Dear Diary

Gary North

I started my newsletter, Remnant Review, in 1974. Over the years, I have made hundreds of serious errors. Today, I make money converting into money my memories of those mistakes and how I could have avoided them or how I rebounded from them. How? With my Specific Answers web site.

Nobody wants to hear an old man's war stories until he is facing the same kind of battle. Then he's interested -- not in the old man, but in the enemy hordes coming over the ridge.

I was in a restaurant a couple of years ago. The owner was going from table to table, introducing himself. "Smart owner," I thought.

We talked a while. Then I said, "Let me give you a tip." He responded politely by saying "OK." Here was my tip.

Start a diary. When you hit some brick wall, record it. Then, when you knock it down or go around it, write down how you solved it -- not just the steps you took, but how you figured out the solution.

In 20 years, when you're tired of running this restaurant, you'll be in a position to sell your accumulated wisdom to restaurant owners who are in the middle of crises. Your diary will provide endless examples of problem-solving. Your expertise will earn you a good income in retirement, without much work or risk.

The owner said, "You're right." Then he added: "Everyone is always making suggestions on how I can improve my business. But this the best suggestion I've heard."

Did he start his diary? Probably not. The tyranny of the urgent is a ruthless tyranny. But it was good advice.

I offer it to you. Buy a 3-ring notebook. Use lined paper. On the front of a sheet of paper, write down your latest brick wall. Describe it in detail. (This will help you focus.) Date it. After you solve it, write down the solution and its methodology on the back side side. Date it. One sheet: one solved problem.

That diary will be worth at least a part-time retirement income in 20 years. It will provide a stream of ideas. People will pay big money for a solution in a crisis who would not have paid a dime for a suggestion that would have enabled them to avoid the crisis. Convert this reality into money.

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