Excerpted From "Everything I Know About Business I Learned From My Mama" By Tim Knox.
Whenever my dear wife is going to say something potentially insulting about someone she prefaces her comments with the words, "I don't mean this bad, but…"
For example, "I don't mean this bad, but if she gets any fatter she's gonna need a beeper to warn people when she's backing up."
Or, "I don't mean this bad, but that baby is so ugly they'll have to tie a pork chop around his neck just to get the dog to play with him."
"I don't mean this bad, but…" is her universal disclaimer.
It gives her the right to say anything she wants about anyone and still not lose points with the Big Man upstairs. Consider it sin with an out-clause.
If it's a particularly nonflattering remark she will make sure her spot in heaven is safe by appending the statement with, "bless his heart." I call it her disclaiming double-dip.
For example, "I don't mean this bad, but that man is about as useless as a cocktail umbrella in a thunderstorm, bless his heart."
You get the idea. So, if you're standing in the bookstore reading these words right now, I don't mean this bad, but… this book may not be for you… bless your heart.
This book is written by a guy (that'd be me) who has very little tolerance for whining, lame excuses, incompetence, and BS; so naturally that attitude permeates my writing and outlook on life (mine and yours).
This book is the product of my experience and observations made while building several successful businesses from scratch over the last 15 years.
This book is written in the sweat and blood of a thousand lessons learned. It offers my honest opinion and honest advice, not only on how to succeed in business, but how to achieve personal success along the way, because I believe that without personal success, business success means nothing. It's like having a Porsche in your garage, but no key in your hand. It is a hollow victory at best.
You may not share my views or respect my opinions or laugh at my jokes and I don't expect everyone to drink the Kool-Aid I'm dispensing. Only those who are thirsty for knowledge and a better life with a side order of common sense and humor will truly appreciate and benefit from what I have to say.
The rest of you… well, bless your hearts.
And that's okay.
Let's face it, not everyone is cut out to live a happy, meaningful life.
I don't mean this bad, but…
Some people find great joy in spreading great pain.
Some people enjoy wallowing in their own depression like pigs in a mud hole.
Some people are only happy when they are truly miserable, or when they are making everyone around them as miserable as they are.
Some people discover that they are happy only when they do everything in their power to make themselves unhappy.
Some people torpedo themselves. Then they sit around and wonder why they always fail.
Some people will go to their graves complaining that life has done them wrong. These are the people who have things like, "I knew this was going to happen" and "Look what life did to me" chiseled on their gravestones.
Some people will die a bitter death waiting for their ship to come in and opportunity to show up at their door.
Bless their pathetic, pitiful, whining hearts.
If you are one of these people, this book is not for you.
If you're one of those people who think that everyone else on the planet is responsible for your happiness, this book is not for you.
I doubt you're one of those people because they rarely set foot in a bookstore.
"Bookstore? Is that the building down by the new Wal-Mart with all the books in it?"
Most of these goobers couldn't even tell you where the nearest bookstore is, much less give you the title of a single book therein. They do their reading in the checkout line at the food mart.
They can't tell you who wrote Think And Grow Rich, but they can tell you the names of all of Brad and Angelina's kids and tell you which star is sleeping with that star and how many times Elvis has been spotted in the last few years.
Now given that I believe Elvis is still alive and living somewhere in South America, we'll let that last one slide, but you get the point.
They believe in aliens and Bigfoot and American Idol and Jerry Springer and soap operas and reality shows and lottery tickets and hand-outs and free rides and when it's convenient, God, but they don't believe in themselves, and that's the biggest shame of all.
Next, if you're one of those people who sit on your butt with the remote control in one hand and a beer in the other while you curse fate and your fellow man because you don't live in a bigger house or drive a better car or can't afford more expensive beer, this book is not for you.
Again, since visiting a bookstore would involve actually prying your backside off the couch and taking action, I doubt this is you.
If you've ever uttered the words, "It's not my fault…" this book is also not for you. You're a "blame layer" and blame layers do not read books to make their lives better. They seek out books that help justify and excuse their angry existence, books that lay the blame on someone else, usually their parents or society or a past love. When they run out of physical beings to blame their problems on, they turn their anger toward a higher power and start laying the blame there.
"It's not my fault that my life stinks! God doesn't like me."
I think God must spend an awful lot of time just looking down and shaking his head, perhaps asking Himself, "What was I thinking?"
