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  • The Magic Bullet

    The Magic Bullet
    2026/06/04
    SHOW NOTES: We’ve lost trust in major institutions: universities, medicine, journalism, the law, politicians, religion. (The recent rise in Catholic converts and church attendance is not due to any great marketing by the church, but rather due to a desperate need for a source of faith by many.) We tend to see AI as a magic bullet that will help us out of our uncertainly, lack of success, confusion, and sense of loneliness. Yet AI is the product of humans and has the notorious imperfections that one would expect. My GPS, spell check, computer, and other technology has glitches and errors. They are far from perfect. What we truly need is self-belief, confidence in our own judgment. We need to stop seeking the judgment of others, of others’ metrics, of others approval, and of validation for our tentative decisions. This combination of a loss of trust in ourselves and an overhyped AI by an industry seeking to make trillions is a perfect storm. Resist it. Develop faith in yourself. It doesn’t matter what happens to you in most cases, what matters is what you do about it.
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    8 分
  • Contentiousness

    Contentiousness
    2026/05/28
    SHOW NOTES: At a restaurant, I’m asked if I have food allergies when I make the reservation, then by the hostess when I arrive, then by the server who has my table. While I appreciate all the precautions, I think they’re afraid of being sued. Isn’t it the responsibility of someone with a serious food allergy who’s make the decision to dine in a restaurant to inform people themselves? The Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills, a wonderful place, actually has a sign informing its guests that the china, which has artful designs and craftsman ship, has potential cancer-causing agents in the art work. Since these are decorative “chargers” and not used for food, a guest would have to chew on the gold leaf to ingest anything remotely dangerous. People complain that prospects are constantly “ghosting” them and it’s an epidemic of rude behavior. Well, the commonality is the person ghosted, so perhaps they aren’t offering sufficient interest of value to justify a return call and that prospect doesn’t want to waste still more time by having to tell them that. When you think others are uniformly acting improperly, it’s usually you. Do you really need to tell us “do not try this at home” when a commercial shows a driver spinning in circles at high speed or a daredevil leaping from a low-flying plane into a convertible? What about when we see an elephant stand on a pool cover to show its strength? Should I cancel the elephant rental? When you’re a medical or dental assistant and inform people they may not wear fragrances in the office because you have a fragrance allergy, perhaps you should consider not working in crowded spaces. How to do you survive in a plane, train, taxi, or elevator? If you feel your rights have been violated because you hear employees talking politics with which you do not agree while you’re waiting in an office, you’re correct. You have the right to leave, which you’re not exercising.
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    5 分
  • London

    London
    2026/05/21
    SHOW NOTES: Wherein Alan shares his views of exotic car density, cab maneuvers, High Tea, American advantages in admiring the Royals, and the lies and deception around priority luggage.
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    6 分
  • Inappropriate Words

    Inappropriate Words
    2026/05/14
    SHOW NOTES: “No worries” doesn’t mean “you’re welcome” it means “You didn’t bother me all that much.” “Perfect” doesn’t mean “thank you” it means “You got that right and didn’t waste still more of my time.” “You guys” is terribly inappropriate if the people addressed are not entirely “guys,” and is most misused by women, especially women in the media. “February” and “library” each have two “r’s” in them, or the first is not a month and the second is some kind of fibbing fruit on a vine. These usages are all square pegs attempting to fill round holes, and they’re battered by people who just can’t pass the test. “No worries,” you guys weren’t “perfect.”
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    7 分
  • Empty Your Mind

    Empty Your Mind
    2026/05/07
    SHOW NOTES: The fallacy is that you should be prepared to “spring” in a sales call to “pitch” the sale, like a cheetah on the Serengeti chasing an eland. Well, cheetahs can only maintain high speed for a limited duration, and they’re only successful getting a meal one time in ten (as are all predators). One time in ten is not sufficient for a successful career. We need to empty our heads, and not allow our minds to be crammed with facts, figures, “closing” language, and one-upmanship comments. To “stay in the moment,” which we’re constantly told, we need to listen and watch, not talk and pontificate. The sales “pitch” was already ineffective in the 1950s, but even today you hear about the elevator pitch or the airplane pitch from people who don’t have a clue and cannot sell a thing (which means they’re on Linkedin). Follow my lead. Empty your mind to stay in the moment. And it may just become your moment of glory. The eland is caught, your family is fed, nine times out of ten.
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    9 分
  • Randy Gage

