What did you daydream about when you were a kid? Did you dream of adventure? Did you ever want to be a superhero or a princess? Did you pretend to be Elvis or Audrey Hepburn or Indiana Jones or Princess Leia? Did you ever declare that when you grew up you were going to be …
I am currently studying—note that I did not say that I am simply reading—an excellent book titled Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less. The author is Greg McKeown. Regardless of your level of leadership and personal and professional success, you can learn and benefit from this book! From day to day, in fact more often than that, …
Have you ever run a marathon? I personally have not, but I know people who have. But of those I know who have run a marathon, not one of them has ever won a marathon. However, if you know anything about marathons and race culture, then you probably know that you don’t have to win …
I learn a lot by watching the people around me. I have long been a people-watcher, and I’ve discovered that not only do I learn something about each person I watch, but I also learn something about the people around them. And often, I even learn something about myself. Today as I walked laps around …
In his book The Little Book Of Talent: 52 Tips For Improving Your Skills, Daniel Coyle discusses ‘hard, high-precision skills’ versus ‘soft, high-flexibility skills.’ According to Coyle, hard, high-precision skills “have one path to an ideal result; skills that you could imagine being performed by a reliable robot.” Soft, high-flexibility skills “have many paths to a good …
Tip number six in Daniel Coyle’s book, The Little Book of Talent, is “Choose Spartan Over Luxurious.” Coyle correctly explains that we love comfort—state-of-the-art practice facilities, oak-paneled corner offices, expensive fluffy towels, and all kinds of other luxurious creature comforts and statements of status. Coyle asserts that “luxury is a motivational narcotic: It signals our unconscious minds to give …
Some people are habitual procrastinators. It doesn’t matter what it is—doing the dinner dishes, paying a bill, or writing a term paper—they put it off until the last minute. But even if you’re not a notorious deadline pusher, it’s likely there are at least a few things you tend to procrastinate about. Maybe it’s starting …
There are certain success traits that sometimes feel unattainable. Especially when you read those lists of “25 traits essential for success,” or “top 10 characteristics of successful people,” etc.—it can be overwhelming! There are just too many ‘essential’ success traits to possibly develop and practice them all. Also, I am a firm believer in …
As a young CEO many years ago, I was given the opportunity to build and lead a new medical center from the ground up. In the beginning the medical center was without funding, property, buildings, medical staff, or patients. Obviously, it was a huge undertaking, and a significant responsibility for a young leader. In …
All leaders who aspire to achieve greater personal, professional, and organizational success should be focused on leading and teaching resilience. Resilience is what makes the difference between those who give up and those who press on and reach their goals. And that’s a very important thing. Just imagine the ramifications within your organization. Imagine what can …
We all love the extraordinary. Extraordinary is a word used to describe those things in life that take us by surprise and infuse a moment with just a little bit of magic. You might smile and tell your mother that her pot roast is wonderful, or mention to a coworker that the concert …
Some people seem to have all the luck. You know, those people who score the coolest assignments at work, find the best shopping deals, win random radio contests, marry gorgeous spouses, raise genius kids, and whose investments always pay off ten-fold. You know, those people you love to hate. Are some people really …