Success Blog Archives
Success Blog posts insightful comments on the latest international news that render us taken-aback in the domain of the success facet of life. Success Blog: Success-Secrets News 1 Carlos Slim - Success secrets of the world's richest man: Aug 5th 2007
Eat your heart out Warren Buffett. Carlos Slim is the world's richest man, and the Wall Street Journal took a fascinating look at his investment secrets in the weekend edition. According to the piece: It's hard to spend a day in Mexico and not put money in his pocket. The 67-year-old tycoon controls more than 200 companies -- he says he's "lost count" -- in telecommunications, cigarettes, construction, mining, bicycles, soft drinks, airlines, hotels, railways, banking, and printing. In all, his companies account for more than a third of the total value of Mexico's leading stock market index, while his fortune represents 7% of the country's annual economic output. Success Blog: Success Secrets News 1 (Continued) His secret? Monopolies. He has a stranglehold on the telephone industry in Mexico, and has drawn the inevitable comparisons to the robber barons of the early industrial days of the United States. While I lack the time or the familiarity with Slim's career to opine on the ethics of his maneuvers, I do note an interesting similarity between Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, and Carlos Slim, the world's three richest men: Gates built his fortune by creating a product that everyone needed and has many monopolistic qualities. Buffett built his by buying brands with "strong moats" at reasonable prices. Slim has sought to eliminate competition in the industries he operates in. All three sought moats in some way, and seeking a moat is arguably the way to make money: If you're a worker, develop a valuable skill that other people don't have. That's a monopoly. Anytime you have something that other people want and can't get without you, that's moat/monopoly. Success Blog: Success Secrets News 2 Young market master shares success secrets: Aug 3 2007 Jane Jimenez-Basas, senior manager, Smart Communications-International Services Group, shares five secrets to a successful and rewarding marketing career: 1. Be like a sponge and always keep an open mind. Observe, listen, read, ask questions, and learn as much as you can from the people around you, be it someone from marketing, sales, customer care, or even operations. Expose yourself to the many disciplines in the organization. You'll pick up valuable inputs from them that will make you understand your business, your customers, and more importantly, yourself, better. If you're lucky, find a mentor who will share with you how he got to where he is. Success Blog: Success Secrets News 2 (Continued) 2. Be a team player and an inspiring team leader at the same time. Always keep in mind that you do not have a monopoly of great ideas. Remember that you need to work with people in order to get things done as efficiently and as effectively as possible. In most cases, as a marketing person, you will most likely lead projects for the company. Make sure that you have the support of your team and encourage them to give you 100 percent all the time. But be willing to give your 110 percent. Success Blog: Success Secrets News 2 (Continued) 3. Be prepared to work hard. Embrace it wholeheartedly when you are given tasks, whether big or small. As a young marketer, always have the mindset that you will learn something valuable in every new thing that is assigned to you. Arm yourself with the right knowledge and skills set to make sure you do your tasks well, and better, than most. Plus, learn to think steps ahead. Marketing is not always a glamorous job. It's constantly juggling various aspects of projects well to a point where firefighting is not an option. Success Blog: Success Secrets News 2 (Continued) 4. Be resilient and passionate. A huge part of your job as a marketing person is coming up with fresh concepts and convincing other people to support your ideas, which may not be an easy process all the time. Never let temporary glitches stop you from pursuing what you think is good for your project. Never shy away from a good challenge. When people around you say it cannot be done, say it can, do it, and prove them wrong. But always, be accountable. Success Blog: Success Secrets News 2 (Continued) 5. And always, bet on yourself! Have a personal value proposition and be known for something. There will always be peaks and valleys in any organization, and for as long as you focus on your job and deliver on your commitments consistently, you will surely be a success. Success Blog: Success Secrets News 3 Ten success secrets from the 'professionals': July 30, 2007 • Arrive early (with a flashlight if it's before sunrise). "That's when people are setting up, and shoppers who go early get their pick of the merchandise," Rusty said. "You'll be up against professionals. I see dealers who have stores on South Broadway or who collect military paraphernalia out there at the crack of dawn." Success Blog: Success Secrets News 3 (Continued) • Plan for comfort and ease. If you're shopping for clothes, wear something that will fit under your potential purchases. Wear comfortable