    Randy Gage
    2026/04/30
    SHOW NOTES: The following guest column by Randy Gage is an excerpt from his new book, Wealth Without Apology, which is being released this week, and which will be the subject of my conversation with him on my podcast this Thursday: Alan Weiss's The uncomfortable Truth Magnitude of Scale: Why Thinking Bigger Pays Better I’m currently conducting a comprehensive, groundbreaking, rigorous, cross-sectional, peer-reviewed, gold-standard, double-blind, placebo-controlled, first-of-its-kind, breakthrough, scientific research study. The purpose of the study is to test the following hypothesis: In today’s environment, it is easier to become a billionaire than a millionaire. This premise may not be as cheeky as it sounds. As I told you earlier, it’s surprisingly easier to earn a large amount of money quickly than it is to earn a small amount of money over a longer period. This is due in large part to a dynamic I call the “Magnitude of Scale Effect.” Put simply… The more bold, audacious, and breathtaking an endeavor is—the greater the likelihood it will attract the people and resources necessary to bring it into existence. Think about this: Airbnb went from two guys renting air mattresses to a $100 billion IPO faster than millions of entrepreneurs ever manage to reach six figures. Why is it easier to sell a Lamborghini Veneno than a Ford Escape? The person who buys a Ford likely must plan far ahead, budget tightly, weigh sacrifices, and hopefully get approved for credit to drive home their new wheels. The person who buys a Lambo understands the concept of value-for-value exchange, has no creditworthiness issues, and brings in enough discretionary income to make the purchase an easy decision. Even an impulse one. If you want to join me on my crusade to make the world more prosperous, it begins by increasing the level of your own prosperity. And the most important part of that process is expanding the window through which you see the world. I use shoes as the analogy for how this process worked with me. Initially my dream was to be able to afford a pair of luxurious Bally loafers, which cost around $200 back then. Younger readers may be shocked to discover we didn’t always live in a world where sneaker drops were a thing! My siblings and I had two pairs of shoes: dress shoes (cheap leather or, more often, plastic) which we wore to school, to church, on holidays, etc., and tennis shoes for gym and after school. By the time I grew up and had entered the business world, having three or four pairs of shoes meant you were extremely rich. In fact, I knew a few guys who had black shoes for dark suits and brown shoes they could wear with a green or tan suit. I even saw Elvis on television once wearing blue suede shoes! Next thing you know, I’m a twenty-something hard-charger who wants to be a business tycoon like Bobby Ewing on Dallas and Blake Carrington on Dynasty,and I heard about the aforementioned Bally loafers. (Which were voted by the readers of Robb Report magazine as the most comfortable shoes in the world.) Since $200 was what I paid to buy my used car from the post office government auction, you can imagine what a daunting, almost impossible goal this was for me. But manifest those suckers I did. Had my mother learned at that time that I spent $200 on a pair of shoes, she would have slapped me into next week. But the spell was broken… I learned there was another world reality out there, and that it was possible for a kid from Allied Drive in Madison, Wisconsin, to own nice things. Once I started rocking those Ballys—the window I saw the world through started expanding. © 2026 Randy Gage You can reach him at RandyGage.com ....Read more on the blog here: https://alanweiss.com/randy-gage-2/
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    46 分
  • Perceived Value

    Perceived Value
    2026/04/23
    SHOW NOTES: The airlines’ major frequent flyer programs began with American Airlines back in 1981 (thought Texas International Airlines had one in 1979). Everyone quickly followed. Travelers fell in love because they were earning free trips without paying anything extra for the ticket. You may feel the travelers were and are silly. Well, the average major airline today has a liability of about $7-10 billion if these points were all cashed in. Although there are attempts to squelch this with blackout periods and restricted seats available, this is none the less a very real monster under the bed. However, many people never cash them in or they the points may expire. Airlines and hotels figure the points won’t all be used. This is called “breakage,” believe it or not, and it’s the monster-slayer. Another example of this is the US Postal Service, which prints about $14 billion in postage stamps each year. But it’s estimated that over half of this amount is never used for postage because it goes into collections so there’s no attendant labor involved. I provide “unlimited access” to me for my top clients, both corporate and individual. That seems like it can’t be fulfilled, and many people ask how I can do it. It’s simple, virtually no one abuses the privilege. In fact, many people apologize for “bothering me” or ask if they can have an appointment. One year I had 36 corporate clients, and these days I have hundreds of these top echelon clients globally. They call when there’s a need and, since they’re so successful, the needs are relatively few and reasonable. This is my monster multiplier. Even successful solo consultants don’t generally offer this, and I’m probably the most approachable and reachable person at my level in the world. Use your airline points. Collect stamps if you like. But provide unlimited access. Then go sit on the beach.
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    8 分
  • MY Point of View

    MY Point of View
    2026/04/16
    SHOW NOTES: "Josephine Victoria 'Joy" Behar is an American actress, playwright, comedian, and television host. She's best known for co-hosting the ABC talk show The View, where she won a Daytime Emmy Award in 2009. Behar is known for her sharp wit and asking questions that others might avoid, such as asking Chris Christie if he was too overweight to be president. She's also hosted her own shows, including The Joy Behar Show on HLN and a call-in radio show on WABC. She is 83." The above is a PR document from ABC about her. In fact, Behar is rarely humorous. She's rather dour and absolutely inconsolable when anyone violates her political positions. She recently refused to appear on The View with her colleagues because a guest was Carrie Underwood, the great singer and American Idol winner who has a garage-full of Grammys. Behar's tantrum was that Carrie had sung at a Trump event. That's it: She had the temerity to appear and sing as an expression of her right of free speech. This is Behar's consistent behavior, she's walked off other shows as some kind of political protest even when the person involved is there for another reason. This is what's appearing in the media as "celebrity." You don't have to agree with someone else politically, but to simply ignore them and disappear is the nadir of intellectualism. Comics are supposed to be very bright. I guess there are clear exceptions. Joy Behar makes about $7 million a year to walk off the set whenever she likes. If you need to walk out because you can't deal with people intellectually, then STAY OUT.
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    5 分