggie’s ten commandments actually add up to some pretty sound business advice for any industry.
I list each of the Ten Crack Commandments below, along with its underlying message for modern business operators.
“Rule nombre uno: never let no one know how much dough you hold”
For most companies, there isn’t a tremendous amount of upside to disclosing financials. As such, few privately held companies choose to do so. As Biggie says, broadcasting your financial performance can “breed jealousy,” increasing operational risks and arming your competitors with a more informed sense of your company’s weaknesses.
“Number two: never let ‘em know your next move”
Innovation drives long-term business value. If your company prematurely discloses its strategic plans, it gives your competitors a head-start on emulating or surpassing your innovative strides. It may be tempting to post your 12-month plan on the company blog, but beware the strategic edge it provides to your competitors once it’s out there.
“Number three: never trust nobody”
A healthy sense of paranoia is a valuable asset for business operators. Businesses should take steps to protect their intellectual property, including protection through patents or well-protected trade secrets.
“Number four: never get high on your own supply”
Even if you are the only shareholder in your business, you should separate what’s best for you personally from what’s best for your company. If you make suboptimal business decisions for the sake of bettering your personal life, your company will be less likely to succeed.
Another interpretation of this rule is to resist developing a strong emotional commitment to your own ideas. If you’re too wrapped up or emotionally invested in any aspect of your business, it won’t be easy to modify that idea when it leads you to a better opportunity or strategy. Sunk costs are sunk, and strategic decisions should be made as such.
“Number five: never sell no crack where you rest at”
Biggie is right: your family members are not real customers, and serving them can often do more harm than good. They will provide an unrealistic sales experience and their feedback will often be skewed by the preexisting relationship. Also, if you have a desirable product they may feel a sense of entitlement to a discount or freebies. Granting such requests can hurt your bottom line, but denying them can strain your personal relationships.
Further insight >>"...I think the message in #5 is not that you shouldn’t sell to your family, but rather that you shouldn’t sell to *anyone* out of your home, or else you’ll have crackheads coming to your house, and everyone will know where you live. Pretty soon the cops will be watching you, and it’s a bad scene.
Without a healthy work-life balance, your business will invade your personal life, and you’ll never have a moment’s peace. I think the takeaway for startups is that, while it’s tempting to work out of your home, make sure that you still draw boundaries. Keep work time and personal time separate, so that you don’t get overwhelmed and burnt out. A lot of founders find it easier to work out of cafes or cube-sharing offices for this reason...."
“Number six: that credit… forget it”
Biggie is warning about the risks of issuing credit to customers before you have enough scale to hedge the associated default risk. The broader lesson here is to place a strong focus on cash revenue generation while your business is working toward sustained profitability. Getting cash in the door is extremely important, and anything that delays cash flow will slow down your forward progress.
“Seven: keep your family and business completely seperated”
This one doesn’t need much translation: work and family don’t always mix well. While there are many successful family businesses out there, the cost of things going sour becomes far greater when family is involved. Don’t work with your family simply out of convenience– only do it if the increased upside truly outweighs the true costs of failure.
“Number eight: never keep no weight on you”
Here, Biggie is driving home the importance of physical security. Sensitive passwords, documents, products, and prototypes should never be stored or transported (either digitally or physically) in a format that could be compromised.
“Number nine: if you ain’t gettin bagged stay [away] from police”
The company you keep can be misinterpreted by your customers and competitors, and sending the wrong message can put these relationships at risk. Keep strategic conversations as silent as possible until things are set in stone and it is optimal to make an announcement (if ever).
“Number ten: consignment [is] not for freshmen”
Accumulating debt prematurely is a bad move for any business. Both debt and equity financings consume company time and may drive startups to overspend before their plans are fully-baked. They also put a greater pressure on financial performance, which is only a good thing when a company is confident in their product’s maturiy and ability to generate returns. Biggie says it best: “if you aint got the clientele say ‘hell no’ — ’cause they gon want they money rain, sleet, hail, snow.”
“Follow these rules, you’ll have mad bread to break up”
This song predates mainstream internet usage but still translates well into the language of today’s web economy. I hope at least some of these commandments strike a chord with other entrepreneurs out there. Until next time, keep it real.
source: RJmetrics
Monday, September 21, 2009
So You Think You Can Start A T-Shirt Company Huh?
