Dan J. Harkey

Master Educator | Business & Finance Consultant | Mentor

Personal Growth & Development

A practical guide to getting better results in your work, your time, and your life.

If you’ve collected enough advice to fill a bookshelf but still feel like your calendar owns you, you’re in the right place. My articles focus on the successful practices that move the needle: goal setting, time management, sales and relationship-building, negotiation, more intelligent time allocation, and reinventing yourself when the old version stops working. Less inspirational theater. More execution.

Most people don’t fail from lack of talent—they fail from drift. I write about how to build clarity, protect your time, strengthen relationships, negotiate better outcomes, and create a repeatable system for progress. Practical, direct, and occasionally funny—because growth is serious, but it doesn’t have to be grim.

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When the Lowest Rate Isn’t Best Option- Quick Read

Here are the 5 most important reasons to read this article:

A Better Language Option Than The “F-Bomb”: Referencing Another Person’s Ignorance or Personality Flaws.

If you’re looking to swap out the “F-bombs” for something with a bit more flair and a lot less gravel, you’ve come to the right place. Transitioning from vulgarity to creative wit and humor makes your point more memorable and keeps you out of HR’s office and your lawyer’s office.

Waiting for the Bank Is a Gambler’s Move:

Not unlike The Midnight Gambler

The Ducky Bunny Method: Part II of II

Below is the field manual version of the practical implementation techniques—written so that a solo operator, deal team, or underwriting committee can use them in real-world workflows (e.g., credit approval, investor review, project feasibility).

The Ducky Bunny Method: Part I of II

How to Obliterate “The Way We’ve Always Done It”

“It’s All Right”: The Impressions

“Heat Wave”

Martha Reeves and the Vandellas’ “Heat Wave”

“You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me”: The Miracles

“Land of 1000 Dances”: Wilson Pickett

White Elephants in Business:

When Prestige Becomes a Liability

White Elephant:

When a Gift Becomes a Burden

Reduce Organizational Friction:

—and Push Back Against Bureaucracy

DEFCON 1:

The Meaning Behind America’s Highest Military Alert Level

Son of a Gun:

The Curious History of America’s Most Polite Insult

Solo Entrepreneurs Don’t Lack Structure: Part II of II.

My greatest operational bottleneck is often the approval process I conduct.

Solo entrepreneurs and very small organizations don’t lack structure: Part I of II

They suffer from self-created bureaucracy.

Reducing Organizational Friction:

Methods to Counteract Bureaucracy and Create an Engine of Efficiency

Son of a Gun:

The Curious History of America’s Most Polite Insult

“Boy Howdy!”:

- is a classic piece of American folk slang — and it’s older (and more interesting) than it sounds.

“If You Wanna Be Happy for the Rest of Your Life”:

Jimmy Soul’s Musical Warning: