LinkUP Thursday: The Best Business Books In Brief...

"People want to be part of something that is bigger than they are"

Good Morning Folks,


Want to read 15 famous business books in under a minute?

To save you some time and money, Business Insider's made it possible. They boiled down some of the most popular and influential business books out there to their central lessons.

For those looking to bone up on some business theory, here are the highlights.

Read all about it: http://www.businessinsider.com/famous-business-book-summaries-2013-10#ixzz2jd8lh8HT

Have a GREAT day. Love LIFE!

Mitchell D. Weiner
Chief Happiness Officer

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"Never stop working at what you love because that's the fuel that makes life worth living. Happiness is about making dreams come true, no matter how long it takes."
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Inspire ME: Do 80% of People Quietly Despise Their Lives?

"While the more you can do the thing you love the better off you will be, the more important thing is to identify why you wake up in the morning. You need to come to grips with something that you value and be willing to make sacrifices in order to move towards it."

Greetings Folks,

Steve Spalding suggests that 80% of People Quietly Despise Their Lives. Are you among them?

This isn't a statistic, it's a casual observation based on talking to way more people about their careers than any normal person should. I'm convinced that most people dislike their lives, not in any robust way but with the kind of casual contempt that can be easily ignored by a society that prizes movement and action above just about everything else.

They dislike their jobs, they dislike their boss, they dislike the things they must do in order to make the living that will allow them to continue disliking their life.

They don't yell and scream and complain about it, in fact, they shuffle their way through it peacefully enough and teach their children that life is hard and painful and that they should appreciate any ounce of goodness that the universe deems them worthy of.

I think that the older you get, the more likely it is for you to fall into my 80%.

Children typically like life a lot. Teenagers are a little wishy-washy on it, but for the most part they think it's the tops. The problem starts somewhere around the mid-20s, when we get thrown out into the world to do "whatever we want to" and we realize that the majority of that time will be spent surviving and helping others to survive.

Kind of a bummer, especially when you spend the majority of your early days looking forward to the freedom of being an adult. This realization is enough to cripple most of us, and very few who survive it make it through unscarred.

So who, you might be wondering, are the elusive 20% who are actually enjoying the ride?

The richly working.

More than any other criteria - age, class, wealth, sex, whatever - it's the people who have a purpose, who have something they believe in and are willing to work on it despite whatever obstacles might get in their way who end up being happy. It's the people who wake up and know they are moving in a direction, towards something that is important to them, that end up loving their lives. It's the people who don't think about retirement because whatever it is that they are doing is truly meaningful that end up being truly content.

Before you ask, you don't have to quit your job and move into a commune to pull this off.

Having a purpose doesn't mean devoting your entire life to that purpose. While the more you can do the thing you love the better off you will be, the more important thing is to identify why you wake up in the morning. You need to come to grips with something that you value and be willing to make sacrifices in order to move towards it.

It might take you 20 years to write your novel, but put a sentence or two on a page every day.

It might take half your life to save up enough to open your restaurant, but do save and make concessions, make sacrifices to see to it that you will eventually get there.

Don't just hope that things will work themselves out, understand that you can make goals and as long as you actively pursue them it's not foolish or crazy to think that you can really accomplish something.

A big part of happiness is having something that makes you happy. A bigger part is doing something with it, developing real, practical steps that you can use in order to reach your goal. You can work your entire life and never do anything that you like. Considering time is the only resource that is truly scarce, you have to ask yourself whether it's worth it.

What say you about this? Let me know by reply.

Have a safe, happy and healthy weekend as I look forward to seeing all of you soon.

Mitchell D. Weiner
Chief Happiness Officer

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"Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower" 
~~Steve Jobs 
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InspireME Friday: On a Positive Note, Let's Be Grateful.

"The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings."~~ Eric Hoffer

Good Morning Friends,


Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity.... It turns problems into gifts, failures into success, the unexpected into perfect timing, and mistakes into important events. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.

These words remind us that all of us at FSO we have lots to be thankful for.

Indeed, we do.

Here's a life lesson my mother taught me:

I've learned that if you pursue happiness, it will elude you. But if you focus on your family, your friends, the needs of others, your work and doing the best you can, happiness will find you.

I've learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decisions.

I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one.

I've learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love that human touch- holding hands, a warm hug or just a friendly pat on the back.

I've learned that I still have a lot to learn.

Sometimes you need just a little something to make you smile. 

At times like these we all need to smile. 

People forget what you said, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

You should pass this along to someone you care about. I just did. 


And always remember what John F Kennedy said: “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”

Here is how you say Thank You in 465 languages.