Heres a break Down on Johnny Cupcakes (For those who dont know):
Founder Johnny Earle, 27
Location Hull, Massachusetts
2008 Revenue $3.8 million
Employees 30
Start-up Year 2001
Start-up Costs About $6,700 for T-shirts and printing until 2003, when he committed to the business full time
Breakeven Five years out on sales of $1.2 million
Biggest Expense $10,000 for a trade show
Qualifications As a kid, Earle was a master out-of-the-backpack retailer, selling candy and practical jokes.
Red Tape Piracy is rampant. Once Earle got serious about the business, he trademarked his logo and began copyrighting designs.
And The Story Goes….
It started with a nickname. Every day, Johnny Earle would go to work at the Braintree, Massachusetts, music emporium Newbury Comics, and every day his colleagues would call him something different. “Hey, Johnny Appleseed; Johnny Pancakes; Johnny Cupcakes!” Somehow, Cupcakes stuck.
That was back in 2000, when Earle was ordering T-shirts for his metal band, On Broken Wings. On a lark, he got a Johnny Cupcakes shirt printed up. His colleagues hooted, and store customers asked, “Where did you get that? Is it a bakery? An adult movie store?” Soon, Earle was selling half a dozen shirts a day from the trunk of his ‘89 Camry. He bought cheap shirts from a local silk-screen shop where he once worked. Shirts plus printing cost $4 or $5, and Earle charged $8 to $10. He created new designs that played off pop culture — the Statue of Liberty lofting a cupcake; a cupcake and crossbones — and marketed them to customers whose e-mail addresses he had collected.
On Broken Wings signed with a record label and toured the U.S. After concerts, Earle sold his shirts — wrinkled and reeking of gas fumes from the band’s van — out of a suitcase. In cities they visited, he stopped by boutiques; a few bit. Meanwhile, customers who were also in bands dressed à la Cupcake onstage and in videos. A cult following grew.
Back home, Earle signed up with an inexpensive webstore called Merchline.com and upgraded his vendors, paying $7 for shirts and selling them for $20. He lived and stored inventory at his parents’ house. He also trademarked the Johnny Cupcakes name and logo and began copyrighting designs for $750 a pop.
To improve quality, Earle began sourcing shirts from American Apparel in 2003. The next year, he laid out $10,000 to rent a booth, print a catalog, and travel with some friends to a large Las Vegas trade show. Stores in Australia, Italy, the United Kingdom, and Canada placed orders. He also had meetings with U.S. chains such as Urban Outfitters and Macy’s.
Then Earle had an epiphany. “I thought, People want something that no one else has. If I put my shirts everywhere, they would just be a fad. I wanted something that would last a long time.”
Earle severed relationships with large customers. He redesigned his website with better graphics and customer service features and issued numbered shirts in limited editions. The company has introduced 300 designs and retired all but half a dozen. The average price is now $35; some go for as much as $75.
In 2005, Earle rented a boat garage down the street from his parents’ house in Hull, Massachusetts, for $700 a month — the first Johnny Cupcakes retail outlet. A year later, he took a pole-vault-scale leap by opening a store on Newbury Street, Boston’s fashionable shopping promenade. It was a huge investment: 1,100 square feet at $6,500 a month. Earle, a big believer in shopping as entertainment, spent $100,000 designing the space and fitting it with vintage stoves, industrial refrigerators, and baking racks. (He had a $90,000 bank loan and a $50,000 line of credit.) The opening was an event. Earle made 300 percent of his rent on the first day.
“It’s impossible to tell from the outside that we don’t sell food,” says Earle. “When people find we don’t have cupcakes, some get mad. But even the ones who get upset tell the story about how some stupid kid tricked them into going into his store. Everyone talks about us.”
Source: Story by Leigh Buchanan for Inc.com
Create An Effective Home Workout Program
Here’s how you can create an effective home workout program that will save you money without sacrificing results.
Determine your method of cardio training
If your main goal is to build muscle, you might think you won’t need to do a great deal of cardio training in the first place. However, including some cardio in your workout program does tend to help with nutrient partitioning, driving nutrients toward the muscle cells rather than the fat cells.You can either choose to perform bouts of cardio between your strengthening movements, making it more like a calorie-burning circuit training program, or perform cardio all at once, after your strength training. You can also do cardio training in a separate session.
Do note that if your focus is on developing strength, you’re better off resting completely between sets to allow your body to recover, and performing cardio at another time.
