ON RECIPROCITY

The world offers its beauty and invites us to partake in its generosity. All that is required of us is to reciprocate. The law of reciprocity allows us to extract love, when we inject affection. To extract peace, when we inject happiness. And to extract wealth, when we inject value. When we give our best, we can claim the best. Central to all these riches, is our career. It is the mechanism through which we toil lovingly so we can be rewarded completely. Through our work, we can claim our worth. Through our labour, we can claim our rest. Through our craft, we can claim our position. Are you really engaged in a labour of love, or are you merely an employee whose primary objective is to race through the day to get home on time. Those whose current job is not rewarding, can be certain that their next job will not be rewarding. This means that if you’re not happy at this moment, you will not be happy at a later moment, because ‘time’ and ‘place’ do not govern happiness. The same goes for job-satisfaction; it has little to do with the job itself.

For information about Jonar’s books, please visit the official website www.LoseFriends.com

ON TENSION

Tension is not an external, evil force. Rather, it’s a tool that can be used to inject extra power into a cerebral challenge. Tension is to the mind, what muscle is to the body. It would be incorrect to say that ‘executives should be able to handle tension’. It’s not a hot potato that must be dealt with. Therefore, it’s not a question of handling tension, but of having the ability to generate it in sufficient doses to serve an important purpose. Skilled managers can generate tension for their own use and also ignite it in others. Carefully channelled, tension is an effective way to focus the mind.

For information about Jonar’s books, please visit the official website www.LoseFriends.com

JONAR NADER ON SECRECY

The secret to success, is secrecy. When secret plans are executed with speed, they generate the master-stroke that secures success. Can you work out what secrecy and speed produce when they combust? The answer is, ‘surprise’. Only share your secrets with those who understand the importance of complete, iron-clad confidentiality. Anyone who cannot be trusted, must never be trusted No room exists for those whose ego prohibits them from feigning ignorance or your plans. Finally, do not tolerate carelessness, no matter how innocent in nature. Be aware that secrecy might become a currency with which people trade favours. If confidential information is known to exist, it will only be a matter of time before it is found. A sophisticated plan is like a loaded spring; when released, the stored energy catapults the project forward at high speed. This means that anyone who can trip the spring, by leaking what might appear to be insignificant information, can destroy the whole project. In addition, secrecy requires that you be unpredictable. Do not let anyone know your full capabilities, because when your limits become known, your scenarios can be anticipated. Do not be too quick to reveal your preferences or your passions.

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ON MOMENTUM

Ask your friends to demonstrate how an aggressive person might behave, and no doubt, you’ll be treated to a display of unpleasant tantrums and abuse. It’s a shame that some words conjure up undesirable images. Aggressiveness has been unjustly detained in the sin-bin. Entrepreneurs know aggressiveness to mean ‘resolute action at high speed’. Its opposite is called ‘hesitation’. As any successful leader will tell you, hesitation spells destruction and defeat. An aggressive leader understands what a simple hiccup can do, and as a result, is averse to slowing down. The loss of momentum becomes a costly burden to absorb. Although momentum is powerful and efficient, it is energy-intensive to generate. Aggressive people know what they want, and they go all-out to get it. It’s not a question of stubbornness or myopia. It has nothing to do with greed or inconsideration. It’s all about careful assessment and unyielding determination. These must be applied when no other alternative could secure the desire outcome within the window of opportunity.

For information about Jonar’s books, please visit the official website www.LoseFriends.com

ON LOYALTY

As an employee, your first loyalty is to your boss, regardless of whether or not your boss is deserving of your attention and commitment. Even if you have to contend with an incompetent manager, you must deliver on your commitments. Avoid the temptation to treat bad bosses badly. It’s not a question of the person or the personality, but one of position and office. You might not respect your boss, the person, but you must respect your boss, the office bearer. For example, when citizens salute their national flag, are they saluting the piece of cloth? Surely they are declaring their support to their constitution, to their form of government, to their leaders, and to their laws. When urged to respect the boss, employees are being urged to pay respect to the position. It is their duty to pay attention, to give respect, and to provide loyalyty.

