Alan Weiss’s Monday Morning Memo® – 8/24/26
Henry Ford’s first two car companies went bankrupt. R.H. Macy had seven failed businesses before his iconic store. Carrie, Stephen King’s first novel, was rejected 30 times. Michael Jordon was cut from his high school basketball team. Abraham Lincoln failed in business twice, lost his subsequent job, had a nervous breakdown, was defeated running for the Illinois state legislature, lost elections for legislature speaker (when he was finally elected), and lost elections for the US Congress and US Senate on five occasions, and in 1856 lost his bid to be nominated as the Republican Vice Presidential candidate.
I proudly join this list: I was rejected by Columbia University, not promoted past assistant manager at Prudential, I was an embarrassment in one of my first workshops for a client in New York (coordinator feedback: “The group was surprised you returned for the second morning”), fired after only 15 months as president of a consulting firm, and Confessions of A Consultant was rejected 15 times before becoming Million Dollar Consulting.
Many of you are qualified to join this wonderful team. I think the difference between simply failing and sinking, and failing and moving forward, is the ability to learn from the “defeat,” refusal to take it as a personal degradation of our worth, and determination to get up and back into the fray. You’ve been turned down by interviewers, by prospects, by civic and social groups, probably many of whom you knew were not as smart as you.
I’ve encountered far too many people at critical junctures who were two sandwiches short of a picnic. I decided not to share that meal.
Life can be a long, slow crawl through enemy territory if you allow your self-worth to be undermined by fate, bad luck, or others’ poor judgment.
During the Civil War, when the 20th Maine Regiment was out of ammunition on Little Round Top after repelling two attacks, and the Confederates charged for a third time to put cannon on the hill which would have flanked the Union Line, driving them out of Gettysburg, the turning point in the war that was a turning point for the world, the Maine Colonel, Joshua Chamberlain, issued a one-word order which defeated the Confederates against all odds and saved the Union.
He yelled, “Charge!” and they all fixed bayonets and ran down the hill overcoming everyone in their path.
There are some defeats more triumphant than victories.
—Michel de Montaigne
Fear defeats more people than any other one thing in the world. —Ralph Waldo Emerson
I've had some wins. And been knocked down with defeats. Glimpsed views from the top of the mountain. And walked through the darkest of valleys. But through this entire ride called “a life,” I've refused to give up. —Robin S. Sharma
My New Book, The Courage of Your Talent, will be released in October.
You can preorder here on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/checkout/p/p-106-1971249-7883468/spc?pipelineType=Chewbacca&isBuyNow=1&referrer=spc
In today’s volatile business environment, professionals face relentless pressures that erode confidence and self-esteem. Too often, worth is confused with performance―rising with each “victory” and collapsing with every “defeat.” This book challenges that cycle, showing how true self-esteem can remain steady, resilient, and empowering without tipping into arrogance or slipping into impostor syndrome.
Drawing on proven techniques, it demonstrates how resilience means bouncing forward from setbacks rather than retreating, and how self-worth must be distinguished from efficacy. By breaking free from herd mentalities, external validation, and self-doubt, leaders and teams can reclaim their autonomy, project confidence, and thrive in times of disruption.
The methodology outlined here equips readers to:
· Gain rapid acceptance of ideas and accelerate career growth in any organizational setting
· Improve health and well-being by reducing stress, guilt, and fear
· Achieve greater success in entrepreneurial ventures, partnerships, and solo practices
· Develop a clear, independent perspective on business and the world
· Build trust in one’s own judgment, enabling faster, more confident decision-making
This book is a practical guide to cultivating self-esteem as the foundation of resilience, adaptability, and leadership. It empowers professionals not just to survive change — but to lead it.
BONUS BOOK PROGRAM: Purchase now in advance or when the book appears but before December 1st in these numbers for these benefits:
Copies:
3: Free attendance at a 90-minute Zoom session on the topic (value $450)
6: One hour (or two half-hour sessions) one-on-one with Alan via Zoom (Value $2,500)
10: Free attendance in Alan’s monthly, 2027 Zoom workshops (Value $3,000)
20: Complimentary participation in The Den, a 45-minute, one-on-one meeting every week for eight weeks. (Value $4,500)
50: Alan will critique a book, web site, podcast series, or video series, existing or planned, with detailed recommendations for improvement and a powerful “draw.” (Value $7,500)
100: Dinner with Alan and a following morning (three hours) of in-person coaching (Value $15,000)
You can preorder here on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/checkout/p/p-106-1971249-7883468/spc?pipelineType=Chewbacca&isBuyNow=1&referrer=spc
AI:AlanIntelligence®
The response to my special pricing for AI:AlanIntelligence® on my site has been so great that I’m maintaining the $450 fee for the summer with full access for lifetime to my body of work, including book contents.
