WHAT'S IN THIS ISSUE
Personal Productivity--Think Lazy, Lessons From History
Lincoln’s Log
Quotable Quotes
Travel Notes From A Road Warrior--The Red Snapper, Great Airports
Resources--Real Estate, Free Articles, Executive Coaching
Feedback
I. PERSONAL PRODUCTIVITY
Advice: Think Lazy
"Hard work has a future payoff. Laziness pays off now."

Thomas Edison was fired from an early job as a telegraph operator because he invented a device that allowed him to take short naps on the job. Henry Ford, while still a boy, invented a device that allowed him to shut the gate without having to get off the wagon. Years later he invented a feeder device in his factory so that workers wouldn't have to waste their energy walking to get parts.

Sometimes you hear someone complain that life hasn't been fair to them, that they worked hard all their life and never reaped many rewards. Life isn't fair or unfair. It simply favors societies and individuals who find ways to exploit energy efficiently.

So ask yourself, "Is there a lazier way to do this?" Looking for the lazy way may be the smartest thing you can do.

Busyness may, in fact, be counterproductive. James Watson, who with Francis Crick broke the DNA code, observed: "It is necessary for you to be slightly underemployed if you are to do something significant."

The preceding paragraphs are adapted from TIME TACTICS OF VERY SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE. To learn more about this book, go to http://www.achievementdigest.com/timetacticsofverysuccessfulpeople.html

LESSONS FROM HISTORY Just Because You're Prominent Today Doesn't Mean You'll Live Happily Ever After

A disturbingly large number of individuals who were once prominent have died destitute, forgotten, and bitter. If you look for the reasons, you may be able to discover some ways to keep this from happening to you. Here are four.

One. Many individuals spend more during the good years than they earn. A good rule to follow is: Always spend less than you earn.

Two. Some people who are successful when they are young never learn how much joy there is in giving. Fame and authority is what people give you. Charity is what you give others. One of the most joy-filled men I ever met was a man who made a lot of money in the printing business. Then from about age 50 onward he devoted most of his remaining days raising money for charities. Those efforts doing good brought him friendships and satisfying experiences. You don't have to be rich to find this joy either. Volunteer your services to charities you believe in. One TAD reader gives Hollywood tours to her charity's silent auction.

Three. Some old people outlive all their friends and do not make a successful effort to find younger friends to fill the void. You're soon to be lonely if all your close friends are your age or older.

Four. Some people who are successful when they are young become bitter when their accomplishments are eclipsed, their records broken, and their achievements forgotten. They do not know what to do when nobody calls them "boss" anymore. When I lived in LA I became aware of scores of actors who once did very good work but had become forgotten. There's a story told about a street person in LA who approached one of them and asked, "Didn't you used to be somebody?"

Did your recognize yourself in any of those snapshots? If you did, here's how one man found an alternative way.

His name? Ben Franklin, or "Dr. Franklin," as he was called in old age--and he did live happily ever after. How did he do it?

One. Franklin never disengaged from life. He was still active in political affairs and causes right up to the end--despite being in almost constant physical pain during his last years. One of his very last projects was a campaign to abolish slavery. He was unsuccessful, but he was still involved in making America a better place.

One thing is for sure- Franklin did have defeats right up to the end, but if you remember history's lesson from the last TAD, conflicts and defeats automatically come with high achievements. Franklin just learned to cope with them.

Two. Franklin remained intellectually interesting. He had an enormous curiosity about a wide range of topics, and owned one of the best collections of books in America.

Three. He was a life-long philanthropist. Some of his gifts, such as the library that he established, are still making life better for others.

Four. Franklin kept on making new acquaintances that he turned into friendships. When he died, even though he had outlived many of his dearest companions, he had more friends than he had when he was young.

For more on Franklin, I like H.W. Brand's recent biography THE FIRST AMERICAN. THE LIFE AND TIMES OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.

LINCOLN'S LOG

According to one of his secretaries William O. Stoddard, Lincoln was an exceptional listener. Stoddard, who had numerous opportunities to observe Lincoln up close, made this observation: "He was a most teachable man, and asked questions with a childlike simplicity which would have been too much for the false pride of many a man far less well informed. His fund of knowledge was, as he himself declared, very largely made up of information obtained in conversation." Stoddard then observed that if Lincoln's knowledge was "not so well arranged and digested as if it had been the accumulation of careful and exact research, it included a vast amount of information hardly to be found in books."    (From William O. Stoddard, INSIDE THE WHITE HOUSE IN WAR TIMES: MEMOIRS AND REPORTS OF LINCOLN'S SECRETARY. A new edition of this Lincoln classic is available, edited by Michael Burlingame.)

