Financial statements are made of small building blocks. To understand the financial statement and make better business decisions, you must understand how the building blocks fit. Accounts are the smallest building blocks. Accounts, sometimes called general ledger accounts, are the smallest building blocks. It’s where your transactions are recorded. For example, when you spend money on office supplies, you’ll record it in an Office Supplies account. Accounts are grouped in broad categories and numbered: ...

The most straightforward lessons are sometimes the hardest to execute consistently. Nothing in Make Your Bed, by retired Admiral William H. McRaven, is groundbreaking, but they are backed by McRaven’s stories from his military career, mainly from when he was with the SEALs. They are simple lessons you need to often hear so you can one day apply them when the situation presents itself. Here are some of my favorite lessons: ...