Get Rice: Ronnie O'Brien Rice, Ph.D., Lawyer

Have you ever been in a situation where you were in a lot of trouble and you prayed to the Heavens Above that if God were to get you through this one, you will never do it again? What did you do months down the road? My point is that a lot of people appreciate the troubled situation that they were in at the time, but rarely do those individuals actually make the most of that chance.   My encouragement to you is to take advantage of the chances that life gives. Too many times individuals focus on the negative aspects of life and disregard the positives. Almost always, there is a positive opportunity in any bad situation. One must open their eyes to see them and be smart enough to take advantage of them. For example, breaking up with your spouse is a situation that most people may hate. However, it might turn out be one of the best decisions of your life. That person could have been holding you back from your success in the professional, personal, or spiritual realm. There...

You often hear that ‘your network determines your net-worth.’ This is true on some many levels. However, you do not hear how to change your network or even how should create it. Recently, I discovered as I achieved new goals in my life, my network is bound to change. This is not due to me feeling like I am better than anyone. It is purely because with each accomplishment of a new goal brings new people and new way of doing things. Others may not comprehend or do not want to because they are comfortable in the environment that they have been in for years. I have discovered that to create your new network, you must be vigilant in ascertaining those who are either at the level you want to be or desperately striving to achieve that level. This may seem hard at first, but it is very simple. Just look for those folks who operate in the circle of individuals that you classify as being successful, goal oriented, athletics, singers, business people, etc. You will find that they are...

  Often times, individuals put themselves in great positions to succeed in life, but they get anxious during that transitional period. This is totally understandable because there is no timeline on success. Everyone makes their own. Some of the most successful people accomplished a lot of their success when they were young; and other accomplished it in their older years. So don’t force it. Whatever your plan is, work it, revamp it, and work it so more until you accomplish your goal. If your timeline is shorter than it should be, then you are going to be anxious. I want to reinforce to be anxious for nothing because what is for you IS FOR YOU! I know this may seem like an old church saying; however, there is a lot of truth to it. If you put in the work, did your homework, and basically did everything you could do to prepare yourself for the next level in life, then you are in the right place. I know some of you are asking is there something else for you to do while yo...

Often times, many people try to hide who they really are in hopes of society accepting them as a person. Here is a shocking reality. If the world was to accept the person you put out in front of everyone, then it is still not accepting of the ‘true’ you. We must remember that it is important to effectively communicate, dress appropriately, and respect each other opinions. However, all these things do not mean that we totally lose ourselves in the irrelevant matters of life. One way to determine the irrelevant parts of life is to see if the action and/or behavior are conducive to the progression of anyone in society. If the answer to that question is no, then there is no need to worry about it. Transparency is important to have a successful relationship with anyone, prosperous career, and less stressful life. Once you let people know who you really are and your motives, you find that they will either love you or dissociate themselves away from you. Either response is great....

They say experience is the best teacher. I disagree with this wholeheartedly. The best teacher is observing and listening to others. You can learn from others mistakes, best decisions, experiences good or bad. The return of investment includes all of benefits of the upswing while minimizing all the risks on the downswing. A lot of people ask me ‘how did I make it out the hood?’ My responses vary. But, the most common response is that when I saw one person shooting in one area, I ran the other way. Some may say this this ‘law of Darwinism’ survival of the fittest. I like to say it is person being conscience of their surroundings while knowing what they want in the long run. I think it is important to believe in what you want because no matter what that person is faced with, they are going to make decisions whether major or minor, towards their ultimate goal.   We all need to learn from others whether good or bad. This helps us to move ourselves, family, friends, and the ...