At-home cardio options
Some good options for at-home cardio include:- Running up and down a set of stairs
- Jumping rope
- Step-ups on an oversize box or step (the higher the box, the better the cardiovascular benefits you’ll get
- Burpies
Factoring in strength training
The next thing to do is plan out the strength training portion of your home workout. Ideally you should purchase a set of dumbbells and a barbell with weighted plates, that would allow you to perform many of the free-weight exercises you would do in the gym (bicep curls, triceps movements, deadlifts, rows, shoulder presses, lunges, etc). If you do not have these available to you, then it’s time to get creative.Body-weight squats with a wall squat
Start by performing a set of 25 body-weight squats, being sure you are going as low to the floor as possible to the floor. Next, move over to the wall and perform a stationary wall squat, holding for one full minute.Push-ups on an exercise ball
You can make the standard push-up more difficult simply by placing your hands on an exercise ball and performing the push-up from there. Additionally, you’ll also get the benefit of dramatically working your core muscles, making this an ideal upper body exercise.Dips with feet raised
Next, move on to triceps dips off the back of a chair. To challenge yourself more, raise your feet up and place them up on a table, stool or bed in front of you. If you want to further increase the intensity, place a weighted object on top of your thighs.Jump lunges
To work your glutes, hamstrings and quads, perform a series of jump lunges. Repeat until you have completed 10 to 15 reps for each set you do.Pull-ups
For your lats and lower back area, if you have a sturdy bar somewhere in your house, hang off of it and perform a set of pull-ups. If you don’t, lie a strong broomstick or other pole across two solid surfaces (chairs, boxes, etc). Then lie down underneath it and mimic the pull-up action.Single-leg deadlifts
Round out your home workout program by performing single leg deadlifts. Stand in front of a bed and place one leg back and up on top of it. From there, with a chair placed a foot or two in front of the body, bend down and grasp the bottom of the chair (note another weighted object can be used for this if you prefer -- a bag of sand, a box filled with cans, etc). Holding the object, rise up while keeping both legs as straight as possible, thinking of squeezing your glutes while you do so. Come to a full standing position and then lower the object to the ground once again to complete the rep.As with any workout program, be sure you are also performing a good warm-up and cool down before and after the workout.
all you need is commitment
If you do this three times a week, performing 2 to 3 sets of each movement, you should definitely be able to maintain -- if not improve -- your current fitness level.Source- Jeff Bayer@ AskMen
Sunday, September 20, 2009
"Even StacksEdwards got involved... Everybody Loved Stacks.."
If you've seen one my Favorite movies 'Goodfellas', you know a little of Stacks Edwards (played by Sam Jackson)..
Here's his story..
Parnell Steven "Stacks" Edwards (See Photo) was an African-American petty thief who became associated with the infamous Jimmy Burke during the 1978 Lufthansa Heist. He was also a former bodyguard for Muhammad Ali. It is also suspected he was a small-time drug courier for Leroy "Nicky" Barnes.
In addition, mobster Henry Hill used to use him in his credit card fraud operations. He was eventually assassinated by Tommy DeSimone and Angelo John Sepe for not fulfilling his role in the heist properly. Parnell Edwards was portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson in the film Goodfellas.
Parnell met Henry Hill in 1967 through Tommy DeSimone as a struggling blues-rock musician, singer and songwriter on the street in downtown Queens and the two became involved in credit card fraud and hijacking together. Parnell was a Ozone Park, Queens born mulatto-skinned black man who was said to have been quite tall. Parnell was a heavy drug-user and sometime in the 1970's started injecting heroin.
Parnell moved from Baton Rouge as a child to New York city with his family. Growing up he his interest in music increased and he learned how to play the acoustic guitar. His agent was Dante Barzotini, who also worked with Frank Sinatra, Jr. Parnell met Dante Barzotini through Tommy DeSimone. He gradually became involved in many schemes, including buying goods on stolen credit cards. He also acted as a chauffeur for Jimmy Burke and Paul Vario and was usually paid in stolen goods.
He would take the stolen goods and sell them to independent stores in the neighborhoods of Harlem, Queens and Jackson Heights or at flea markets in the area. In 1978 Henry Hill, working from a tip-off from bookmaker Martin Krugman, told Jimmy Burke of vast sums of cash ($5 million) being held overnight in a safe at the Lufthansa cargo terminal at JFK airport in New York.
