Notes & Quotes - Live Rich by Stephen Pollan and Mark Levine

Here are my favorite quotes from the book Live Rich by Stephen Pollan and Mark Levine.  Numbered for convenience. 

1. To live rich is to be free, and to be free is to live rich.
2. You are the only one who can keep you from living rich.
3. Work isn't meant to provide fulfillment, it's meant to provide money.
4. To live rich you need to learn to spot future trends in your department, in your company, your industry, your profession, your market, your town, and your region, and act on them.
5. The only ways to make money without hard work are to inherit it and to win the lottery.
6. Someone else's success doesn't diminish you; someone else's failure doesn't improve your life one bit.
7. Being forced into a mold and pushed toward a goal that doesn't fit you can lead only to frustration and depression. Breaking free from these constraints and pressures emancipates your soul.
8. Your behavior and attitudes should be based on your own personal culture, not that of an organization. Your needs, not the company's, must be your priority.
9. Spend at least 20% of your time looking for and preparing for your next opportunity.
10. Don't look at people who are doing work for you as your "children." They're not beneath you and you're not above them.
11. Be kind to people on the way up because you'll pass them again on the way down.
12. Being reactive is a good strategy if you just want to be average.
13. The proactive person has seized the opportunities the reactive person was waiting to appear.
14. Feel the fear and do it anyway. Susan Jeffers
15. Your fears vanish when you do whatever it was that frightened you.
16. You may have been victimized, but you become a victim only if you let the past be the focus of your life.
17. Those who live rich know that failure comes only from not taking action.
18. Movement of any kind equals change, and change of any kind equals success.
19. Focus on ways you can change rather than just grow.
20. Set realistic, achievable goals and you'll meet the, get inspired, and continue to take charge of your life.
21. Ask any group of older people about their regrets. They wish that they'd taken more chances in life, that they hadn't played things so safe, that they weren't so conservative in their life choices and decisions, that they hadn't given in to their fears so often.
22. Don't lock doors shut without first looking inside and seeing where they lead.
23. You're business shouldn't be an extension of yourself. It's not your child, it's your business.
24. To live rich you need to have the freedom to do whatever you want.
25. Look for new opportunities rather than promotions.
26. Your mind is the only person that can bind your spirit.
27. Age is more a matter of perception and attitude than anything else.
28. To increase your chances to live rich you should maximize your number of face-to-face business meetings.
29. Whether it serves as a tool for self-revelation or not, writing a plan for your business, career, and life forces you to be proactive and makes your goals more achievable.
30. When a client comes to see you or vice versa, spend your time demonstrating how much you care, not why you should be hired.
31. You must constantly be expanding your skill base and knowledge.
32. Lean or move forward in your chair when you're speaking or listening to show enthusiasm and interest. Lean back and break eye contact when you pause to think.
33. Theory and abstract information can be gained from classes and books. Practical information comes only from doing.
34. Rules of negotiations:  a. Establish a clear cut, reasonable goal b. Learn all you can about the other person and the issue c. If the other side hires a professional negotiator, so should you d. Be collegial but direct and straightforward e. Negotiate only with people who want to, and can, make a deal f. Don't worry about winning or losing, just aim to achieve your goal
35. On networking: The more irons you have in the fire, the better.
36. Never assume your job or business is permanent, or the next job or client will automatically appear.
37. Newsletters shouldn't be selling pieces. Your newsletters should be reselling or reinforcement pieces.
38. If you wouldn't socialize with someone if you didn't work together, then don't socialize with him. Work is work and life is life. Keep the two separate.
39. For you to keep the good things you have, you need to give some of them away.
40. No employer can guarantee an employee job security regardless of his performance.
41. Make the most from every moment you're working and you'll make more money and have more time to live rich.
42. Images and graphics should enhance, not dominate, your web site.

If you liked the quotes, consider picking up a copy for yourself!