Free Republic

In 2011, Donald Trump and Rich Dad, Poor Dad author Robert Kiyosaki got together to author a book called Midas Touch: Why Some Entrepreneurs Get Rich -- and Why Others Don't. The book is a great read. Now, the starting principles of the book are revealed in 5 very short videos, presented as a series on YouTube. There are five “guides” to developing the Midas Touch in entrepreneurship and they are these: Strength of Character — Turning Bad Luck into Good Luck. F.O.C.U.S. — Follow One Course Until Successful. Brand — What You Stand For. Relationships — You Can't...

Gravity Payments, that Seattle credit-card-payments processing company that said all its employees would earn at least $70,000 in three years, is defying the doomsayers. Revenue is growing at twice the rate it was before Chief Executive Dan Price made his announcement this spring, according to a report on Inc.com. Profits have doubled. Customer retention is up, despite some who left because they disagreed with the decision or feared service would suffer. (Price said he’d make up the extra cost by cutting his own $1.1 million pay.) Barely any employees have left — although some outsiders, including some commenting on a...

Last week, Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña released a statement celebrating citywide gains in Advanced Placement test scores for the second year in a row. In particular, the chancellor’s press release noted that more black and Latino students are taking AP exams than last year. But a quick peek behind the veil of a heartening press release reveals a very different, very alarming picture: More minority students may be taking AP tests, but they are not passing them. Data show that 97% of our black students and 95% of our Hispanic students citywide are unprepared to pass a single AP exam....

The prevailing social dogma of our time — that economic and other disparities among groups are strange, if not sinister — has set off bitter disputes between those who blame genetic differences and those who blame discrimination. Both sides ignore the possibility that the groups themselves may differ in their orientations, their priorities, and in what they are prepared to sacrifice for the sake of other things. Back in the early 19th century, an official of the Russian Empire reported that even the poorest Jews saw to it that their daughters could read, and their homes had at least ten...

The White House has released a couple of excerpts of the president's address to the nation. Here's the second: “But I want the American people to understand how this effort will be different from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It will not involve American combat troops fighting on foreign soil. This counter-terrorism campaign will be waged through a steady, relentless effort to take out ISIL wherever they exist using our air power and our support for partner forces on the ground. This strategy of taking out terrorists who threaten us, while supporting partners on the front lines, is one...

My new book “The Power of RELENTLESS” launched just yesterday. Perfect timing, because Donald Trump is in the news- again. Surprise. “The Donald” is the very definition of “relentless.” He is relentlessly outspoken. He is relentlessly opinionated. He is relentlessly combative. He produces nonstop relentless media headlines. He produces relentlessly high ratings. He is also relentlessly successful. He is “money in the bank” for everyone around him. How relentless is Donald. He’s like a human Energizer Bunny. He’s like a real-life wack-a-mole. Nothing stops him. Nothing slows him. Nothing bothers him. Political correctness is not an option. That’s precisely how...

1. They don't waste time feeling sorry for themselves. "Feeling sorry for yourself is self-destructive," she writes. "Indulging in self-pity hinders living a full life." It wastes time, creates negative emotions, and hurts your relationships. The key is to "affirm the good in the world, and you will begin to appreciate what you have," Morin writes. The goal is to swap self-pity with gratitude. 2. They don't give away their power. People give away their power when they lack physical and emotional boundaries, Morin writes. You need to stand up for yourself and draw the line when necessary. Read more:...

-as a nation, anyway But with stupidity and ingratitude in fashion -and meritocracy out of style-  who has time to hear about Reagan's towering success? Some of us in this country do still honor Ronald Reagan's memory -and heed the lessons of his glowing example, i.e. Ted Cruz- and yesterday, Fri June 5th was the 11th anniversary of The Gipper's passing- hard to imagine missing another politician the way I do this very, very great man. Sure wish he was here to talk some sense into our wayward nation...  and smack the beatniks, losers, and communist agitators upside the head. Nancy Reagan places flowers on Ronald...

After I write a column that rips Barack Obama up one side and down the other, talks about our debt or the fact that we essentially don’t have borders any more, there are usually conservatives who show up in the comments section or email me something like, “I agree with you 110%, but what’s the solution? What policy do we put in place to fix everything that’s going wrong? When are we going to have another Ronald Reagan ride in on a white horse and fix what’s wrong?” Here’s the problem with that: It’s the wrong mentality. It’s sort of...

A reader sent me a copy of the cover of the new University of North Georgia continuing education catalog asked with this question, “Are they crazy?” It’s a valid question given the awkwardness of the image and its pairing with a headline that asks, “Why follow when you can lead?” The illustration features two exultant white men — dressed like missionaries for some reason — well ahead of a woman in heels wearing what looks to be an ensemble from “Dynasty” and a black male in more casual attire who appears to be struggling to finish the race. I thought...

