Part 1: Achieving

Money, work and people: getting what I wanted, and what it cost.

The great external achievements of my life have been my family, my friends, and my fortune. I never became famous or won any great prizes, so I can’t give advice on those types of goals.

These stories are about what it takes to be successful as seen by others, and to enjoy the process. It’s called working hard and playing hard.

They come in three groups. Money is about making it, investing it, losing it, spending it, and knowing when you have enough. I went bankrupt before I got rich, so there’s advice here on both. Productivity is about getting things done: procrastination, email, being on time, keeping your word, making decisions, and what to do when a business you thought was running itself suddenly isn’t. Relationships is about family, friends, strangers and the people you work with, including how to find great ones and when to let the wrong ones go.

Some of the stories are about the consequences of success, things to watch out for, rather than how to get there. Think of them as how to avoid failure, which I believe is just as important as how to achieve success.