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

For some reasons, a lot of people think very highly of themselves. I’m not saying there is anything wrong with a little of self-confidence. However, when in any relationship, you want to understand your role and the ‘value’ you bring to the table. I mean think about it. How many times you have interviewed someone, and they want an ungodly amount of money with no education, experience, or new ideas? Understanding your worth in any relationship will increase your value and the areas you need to improve, regardless of type. In earlier times, everyone had a role in society. As you can tell, that didn’t work out so well. And I think it is partly due to people resting on their laurels and not trying to improve themselves. This post is about knowing you value, but more importantly adding to your value. As mentioned above, in earlier times, people were birth in specific situations. And without any type of self-improvement, then the people will perish. Also, it is important to realize...

For those who don’t know what Learned Helplessness (LH) is here is the Webster’s dictionary definition:  Noun:  A condition in which a person suffers from a sense of powerlessness, arising from a traumatic event or persistent failure to succeed. It is thought to be one of the underlying causes of depression.  Now, how many of us have experienced this ourselves? Or know someone who deals with this. I know I have dealt with this with myself and with others.   So, why am I writing about this? Simple, if you are a business owner or lead a team of people, having to deal with individuals who have learned helplessness can be a daunting task. And more so, having these people on your team is not good for the company’s bottom line.   Ex. Susan in sales is always complaining that she doesn’t have any leads for mortgages. She makes calls, advertises, and constantly ask her friends for referrals. But it seems that she can’t get ahead. But one thing Susan doesn’t ta...

What is publishing? Publishing rights allows a person to sell or do business with music, books, curriculums, etc. And when I say do business with it music or books, I mean partner with other companies or brands to put on maybe a concert, party, etc. With publishing rights, there come contracts, collaborations, and deals that help promote a specific song, album, book, or movie. When you are trying to publish a body of work, it takes multiple people to publish it. For example, you need a producer, artist, sound engineer and others to get a song ‘off the ground.’ And like any other project, there can be conflict that arises out of these projects. This is where having a good contract in place helps. I’ve worked with several groups of people to either help develop a contract or handle contract disputes . All in all, I’ve found that without having a contract, things can go haywire. When it comes to artist, many either not business savvy or do not care about the business side of deve...

How many people you know who always busy I know a lot of people. One of those people is ME. I have found that to be very successful you have to delegate. And I’m not talking delegating for the sake of just telling someone what to do. Or you getting them to do something that you don’t want to do. I’m talking about getting some one to do a task that you don’t have time to do. Or getting someone to do something that they are much better at doing than you. One of the ways to delegate is to bring on people who have a vested interest in your mission. Oftentimes people think it's about paying people a certain amount of money to get them to do the right job. Where money is definitely a factor, you can find good people and not break the bank. What I typically do is if I'm trying to keep things within a budget, I offer people incentives to grow with the company. When you give people incentive to grow with you and you encourage them to help grow the business; you find that people be...

We all have our moments where we are wanting to get so much accomplished in a day? Just yesterday, I got up late because I wanted to spend time with the family. But, I knew I had to get work done too. So, I ended up not completing everything I had planned. So, yes, I know the feeling. How do you accomplish two things at one time? My answer to this question is simple. If you want to accomplish more in life, ‘know your limits.’ Don’t try to get everything done on your ‘to do’ list at the hand of others or detriment to yourself. Life is very much so about progressively getting better. But, also, it’s about living. I talk about this on my podcast:   Success Pays. We all have those limits where we are just inefficient. You have to know everything that you are capable of and keep your focus within that wheelhouse. It is tempting at time to put more on your plate because you are seeing others doing it (appearing) or you are slacking in areas in your life. Don’t look at others. A lot...

I get a lot of calls about contracts. What is a contract?   A contract by law is (1) an offer, (2) an acceptance, and (3) mutuality. *There is a case about a million-dollar case in Alaska where a contract was formed on a napkin.   Back to our regularly scheduled program, let's break the elements of a contract. The first element is an offer. An offer is when a party offers some type of product or services to another person. The next element is an acceptance in which a party sees an offer and either offers to pay for service and/or product; or provides some service and/or product in exchange. The latter part is what some courts may call a reliance.   The third element of a contract is mutuality . Mutuality is a tricky element of contract law. Because mutuality is if the value comparable, it bargained for, or the value exchange reasonable. Many people don't understand that even though you might have a written contract, if there is some type of the duress, no bar...

What do I mean consistency is the cousin to success ?  There are a lot of people that think you become an overnight success, except the successful. The successful know that what appears to be ‘an overnight success’ took years of working on their craft. To be successful, you have to have a certain high level of consistency. You must stick to your plan, goals, and vision! How many of you guys know someone who is always trying something new and trying something different but never sticks with anything? My point exactly. You either knew or thought of someone in your mind instantly. Now, I don't think it's bad to try something new or to switch it up. However, I think the more times you switch it up and deviate from your original plans, the less likely you are to achieve them. Success can be elusive to some. But, it's really not. Success comes to those who really want it. And consistency is one of the determining factors of achieving success. I wanted to make money to p...