When the going gets hard, do you have confidence in yourself to meet the challenge? Do you have what it takes to persevere? If you listen to many politicians, you can understand why many Americans have more self-doubt than self-confidence. They're told that the shrinking middle class is a victim of the success of the wealthy and that the next generation of Americans won't even have the opportunities you have now. When teens ask futurist Dan Burrus what career they should pursue, he replies, "Fifty percent of what you could do hasn't been invented yet." Your best strategy--learn how...

".......For decades now, America's higher education system has poorly served Americans.If you can weld,you can land a job making six-figures tomorrow.If you recently acquired a B.A. in sociology,well, can you tell me how you do that thing where you make the foam on top a latte look like a heart?There's a reason why the lack of a college degree is practically celebrated in Silicon Valley. Mark Zuckerberg,Steve Jobs and Bill Gates are all college dropouts. Peter Thiel says a college "diploma is a dunce hat in disguise" and wants to blow the higher-ed system up entirely. Sixty-three of the people...

As I write this, the No. 1 “most read” story on the Washington Post’s website is its investigation into the college years of Scott Walker, headlined: “As Scott Walker mulls White House bid, questions linger over college exit.” Most of the time, you don’t need to read such a story to know what it’s about: for Republicans, every silly comment or stunt in their teenage years is in the public interest, and for Democrats the same investigative practice is racist, racist, racist. (Though in 2016 it will be sexist, sexist, sexist.) But there is one aspect of this story that...

Linda Tirado photographed by Scott Suchman near her home in Washington DC for the Observer New Review. Why do so many poor people eat junk food, fail to budget properly, show no ambition? Linda Tirado knew exactly why… because she was one of them. Here, in an extract from her book, Hand to Mouth, she tells her story in her own words •Q&A with Linda Tirado In the autumn of 2013 I was in my first term of school in a decade. I had two jobs; my husband, Tom, was working full-time; and we were raising our two small girls....

I once knew a guy who wanted to be a singer. I didn’t think he could sing very well, but in all fairness, that never stopped Justin Bieber. In any case, I inquired as to whether he was in a band. He said, “no.” I asked whether he had a demo tape. Nope, he didn’t. I wondered if he was regularly performing anywhere or getting lessons. Uh-uh, he wasn’t. Baffled, I asked him how he expected to become a singer without doing any of those things. He told me that he was hoping to be “discovered” by someone in the...

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)This week, KISS rocker Gene Simmons not only embraced assimilation and the importance of English for immigrants to succeed, he gave a textbook example of how to successfully--and forcefully--do so on hostile turf. He did so with no apologies--and plenty of compassion. In an entertaining interview on HuffPostLive, Simmons said he was "given all the advantages of native-born children" after coming to the country when he was eight years of age, which he said was "astonishing" compared to other nations. Why? Because he learned "[expletive] English" and embraced America's melting pot instead of separatism (salad bowl). "I'm actually saying the...

In 1980, Morley Safer traveled to Dallas to uncover the multimillion-dollar industry that was making people richer, better, and happierThis week, Morley Safer reported on a job-training boot camp that places disadvantaged youth in positions at some of the country's most competitive companies. Nearly 35 years ago, Safer reported on another tool job-hunters were using to gain an edge in the workforce. The year was 1980 and Safer found himself in Dallas at a $900, three-day seminar where average Joes were being taught the secret to success: enthusiasm. The man behind the seminar, Ed Foreman, claimed he could make individuals...

On Monday evening and Tuesday, Israel marks its 66th Independence Day. Each year this day is preceded by Remembrance Day for Fallen Soldiers. The one holiday segues into the other, a few minutes after sundown, with the raising of the national flag on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem from half-staff to full height. That moment, one of the most defining and resonant in Israeli life, signifies that the country owes its existence to those who have been willing to sacrifice for it. And with Remembrance Day for Fallen Soldiers coming only a week after Holocaust Remembrance Day, it also represents a...

****BREAKING NEWS****ALERT THE MEDIA****STOP THE PRESSES**** Sit down Sammy, Hold ma beer Bertha, Holy Samoli…I HAVE DISCOVERED… DRUM ROLL PLEASE… “THE SECRET OF SUCCESS” Developing, more to come, stand by, please……. When I went to bed last evening, I was just as I have always been, as I am sure everyone else is, clueless as to what is the true “Secret Of Success”.. OK, I know.. I understand your reluctance in accepting my claim as authentic, however, this is the best I can do until I fill you in on the facts.. In what can only be described as an...

America used to be a land with great upward social mobility, but isn't anymore. America never was a land with great upward social mobility. Which do you believe? Keep in mind that your answer will have significant implications for public policy. Most politicians, of both right and left, favor the first statement. Conservatives say big government is stifling people's chances to move upward. Barack Obama says growing inequality of wealth is holding people down. But Gregory Clark, British-born economist at the University of California, Davis, says they're both wrong. The second statement is correct, he argues in his new book...