Tag archive

author guest post

Author Alan C. Fox Says: Leave Them Wanting More

in Non-Fiction by

When I was 12 years old my mother took me and my younger brother to Hawaii to meet my father who had been traveling in Asia with the Xavier Cugat band. We stayed for one week at a small motel in Waikiki. By now a fifty-story hotel has no doubt arisen from that same small plot of land. While in Honolulu we toured the Dole pineapple plantation where I was treated to what felt like Christmas in April. Sweet, delicious pineapple. The sight of it. The scent of it. The taste of it in unlimited quantities. And it was all free. There were fountains from which no water flowed, just pineapple juice. Not from a can that cost 18 cents, but from…

Keep Reading

Author Alan C. Fox: Why Positive Reinforcement is (almost) Always Better Than Negative

in Potpourri by

Years ago, a University of Southern California professor who was teaching a psychology class I was sitting in on taught me an important lesson about human behavior. He suggested that positive reinforcement is a more effective way of getting people to do what you want than negative reinforcement. “What?!?!?!” I objected. “That’s crazy!” Despite my objections, he challenged me to try out his theory with my friends, loved ones, and employees and report back to the class about my results. To my surprise, he was right: in almost every instance that week, using positive reinforcement rather than negative yielded a better result for me and the other people involved. This lesson has stuck with me over the years. And I’ve…

Keep Reading

Author Alan C. Fox Says: The Best Defense is No Defense

in Non-Fiction by

When I think of defense, I think of forts in the 19th century American West, where settlers huddled, protected from attack by walls and the U.S. army. I think of castles in England, with drawbridges, gates, and moats. I think of Neighborhood Watch groups, trying to spot potential intruders and keep him or her out. Defense, by definition, is designed to keep others away or chase them off. Years ago I read an excellent book, Do I Have to Give Up Me To Be Loved By You? written by Jordan and Margaret Paul. As it turns out, I attended elementary school with Margaret, then known as Margie. The book suggests a skill which I highly recommend, and, at times, even…

Keep Reading

Author Alan C. Fox Says: Get Past Perfect

in Potpourri by

I used to be a partial perfectionist. I say “partial” because certain aspects of my life, such as my clothing, weren’t especially important to me and I didn’t need them to be perfect. With my young children I decided that my enthusiasm and support were more important than my insisting on perfect crayon drawings. I say perfectionist because often I would settle for nothing less than that ideal. In high school I wanted the highest grade in every class. When I began practicing law I wanted each letter or agreement to be perfectly composed and perfectly typed, and that was in the days before word processing equipment made at least the typing relatively easy. After a few years running my…

Keep Reading

Go to Top