Burke analyzed the possibilities and drew the conclusion that about 6 men, according to airport insider Lou Werner, and two panel trucks would be needed to successfully steal the cash. The money was totally untraceable money, i.e. once they had the money they could, within limits, spend it without question. This was the first stage of the Lufthansa Heist. Burke assembled a crew, involving Joe Manri, Robert McMahon, Louis Cafora, Tommy DeSimone, Paolo LiCastri, and Angelo John Sepe, including Parnell Edwards. Edwards' job was to take the panel truck used in the heist and drive it to a junkyard in New Jersey, where mafia contacts would compact it and the evidence would be destroyed. The heist worked out better than Burke could have imagined, but Parnell had neglected his duty and had used marijuana, visited his girlfriend and fallen asleep.
Unfortunately for Parnell the police had found the panel truck, with a muddy boot print (matching a pair of shoes owned by Parnell) and fingerprints had been taken from the wheel. Being a friend, Tommy DeSimone was at first torn apart when mobster Joseph DiPalermo ordered him to kill Edwards.
Although DeSimone had killed 8 or 9 people up to that point in his life, despite this, he felt no closer to being a made-man and wasn't pleased about being ordered to kill Stacks, but DiPalermo sneakily told him that he could be 'made' by this murder.
Stacks had gone into hiding in an Ozone Park apartment and had been sitting at his kitchen table eating his breakfast when Tommy walked in and fired several shots into Stacks' head and chest using a .32 silencer-equipped pistol, killing himBUMPY JOHNSON...
BUMPY JOHNSON:
Drug kingpin Frank Lucas says- Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson (Above) the most famous of all Harlem gangsters, saved my life. "I was hustling up at Lump's Pool Room, on 134th Street. Eight-ball and that. So in comes Icepick Red. Red, he was a tall motherfucker, clean, with a hat. A fierce killer, from the heart. Freelanced Mafia hits. Anyway, he took out a roll of money that must have been that high. My eyes got big. I knew right then, that wasn't none of his money. That was my money.
"'Who got a thousand dollars to shoot pool?' Icepick Red shouted. I told him I'm playing, but I only got a hundred dollars . . . and he's saying, 'What kind of punk only got a hundred dollars?' I wanted to take out my gun and kill him right there, take his damn money.
"Except right then, everything seemed to stop. The jukebox stopped, the pool balls stopped. Every fucking thing stopped. It got so quiet you could've heard a rat piss on a piece of cotton in China.
"I turned around and I saw this guy -- he was like five feet ten, five feet eleven, dark complexion, neat, looked like he just stepped off the back cover of Vogue magazine. He had on a gray suit and a maroon tie, with a gray overcoat and flower in the lapel. I never seen nothing that looked like him. He was another species altogether.
"'Can you beat him?' he said to me in a deep, smooth voice.
"I said, 'I can shoot pool with anybody, mister. I can beat anybody.'
"Icepick Red, suddenly he's nervous. Scared. 'Bumpy!' he shouts out, 'I don't got no bet with you!'
"Bumpy ignores that. 'Rack 'em up, Lump!'
"We rolled for the break, and I got it. And I wasted him. Icepick Red never got a goddamn shot. Bumpy sat there, watching. Didn't say a word. Then he says to me, 'Come on, let's go.' I'm thinking, who the fuck is this Bumpy? But something told me I better keep my damn mouth shut. I got in the car. A long Caddy. First we stopped at a clothing store -- he picked out a bunch of stuff for me. Suits, ties, slacks. Nice stuff. Then we drove to where he was living, on Mount Morris Park. He took me into his front room, said I should clean myself up, sleep there that night.
"I wound up sleeping there six months . . . Then things were different. The gangsters stopped fucking with me. The cops stopped fucking with me. I walk into the Busch Jewelers, see the man I robbed, and all he says is: 'Can I help you, sir?' Because now I'm with Bumpy Johnson -- a Bumpy Johnson man. I'm 17 years old and I'm Mr. Lucas.
"Bumpy was a gentleman among gentlemen, a king among kings, a killer among killers, a whole book and Bible by himself," says Lucas about his years with the Robin Hood of Harlem, who had opposed Dutch Schultz in the thirties and would be played by Moses Gunn in the original Shaft and twice by Laurence Fishburne (in The Cotton Club and Hoodlum). Bumpy Johnson remains the most power black gangster in US history.
