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

Some say, ‘folks do business with folks they like.’ This is only partially true. For an actual exchange of products and services for money, there must be a certain level of trust. This trust must be that the product and/or service is worth the money that is being exchanged. Even though this sounds very elementary, but it is so relevant in the present-day society. This includes dating, working, selling, lawyering, etc. For someone to commit to you as a spouse, there must be some time of trust that you are going to treat the person well. As a lawyer having to obtain clients, there must a trust level that you will provide great service and you will handle their cases with CONFIDENCE. How does one build up trust? It is easier said than done. But, a good place to start is to be ‘impeccable with your word’, provide value to the marketplace, and always walk away from the negotiation table where everyone feels like that got a good deal. Being impeccable with your word is a chapter ...

A lot of times people speak of clearing their minds. But few know its benefits. Others don’t know how to do it. There are several benefits of clearing your mind: Focus, task completion, and stress reliever. Clearing your mind allows you to focus on the more important aspects of life. As busy people, we can cloud our minds with a lot of unnecessary tasks or people. Clearing your mind gives you the ability to complete task with efficiency because you are not focused on distraction. This naturally reduces stress because there is no nerve-racking mental task list that replays in your mind. There are 3 ways to clear your mind:   Meditate, Exercise, & Strategize. Meditation is simply sitting still while acknowledging your random thoughts. I like to address issues in my life and find a solution for them. Secondly, exercising not only has physical perks, but it gives you an out of body experience of pain. Then you realize that life can be better than how you saw it before y...

Marisa Peer spoke on the power of ‘you are enough.’ This was played on “The Quote of the Day” podcast produced by Sean Croxton. Both are powerful individuals in the motivation and human breakthrough arena. I felt that this strategy should be applied to anyone who is or isn’t doing anything. The point I gained from the podcast is that instead of telling yourself all the negative issues you have; start telling you that you are enough. You may not be perfect, but you are enough. Think about it! How often do people make tons of money to please someone? How often does one achieve high level of education to show other that they are smart? Negative self-talk is a real thing. We have the most conversation with ourselves. And most of the time we are listening to them. Some of those times, we tell ourselves that we aren’t good enough which turns into not being disciplined, rich, smart, etc. Granted we need to continue to work on ourselves. And do not put someone else down to ...

This, of course, refers to the skill that a successful poker player has in knowing when to stay in or drop out of a hand (Fredericks, 2014). This can be applied to personal relationships as well as professional ones. Sometimes as human beings can be committed to the wrong project or relationship. In a society where everything and everyone is competing for your attention, it is hard to find someone who is committed to you. Duke Wu of Cheng executed a minister for suggesting invading Hu. Even though, this was Cheng’s intentions. After hearing Cheng’s action, the ruler of Hu left his country defenseless to Cheng because of misplaced trust. A few weeks later, Cheng forces swept through Hu and took over the country. Moral of the story is to know when to hold them; and know when to fold them. Just because some does a nice gesture doesn’t mean they are 100% on your team. One needs to look repetitive actions to make a final decision committing or leaving the relationship. ...

I answer this question very often. The simple response is I want to be the best ‘me’ possible. After watching the video on pink slim on hamburgers (see link below) that my friend Waljeron Brown informed me about, I simply stayed away from meat all together. Now, I’m not sure if it was the pink slim video. Or the black hole of queued Youtube videos that enlightened me. I tried to take a bite of a chicken sandwich after seeing a law client late at night and I couldn’t force myself to do it. Now I’m not one of the vegans where I condemn others for eating meat. I simply live my life and those around me convert. My intentions are not to convert them. I can say that since being vegan, my life has significantly improved. My energy levels have increased, mental clarity has improved, and physical ailments are virtually gone. All in all, I want a better life for my kids and those around me. One of the ways of doing that is to make sure that I’m firing on all cylinders. I figured ...

“Strategic planning is an organization's process of defining its strategy, or direction, and making decisions on allocating its resources to pursue this strategy. It may also extend to control mechanisms for guiding the implementation of the strategy (Wikipedia, 2019).” There are five steps to strategic planning: 1. Clarify Your Vision; a. Define goals; b. Identify the process to complete goals; c. Set specific tasks for yourself or staff to complete to the goals; 2. Gather and Analyze Information; 3. Formulate a Strategy; 4. Implement Your Strategy; and 5. Evaluate and Control (Clayton, 2019). Why should you do one? A person should do one with their organization and/or personal life because it is easy to exude a lot of energy and resources in the wrong direction. Just because you are moving fast doesn’t mean you are morning in the right direction. It is important to know your direction because time is your most precious asset. And you don’t want to spend a ...

As I set in a conference for a non-profit organization, I found the importance of strategic networking and executing on those relationships. Too many times we make a lot of promises and meet a lot of people with little to no return on investment. As a natural networker, I realized that I was great meeting people, but I had to drastically improve on the reaping of the investment on those relationship. So, what is strategic networking? And what does it mean to execute on them? Strategic networking is specific directed networking. It’s doing research on individuals and organization before arriving at the network mixer for your professional organization. Knowing the goal of meeting with individual over coffee and actually accomplishing that goal. Don’t get tied up with the pleasantries of life. Even though they are needed for a person to feel comfortable. You do not need to waste your time and energy having a meeting to plan a meeting. You want results. This leads to the n...

