Jim Randel
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Jim Randel, Chairman and Founder of The Skinny On™, is a graduate of the Columbia University School of Law and has made his living as an entrepreneur, having been involved in several highly creative and successful real estate and business deals. Throughout his entire 30-year career it has been his passion to write, speak and teach on subjects of financial and personal achievement.

His first book, The Real Estate Game (CCH), was published in 1986 and received national recognition from investors and critics. This led to various speaking engagements around the U.S. including Harvard and NYU Business Schools. During this period he also became a television commentator on business issues, and from 1988 to 1990 had a daily program on the Financial News Network (now CNBC).

Randel’s second book, Confessions of a Real Estate Entrepreneur (McGraw-Hill) was written in 2006 and reached #1 in several Amazon categories. The publication of this book led to numerous requests for Randel to speak at investor conferences in Kansas City, Seattle, Washington D.C., Boston, Providence and Milwaukee.

In 2008 Randel founded RAND Publishing which, under the imprint The Skinny On™ publishes a unique and contemporary line of illustrated non-fiction books.

The first book of this series, The Skinny on the Housing Crisis, What Every Homeowner and Homebuyer Needs to Know (April, 2009) has received numerous endorsements, including:

"Jim Randel has put together a no-nonsense, thoroughly readable book on what caused the nation’s housing crisis. This plain English analysis of a complex subject is a must read for the millions of Americans impacted by this shattering event."
-- Arthur Levitt, Chairman of the SEC (1992 -2000)

"This book performs an extraordinary public service and I hope that it is widely read."
-- Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut Attorney General

RAND Publishing released its second book shortly thereafter. The Skinny on Willpower, How to Develop Self-Discipline (April, 2009) is a concise and easy-to-understand guide which synthesizes more than 50 books and articles written on the subject of self-discipline. The Skinny on Willpower just received the following endorsements:

"Don’t let the stick figures fool you – The Skinny on Willpower is a funny book that offers up some seriously good information on how to declutter your brain and discipline yourself to achieve your personal and professional goals. Jim Randel will have you laughing and thinking at the same time. A very enjoyable read."
-- Ken Blanchard, coauthor of The One Minute Manager®

"Jim not only has amazing mental fortitude and lives the life he preaches, he also has an in-depth knowledge of this subject and plenty of credibility to write this book."
-- Dwight Stones, 3-time Olympian, 10 time world record holder

The most recent release, The Skinny on Credit Cards, How to Master the Credit Card Game (April, 2009) marks the series’ first foray into personal finance and has received national attention from nationally accomplished credit card experts:

"The Skinny on Credit Cards discusses a complex financial matter that many consumers struggle with in a way that even someone with no credit history can easily understand. This is no small achievement!"
-- Curtis Arnold, U. S. Citizens for Fair Credit Card Terms, Inc.

"I love this book, what a terrific job. This book can literally save you a fortune!"
-- Gerri Detweiler, Ultimate Credit Solutions Inc.

Blog Entries by Jim Randel

It Must Be Nice to Be Gretchen Morgenson

Posted August 1, 2011 | 13:55:10 (EST)

Ms. Morgenson, one of the New York Times' Sunday business writers, sees the world in black and white. Apparently she does not believe in hues.

Her latest column (Sunday, July 31) is an example: "Some Bankers Never Learn."

In this column she vilifies the mortgage industry (as...

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How Debt Collectors Play Unfair

Posted June 27, 2011 | 18:38:21 (EST)

Like it or not, your credit score is hugely important.

One expert told me that even small differentials in credit scores can -- over time -- create large differences in net worth. Since a credit score will affect the cost at which you can borrow money (the interest rate),...

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Why Credit Cards?

Posted June 23, 2011 | 15:52:41 (EST)

I feel that far too many commentators go overboard advocating a "no debt" approach to credit cards.

Yes, credit cards are seductive. And, getting into credit card debt is so very easy. What's more, credit card issuers can be tricky, maximizing profits by tripping people up with hidden or excess...

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Dumb Advice: "Read the Fine Print"

Posted August 18, 2010 | 16:07:09 (EST)

I read all the print and online financial columnists.

Whether the column is about getting a credit card, a car loan, or a mortgage, every single columnist at some point gives the same worthless advice: "Be sure to read the fine print."

This is a dumb suggestion. Unless the...

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August: The Cruelest Month of the Year for Entrepreneurs

Posted August 10, 2010 | 11:16:07 (EST)

The life of an entrepreneur is a 24 x 7 dash for customers, investors or lenders. For the first year or two of a start-up, it's a race against the burn rate. Every day you are spending money on employees, rent, supplies, whatever. The goal is to reach break-even before...