"He saw something in me, I guess. He showed me the ropes -- how to collect, to figure the vig. Back then, if you wanted to do business in Harlem, you paid Bumpy or you died. Extortion, I guess you could call it. Everyone had to pay -- except the mom-and-pop stores."
With Bumpy, Frank caught a glimpse of the big time. He'd drive downtown, to the 57th Street Diner, waiting by the car while his boss ate breakfast with Frank Costello. Frank accompanied Bumpy to Cuba to see Lucky Luciano. "I stayed outside," Frank remembers, "just another guy with a bulge in my pocket."
"There was a lot about Bumpy I didn't understand, a lot I still don't understand . . . when he was older, he'd lean over his chessboard in his apartment at the Lenox Terrace, with these Shakespeare books around, listening to soft piano music, Beethoven -- or that Henry Mancini record he played over and over, 'Baby Elephant Walk' . . . He'd start talking about philosophy, read me from Tom Paine, 'The Rights of Man' . . . 'What do you think of that, Frank?' he'd ask . . . I'd shrug. What could I say? Best book I remember reading was Harold Robbins's The Carpetbaggers."
In the end, as Frank tells it, Bumpy died in his arms: "We were at Wells Restaurant on Lenox Avenue. Billy Daniels, the singer, might have been there. Maybe Cockeye Johnny, J.J., Chickenfoot. There was always a crowd around, wanting to talk to him. Bumpy just started shaking and fell over."
Lucas says, "There wasn't gonna be no next Bumpy. Bumpy believed in that share-the-wealth. I was a different sonofabitch. I wanted all the money for myself . . . Harlem was boring to me then. Numbers, protection, those little pieces of paper flying out of your pocket. I wanted adventure. I wanted to see the world." To read more about Frank Lucas, click here: Crew Boss
Source: New York Magazine
Related Story..
"HARLEM UNDERWORLD AFTER DARK"
*The following is an excerpt from Mayme Johnson's upcoming book, "Harlem Godfather: The Rap On My Husband Ellsworth "Bumpy Johnson," by Mayme Johnson and Karen E. Quinones Miller.
It wasn’t unusual for a gunshot victim to be wheeled into the operating room of Sydenham Hospital in Harlem in 1952. Especially in the wee hours of the morning when club hoppers with too much to drink took their nine-to-five frustrations out on whoever was available.
But this was no usual gunshot victim. This was my husband, Ellsworth “Bumpy” Johnson.
The man who, according to legend, almost single-handedly fought the infamous Jewish hoodlum Dutch Schultz when that notorious madman tried to take over the Harlem numbers rackets. The man who was as well-known for his charity to children as for his deadly temper when he was crossed by other gangsters. The man who was the undisputed King of the Harlem Underworld. The man to whom I’d been married only three years. And from the looks of things, the 45-year-old man who was about to take his last breath.
“Bumpy,” Detective Philip Klieger yelled as he trotted alongside the gurney towing the bloodied half-conscious man, “You know you’re not going to make it. Tell me who shot you so we can bring him to justice.”
But see, my husband lived by the gangster code. Bumpy opened his eyes and momentarily focused on the detective, and his slackened lips curled into a snarl. “A man can only die once, and dead men make no excuses,” he managed to get out before falling into full unconsciousness.
In June 1952, the tall dark-skinned Robert "Hawk" Hawkins was determined to make someone take himself seriously. He desperately wanted to be accepted by the Harlem hustlers. He needed to make a name for himself.
The Vets Club, which was located at 122nd Street and St. Nicholas Avenue, was owned by John Levy – the abusive boyfriend/manager of jazz great Billie Holiday, and Vincent Nelson – one of the most successful pimps in Harlem. By 3 a.m. the joint would be jumping and the folks would be stomping. There was always a good time and a good crowd at The Vets.
On this particular night jazz great Sarah Vaughn was there sipping champagne, along with the Brown Twins, a popular jazz duo. The gorgeous vamp Margherite Chapman, who would later marry baseball slugger Willie Mays (she was a lot older than him, but she lied to him about her age) was there also, along with a couple of black Hollywood starlets who wished they looked as good as Margherite, and R&B diva Dinah Washington was holding court to her usual entourage of ten or twelve.
