I cannot take credit for writing all of these rules, I did add a few of my own though. I think it’s important to have a few rules that are things you will not stray from. Most people can these morale/principles, but whatever you call them you need to find out which one(s) you will follow.

1. Get and stay out of your comfort zone.
I believe that not much happens of any significance when we’re in our comfort zone. I hear people say, “But I’m concerned about security.” My response to that is simple: “Security is for cadavers.”

2. Never give up.
Almost nothing works the first time it’s attempted. Just because what you’re doing does not seem to be working, doesn’t mean it won’t work. It just means that it might not work the way you’re doing it. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it, and you wouldn’t have an opportunity.

3. When you’re ready to quit, you’re closer than you think.
There’s an old Chinese saying that I just love, and I believe it is so true. It goes like this: “The temptation to quit will be greatest just before you are about to succeed.”

4. With regard to whatever worries you, not only accept the worst thing that could happen, but make it a point to quantify what the worst thing could be.
Very seldom will the worst consequence be anywhere near as bad as a cloud of “undefined consequences.” My father would tell me early on, when I was struggling and losing my shirt trying to get Parsons Technology going, “Well, Robert, if it doesn’t work, they can’t eat you.”

5. Focus on what you want to have happen.
Remember that old saying, “As you think, so shall you be.”

6. Take things a day at a time.
No matter how difficult your situation is, you can get through it if you don’t look too far into the future, and focus on the present moment. You can get through anything one day at a time.

7. Always be moving forward.
Never stop investing. Never stop improving. Never stop doing something new. The moment you stop improving your organization, it starts to die. Make it your goal to be better each and every day, in some small way. Remember the Japanese concept of Kaizen. Small daily improvements eventually result in huge advantages.

8. Be quick to decide.
Remember what General George S. Patton said: “A good plan violently executed today is far and away better than a perfect plan tomorrow.”

9. Measure everything of significance.
I swear this is true. Anything that is measured and watched, improves.

10. Anything that is not managed will deteriorate.
If you want to uncover problems you don’t know about, take a few moments and look closely at the areas you haven’t examined for a while. I guarantee you problems will be there.

11. Pay attention to your competitors, but pay more attention to what you’re doing.
When you look at your competitors, remember that everything looks perfect at a distance. Even the planet Earth, if you get far enough into space, looks like a peaceful place.

12. Never let anybody push you around.
In our society, with our laws and even playing field, you have just as much right to what you’re doing as anyone else, provided that what you’re doing is legal.  If the law is unfair to you and others, you should do everything in your power to see that doesn’t happen anymore going along with not allowing anyone to push you around. Imagine if Rosa Parks would have obeyed the laws! [Thanks Katrina]

13. Never expect life to be fair.
Life isn’t fair. You make your own breaks. You’ll be doing good if the only meaning fair has to you, is something that you pay when you get on a bus (i.e., fare).

14. Solve your own problems.
You’ll find that by coming up with your own solutions, you’ll develop a competitive edge. Masura Ibuka, the co-founder of SONY, said it best: “You never succeed in technology, business, or anything by following the others.” There’s also an old Asian saying that I remind myself of frequently. It goes like this: “A wise man keeps his own counsel.”

15. Don’t take yourself too seriously.
Lighten up. Often, at least half of what we accomplish is due to luck. None of us are in control as much as we like to think we are.

16. There’s always a reason to smile.
Find it. After all, you’re really lucky just to be alive. Life is short. More and more, I agree with my little brother. He always reminds me: “We’re not here for a long time, we’re here for a good time!”

Looking over these rules, they are more for the entrepreneur than anyone else but due to their over all value, they are very good rules. I would like to hear of any other rules people live by, please speak up.

Things have gotten much better for my family and I since my last post. Our electricity came on very unexpectedly yesterday about 12pm. We are part of the small handful of houses in our county with power. We live about 1/2 from a little town in another county and they wired us into their grind. We are really thankful!

We have spent the last day or two cleaning up around our property and cleaning the house. My wife and I keep talking about how fortunate we are and how fortunate our whole town is. There was only one person that was killed here in town. It was a woman everyone knows, she was the return manager at Walmart. One of those nice ladies who never questions what you are returning items, she would just take it and give you a refund or whatever.

The other thing that I keep thinking about is how random this whole event was.We are being told now that there was actually three tornados in our county. One went through part of downtown, one went through a small community north of town called Sunnyland, and the other went just on the other side of the hill by my house. They were all F4 tornados and a little bit this way and I doubt I would be blogging right now. It was all so random and fast.

I intended my first post to be a great poker strategy post or somehting of that nature, but last night we had a life changing event, so I decided to go a different direction.

For my first post on this new site I’m going to let you in on a private part of my life. My family and I are in a nice hotel tonight because last night we survived our first Arkansas tornado.. We live in Mtn. view and the twister hit about a quarter mile from my house.

We are really lucky compared to some of our neighbors. I can honestly say I’ve never seen or heard anything like it. The amount of destruction is massive in our little town.. We know of one person that has died and there are still a few people missing. I’m going to post a few pictures of our town later..