Two different types of fighters, with two types of attitudes, and with two types of fighting techniques. This was one of the largest fights in history. Per the California State Athletic Commission, purses for Saturday’s [December 1, 2018] Wilder-Fury card: Deontay Wilder $4 million, Tyson Fury $3 million (both stand to earn millions more from their percentage of the profits from the event). 1  How does one gain a Split decision draw (115–111, 112–114, 113–113)? The answer is simple:   Both fighters prepared heavily before the fight. Wilder’s life wasn’t “no crystal stair.” 2 His first daughter has spina bifida. Also, he dreamed of playing basketball or football at the University of Alabama, but never played because of personal issues. And Fury reported lost a lot of weight and fought depression. 3   All in all, both fighters put forth a great bout. Its’ amazing that two fighters who grew up in different environments, took different roads to become great fighter...

So many people want to be in power for selfish reasons. Some people become powerful because of their desire to be a leader of people. Also, there are people who become powerful because of the desire to help others. I think the age-old question is what the definition of power? And why does everyone want it so badly? Dictionary.com defines power as “the ability to do something or act in a particular way, especially as a faculty or quality” or “the capacity or ability to direct or influence the behavior of others or the course of events.” The love of power may stem from people’s desire to find meaning and show their importance in the world. As a person who grew up in ever changing environment, I wanted control for some type of consistency. Not knowing that I was being prepared for a life that is not going to be traditional. My little sister posted on social media recently that “some of us matured early because life showed us the worst side of the world at an early age....

Often humans become distracted from their major goals because of minor problems. One must ask yourself what is the true reason for failing? Is it that friend? Family member? Bad habit? False beliefs?  Focusing on the wrong problem will lead to procrastinating and not the best results.  This is something that I’ve preached in the past; however, this seems to be a reoccurring issue. Being successful in any endeavor is to remain focused on the ultimate prize. There are two ways to remain focused on that prize: (a) mentors; and (b) coaches. Working with both a mentor and coach will help you obtain your goal faster and more efficiently. The difference between a mentor and coach is simple. A mentor provides advice on how to obtain a goal that he or she has obtained. Typically, this relationship is informal and based on the availability of the mentor. A coach makes time to ensure that you achieve a certain level of success. And typically, a coach major goal is to ensure the s...

Trying to figure out the next big step? Trying to figure out the next financial investment? Stop, meditate, seek wise counsel, and make the next step. I found that resting, not quitting, clears the mind of the multiple decisions that individuals must make daily.  Various internet sources estimate that an adult makes about 35,000 remotely conscious decisions each day (Sahakian & Labuzetta, 2013).   While trying to make the next big decision, it takes a clear mind. Never reply when you are angry. Never make a promise when you are happy. Never make a decision when you are sad.   Meditating helps clear my mind of being too emotional therefore giving me the ability to make sound decisions that I’m committed to. “The divorce rate of arranged marriages is less than 4 percent versus 40 percent of marriages in the U.S. where partners chose who to marry on their own free will. Arranged marriages are far from a new concept, and they're still practiced in ce...

“I’ve realized that instead of following the trends, you want to identify the trends, but not follow them.”   Steve Aoki (American musician, DJ, record producer and music executive). There’s always someone pushing to not be like the rest of society. If everyone is wearing Gucci, then there is a subset of people wearing Louis Vuitton. As if following a trend is some horrible idea. I’m of the school of thought that regardless of the trend, be you! So, what if you are wearing the trendy clothes of today. If that’s your style, own it. However, on the flip side, if you prefer to wear clothes from Target (like me), then ‘wear it loud.’ Our decisions in life should be based on our moral compass and what we feel compelled to do. Some people call themselves ‘trendsetters,’ which is cool. But what’s the reasoning for setting a trend; for the sake of doing so. Is that trend helping others? I find myself doing things that are unconventional because I want to find my identity. I b...

Have you ever felt like you were stuck? Like you want to make a huge positive change in your life, but there was always something in the way, e.g., school, kids, spouses, job, finances, etc.? I find writing my goals in front of me and working ‘backwards’ to my current state works wonders. It is easier to see the goal, but difficult to see the steps to accomplish those goals from your current situation. For example, if you want to be a lawyer and you are an ‘high schooler’; start with the finished goal and work ‘backwards’ from there. Too many times, individuals try to eat an elephant with one bite. But it works better with laying a plan out on how to capture, prepare, and storing away that elephant. (Funny analogy as I am vegan and absolutely love animals). The moral of the story is to simply plan your next big objective in a way that it is easier for you to accomplish it. One of the many ways that I use is SMART goals:  Specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timel...

Many times, I’ve wondered why folks were so negative, but as my mom has said, keep on living. A lot of people let life and bad people get to them. For example, some one who has road-rage is dealing with something other than road-rages, e.g., unforgiving boss, spousal issues, etc. It sounds simple but dealing with negativity isn’t about being calm and posed all the time. Because we all know that life can get hectic and must make decisions on dealing with individuals at moments notice. For God sake, we don’t get a memo that we are going to experience a bad person or decision, do we? However, to remain positive about your situation and deal with negative people is to (1) remove yourself from the situation, (2) address the issue at that moment in a manner that is suitable for you (others might try to force you deal with it in their own manner), or (3) redirect them to the real issue (if you have time and/or energy). I know these suggestions seem to be unrealistic or taxing while you ...

Community development is important because without it there would be no progress in the world. There are several types of community development: (1) economic, (2) social, (3) health, etc. In present day society, individuals operate in their silos and not understanding the impact of these different types of community development opportunities. Operating in one’s silo is a form of minding your business. However, there is little to no collaboration outside of those silos that can push the collective forward. There are three focal points to have successful community development: (1) economics, (2) social capital, and (3) mentoring. Every citizen needs to be engaged in community development. As a business owner, lawyer, philanthropist, and community leader I’ve seen a lot of organizational dysfunction. And one of the many dysfunction is employees operating in their own silos and not helping others even if there is a natural synergy. I learned during my doctoral progr...