It was about 5:30 a.m. when the already half-drunk, Hawk sauntered over to the bar and ordered a scotch, then proceeded to loudly talk about his take for the night – the trick money his “bitches” had turned over to him after a night of whoring.
“Man, why don’t you cool out? Can’t you see there’s ladies in here? Show some respect,” Bumpy said irritably as he clinked the ice in his watered down glass of ginger ale. As bad as Bumpy was, he didn’t smoke or drink, and he didn’t like men cursing around women they didn’t know.
To be honest, I don’t believe Hawk even looked up to see that it was Bumpy, because he would have been stupid to say what he said next. “Ni**er, who the fuck is you to tell me to cool out?” he yelled in his heavy southern accent.
Bumpy looked him up and down and then said quietly, “I’m about to be your worst nightmare. Now haul your behind outta here before someone has to carry you out.”
This time Hawk did look up before saying anything else, and that’s when he realized who it was he’d been addressing. Intoxicated, but not stupid, Hawk turned to leave but stumbled over a chair on the way out. Someone snickered and Hawk angrily whirled around to say something, but Bumpy looked at him with an icy stare and said, “You still here?”
Ego bruised, Hawk left. Bumpy bought a round of drinks for the ladies as an apology for the rudeness for the younger man, and the merriment continued as it had been before the intrusion.
An hour later most of the party-goers were gone, and my husband was standing at the bar talking to the bartender, and the club owners John Levy and Vincent Nelson when he suddenly felt a nudge on his shoulder and turned around. Hawk, had topped off the scotch he’d already imbibed with cheap wine, and armed with liquid courage and a borrowed revolver he had come back to seek his revenge.
“What you got to say now, ni**er?” he screamed as he shakily pointed the gun at Bumpy’s head. “You so fucking bad, what you gotta say now?”
Bumpy was out on bail and carried no knife or gun, and because he was backed up against the bar, there was no way he could escape.
“Man, why don’t you go home and sleep it off?” Bumpy said calmly as he stretched his hand out behind him, hoping to grasp something on the bar that he could use as a weapon. “You were wrong and you got called out on it. It’s over now.”
“Ain’t shit over,” Hawk yelled as he stepped back and tightened his finger on the trigger to take his shot. But just then Bumpy managed to grab a potted plant and smashed it into the side of Hawk’s face. It was enough to throw off Hawk’s aim, and the bullet meant for Bumpy’s head slammed into the right side of his chest instead. Bumpy slumped to the floor – eyes closed -- and for a moment Hawk stood over him as if just realizing what he’d done. But when Bumpy reopened his eyes, and Hawk realized he was still alive, Hawk flew out the door.
“Bumpy, are you alright?” the bartender asked as he, Vince, and Levy rushed over to the fallen man.
“I’m fine,” Bumpy said in a weak and shaky voice. “Just help me to my feet.”
Levy and the bartender half-carried Bumpy to Vince’s car, and they sped off to Sydenham Hospital on 124th Street and Manhattan Avenue. .
As Vince helped Bumpy up the stairs another gambler and pimp, Gershwin Miles, called from across the street. “Bumpy is that you? You alright, man?”
“Naw, man. I’ve been shot,” Bumpy managed to yell back to his friend.
No lie, it seemed like all of Harlem must have been listening because within ten minutes the hospital was filled with people trying to see what had happened to Bumpy.
I was home asleep when Vincent called me to tell me what happened. I almost had a heart attack right there in bed when he said, “Mayme, you’d better hurry. The doctors aren’t sure he’s going to make it.”
The operation took six hours, and when it was over Dr. Wardrow came over and told me, “Mrs. Johnson. Had the bullet been one one-tenth of an inch to the left it would have pierced his heart and we wouldn’t be here speaking now because your husband would be dead. And to be honest, we’ve done all we can, but it’ll still be touch and go for the next few days. I suggest that you pray for your husband’s survival.”
“Dear Lord,” I said. “I know that my husband hasn’t always been the most upright citizen, but he’s always been an upright man. And I love him very much, Dear Lord. Please don’t take Bumpy away from me.”
I stayed on my knees for another fifteen minutes sending up prayer after prayer. When I got up and turned to face Hoss Steele, Nat Pettigrew, Junie Byrd, Vince Nelson, John Levy, Ricky Williams and George Rose I was surprised and touched to see tears in their eyes – these men were considered to be some of the toughest men in Harlem, and they were on the verge of breaking down with emotion. Suddenly Ricky cleared his throat and spoke. “Look, the doctors done all they could, and Mayme got the God thing in hand, let’s go get out in the street and kill that punk motherfucka Hawk.”