Zig Ziglar put it best, “you only can consistently perform in a manner that is consistent with the way you see yourself.” This is true in every area of a person’s life. I would go one step further and propose that one must understand what they want to see for themselves while aligning those thoughts with their desires and actions.     Often times, people want things that they really do not want. It is funny because you would think that adult individuals would know what the actually want. However, I have found that a lot of people think they want a million dollars or a beautiful spouse; but do nothing to achieve those goals. This suggests that a person does not really want these things. I mean if you are hungry, you find something to eat right?   What I suggest to people is to find out what they really want. You can usually determine this by observing what people spend most of their time doing, thinking about, or working towards. For example, a person wh...

  Too many times, folks achieve a certain amount of success and that’s it. They begin to say it is time to travel, party, and try out new restaurants. However, I think those who have been called for a higher purpose realize life is about helping others while achieving self-interested goals. More importantly, once you achieve your goals, celebrate your accomplishments while keeping in stride to your next one. I have often heard that the greatest enemy to growth is success. Many successful people have a hard time finding a mate because one is focusing on having fun, and the other is focusing on enjoying life while building an empire and helping others. Think of your life as a decathlon. A decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of ten track and field events over a period of two days (Wikipedia, 2016). The winner is measured based on the person’s performance in each single event and the person who has a collective average score higher than the others win. I...

Often times, people are put in frustrating situations and do not understand why they are in them. My experience has taught me that the purpose is to teach us valuable life lessons. For example, a college friend always had an issue he was dealing with in his life. One day he was venting about financial issues, car problems, girlfriend problems, etc. Just abruptly, he asked how I avoided similar situations. I never knew the answer this question until years later:   positive outlook and execution . Instead of dwelling on the negative situation, I learned to focus on the opportunities presented and how to capitalize upon them. My suggestion to anyone who is in a difficult or frustrating situation, please find opportunities to make the situation better. Or better yet, please find opportunities outside of the present negative situation. For example, if you are dealing with a difficult situation at the office whether it is with a person or position, ask yourself what YOU can do t...

What is “knowing your worth?” How to determine your worth? How to increase your value (worth)? What to do with your worth? ~ The first question is simple. Knowing your worth is having a high level of self-awareness, recognizing your skills, and operating with an extraordinary level of honesty within your life. All of these traits seem simple, but you will be surprised that many are not familiar or in tune with who they are. The second question takes a more in-depth analysis of oneself. One may determine their worth from a spiritual, financial, and physical standpoint. I am of the belief that one must use all three at the same time. Determining your spiritual worth is to align your spiritual being with that of a higher power through a mental and behavioral worldview. Determining your financial worth seems to be easy. However, it is not about having the most money. It is about knowing the amount of money needed to live a lifestyle you are comfortable with and empoweri...

Self-control is much-needed to survive in today’s world. Self-control is more than a fancy idea or word to impress others or even yourself. I find that self-control is simply reconnects your current self with your desired self. It sounds simple, but it truly is that straightforward. If not, what is the point of exercising self-control if you do not have an overall desired goal or outcome for your life. Some people make money from being impulsive. However, I know very few people who have obtained a long-term success outcome by continuing to practice in such a way. Some reasons why people lack self-control include: lack of plan, lack of first want, no respect for self-control, or simple not believing in it. I am sure there are more; however, these are a few that come to mind. Self-control, I have found, is more about you and others. It has little to do with actually buying a larger home, fancy car, or obtaining a big corner office. It more about how you are able to interact with the...

Knowing yourself is one of the healthiest mindsets to have. It allows you to perform at a higher level than most. Also, knowing yourself determines the level of your goal attainment. Some primary ways to getting to know your self is to recognize your goals; focus on the goals you want to achieve, and block out distractions. Know your goals You can determine your goals by (1) taking a personality evaluation, (2) enrolling in some stimulating continuing education courses, (3) or trying different activities that peak your interest. Doing chores, helping with the kids’ homework, and working are all apart of life. However, they do not define us. We must spend genuine time with ourselves to define who we are and what we want out of life. We have the ability to achieve anything we set our mind to accomplish. The key to success is to set our minds to do it. Focus on goals Next, write down your goals in a concise format and never let them leave your sight. This not only remin...