Why you should let people know who you are? Well, first, how are you going to get paid? If people don't know who you are, what you do, and how you make money; there's no way that they can refer you business. I'm not saying throw your success in people face. Just because you are in the top of your class and make a million dollars a year, does not mean everyone wants to hear it. However, if you want to help others to be in the top of their class or make a million dollars, TELL people . If you want to be successful in life you have to let people know what you do for a living, what you're about, and what you represent. I am doing this program 75 Hard developed by Andy Frisella . And the programs require no drinking and working out twice a day, amongst other things. For me to be successful with this program, my group of friends and family need to understand that I'm not drinking alcohol and my time is very limited. So I'm now on day 40 something. But I think th...

 This is something that I’ve been avoiding for a large part of my life:  Selling . Yes, if you own a business or work for a company, you need to be selling! Why? Because revenue conquers all! And how do you obtain or increase revenue? You increase it with sales. No matter what field you work in, you are doing some form of selling. Yes, you may be a doctor, lawyer, dental hygienist, tire repair person, etc. In all of these fields, there is an element of selling. Selling is the process of getting someone to buy a product or service. Yes, I’m having to break it down like we are in elementary school because a lot of people shy away from this as if it is a bad aura around the subject. I fell in love with selling not because of the money, even though I enjoy it. I love selling because I’m providing something to someone who needs or want it. I tell all of my clients where they are legal clients or business partners, that if it is coming out of my mouth, you can take that to ...

I was asked the other day ‘why am I so motivated about business and law?’ The answer is simple, motivation helped and helps me through my lows in life, my educational degrees, etc. So, what does this have to do with friends ? Real friends will help motivate you in personal, business, etc. When I say motivate, I’m talking about investing in your business, words of encouragements, social media shares, etc. Yes, I’m one of those guys who want to make sure that everyone in my group win! And you should be one of those people as well. Helping others to accomplish their goals is the epitome of friendship. You can have a lot of friends who buy you drinks, take trips with, play golf with, etc. But, how many friends actually invest in your business whether it is a big commitment or buying a $20.00 t-shirt from your friend? I know a lot of times when we think that friendship is just about having fun, but true friendship is about helping each other out during the high and low times of life...

Some of the common unfair wage practices includes, but not limited to misclassified exempt, misclassified as independent contractor, failing to pay minimum wages, tip pooling, not paying for hours worked, etc. Misclassified Exempt Misclassified is when the employer makes an employee a salaried position while forcing them to work overtime. This is a common practice as employer try to find ways to cut cost. Employees are the biggest cost in any company, typically. Misclassified as Independent Contractor Misclassification of independent contractor is basically when an employer supervises the contractor as an employee. One of the major differences is an employee is more supervised by the employer. An independent contractor usually is someone who brings their own materials and make their own hours. The focus of a contractor is to complete the project they were hired to do. Failing to Pay Minimum Wage You’ll be surprised to find out that many employers don’t pay the minimum wage....

Dean Graziosi Show (October 9th 2020), he made raised up a good question. Are you busy or productive? A lot of times in life, I think we can get lost in the minutiae of creating a task list and checking things off of it for personal glorification. But, we need the focus on tasks that move the needle. Now, I'm reading this book by Andy Frisella and he makes a good point of being present during the montage. Sometimes we want to every obstacle and goal we face to be exciting. But, much of success is made during the mundane and boring tasks from day to day. So what is the difference between being busy and productive? Being busy is about checking items off your checklist. Being productive is about focusing on items that move the needle (Graziois, 2020). Now, there are a lot of things that could move the needle. But what needle are you trying to move at this point. I know this sound kind of philosophical, but this is an especially important point. For example, keeping up wi...

What is transparency? I know a lot of you guys are probably wondering what the hell am I talking about? Whether you are trying to grow yourself, your business, in education, your family relationships, or your spiritual walk; you need to have a certain degree of transparency with yourself and those around you. Now transparency for me is not an opportunity for you to ‘dog’ someone. Transparency is about letting yourself and others know around you what you're trying to accomplish and what it's going to take to accomplish it. Often when I talk about how to get to the next level success, I say you got to find out where you are and find out where you trying to go. Transparency affords a lot of people the opportunity to really see themselves for who they are. And I'm talking about those people who have been degraded all their life by family and friends. I am talking about those people who have been put on pedestals and have fallen. No matter where you are in life you, ...