Without another word they all walked out the hospital and got in their cars and sped off. They never did find Hawk, though. We found out later that once he ran out the Vets Club he got in his car and drove to Albany, New York and hid out there before finally high-tailing it back to North Carolina.
After weeks of touch and go, Bumpy would make a full recovery.
Al Capone may have ruled Chicago. Lucky Luciano may have run most of New York City. But, when it came to Harlem, the man in charge was my man, Bumpy Johnson.
courtesy of the 'Panache Report'.. an Excellent site with a Wealth of info
The Definition Of Hard work For Dummies
It’s easy to claim to be hardworking. Unfortunately, the phrase ‘I am a hard worker,’ can be spoken faster than the mind can appreciate its meaning. Countless individuals don’t understand the true import of the phrase, and throw it around with no grip on what hard graft actually entails. Here are some definitions to keep in mind for the next time you claim to be hardworking. See if you tally up.
What Is Hard Work?
- Hard work is fitting what you do in a week into one day.
- Hard work is when you’ve just finished typing pages of content onto your computer and there’s a power cut. When the lights go back up you search for the file, finding it corrupted and unusable. Hard work is when you type it out all over again.
- Hard work is leaving your house three hours early to walk to a meeting because you haven’t got the money for the bus.
- Hard work is when you wake up with your face on the keyboard, unable to remember at which point you fell asleep.
- Hard work is 150 cold calls a day.
- Hard work is doing what you have to, not what you want to.
- Hard work is consistency. Consistent every day.
- Hard work is finding the solution to an ‘impossible’ problem.
- Hard work is walking through a hundred people saying ‘No’ on the way to the one guy who might say ‘Yes’
- Hard work is sitting in your office working on your dreams, while your friends work on their tans.
- Hard work is working throughout the night, and past the day to meet your deadline.
- Hard work is perseverance. Your eyes are open and your fingers are typing even as your brain screams at you to sleep.
- Hard work isn’t watching your favourite TV show.
- Hard work is when you achieve the unachievable.
- Now you know the definition of hard work, you can start working hard for your dreams
Forty Two Quotes Worth Memorizing
1. “The poor, the unsuccessful, the unhappy, the unhealthy are the ones who use the word tomorrow the most.” – Robert Kiyosaki
2. “Winners lose much more often than losers. So if you keep losing but you’re still trying, keep it up! You’re right on track.” - Matthew Keith Groves
3. "If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.” - Anthony Robbins
4. “You can’t get much done in life if you only work on the days when you feel good.” - Jerry West
5. “If you think you’re too small to have an impact, try going to bed with a mosquito.” – Anita Roddick
6. “Entrepreneurship is living a few years of your life like most people won’t, so that you can spend the rest of your life like most people can’t” - A student in Warren G. Tracy’s class
7. “Putting off an easy thing makes it hard. Putting off a hard thing makes it impossible.” - George Lorimer
8. “Some people are committed to having their goals and others are committed to wanting them.” - Wanda Grindstaff
9. “We don’t see the things the way they are. We see things the way WE are.” - Anais Nin
10.“The only excuse for being broke is being in Jail” – 50 cent
11.“Not doing more than the average is what keeps the average down.” - William M. Winans
12.“If you haven't got the time to do it right, when will you find the time to do it over.” - Jeffery J. Mayer
13.“Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.” - Mark Twain
14.“When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don't adjust the goals, adjust the action steps.” - Confucius
15.'We must do that which we think we cannot." Eleanor Roosevelt
16."Ability is a poor man's wealth." - John Wooden
17.“Where there's a will there's a way.” - Proverb
18.“Never confuse motion with action.” - Benjamin Franklin
19."Successful people have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all." - Author unknown
20."If you really want to do something, you'll find a way; if you don't, you'll find an excuse." Author unknown
21."Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life’s about creating yourself." - George Bernard Shaw
22."If you really want something, you can figure out how to make it happen." - Cher
23."The fact is, that to do anything in the world worth doing, we must not stand back." - Sydney Smith
24."In order to discover new lands, one must be willing to lose sight of the shore for a very long time." - Andre Gide
25."The surest way not to fail is to determine to succeed." - Richard Brinsley Sheridan
26."Courage is resistance to fear; mastery of fear - not absence of fear. - Courage is resistance to fear; mastery of fear - not absence of fear." - Mark Twain
27."Conditions are never just right. People who delay action until all factors are favourable do nothing."- William Feather
28."Never wait for the proper mood to start a thing, nor until the spirit moves you. Make your own mood. Make your own spirit." - Author Unknown
29."There is only one success - to be able to spend your life in your own way." - Christopher Morle
30."Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go." - William Feather
31."Do a little more each day than you think you possibly can." - Lowell Thomas.
