THE EDUCATED RETAILERS' GUIDE
1. Without good finance,
we fail.
Money is not the main driver for me in anything I do. It's a helpful tool, but it's never
been the height of my sense of achievement.
Nevertheless, money remains an important
piece of our existence. It does not buy happiness, but it does buy some of the stuff that
forms a secure foundation, without which a
mindful life is nearly impossible to construct.
If we have little or none of it, we're going to
have a hard time. Without trying to oversimplify things, good finance is about having
about as much money as we think we need,
and about living accordingly, and effectively,
within those means.
This natural law is all about getting
some clarity on what financial success
means to us, and then going after it. It's
about living sustainably and responsibly,
and giving to the community and to others. It's about managing our cash flow
well enough that we're not freaking out
about it every Friday morning. More than
anything, it's about having a positive personal relationship with money. Like any
relationship, our bond with money can be
positive, prominent, productive or pretty
much tortured. Personally, I'm going for
a healthy mutual respect, an abundance
mentality and, through my work, a chance
to contribute positively to the cash standing of those around me.
2. Successful people believe in
their work—and so do others.
If we're successful in life, we believe in what
we're doing. Our excitement and good energy carries through to those around us, who
are in turn energized by the positive energy.
Our work is attention-getting, attractive,
different, emotionally engaging and thoughtprovoking. It's true of film, business, art,
sports and, certainly, specialty food.
By contrast, people who are mostly just
passing time or getting by rarely have that
glow, that buzz about them. Whether it's
being a brain surgeon, baker or banker, the
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