Unacceptable....Just Unacceptable!

Ok, I am furious right now; with no one other then myself. I am in a rut.


My life.....


I am in a row boat, in the middle of a huge Ocean.

I know for certain if I travel East I will hit "Corporate Beach".

Corporate Beach has all the securities that an average man or woman is taught to seek out of life. A house, a mortgage, a small college fund for the kiddies, a Grand Prix and and a nice fancy Mini-Van with folding seats! Corporate beach also comes with a 60 hour a week, cubicle job, not to mention, the perks: A 401 K plan to secure my retirement, free coffee everyday, donuts on Fridays and if I am really dedicated, I might even get a double cubicle to display pictures of my hobbies.

Who can say no to this life?



I row in that direction because that's what I'm taught to do, until my thoughts of that shore and it's securities are overcome with thoughts of "Entrepreneurial Island".

"EI", as it's called by the cool people, is like a rap video. Women and money are plentyful. It's a virtual "Hoe-asis", with plenty of "Whore D'oeuvres" to go around. That goes for both men and women. Women get to live like slim Oprah's. They have panty hoes that never bunch or run, thigh thinning chocolate, and Jimmy Choo and Reeboks just opened a store producing foot soothing high heels.

So I ask myself the eternal question, "WWJD?". No not, "What would Jesus Do silly".

WHAT WOULD JAY-Z DO?

So I change direction and frantically start rowing in the opposite direction trying to reach "EI" while humming Jay-Z's "Encore" remix (from the new Miami Vice movie). As I'm rowing I pass all the people who have drowned trying to make it to EI. I see burgundy hair weaves floating in the water, fake ass platinum dog tags, broken down rowboats with spinners. The more stuff I see the more I worry. Does this island really exist? Is it really where the map says it is? Then how come all of these people didn't make it? Then I think, "I don't really no anyone who's ever made it. I only know about EI from TV and magazines.

Then I decide I better go for the sure thing. Before I turn the boat around I look at my map again to regain my bearings. Shzit, I'm right back where I started, only now I'm exhausted.

This is the trap that is layed out by Corporate America. They hope that you run out of energy and become forced to slowly go to the "Corporate Beach" . Once you start rowing in the corporate direction, you get further and further away from "EI". After awhile you look back and EI is so far away that you don't even consider it anymore. Instead you focus on "Corporate Beach".

As you are rowing, Corporate Beach doesn't look as nice as it did in the brochures. It seems a lot further then it did when you decided to go there. When you get there you find you are 62 years old, and can't enjoy all that it has to offer.

That's where I'm headed people. "Corporate Beach", me and my 62 year old, wrinkled twig and

berries; yappin' about how I was once on my way to "EI" and the mysteries of all the booty it had to offer (Pun is intended).

How am I going to beat the trap?

Well I have to narrow my focus. I am not accomplishing the goals that I have set out for myself. One of which is updating my blog with new posts (at least 3 or 4 per week). I am letting my corporate job run me. A job will use you like a light bulb. As soon as you are burnt out they throw you away and screw (in) a new person. No matter how valuable you think you are to a company you are replaceable. Remember that.

The key to succeeding immediatly at work is to work smarter. I have to manage the surrounding groups: purchasing , quality, manufacturing in such a way that they are forced to perform. Since they are Corporate Beachers they value the security that the job has to offer. This is their weakness. I will leverage this weakness to push them into being performers. I have no such weakness that they can expose.

The other key is to be prepared. I have been doing the same thing for almost 6 years. I have done the job of everyone that works for me, so I shouldn't be surprised anymore. I should be overly prepared. This will help to manipulate situations that are mutually beneficial for my company, my job performance and my time spent working. Being overly organized and confident will help me lead my team, as well as other teams within my company.
I should not let the lack of performance of employees take me out of my game, as it does daily. I should be able to brush it off, because it's expected, and calmly react to the situation.

Hypnosis
Those who know me, know that I am a big fan of hypnosis. I will start listen to my tapes again. They help me stay focus, remain confident, and increase my aggression.

Excercise
I will continue to workout, stepping it up to 5 or 6 times per week. This will help me deal with daily stress better.

Other Top 10 list items
I will not ignore my other top 10 items, non-work related accomplishments help build all around confidence and moral.

Right now I'm focused. I have let life man-handle me in the last two weeks, and I refuse to be a victimized.

When I reach EI I will pop a bottle of MOET and read this post like, "That's What's Up".

GET FOCUSED WITH ME PEOPLE - THERE'S PLENTY OF ROOM ON THE ISLAND

-MJL

A Major For Ol' Earl

Woods wins back to back British Opens today. This is a feat that hasn't been done since Tom Watson in 1982.

Why do we care?

Because we are future millionaires and Tiger is the epitome of who and what we are trying to be. At a glance, Woods looks like your typical golfer. Golfers have it made. They make a living doing what we do to relax. That is like making a living sitting on the couch watching TV. What is not typical, is his drive and determination. His need to be number one. He has the ability to stay just as hungry as he was the weekend of his first Major victory.

