I learned some wonderful marketing tips from mobsters. I grew up in Northern Kentucky. My father was a professional gambler and the Newport and Covington were heavily influenced, or controlled, by the mafia.

Even though I grew up in a community run by organized crime, the lines between what was legal and what was illegal were very clear.

I spent a day with a high-powered, high profile friend who mentioned that over 700 people a year ask him to help them get a new job.

An aspiring life coach has been working to help me improve in several areas. She found some of my old notes (I think they came from listening to the Strategic Coach, Dan Sullivan) about the four habits shared by most entrepreneurs.

In my book Wealth Without Wall Street and in my newspaper column, I've had one constant mantra. Credit cards are evil.

I'm mourning the loss, at age 64, of my friend, author and frequent Kentucky political candidate Gatewood Galbraith.

In 1988, MONY Securities in Atlanta invited me to speak at a conference. The president of the company insisted I read an obscure book by John Watts, The Financial Services Shockwave: Survival Tactics for Wall Street and Main Street.

When I walked in the Kentucky Book Fair, I could see that the author in the booth next to mine had to be a television anchor. Handsome, perfect hair, perfect clothes with a woman who looked like a fashion model (I later found it was his wife) assisting him.

I'll be honest. I was not looking forward to reviewing Al Smith's new book, Wordsmith. I'm too close to the author.

Many businesses can prosper by word of mouth advertising. Kentucky Guardianship Administrators (a group I founded and own) is one that did.

Jim LaBarbara's new autobiography, "The Music Professor," has a section about my dad. LaBarbara said that Big Joe McNay ". . . was bigger than life. He was friends with everyone from (Johnny) Bench and Pete (Rose) to the big politicians. I think he introduced me to half the people in town, everyone seemed to like him."

Anger has been rising on Main Street since the bailouts and the million-dollar bonuses were handed to Wall Street. Washington and Wall Street spent so much time talking to each other that they never noticed the mood of the country and figured it had gone away.

Last week, I saw two very different reactions to moves made by two different banks. One bank was once considered "too big to fail." The other is a tiny blip in the banking world.

In my book, Wealth Without Wall Street: A Main Street Guide to Making Money, I encourage people to make four economic moves:

"From Small Things Mama, Big Things One Day Come" -Bruce Springsteen "It's the little things that mean a lot." -Sonny and Cher As noted in the song lyrics, plenty of lip service has been paid to the idea that small acts can have a big impact.

In his 1961 inaugural address, President John F. Kennedy urged Americans to "pay any price, bear any burden, support any friend, oppose any foe in order to assure the survival and success of liberty." He also said, "Ask not what your country can do for you-ask what you can do for your country." Many people believed in Kennedy's aims of shared sacrifice and public service.

Every year since 1991, the Gallup Organization has polled Americans on which profession they consider the most honest and ethical. When nurses are on the list they always come out on top, except in 2001 when firefighters, understandably, took the distinction.

George Bernard Shaw said there are two tragedies in life: One is not to get your heart's desire. The other is to get it.

My approach toward wealth changed in 1992 when I went to a Vanderbilt University alumni meeting and heard William Spitz, the college's treasurer, give a talk about his book, Getting Rich Slowly: Building Your Financial Future Through Common Sense.

Most of us have an idea of what a small-town banker should be like. It's George Bailey, the character Jimmy Stewart played in It's a Wonderful Life.

I hate certain types of credit. I don't own a personal credit card, and I don't want one. Payday lending,tax-refund anticipation loans, and other forms of legalized loan sharking should be outlawed.

I believe in self-employment. Every trend indicates that's from where the most growth and opportunity will come in the future.

We've had a number of government bailouts and "stimulus" programs in recent years. Trillions of dollars have gone down the drain.

A controversy about Eastern Kentucky stereotypes has developed in the Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture race. Agriculture Commissioner is a statewide elected office in Kentucky.

Darren Rovell did an excellent story on CNBC.com saying that "LeBron James Marketing May Never Recover." As he noted, LeBron is now one of the most hated stars in any professional sports. He went from admiration to derision on the heels of one of the stupidest public relations stunts ever conceived.