The simple answer to this question is lawyers have experienced a lot of real-life issues with their clients. As a lawyer, I’ve had the pleasure to experience a lot of different issues. Meaning, I know the good and the bad of people’s lives. When I have a close friend ask me for advice about almost any subject, I have some knowledge about it. Now, everyone’s situation is different. There is never a blanket answer or solution to everyone’s solution. So be mindful of the advice. A lawyer friend typically, not always, gives sound advice, whether it’s about relationships or business. What a lot of people don’t know about lawyers is that in order to become one, you not only have to finished years of schooling and pass the state bar exam. You have to be cleared through that state’s ethics board. Meaning, you can’t have any moral turpitudes on your records, e.g., bankruptcy, domestic violence, owed creditors, etc. The purpose of having this review board is to ensure that there are qua...

The reason why I love math is because there are basic laws.  And if you abide by them, you will get to a solution. You should apply this same principle is life. If you are trying to achieve a goal, it is important to know the formula to get to it. Don’t be one of those people who are arbitrarily shooting at random targets. There is a saying that if you don’t have a target, you will hit it every time. Meaning, if you don’t have any direction, you get there every time because there is no destination. If you apply the simple principles to get to where you are trying to go, you will eventually get there sooner or later. If you want to be a professional basketball player, given you have the right genes, height, speed, muscle, etc.; you’ll become one if you put in the work. You must decide what position you want to play and the work that is required to get there. The percentage of people who are slated to get to the NBA is less than 1%. You need to find out what that 1% did to ge...

According to The Wandering RV , there are over 6 million car crashes a year. So, if you see this statistic, you might wonder what is the purpose of this post? This post is to make you aware that if you were ever to get involved in the car accident, here are some steps to take to ensure safety of you, family, or friends. First, if you been involved in accident make sure everyone is safe. Pull on the side of road to get out of the way of other traffic. Some law enforcement agency might not want you to do this. I have found in my experience this helps make others safe and helps traffic buildup. The next step is to make a phone call to 911. This can depend largely on the severity of the accident. Well, I would say always called 911. Also, immediately take pictures. No matter who you think is at fault. Whether you are at fault or the other person is at fault take pictures! This will help you in the long run, especially when it comes to remembering specific details of the accident. Or ...

So, I know that this is a precocious post! But I think it's something that warrants a blog post and general discussion. So why are bars popular? The answer is simple. At bars you can meet people, a future spouse, relax, and host of other things. So, what’s the purpose of me writing this blog? It’s simple, what else are people doing now that they can’t go out to bars, beaches, etc.? So where are people socializing? The Internet! What can you do to expand your social circle while using the Internet? One, you can gain followers and friends on social media. Hence why it's called social media. I think oftentimes people take social media too seriously. In which it is understandable. I think the key to all of this is to make sure to find engaging post and don't be scared to reach out to others on social media. It is easy to follow a specific hashtag, make a comment, direct message people, and make sure you take that relationship or the initial contact very seriously. Socia...

I'm hitting you with another crazy blog post! How to stop suffering? The answer is simple: Either start doing something or stop doing something specific. You're suffering because you're either going through something that you can or can't control. So what is suffering? Suffering is something doesn't feel good. It brings emotionally ups and downs. But, there are two types of sufferings: one, is a good and the other is bad. Just like everything in life. So the question to yourself is what should you do to stop the suffering? If you are suffering from something good, you need to do with David Goggins says develop a callus in your mind to continue to move forward. If you are suffering something bad, then you either need to start or stop doing something. You often hear the parable of the howling dog . Someone asked why is the dog howling? The farmer says because she is sitting on a nail but doesn’t want to move. If you're experiencing this right now, find mo...

The purpose of this post is to open a discussion about the importance of Constitutional Rights! And how to appreciate them. Constitutional Rights were established years ago for Americans to have Civil Liberties. It sounds convoluted, but it is something that is important. If you don’t believe me, try to obtain a pistol permit, register to vote, attend public schools, etc. All these simple necessities of life are part of our constitution. So why are constitutional rights seemed to be attacked at some much, especially during election. The answer is simple:   There is not enough people who appreciate them and/or understand them. Even though, human rights have not been equal for everyone for 100 of years in America , the purpose of the constitution was to establish some time of normalcy and standards. Without this sounding like a history lesson, America was form breaking away from Great Britain . And the main reason for this was because of the many immigrants being unfairly tre...

 What do you need to know when conducting business international ? If you are in business, you are doing some type of international business. It is difficult these days to conduct business without having some type of international touch points. If you are in the product business, some part of your product is from out of the country. If you are providing a service, you are using some type of technology and/or service that has an international base. So now that you know that you are doing business internationally, even if it is remotely, what can you do when interacting with clients over the water? Time:   Due to different time zones, it is important to understand that others are either hours earlier than you; or hours late than you. And you must be prepared to engage customers, clients, and/or business partners on their time. Just because it is late for you and they know there is a time differences, does not mean that they want you to be in pajamas on a 10:00 p.m. Zoom ca...