shoes. Bring an empty backpack, a rolling suitcase or a collapsible wire cart for your load. If you buy something heavy, ask the vendor to hold it for you until you can come back with your car. Success Blog: Success Secrets News 3 (Continued) • If the weather is stormy, come anyway. An extra layer of clothing or an umbrella can make it possible to shop virtually without competition. However, Doris notes, you'll also find fewer booths. Success Blog: Success Secrets News 3 (Continued) • Bring cash. Vendors prefer it to checks, and few take credit cards. If you're worried about pickpockets, keep it in a passport bag around your neck. But keep a few small bills in your pockets so that when something is priced at $15, you can pull a 10 out of your pocket and ask, "Would you take $10?" Success Blog: Success Secrets News 3 (Continued) • Know what you're looking for - and its approximate worth - before you go. Doris has made money on flea-market finds for years, but she buys only items in the few categories she knows and collects for herself, including miniatures, dolls, figurines and jewelry. "I love rhinestone jewelry so much that it's hard to sell the really glitzy stuff," she said. "I wind up keeping a lot of it." Success Blog: Success Secrets News 3 (Continued) • It can't hurt to haggle. "Some vendors will lower their prices, some won't," Rusty said. "You won't know if you don't try. But if someone is asking $100, don't start at $10." Success Blog: Success Secrets News 3 (Continued) • Keep an open mind. So what if you didn't have shampoo or a videocassette of Almost Famous on your list? If they're cheap enough and you need or want them, buy them anyway. Success Blog: Success Secrets News 3 (Continued) • If you fall in love with something and can afford it, snap it up. Flea-market opportunities come around only once. Doris found one of her favorite possessions at a flea market - a porcelain figure of a woman holding a basket of flowers that dates from the mid-1800s. She didn't know its value until she took it home; she just knew she loved it. Success Blog: Success Secrets News 3 (Continued) • Don't try to cash in on fads. What's that Beanie Baby collection worth today? "Everything goes through phases," Doris said. "There was a time you couldn't touch a piece of cut glass for less than $70. . . . But you won't go too far wrong if you pay what you know to be a fair price for something timeless and elegant." Success Blog: Success Secrets News 3 (Continued) • Focus on useful, well- made items. A bookcase or nightstand made of solid wood is still better than something new made of wood veneers, and it can be refinished. Rusty always looks at the tools, just in case someone has the wrench size he's missing. Success Blog Comment: Mr. Slims fortune is only possible because of the politically unfair and socially unbalanced economy of Mexico and not because of any great success secrets of his...it will exist for a while until the nation catches up on its relatively new democratic values. It's too bad to see such vast injustice in Mexico economy that allows for such wealth concentration in one person. The good news is the next generation of Mexico will not and can not allow this monopoly condition to exist. The alternative is Slim will own 100% of the country and its hardly acceptable. I don't think that Carlos Slim is an ordinary man, but he is absolutely not a "business genius" or an example for entrepreneurs as he's often praised by the pompous Mexican media. His main coup was to pull his influence and political connections to acquire Telmex, his cash cow monopoly that provides a steady and seemingly endless source of funding. From this he has been able to purchase and invest in technology and grow his companies with relative ease. I don't see him slowing down as long as he's under the cover of Mexico's government, but if Mexico's economy were to collapse when oil reserves run out in about 10 years as projected recently, then he'll probably make a move out of here. This is probably why he's "invested" in the Clinton foundation as opposed to doing some real solid work to help the 40 million mexicans living in extreme poverty that are indirectly helping him be the richest man alive. I invite you to subscribe to my E-zine titled Life Coach, free of charge. This E-zine publishes insightful comments on the latest international news that render us taken-aback in the domains of various facets of life. A not-to-be-missed opportunity! Subscribe to it here: I also invite you to subscribe to my Life Blog - no need to provide your e-mail address here. This RSS feed keeps you informed about new developments taking place on this site. It also harbors 25 journal bloglets posting insightful comments on the latest international news that render us taken-aback in the domains of various facets of life. In order to subscribe to the blog, right-click on the orange RSS button (see buttons up to the left) and then paste the URL into your RSS reader. Or click on add to My Yahoo! button or My MSN or Add To Google button if you keep a personalized home page there. If you are not sure what RSS or blogging is all about, click on What's an RSS Feed? here:
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