LINCOLN ON COMMUNICATION
  Rave reviews are coming in for our new DVD release "Lincoln On Communication" It's coming to be widely used as a training film for leadership and communication programs. For information and ordering information go to http://www.achievementdigest.com/lincoln%20on%20communication.html

THE JIMMY CARTER LIBRARY AND MUSEUM   On the Friday after Thanksgiving--November 26--at 2:00 PM, Gene Griessman will perform "Lincoln Live" at the Jimmy Carter Library and Museum. This performance is open to the public and is a sponsored event, so admission is free. Seating is limited and is on a first-come basis. If you plan to be in the Atlanta area at Thanksgiving, mark your calendars, and come early. For directions call 404-865-7100 or use Mapquest--441 Freedom Parkway, Atlanta, GA 30507

QUOTABLE QUOTES

"I am a man who believes with all fervor and intensity in moderate progress. Too often men who believe in moderation believe in it only moderately and tepidly and leave fervor to the extremists of the two sides -- the extremists of reaction and the extremists of progress." —Theodore Roosevelt

"Whenever you're tackled, look for a way to fall forward." (This wise advice comes from football, but it works outside the stadium as well.)

"It's more important to know how to get a vicious dog off your butt than it is to understand why dogs go wild." Ken Futch

Bumper Sticker "It's lonely at the top, but you eat better."

ROAD WARRIOR TRAVELER TIPS

*ATLANTA RED SNAPPER   No, not the Red Lobster. This unusual Atlanta restaurant specializes in a fusion of Thai and New Orleans recipes. Take a taxi if you're from out of town, because it's not easy to find. I love their Snapper Yvonne, their Ginger Snapper, and the Crabmeat Vidalia. (In case you don't know your onions, the Vidalia onion is a premium sweet onion that is grown only in Georgia. I prefer it to any other onion, including the famous Maui onion.) 2100 Cheshire Bridge Rd NE, 404-634-8947. Inexpensive

*AIRPORTS: DETROIT, VANCOUVER, CHARLOTTE, PELLSTON (MI)
  Great airports. Detroit's Metropolitan Wayne County Airport. Over $2 billion dollars has been spent to make Detroit's International Airport first-rate, and it shows. Vancouver's International Airport is in a class by itself--the most beautiful and functional airport that I've been in.

Nice touches: I like the rocking chairs in the concourses of Charlotte's (NC) and Philadelphia's airports. The most charming small airport I've seen is the new Pellston (Michigan) Airport. It has a log staircase, terrazzo floors, rustic Old Hickory furniture, including rocking chairs. There are real fireplaces and an observation deck. Area residents have donated artifacts -- antique skis, airplane props, historic photographs. It feels more like a small resort than an airport. You ask, why Pellston? It's just a few miles away from Michigan's popular tourist destination--Mackinac Island.

QUIZ    The quote in the September issue was from Bill Clinton

RESOURCES

REAL ESTATE Recently I discovered a very useful website--houseandhome. If you're planning to start a business in a particular neighborhood or city, purchase a second home or invest in real estate, check out http://www.houseandhome.msn.com/pickaplace/nf_overview.aspx

You will find demographic data, like the median age and median income, but there's much more--the crime index, vacancy rates, what magazines the residents read, the TV shows they watch, and the kinds of cars they drive.

To use this resource you'll need the Zip code of the location in question. If you don't know the Zip code, go to http://www.zipinfo.com/search/zipcode.htm. This site provides the Zip code of all the neighborhoods, towns, and cities of the U.S. And both resources are free.

EXECUTIVE COACHING. If you have the time and resources for a personal coach, check out the following free article to see if personal coaching is right for you. http://www.achievementdigest.com/coaching%20philosophy.html

FREE ARTICLES We have created an index at our website to help you find fre-e articles on a wide range of topics. Go to www.achievementdigest and look for the link "Fre-e Articles Index to All Pages"

FEEDBACK

Patrick Lee, who does a beautiful one-man play as Thomas Jefferson (573-657-2739), provided this Jefferson quote after reading our last installment on Lessons From History: "On the opposition that leaders experience: 'Men of energy of character must have enemies; because there are two sides to every question, and taking one with decision, and acting on it with effect, those who take the other will of course be hostile...' (1817, Thomas Jefferson to John Adams)"

IF YOU ARE INVOLVED IN PLANNING AN UPCOMING MEETING, SALES CONFERENCE, CUSTOMER-APPRECIATION EVENT OR SEMINAR, PLEASE TYPE "YES" BESIDE THE ITEM/S BELOW AND RETURN THIS EMAIL IN ORDER TO RECEIVE MORE ABOUT THE FOLLOWING

PROGRAMS:
___Lincoln-Leadership
___Personal Productivity-Time Management
___Macroforces and Trends in American Society
___Keynote Presentation ("Lessons From Legends" "Success and Failure: Nine Secrets That Make The Difference")