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Real pages. Big print, plain words, laid out like an old composition notebook.
40 rules for reading people, keeping your respect, staying calm under pressure and walking away from trouble. Written for working men out here, so you never have to learn them the way I did. An instant PDF download — no physical book is mailed.
Instant PDF download to your phone, tablet or computer. No physical book is mailed.
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In there, a man who couldn’t read people, hold his temper or keep his mouth shut paid for it every day. I learned it the hard way, so you don’t have to. — Earl
Every rule in the book has the same shape: the rule, the story from inside, what it means out here, what to say instead, and one thing to try this week. Here’s one, shortened.
My first week in the unit, fall of 1991, I talked too much. I was thirty-three and scared, and scared men fill the air. I told anybody who’d stand still where I was from, what I thought of the food, what I thought of the place. Preacher let me run on for about four days. Then one night, lights low, he said, “Son, you got two ears and one mouth. Try using them in that order for a month.”
When I started at the feed store in 2017, I had a hundred opinions about how to stack the sacks and run the counter. I kept every one of them in my pocket for a month. I watched my boss. I watched which customers paid cash and which ones asked for a little more time on every bill. I watched who did the work and who did the talking about the work.
| Instead of… | Try… |
|---|---|
| Jumping in at a new job with how your last place did it. | “I’m still learning how y’all do it here. Show me first.” |
| Telling a stranger your whole life story the first day. | Ask him one question about himself, then listen to the whole answer. |
| Picking a side in the family argument the minute you walk in. | Sit back, drink your coffee and figure out who’s actually upset about what. |
Real pages. Big print, plain words, laid out like an old composition notebook.
Included with your order, as separate PDFs on the same download page.
The routine Preacher taught me in a cell. About 15 minutes a day, no gym, no equipment, three levels for men 40 to 75. Forty exercises, each with an easier version, plus Preacher’s Push-Up Ladder.
Forty meals from a hot pot, a kettle or a microwave, made with dollar-store groceries. A rough cost per serving on every recipe, food safety done right, and a $3-a-day meal plan.
Printables to put the rules to work: a monthly budget sheet, a spending log, the 40 rules on three pages, a rule-a-day tracker, planners and a habit tracker.
The Yard Book (40 rules) plus all three bonus books.
One payment. Instant download. Read it on your phone, tablet or computer, or print it.
Get The Yard BookUS$37 · Secure checkout by StripeInstant PDF download to your phone, tablet or computer. No physical book is mailed.
My name is Earl Haskins. I’m 68 and from East Texas. At thirty-three I made a bad decision that hurt people. It was my fault, and I did 26 years in a Texas state prison for it.
My first cellie was an old lifer everybody called Preacher. He could tell you what a man wanted before he finished saying hello. He never raised his voice, and he never had to. One day he told me, “Do your time, don’t let it do you.” I spent the next 26 years learning what he meant.
I came home in 2017 with one bag and Preacher’s old notebook. I got a job at the feed store, and I found out people out here are the same as people in there. The only difference is that most men out here never had to learn how to read them.
The man I was at thirty-three didn’t know a single one of these rules. If he had, a lot of people would have been spared a lot of hurt. I can’t give that back. But I can hand you what I learned, so you never have to learn it the way I did.
Watch before you talk. — Earl
No. It’s a digital PDF you download instantly and can read on any phone, tablet or computer, or print at home. Nothing is posted to you.
No. It’s for working men out here who have never been inside and never plan to be. The rules are about the people at your job, in your family and on the other end of the phone.
PDF e-books in big, easy-to-read print. The Yard Book is about 100 pages, and the three bonus books are extra. You download them all straight after you pay.
Any phone, tablet or computer that can open a PDF, and that’s nearly all of them. You can also print it.
No. Every rule points the same way: read people, keep your word, stay calm and walk away. Nothing in it is about fighting, threatening anybody or getting even.
No. It’s general information from one man’s life. For your own legal or money situation, talk to a professional.
Email earlhaskinsbook@gmail.com within 30 days of buying and we’ll refund you in full. No questions asked, processed within 2 business days.
That’s good news, because it means you can. Read one rule a day, and try it.
Get The Yard Book: $37Instant PDF · 3 bonus books · 30-day money back, no questions askedInstant PDF download to your phone, tablet or computer. No physical book is mailed.