Have a GREAT day as I look forward to seeing all of you soon.

Mitchell D. Weiner
Chief Happiness Officer

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People may not always remember what you said, but they will always remember how you made them feel. 

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InspireME: Bringing Out Talent in Others

"A superior leader is a person who can bring ordinary people together to achieve extraordinary results."

Good Morning Folks,    Thank you for today's wonderful article, Bruce.  Recognizing talent is relatively easy, no offense to successful recruiters be it in business, college or sports. However, "cultivating" talent is a gift because it requires really listening and looking for the unspoken words more than the spoken words as you note. But apply this to a team, many leaders are befuddled and look for the easy fix of drawing to people that think like themselves.  There is great merit in exploring the talents people have, developing them, encouraging them, and taking them to the next level. With good leadership, every day, regular people accomplish amazing things when they work together as a team doing what they do best.  Indeed - the mark of a true leader is getting others to perform beyond their own expectations. Parents and sports coaches alike can agree to this.

==> The Best Talent Is Bringing Out Talent in Others by Bruce Kasanoff Entrepreneur. Writer. Speaker. "A superior leader is a person who can bring ordinary people together to achieve extraordinary results." Many years ago, an entrepreneur told me that. He was right. But this isn't just true of leaders. It's true of all human beings. I've come to believe that the most valuable talent is being able to recognize hidden skills that others possess. Why? There's only one you, and you only have so much time. But if you can bring out the best in others, you gain remarkable leverage. So very hard... I'm not just talking about recognizing talent. I'm talking about being able to recognize a look in someone's eyes that tells you something valuable is burning inside that person. I'm talking about realizing that if you take Jake's drive, mix it with Julie's intelligence and Dave's creativity, then you will transform three mildly effective people into a spectacular team. I'm talking about looking past what's "wrong" with others, and instead seeing what's special about them in very pragmatic and actionable terms. How do you do this? Here's a short list of ways you can bring out the best in others: 1.) Let your gaze - and your attention - linger.  Instead of rushing past a person, or barely acknowledging their existence, you could choose to stop and really look into their eyes. Look at their body language. Consider what they are NOT saying and NOT doing. Ask yourself why. Consider two possibilities. One is that they have more value to add, but are unwilling (yet) to show greater initiative. Another is that they lack the confidence to utilize their "hidden" talents in a public fashion. Then look for ways to offer motivation and support. 2.) Magnify the quietest voices.  Money, power, and influence often flow towards the loudest voices in an organization - but sometimes the quietest voices possess the best answers. Can you think of a way to magnify the quiet voices? For example, I once visited an organization and was greeted by dozens of outgoing, warm people. But one young woman sat quietly in a corner, studying a book. It turned out she had recently moved from China, and did not yet have a strong mastery of English. But she was a genius, had performed at Carnegie Hall as a teenager, and had both a broader and deeper perspective than virtually everyone in the room. Think about ways you can identify and encourage these quiet gems. 3.) Mix things up.  Watch for opportunities to create non-intuitive combinations of people, ideas and circumstances. You can do this through social events, discussion groups, or even a carefully orchestrated meeting. You can do this by introducing people via email, and giving them a reason to interact. Many times, we make the mistake of waiting for others to initiate change. You might be thinking: this isn't my job, I'm not head of the department/division/company. Anyone can do this, and no matter who does it, that person is cultivating the amazing skill of bringing out the best in others. 4.) Look past your own biases.  Most of us are drawn to certain types of people. They might be like us, or they might simply be people who like us. If all you do is to follow your natural instincts, then you will be blind to most of the talent on Earth. You need to cultivate an appreciation for people who think, act, and feel differently than you. This is a tremendously difficult challenge. One way to start is to make others feel important by listening, really hard - with 100% of your attention - to what they have to say. Then repeat back what they told you, so that they know you understood. It's a small step, but an important one in the right direction. If you only interact with people who are within your comfort zone, you will seldom achieve anything great. Almost by definition, spectacular progress requires disparate ideas and talents to come together in unprecedented ways. Become one who cultivates talent in others. It will enrich your life and supercharge your career.

Have a Happy, Healthy, Safe and Refreshing Weekend, Love Life! Mitchell D. Weiner Chief Happiness Officer   Learn more about what DIFFERENTIATES FSO here . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  . . . . .  "Doubt is an old disease. Faith is an old medicine. Compassion is an old doctor. Concern is an old nurse." ~~Sri Chinmoy (1931-2007, spiritual teacher) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  . . . . . . . . . . . .  . . . . . .