In business, be the 6,000-pound rhinoceros

One of the most indulgent ways for me to spend time is reading a book. I curl up in a blanket or sit along the river camping, and I steal time. Ignoring everything else while getting lost in the pages of a book is one of the most decadent things I can do for myself. I do not get to do it nearly enough so when the opportunity presents itself, it is even more treasured.

In my life, I keep 49 books with me – real books, with covers and pages. The oldest is “The Mystery Roast,” which I read at eighteen while touring Italy. I will read it again someday. Then there is “Don’t Stop the Carnival.” I finished that for the eighth time last month. There are a few books I have not read yet but will one day. And then there is “Sapiens” and “Undaunted Courage” that I look forward to reading again.

I recently moved all 49 books to my new reading nook. I looked at each one, considering its importance in my life and it brought me to this question:

What is the most influential book you have ever read?

I found mine at the bottom of a box with old concert ticket stubs and matchbooks. It is a book on business success that I was given when I was twenty years old. At that time, I owned two small businesses, had seven employees, and was going to college; all while trying to figure out how to adult.

To this day, on some unconscious level, this book continues to influence my daily life. It is not the best book I have ever read, but its lessons, at that moment, resonated.

Lesson 1: Wake-up, every day, ready to charge! In whatever you do, it must be done 100%, without the possibility of failure, or looking back, crossing your mind.

Lesson 2: Have two-inch-thick skin. In life, you will face a lot of adversity and with two-inch think skin, you will barely feel these blows as you charge ahead. If you do get knocked down, you get right back up because you are thick-skinned and are charging mad.

Lesson 3: Be alert and charge down opportunities. It is a jungle out there and you have to be alert to survive. Constantly be aware of threats and opportunities. When you see an opportunity, you charge it down.

Lesson 4: You are in charge. Choose to be happy, choose to feel good, and choose to be audacious. In business and in life, these are ultimately your decision and under your control.

Lesson 5: Kick the worry habit. You should be so focused and busy charging down opportunities that you do not even have time to worry. Because you are in charge, you can choose not to.

The name of the book is “Rhinoceros Success;” its entire premise is to be successful in business you must behave like a 6,000-pound rhinoceros. I have already told you it is not the best book I have read; I am not certain that I even recommend it, but its lessons resonated.

I share this with you now because the simplicity, in these crazy times, is relevant. In life and business remember to charge ahead, have thick skin, be alert to opportunities, and choose to be

happy and not worry. Oh, and Lesson 6: “At least twice a year, take a week off and go lie in a mud hole.”