FRESHviews
Introducing the
RHONDA ABRAMS: STRATEGIES
Rhonda Abrams has
written several books
on entrepreneurship.
For more tips from
Rhonda, see www.
PlanningShop.com.
• Recognize that any decision is almost always
better than no decision. If we neglect to choose,
there are usually consequences.
• There’s no perfect choice. We often procrastinate, thinking that the perfect option will come
along if we wait long enough. It won’t.
• You’re going to make mistakes. Sure, you’ll
regret some of your choices. Even some big ones.
Allow yourself—and others—to make mistakes;
New Year’s goal: that’s part of being human.
• Set deadlines. To avoid procrastination,
Bedecisive give yourself a “drop dead” date for making a
choice. Allow yourself time to do the necessary
fact-finding, but make a decision by your deadline.
• Give yourself fewer options. I’ve learned
DID YOU HAVE TROUBLE deciding on your New a trick I use when trying to decide something
Year’s resolutions? Were you stumped choosing with another person. We list three options—
between the many ways you could improve your only three—and each of us can either choose one
life? If so, let me make a suggestion: In 2006, or veto one. It’s easier to choose when options
resolve to be a better decision-maker. are limited.
Let’s face it: Every day, each one of us is faced • Get good advisers. You’ll make better deci-
with a ton of decisions—interacting with our fami- sions, especially major choices, when you can con-
lies and friends, dealing with our businesses or sult people you truly trust, whether it’s your
careers, even what to make for dinner. It’s easy to spouse, friend, accountant, etc.
become what I call “decide-ophobic.” • Don’t second-guess! Once you’ve made a
Decide-ophobia sets in when you must make decision, stick to it!
so many decisions you begin to avoid making any. Decision-making is like any other skill: It can
Here are some ways you can improve your deci- be learned and improved upon. You don’t have to
sion-making skills. remain “decide-ophobic” forever. C
A copy for success ber, tells his story in Copy
This! Lessons from a Hyper-
active Dyslexic Who Turned
KINKO’S a Bright Idea into One of
FOUNDER America’s Best Companies
Paul Orfalea’s (Workman Publishing, 2005).
early résumé His “disorders,” Orfalea
reads like writes, “contributed enor-this: flunked two grades, was mously to the building of
expelled from four of his eight both Kinko’s and of my life.
schools, graduated eighth They propelled me to think
from the bottom of his high differently. I was prevented
school class (and honestly from taking inspiration from
wonders how the other seven books; I had to learn from
were worse than he was) and the world itself, directly.”
was fired from numerous jobs. Orfalea, with co-writer
Not a very auspicious Ann Marsh, offers a candid
start. But it’s no real surprise, narrative of the challenges
given that Orfalea (pro- presented by a linear world
nounced OR-fa-la) was diag- to a person who doesn’t
nosed with both dyslexia and think in linear ways. And
attention deficit hyperactivity single print shop today has it offers a strong dose of
disorder—conditions that he 1,200 locations in nine coun- Orfalea’s unique business
says brought “gifts” that he tries and is one of America’s philosophies—tenets that
used to succeed. Indeed, the most recognized brands. any entrepreneur could
company he founded with a Orfalea, a Costco mem- benefit from. C
new $10 bill
IN THE LATEST U.S. currency redesign, $10 notes
have been given a new look
to make them easier to read
and harder to counterfeit.
Like $50 and $20 notes,
10-spots now feature subtle
new colors—shades of orange,
yellow and red in the background—and a handful of
new security tools. You’ll
start seeing them in circulation in March.
If you handle cash in your
business, you can look for the
following features in the new
bills to spot fakes.
• The
color-shifting
ink in the
numeral “ 10”
in the lower
right corner
on the face
of the note
changes
color from copper
to green when you tilt
the note. So you can “tilt
your 10” to help determine
its authenticity.
• The watermark, a faint
image of Alexander Hamilton
to the right of the large portrait, can be seen only when
the note is held to the light.
The watermark is framed by
a blank, colorless oval. This
makes it easier to locate
the watermark.
• A security thread
with the words “USA TEN”
repeated in tiny print can
be seen when the note is
held to the light. The thread
runs vertically to the right of
Hamilton’s portrait.
Together, these features
make the notes safer, because
they’re easier to check;
smarter, to stay ahead of tech-savvy counterfeiters; and
more secure, to protect the
integrity of U.S. currency,
according to the U.S. Treasury’s Bureau of Engraving
and Printing. They make it
easier for people to check
their money and harder for
counterfeiters to fake.
The bureau adds that if
you find a counterfeit note,
call the local police. C