For information about Jonar’s books, please visit the official website www.LoseFriends.com

ON KNOWLEDGE

The slogan, ‘Knowledge is power’ is misleading. Knowledge is not in itself power. Rather, power comes from the application of knowledge. Many students are under the grand illusion that they can become something, merely by undertaking the appropriate course. We live in a world of instant gratification, whereby we want answer and pleasures immediately. We expect to see results, straight away. We dislike waiting for medication to work, and we expect speedy recoveries. Yes, strangely enough, there are still some things for which we are prepared to wait. Fore example, many people are prepared to go through tiresome routines and long time-frames to attain a goal. Prepared to work hard all year, at a job they do not particularly like, they wait patiently for a holiday, thinking that eleven months of mystery can be alleviated by four weeks away at a resort. It is with the same perverse sense of delayed fulfilment that people are prepared to invest years into tertiary education, hoping that they will eventually find an excellent job. This is the promise that many students want to believe in — just like we all want to believe in the perfect marriage and the blissful loving relationship. Unfortunately, the problem with following such a dream is that by the time we find out that we have been misled, it is often too late to reclaim our energy and our youth. Seeking job-satisfaction by undertaking tertiary education is often a gamble. There are no guarantees. There is no recourse at the end if you find that you do not have an advantage after all.

For information about Jonar’s books, please visit the official website www.LoseFriends.com

ON JUDGEMENT

‘Don’t judge people.’ ‘Don’t be judgemental.’ These admonitions are meant to discourage us from being harsh or rash in our assessment of others. A judgemental person is thought to be unreasonable. In fact, in a survey, 90% of executives said that they rely on judgement to prevent them from drowning in data. They operate at such high speeds, and engage in so many projects simultaneously, that they could not survive if they did not make judgements about the inputs they receive. Intuition plays a big part in supporting judgemental behaviour. The other major contributor is the ability to discern between useful and unreliable information.

For information about Jonar’s books, please visit the official website www.LoseFriends.com

ON INTEGRITY

You speak volumes by what you do not say. You expose your integrity by what you refuse to accept. You highlight your conviction by what you refuse to believe. Astute people will determine your fibre by observing what you deem insignificant. They will construe your essence by what you overlook. They will interpret your actions by what you neglect. They will assess your grandeur by how low you stoop. They will examine your honour by what you hide. Shrewd people will scrutinise your nature by giving you whatever you ask for. They will examine your morality by tantalising your pleasures. They will probe your ethics by sponsoring your indulgences. They will unveil your principles by extending your authority. They will know your limits by replenishing your power so that you will be able to reach your destination. Leaders do not mind clumsy people, but they worry about polished yobs. They do not mind the uneducated, but they loathe the ignorant. They can see value in a rough diamond, but not in fool’s gold. The tiniest detail exposes impostors. Vulgarity seizes glamour. Rude-ness usurps style. Indiscretion smothers elegance. Insensitivity extinguishes romance. Selfishness destroys love.

For information about Jonar’s books, please visit the official website www.LoseFriends.com

ON GREED

Of all the species, we humans seem to be the least co-ordinated. We amass wealth without purpose. We grow without reason. We consume without need. In the end, what starts out as a quest to provide our families with daily bread, ends up a mad dash for more. Do you want more? How much more? If you do not know what will satisfy you, you will never be satisfied with anything. As Mona Bennett once said, ‘What will be enough, if enough is not enough?’ There is something insanely brilliant about nature’s revenge. It gives you all the freedom you can’t handle just to remind you who’s boss.

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ON EXTREMITY

We presume that ‘extremists’ are fundamentalists who will stop at nothing and take no prisoners. That would be an inaccurate loading on the meaning of the word. Leaders know that life is far too precious to hover around mediocrity. Mediocrity tolerates inferiority and offers flexibility that soon becomes indecision. Admittedly, extremity in unwholesome pursuits will destroy one’s foundations. For that reason, many people tend to steer clear of extremity for fear of overstepping their mark and demolishing their hard-earned position. A mature person uses ‘discipline’ to guard against self-destructive behaviour. If self-discipline is not protecting you from insalubrious temptations, you will destroy your empire in due course. The warning here is: you cannot join the ranks of the elite until you know how to live the life of an extremist; but you must never engage in powerful forces if you cannot protect yourself from yourself.

For information about Jonar’s books, please visit the official website www.LoseFriends.com