3 Simple Rules: A Guide for Business and Life

By James O. Barnes

Still 3 Simple Rules: A guide for Business and Life 
 
Can you live your life by 3 Simple Rules? Take this quick survey. 
 
Do you get tired of being the only one to keep the calendar up to date? 
Have you ever received a ‘reply all’ email that you wish you hadn’t? 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Loconeal Publishing, LLC
• Release date: Oct 20, 2017
• ISBN: 9781940466620

Book preview

3 Simple Rules

This book is a work of non-fiction. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced, stored, archived, or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations used for articles and reviews.

Copyright © 2017 by James O. Barnes

Copyright © 2015 by James O. Barnes

Order a copy at your local bookseller.

www.loconeal.com

www.jamesobarnes.com

Loconeal Publishing 2nd Edition: 2017

ISBN: 978-1-940466-61-3 (Print)

ISBN:  978-1-940466-62-0 (EPUB)

Contents

Cover

Title Page

Contents

Dedication

A Rambling Letter from the Author

Before We Get Started

The Rules

Rule 1: Stop—Think—Act

Stop

Think

Think Sleep

Act

Rule 2: If It’s Not in Writing, It Didn’t Happen

More Thoughts on Rule 2

Work Performance

Managers

Home

Rule 3: Don’t Come To Me With A Problem, Unless You Have A Solution

Sources and Other Information

A Little Bit About The Author

Connections

Favorite Public Speaking Topics

Signs

Dedication

Still dedicated to my wife and sons. Although they tired long ago of hearing my rules, I know they are now permanently etched in their memory. I have heard them repeat the Rules to others numerous times—often when they were not aware that I was listening, but it still counts. And yes, even after years of following my own rules I still slip up occasionally. Again, still evidence that I am human.

A Rambling Letter from the Author

(Same as the first edition, with a few minor updates)

For many years I have tried to live my life according to 3 Simple Rules. In the past, I have written these rules down on slips of paper, made signs of them, and spouted them off to anyone who would listen. I have literally spoken to people from around the world about them over the last twenty-plus years. Many of those who have worked for me or spoken to me at any length know how I feel about these rules as well. As you read this book, some of the Rules may sound familiar or you may have heard something similar from someone else. I am not going to say that they heard it from me, but I have talked to a lot of people since the early 1990s at events, on airplanes, social gatherings, and in meetings.

The decision to write these 3 Simple Rules down in a book was not an easy one. If you are reading this rambling introductory letter you know this is not a book of great length. The brevity of the book was the primary reason that kept me from writing it. After all, it is a very short read. But the effect these rules have had on my life could fill volumes. Not all of it interesting enough for you to read I’m sure. Just know that they have affected how I look at situations and deal with business and life on a daily personal and professional level.

You may be asking why I bothered to write an entire book about three rules. I mean come on it’s only three rules, a one-page handout would do the trick. True, the Rules may be simple. I use them every day and whenever I am coaching or speaking to groups. However, simple is not always easy to remember. The action of learning the Rules and a little background behind them will help to reinforce and make it easier to recall them in those times of need.

Will reading this book guarantee that you will always use the Rules? No, even with this book, you may forget one of them. We as humans tend to remember for a lifetime that which affects us on an emotional level. It usually takes something negative—or greatly positive—to sear the memory into our brains. On the other hand, there is another way. Repetition, doing something over and over until it becomes habit and seemingly instinctual. Under the heading of Practice what you preach writing this book is my way of reaffirming the 3 Simple Rules in my own life. As you read this book, it is my hope that it will serve as a reminder of the Rules in your own personal and professional life. There is a good chance that you may have already been practicing a version of the Rules in your life without even knowing it. Isn’t it about time that we gave them a name?