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Necessity is the Mother of Invention

Posted August 4, 2010 | 10:35:20 (EST)



As I do research for my new book, The Skinny on Creativity, I reach certain conclusions. One conclusion is that people will be as creative as they need to be. In other words, when pressed, people can be very creative.

By way of testing my various hypotheses,...



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Necessity Is the Mother of Invention

Posted August 4, 2010 | 10:23:15 (EST)



As I do research for my new book, The Skinny on Creativity, I reach certain conclusions. One conclusion is that people will be as creative as they need to be. In other words, when pressed, people can be very creative.

By way of testing my various hypotheses,...



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The Entrepreneur's Number One Frustration

Posted July 9, 2010 | 12:58:23 (EST)

Ok, so you've finally decided to flex your entrepreneurial muscles and lo and behold, you invent the better mousetrap. It just vaporizes mice -- no muss, no fuss. No cheese needed, no snappy sounds -- nothing. Any mice in your house just vaporize.

HOORAY, you say to yourself. You're...

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The Shallows

Posted June 17, 2010 | 10:32:07 (EST)

I just finished reading Nicholas Carr's book, The Shallows, subtitled "What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains."

Carr is an excellent writer. One of those non-fiction writers in the league with people like Malcolm Gladwell and Dan Ariely who can teach and entertain at the same time.

Carr...

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The Cutting Edge

Posted June 15, 2010 | 11:44:03 (EST)

My company is trying to develop new and unique content for the print and digital book world. Our premise is that internet-age readers (basically all of us today) absorb, process and retain information differently than did prior readers (our parents).

And so we find ourselves at what some might call...

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Diversification Is for Old People

Posted June 15, 2010 | 10:45:52 (EST)

Millions of articles are written about investment strategies. One that almost all commentators speak to is diversification -- the idea that since you cannot predict the return on investment from any one asset category, you should hedge your bets by spreading your investments. And, you need to revisit these allocations...

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The Ten Most Powerful Financial Truths in the Universe

Posted May 10, 2010 | 11:26:13 (EST)

In preparation for a speech I am giving tomorrow night, I have identified the most powerful financial principles in the Universe:

1. Compound Interest
- identified by Einstein as "the most powerful force in the Universe." More so than nuclear fission, I guess. Understanding how compounding works...

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Watch Out for the "Required" Minimum Payment

Posted May 4, 2010 | 16:52:40 (EST)

We need increased consumer protection because not all companies issuing consumer products -- credit cards and mortgages being the best examples -- play by the rules.

Obviously lenders need to make money. Therefore, any bank...

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Playing Whack-A-Mole with the Regulators

Posted April 29, 2010 | 19:00:00 (EST)

As Congress contemplates how to sculpt the next phase of regulations to prevent overaggressive or unethical conduct in the financial world, we need to ask a basic question: Can the regulators ever keep up?

It...

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Pushing Your Comfort Zone

Posted April 5, 2010 | 12:41:40 (EST)

When I started writing a book about networking (The Skinny on Networking), I did not realize that one of the main themes would be the subject of comfort zones.

We all know that networks are important. We all know that our value in business depends in part on the extent...

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Understanding the Economic Crisis in 800 Words

Posted March 31, 2010 | 14:26:43 (EST)

If you want to understand the economic crisis, there are several hundred 250-page books for you to read. If, on the other hand, you want a one-page explanation, this is it.

Beginning in the 1990's, the U.S. became infatuated with homes as investments. The government encouraged home ownership. Private entities...

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Thinking Against the Grain

Posted March 29, 2010 | 14:55:46 (EST)

One of my goals with this e-letter is to introduce readers to new, well-written books.

One I read this weekend is The Big Short, by Michael Lewis. Lewis is the brilliant writer who has also penned Liars Poker, The Blind Side and Moneyball.

The Big Short is the story of...

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Networking: Careful Use of Social Capital

Posted March 23, 2010 | 13:29:20 (EST)

I am currently writing a new book, The Skinny on Networking, and in preparation, I am reading every book I can find on the subject. One of the best is Keith Ferrazzi's, Never Eat Alone.

Ferrazzi's premise is that the way to build a network is to help everyone...

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Framing

Posted March 16, 2010 | 17:16:28 (EST)

My office is two miles from my house. There are two stoplights between house and office. For the first six months after moving into my new house, all I thought about was the great commute I had. Didn't matter if I got behind a school bus or hit one or...

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Choking on Thought

Posted March 8, 2010 | 11:12:29 (EST)

Our brain is divided into two parts: the rational, analytical side. And, the instinctive, emotional side. For hundreds of years philosophers and scientists presumed that if we could just gain more control of our rational side (think Dr. Spock), our lives would be less chaotic and even happier.

But,...

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