How the Greats Master the Art of Conversation: We have conversations with other people every day. Depending on the day and our line of work, we might speak with dozens of people throughout the day. But out of all those appointments, meetings, phone calls, and hallway greetings, we might have just one or two really genuine, one-on-one conversations that last more than a few minutes. Those are our chances to really influence others.

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Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of a best-selling series of books that chronicled her pioneer childhood in the late 1800s, proved that it is never too late to accomplish great things and to become a highly successful, influential leader. Wilder left a literary legacy that has positively influenced millions of people—both young and old—for generations. Her books

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I love to walk. When the weather is nice, I walk for miles around my neighborhood. When the weather is not so nice, I do the same inside my gym. Whether I’m listening to a podcast, dictating an article, or having a phone meeting, my brain is always engaged and the wheels are turning with

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I am currently reading what I consider to be an excellent book. It is titled Is This Seat Taken? It’s Never Too Late To Find The Right Seat by Kristin S. Kaufman. The book was written for people who find themselves in circumstances not planned, not expected, not necessarily desired, and they are asking themselves, “What am I going

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I, like many people, believe in the priceless value of maintaining good health and physical strength through exercise. Throughout my life I have reaped many benefits from staying active and engaging in strength-training exercises.   But no matter how faithful I am to an exercise regime, the inevitable reality is that my strength will eventually

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I have long believed in the wisdom of learning from highly successful, world-class leaders and achievers. If you really want to achieve greater success, why not study and learn from those who’ve gone before? Why not look at their habits and glean insight from their experiences? One such world-class achiever is internet entrepreneur Jeff Walker.

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I was recently reminded of one of the most powerful leadership principles ever encountered: “If you have a big enough why, the how becomes easy.”  Most leaders, organizations, and people focus on the “how.” Take a look at the titles and focus of millions of books, articles, and blogs. Take a look at the titles and focus of thousands of

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Home from school at last, the five-year-old boy ran up the stairs, bursting at the seams with excitement, anxious to tell his daddy what had happened in class today. “Guess what, Daddy? I got to be the Class Leader today!” Turning to greet his son, the father caught the contagious excitement of his preschooler and

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Jon Gordon recently published a listing of actionable, high-impact thoughts regarding teamwork. The article is titled, “11 Thoughts About Teamwork,” and was published in Jon Gordon’s Weekly Newsletter. As you know, leadership is not a solitary journey. Leaders, by the very definition of the term, work with other people all the time! So without a doubt, strong teamwork

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I recently read an excellent blog post by bestselling author and speaker Jon Acuff. Jon made a rather surprising list of all the good things that happen to you when you compare your success to someone else’s. That’s right—good things. Just wait until you see the list! Here it is—I just added a couple things

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I recently had the opportunity to conduct an in-depth interview with Dave Edwards, Vice President of Supplier Relations/Business Development at Premier, Inc. Dave is not only a thoughtful and articulate leader, he is unusually passionate and is definitely “all in” regarding his personal, professional, and organizational mission and role at Premier. Throughout the entire 65-minute interview, one

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Have you ever had one of those workdays (or maybe one of those work weeks) where you simply cannot focus on the task at hand? You re-read the same paragraph three times but can’t remember what it’s about. You sit at your computer for an hour and only get five sentences typed out. You zone

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Throughout his life, President Herbert Hoover demonstrated profound determination and perseverance. Born into poverty and orphaned as a young boy, Hoover was determined to create a better life. In his own words, Hoover’s boyhood ambition was “to be able to earn my own living, without the help of anybody, anywhere.” Raised a Quaker, he soon

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I have long been a believer in the incredible power of habits, and firmly believe there’s nothing else in your life that will influence your success more than your habits. Whether by intentional choice or subconscious pattern, habits almost completely dictate your daily routine, and it is your daily routine that grows to become your

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