Think about this: Tiger Woods has had a golf coach since he was 4 years old. How many people can do the same thing for 26 years with increasing intensity. When he loses (or doesn't win) he doesn't become angry he practices harder. Do you think after winning this British Open he is going to relax...NO, he is going to train harder. He is under the best circumstances ever and he will leverage this situation to train harder then ever for his next event. We all think we have witnessed a virtuoso performance but Tiger has a list of 50 things that he needs to work on based on his performance this weekend. Do you think Fat Phil Mickelson was grinding away after his wins? The only thing he grinded was pepper for his big juicy steak dinner that he put in his fat face.

Let's look at Tiger's earnings last year in detail: Tiger Earned 90 million last year, earning him the number one spot for the Athlete catagory in the Forbes Celebrity 100. Of the 90 Million that tiger took home only $10,628,023 was from playing golf. The rest is made from guest appearances and endorsements.

His sponsorship includes heavy hitters such as:
Nike
GM
Accenture
Tag Huer
Electronic Arts
American Express
Net Jets
Rolex (Recently signed deal - July 23, 2006)
and the list goes on.

Tiger is smart on and off the Tee box. He is probably the most well spoken athlete of his status. You never hear him saying anything politically incorrect or overly offensive in an interview. When he is attacked and questioned he shrugs it off. He is pure marketing genius. He has done a great job in appealing to all demographics. This appeal, although appearing effortless is practiced. Earl knew what he was doing and who he was working with. Tiger has been trained what to say, how to say it and just as important, what not to say. Kobe Bryant is an excellant example of marketing genius ruined by personality. As you can see it only takes a few bad decisions to create what almost seemed like an unstoppable down fall for Kobe. First the spat with Shaq, then the adultrous romp in the sack. Blend this with his cocky attitude, and you have a recipe for low jersey sales and broken contracts. Inoccent or not Kobe's pockets were hit hard in 2004.

I don't claim to be a golf pro, but I have heard to many times that Tiger is only good becuase he can drive the ball so far off the tee; stating today's game is all about power. They said that he could never compete in the days of Nicklaus and Palmer. Well I think this weekend proved a lot of people wrong. He played the entire weekend, only hitting his driver once. This was a course that Tiger picked apart with the precision of the Rolex's he will be selling. He knows the game inside and out. He is the ultimate hustler. So the tale goes....On one cold, windy, rainy and just plain ugly day Tiger was observed to be hitting iron shots for hours on the practice range. When asked what the heck he was doing out in the cold, he replied happily: “Are you crazy? When am I ever going to get to hit shots in Palo Alto in weather conditions that I’ll have to play in at a British Open?”
His shots this past weekend weren't luck. He knew. Earl Knew.

Tiger's Crib in Florida.

Related Links (Posted in the sidebar):

Tigers New Nike Commercial: Portrait of a Swing

Old American Express Commercial: My Life My Card

The Laws of Power: Law 1

Never Outshine the Master

Always make those above you feel comfortably superior. In your desire to please and impress them, do not go too far in displaying your talents or you might accomplish the opposite - inspire fear and insecurity.

Make your masters appear more brilliant than they are and you will attain the heights of power.

Unfortunately (fortunate for the blog, unfortunate for the chap that got the boot )I was recently able to see this law in action. At work we had what we called Black Thursday two weeks ago. 6 people were laid off from our company. One person in particular, had only been there for a short period of time. I remember during his first month, he kept saying how his boss sucked, and how he was going to have that job. I advised him to play it cool, and to do a good job at making his boss look good. This advice fell on deaf ears. Every opportunity that he had he let people know that he was after his boss' job. Well, his boss knew too, and now he's out of a job.

When you have a superior above you that is not as good as you are, when you showcase your talents to loudly you drum up insecurities. When you direct your talents into making him or her look better you become a necessity. They know that they need you to reach a certain level of success. Without you they can not continue to achieve the same levels so you have created job security. If you try to outshine them, and they feel overly threatened you have achieved the opposite.

More from Robert Greene:
You can not worry About upsetting every person you come across but you can be selectively cruel. If your superior is a falling star, there is nothing to fear from out shining him. Gauge his strength. If he is weak, discreetly hasten his downfall: Out do, out charm, outsmart him at key moments. If he is very weak and ready to fall, let nature take its course. Bide your time and be patient.

The key there is "at Key Moments". Every opportunity is not the right one. But you must be ready at the key moment. You don't know when that moment will occur so you must be ready at all times. Everyday you must be at the top of your game. Then there will be that key moment, in that one meeting with the right audience, that your boss will stumble. You will be there with the charm, grace and knowledge that the right people will notice that your boss never possessed. This will start the investigation of your boss' past successes and his potential in the future. Was this a result of you or him? After, the key moments will come more frequently. Your rise to the top will be emanate.


THE LAWS OF POWER ARE NO JOKE!