If you are constantly moaning that "life just isn't fair" this book is not for you. In fact, if you think life owes you a free ride, go ahead and put this book back on the shelf and carry your worthless butt out to the curb and sit there until the Reader's Digest Sweepstakes Prize Patrol shows up. Go on, you'll recognize them by the van and the balloons. Smile when they hand you that giant check that you think will change your life.
Say, "Cheese."
I hope you brought enough cake and punch to your pity party to share with everyone, my friend, because you're in for a long, long wait.
You may think that I'm being harsh and you may be right, but it is a harshness borne out of dealing with people exactly like those I've described above.
Each example is based on real people I have encountered over the years, each of whom tried to convince me that they were willing to do everything it took to succeed in business, so long as it didn't inconvenience them or conflict with their TV viewing schedule.
We live in what I call a silver platter society, in which the majority of Americans sit and wait for things to be handed to them on a silver platter. And most often you have to put the silver platter in their lap because they are too lazy to walk across the floor to pick it up.
It's sad when these people tell me they're waiting for opportunity to knock, for their ship to come in, for their number to come up. We'll discuss later how opportunity doesn't come knocking, but even if it did these lazy goobers probably wouldn't even bother to get up to answer the door, bless their hearts.
If you are one of the people described above you don't need a book on success and you certainly have no business even thinking about becoming an entrepreneur until you make drastic changes in the way you think and the way you live your life. In your current state of mind you are doomed to failure even before you begin.
In fact, the only book you need is the telephone book. I'm sure if you flip through it long enough you'll find the name and number of someone who just might give a damn that your life is in the crapper and they may even believe you when you say it's not your fault.
As Travis Tritt would say, "Here's a quarter, call someone who cares!"
That's why my telephone number is unlisted. I live in a "no whining, no excuses" zone that prohibits such people from breathing the same air as I do.
It's a beautiful way to live. I highly recommend it.
Now that I've alienated a good portion of the population, let me tell you who should read this book and absorb it as gospel.
This book is for anyone considering a career in business, either as an owner, manager, or executive.
This book is for anyone already entrenched in a business that needs a healthy dose of common sense business advice and logical direction.
This book is not meant to be a self-help book, though I believe the principles I've used to build my businesses and under which I live my life are the same ones you can use to pursue your own dreams of success.
I believe that true business and financial success are directly related to success and happiness in your personal life. Sure, you can become wildly successful in business and still have a lousy personal life, but that means that you've only completed part of the puzzle. Until the rest of the pieces fall into place, your picture is not complete.
Your life is not balanced if the right hand is happy, but the left hand is miserable. Your success in business will one day be degraded by your lack of success in your personal life and the house of cards will come tumbling down.
I know many miserable millionaires and many happy poor people. The difference between them isn't the amount of money they have, it's the attitude with which they approach life.
You succeed personally when you and those closest to you are all happy, healthy, and living in harmony.
You are a personal success when you are loved not for the money you have and the possessions you own, but for the person you are.
You are a success when you consider others before you consider yourself.
You are a success when you get more joy out of giving than getting.
You are a success when you have earned the respect and love of those you respect and love in return.
From a personal perspective, this book is for anyone who has the backbone and determination to take responsibility for their own life.
This book is for those who know that anything worth having is worth working hard to obtain.
This book is for those who want a better life and aren't afraid of doing anything and everything necessary to build it.
This book is for those who want to live their life with purpose and intention.
This book is for drivers, not passengers.
There are a few more things you should know before you waste your money and time on this book.
One, this is not your run-of-the-mill business book. I am not going to blow smoke up your pants leg and tell you that starting and managing a business is easy, because it is not.
Even on the best of days it can be hard work, long hours, with very little reward. Being an entrepreneur doesn't mean you get to lie on the beach and drink Coronas all day. You may certainly reach that level of success, but until your business is where it can survive without your daily intervention you're going to be much too busy to even think about beaches and beer (hey, Travis, that would make a great country song title).
Two, as you've probably already figured out for yourself, I'm going to say things that tick a lot of people off. I'm not much of a coddler. I'm not going to give you my opinion and follow it up with a hug. I will not tell you what you want to hear. I will tell you what you need to hear.
I'm here to help you succeed; not to help you make excuses for your failure.
The traditional business gurus may not agree with everything I say and that's fine.
I'm not trying to help them.
I'm trying to help you.
So, is this book for you?
You are the only one who can answer that question.
Hopefully by now you know.
Bless your heart.
Now go on, pay for the dang book and let's have some fun!