32."If we did the things we are capable of, we would astound ourselves." - Thomas A. Edison
33."Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy." - Dale Carnegie
34."An ounce of action is worth a ton of theory." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
35."We would accomplish many more things if we did not think of them as impossible." - Vince Lombardi US football coach
36."Thinking will not overcome fear but action will." - W. Clement Stone
37."Start by doing what's necessary, then what's possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible." - St. Francis of Assisi
38."There are three types of people in this world: those who make things happen, those who watch things happen and those who wonder what happened. We all have a choice. You can decide which type of person you want to be." Mary Kay Ash
39."What you believe, you can achieve." Mary Kay Ash
40."No action, no change. Limited action, limited change. Lots of action - Change occurs.' - Catherine Pulsifer -
41."Some people dream of success… while others wake up and work hard at it." - unknown author
42."Just Do It!" - Nike
courtesy of.. 'My ComeUp'
Mafioso: Bring Back The Code
Respect the innocent
This thing is ours, so why bring in those who didn’t take the oath? I guess no one posed this question in Mexico, where no person is treated as an innocent bystander. These “businessmen” should know that violence around schools, churches and pedestrian areas is dirty business. There are some things that are off-limits, but more importantly, there are some people who are off-limits. The schoolyard where little Jimmy plays hopscotch shouldn’t be your personal office -- that’s certainly not part of the code I’m referring to. Keep the dealings to places where the only ones who get hurt are delivering the goods or delivering the dough.Respect the employee
When employees are being mistreated in this business, you won’t find them running to human resources. Instead, you’ll probably find them at the bottom of the Gulf. That’s because kingpins in the drug game are treating their workers as expendable pawns, luring them in with a Lamborghini and repossessing it after they’re sent on a fool’s errand. An employee shouldn’t be looked at like a replaceable cafone -- he should be an investment. Take care of him and he’ll take care of you. That’s not only a code to live by, that’s the cornerstone of any successful business.Rational vengeance
I’ve always told my guys that retaliation is a rational response. But just because “an eye for an eye” is justified, it’s still important to recognize the consequences. I know two wrongs don’t make a right, but math was never my strong subject… so screw it. Every dirty action deserves an equal reaction. But the buck stops there! In Mexico, a continual flow of vengeance is fueling a spiral of violence. Kill a man’s brother, he’ll kill your mother, and the practice continues until the dogs are six feet under. Whoever heads the dueling parties down south has a responsibility to settle the beef, because rampant retaliation is bad for business.Drugs are a dirty business
I know narcotics are a lucrative commodity, and if you take a wrong turn in the wrong neighborhood, you know there’s a constant market for them. But just because there is green behind the white, doesn’t mean every stunad should become a seller. Don Corleone says it best in The Godfather, “Drugs, that’s a dirty business.” But you don’t have to take the word of a fictitious character, despite the fact that he’s played by Brando. You have to measure the risk versus the reward. Ruining lives and serving life sentences doesn’t seem worth the extra dollar. You really want to stay in the game? Apply for a job at Pfizer: It's just enough corruption, plus a 401K.Slippery slope
I’m still not ready to book that Mayan Riviera cruise the wife has been bugging me about. But if the Mexican drug game self-destructs like it should, I figure I’ll be giving the travel agent a call by 2020. Excuse my pessimism, but anytime the rules are thrown out the window, any sense of order gets thrown out with it. There’s a code that must be followed, and although that code can be flexible in its interpretation, there’s certainly a limit to how far you can stray. Any business has to instill some ethics, even if that business is regrettably the drug business. Hopefully, that gets through to the numb nuts out there making headlines on Telemundo. But if it doesn’t, I might have to book that cruise sooner than later so I can tell them myself.By Mr. Mafioso