Here’s what people are saying:
“Alan,
This is pure genius! In less than an hour, I got help with three projects:
- Webinar creation
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I love it. This will be a tool open on my desktop/phone like ChatGPT.
Ed Tate, CSP
(Certified Speaking Professional and former Toastmasters® World Speaking Champion)”
In addition, I’m providing a very special session you can read about below on how to command any room, under any conditions, at any time. The fee is $500, but if you sign up for it I’ll include AI:AlanIntelligence for free, as my gift.
https://alanweiss.com/store/quick-pay/
Alan Weiss Presents: How to Command A Room
These are the techniques of a Hall of Fame® speaker with the strongest solo consulting brand in the world, and the author of 57 books, 16 additional editions, appearing in 15 languages.
Whether a one-on-one meeting, a session with a dozen people, a group of 100 or even a thousand, you’ll learn the techniques required to be the “driving force” among those present, without aggression, without outrageous behavior, and most of all, without fear.
Whether in a nonprofit or for-profit, a government agency, an academic setting, a panel, a speech, a discussion, a civic meeting, a social event or a debate, learn how to become the highly positive focus of attention from someone who’s done it globally for decades.
You will rapidly master skills and behaviors such as:
• Waiting for the “pivot point” to speak.
• Achieving consensus quickly.
• Using social proof interactively.
• Building your metaphors and analogies.
• Improv and extemporaneous techniques.
• Learning what to ask, not what to answer.
Date: September 15, 2026 Time: 10 to noon, US eastern time, via Zoom
A video and a transcript will be provided after the session There will be volunteer role-plays to hone skills
Fee: $500 (includes AI:AlanIntelligence®) Option: Program plus four, thirty-minute coaching sessions, one-on-one: $2,000.
Fees increase to $750 and $2,500, respectively, on September 1.
Don’t delay, take charge of your discussions, your profits, and your life.
Register: https://alanweiss.com/shop/quick-pay/quick-pay/
2026 Zoom Workshops
January 6 Maximizing the coaching/advisory dynamic
February 3 Maximizing speaking spin-off business
March 3 Role-playing tough conversations
April 7 Maximizing workshop effectiveness spin-off
May 5 Maximizing current events potential
June 12 Role-playing tougher conversations
July 8 Maximizing low project labor practices
August 13 Maximizing panels—participant/moderator
NEXT: September 8 Role-playing toughest conversations
October 6 Maximizing publishing potential
November 2 Maximizing lifestyle potential
December 8 Maximizing 2027 personally and professionally
All sessions are approximately 90 minutes beginning at 10:30 US eastern time. These sessions are $450 each, or the entire year for $5,000. Add three months of weekly 30-minute coaching for $2,500, a total of $7,500. (My cards are accepted for the full-year, and for the full-year and coaching options, not for individual sessions.) All sessions will include video recording, visual photos, and Zoom Companion summary.
Register here: https://alanweiss.com/store/quick-pay/
AI: Alan Intelligence®
My unique AI resource which will direct you to the relevant aspects of my entire body of work to answer your “real time” questions about proposals, value based fees, conceptual agreement, avoiding “ghosting,” and thousands of other issues with text, audio, and video resources, all of which you can download. Please go here to gain lifelong, constantly growing access to my work, including referral to specific pages in my books which you can access online: https://alanweiss.com/ai-alan-intelligence/ If you decide at any time to engage in one of my two elite, personal coaching relationships, I'll deduct the full fee you've paid for this resource.
IT'S NOW IN MY VOICE! IN RECOGNITION OF THAT SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT, I'M OFFERING A SPECIAL MEMBERSHIP: INSTEAD OF THE CURRENT $1,200, JOIN FOR THE ORIGINAL CHARTER PRICE OF $450, FOR TOTAL ACCESS INCLUDING MY LIBRARY. YOU CAN DO SO HERE: https://alanweiss.com/store/quick-pay/ No annual fee, you can use this resource forever!
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Million Dollar Consulting® for the World GRADUATE: Another 12 modules with videos by me and your peers on contemporary issues such as Raising Fees Aggressively, How to Be Consistently Interviewed, Maximizing Happiness, and Managing Multiple projects. Join the people from 57 countries who are availing themselves of this inexpensive way to dramatically grow their businesses in any economic times. How does 100:1 ROI sound? https://milliondollarconsultingcourse.com/graduate-learning-program/