Tibor Machan is professor of philosophy at Chapman University in California. He was born in Communist Hungary, smuggled out as a teenager, and came to the United States, where he earned his Ph.D. from the University of California, Santa Barbara. A prolific writer, he has published over forty books and scores of essays. A recent collection of scholarly essays on Machan’s work, Reality, Reason, and Rights: Essays in Honor of Tibor R. Machan, edited by Douglas B. Rasmussen, Aeon J. Skoble, and Douglas J. Den Uyl, was published in 2011.

Watch the video at Stephen Hicks’s site.

Previous Profiles in Liberty:
Philosopher Douglas Rasmussen.
Economist David R. Henderson.

Check out this list of methods that highly productive people use to cut down on distractions, increase focus, and set goals.

Here is a sample that is likely relevant to everyone:

“Create and observe a TO-DON’T list. – A ‘TO-DON’T list’ is a list of things not to do.  It might seem amusing, but it’s an incredibly useful tool for keeping track of unproductive habits, like checking Facebook and Twitter, randomly browsing news websites, etc.  Create one and post it up in your workspace where you can see it.”

From Marc and Angel Hack Life.

James M. Lapeyre, Jr. (Jay), is President and CEO of Laitram, LLC, a diversified global manufacturer of industrial equipment. He is also Board Chairman of ION Geophysical, a NYSE company that provides seismic technology services and solutions to the global energy industry, and past Chairman of the Business Council of New Orleans. After Hurricane Katrina, the Business Council has been a driving force in reform efforts such as consolidating the Regional Levee Boards and the Orleans Parish Assessors, establishing an independent Inspector General, and supporting efforts to improve flood safety, charter schools, and criminal justice.

Kaizen: You grew up in New Orleans?

Lapeyre: Yes. I spent four years in Europe when I was a kid and four years away at college. Otherwise, I’ve lived in New Orleans.

Kaizen: You’ve lived in interesting times, as they say—hurricanes, oil spills, Louisiana politics, and other challenges.

Lapeyre: Those are just the local disasters [laughs]. We also had 9/11 and the economic crisis. But a lot of good things too: the Internet and the fall of the Berlin Wall, so the world is dramatically better today.

Francesco Clark, Kaizen interviewee and founder and CEO of Clark’s Botanicals, writes for the Huffington Post about his experiences with fear and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder after his accident that left him paralyzed, and learning to live happily in the present while looking forward to the future.

Read the inspirational article here.

David R. Henderson is associate professor of economics at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California and research fellow with the Hoover Institution. He has written for the New York Times, Fortune, the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, and Reason, as well as scholarly articles for the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, the Journal of Monetary Economics, Cato Journal, Energy Journal, and many others.

Watch the interview at Stephen Hicks’s site.

Related:
David Henderson’s web log at Econlog.
Stephen Hicks talks with David Henderson about seven myths about free markets.

In our latest issue of Kaizen we feature an interview with Jay Lapeyre, President and CEO of Laitram, LLC, a diversified global manufacturer of industrial equipment.

Also featured in Kaizen are: student essay contest winners Amina Seitahunova, Amanda Nicosia, and Danielle Taylor; the Fall 2011 Reading Group; enterprising student Vince Chiarelli; and guest speakers Phyllis Johnson, a Rockford-based entrepreneur, and Alexei Marcoux, professor of Business Ethics at Loyola Chicago.

A PDF version of Kaizen is available here. We will soon post separately the full interview with Mr. Lapeyre.

If you would like to receive a complimentary issue of the print version of Kaizen, please email your name and postal address to CEE [at] Rockford.edu.

Self Employment in the Arts (SEA) is an organization dedicated to helping “…artists succeed at becoming an artist through conferences, workshops, and [their] website full of resources and articles.” SEA will be holding a conference on February 24 and 25 in Lisle, Illinois. Session topics include self-publishing, finding clients, using social media, and making a business plan.

Click here for details.

Click here to view a PDF of the conference schedule.

An article in Inc. unpacks the following pithy definition from Harvard Business School professor Howard Stevenson: “Entrepreneurship is the pursuit of opportunity without regard to resources currently controlled.”

Read the rest here.

Mariotti (right) with BESA winners

Steve Mariotti, Kaizen interviewee and founder of the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE), wrote about his experiences with young entrepreneurs at the Bright China Entrepreneurial Spirit Award (BESA) ceremony. “…These young people would most likely end up as low-income workers in factories. Through the NFTE/Bright China program, they were inspired to start their own businesses,” Mariotti said.

Read more here.

Related: “China’s Century?” by Michael Beckley [PDF].

In an extended interview, philosopher Douglas B. Rasmussen responds to a series of questions about his life and work.

Dr. Rasmussen is a professor of philosophy at St. John’s University in New York. In addition to the books discussed in the interview, he is the author of articles in American Philosophical Quarterly, The Review of Metaphysics, International Philosophical Quarterly, and many scholarly anthologies.

Watch the interview at Dr. Stephen Hicks’s site.

Related: Stephen Hicks interviews Douglas Rasmussen about Philippa Foot’s Natural Goodness.