Of all the indelible memories from my nine years of Catholic elementary school – including being spittled upon, brow beaten, and thrown down flights of stairs by various demonic nuns – few stand out as much as the morning Richie walked in wearing a gleaming pair of Nike Cortez. Already the owner of the cool straight-leg Levi’s with the orange…

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Aside from dropping countless f-bombs in refreshing ways, Mark Manson drapes some new terminology onto the reader of his #1 New York Times bestseller, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck. One such concept is that of the hedonic treadmill: “the idea that we’re always working hard to change our life situation, but we actually never feel very different.”…

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You know how roughly half of all new businesses fold within five years? Mike Michalowicz says they’re actually the lucky ones because it’s the survivor who gets stuck with a “scary, soul-sucking, cash-eating monster” to manage. In Profit First, his boat-rocking 2014 book that was reissued last year, the author warns us about the Survival Trap: watching bank balances dwindle…

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Henry Ford doubling his workers’ pay (kinda/sorta). IBM executives hitting the road to win back unhappy customers. Zappos offering free shipping and a liberal return policy. Essays on these seminal shifts and more (including the obligatory Steve Jobs puff piece) can be found in The Greatest Business Decisions of All Time, the Verne Harnish-led project compiled alongside some nine Fortune…

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Below are a half-dozen books I’ve read lately for fun. If you’re looking for something worthwhile for your summer break, you might consideration any of these. Relentless, Julian Edelman – Yup, the wide receiver/model/social media stud is also an author. Much to my amazement (and perhaps yours), his memoir is a legit page-turner. Edelman was coached by a maniacal father…

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