During my time in LA, I witnessed something extraordinary at a comedy club that transformed how I coach leaders. The host announced a surprise guest: George Carlin. He was conducting “spring training” – warming up material before his tour. The legend walked on stage carrying a stack of notecards, each containing a single joke. He … Learn More
“Come on guys, this sucks … but we’re all in this together.” I’m sure many managers are using this refrain right now. I call it motivation misery. Here’s the catch: misery isn’t motivating. There are plenty of ways to communicate to those around you that “we’re in this together” without having to remind people of the negative … Learn More
We know we need to network. Many of us cringe at the idea of walking into a room full of strangers and making small talk, though. I get it. I grew up painfully shy. I used to hide behind my mom’s knees whenever adults would talk to me. I’ve obviously gotten better at this, but it’s taken … Learn More
Some people like chaos. I’m not one of them. I like order, habits, and discipline. A solid structure allows me to accommodate all the dreams, ideas, and ambitions I have. When I’m off my schedule, my mind feels frazzled, my body feels sapped, and my work suffers. When life feels chaotic, I know what to do: … Learn More
I’m a last minute holiday shopper. In fact, I’m still waiting on some packages to come in from Amazon … fingers crossed. It’s not that I don’t like giving gifts – quite the contrary! It just takes time to get the perfect gift, which is why I feel I’m always a little behind. And when I can’t find … Learn More
So, tell me: how did you feel this morning? I felt as rusty as the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz. I OVERINDULGED this Thanksgiving. I think I ate 3000 calories on Thursday, 75% of them were carbs. All were DELICIOUS. I also made the conscious choice to engage in some hard-core chilling, too, which … Learn More
It’s Thanksgiving week – do we need a blog post about disagreement? Shouldn’t I be writing about gratitude? No. You’ll get plenty of messages this week about what you should be thankful for. I want to talk about the #1 reason we screw up all the goodness in our life – it’s because we can’t handle … Learn More
The way I see it, I’ve got three options: – Resign to the goal, even though my team can’t achieve it – Fight the goal, knowing I’m going to p*ss off my boss … but maybe I change it – Quit because I’m … Learn More
A few years ago, I had a private meeting with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in his office at the Pentagon. For those of you who aren’t familiar with this role, it’s the #1 highest ranking officer in our military. They serve on the President’s Cabinet and are responsible for the best military in … Learn More
“How am I going to get 15 hours of training in this week?” I asked myself this mid-August. As I’ve shared earlier this year, I was training for a full Ironman. I was also bopping around the country delivering keynotes, working on my next book proposal, and trying to enjoy a few more summer days with my … Learn More
I had a pretty crappy day last week. I know, right? That doesn’t sound like me – the eternal optimist. Even so, it happened. A personal situation percolated and sent me sideways. Following that event, all I wanted to do was sit on the couch, bury my head in a bag of potato chips, and insert a wine IV into … Learn More
What would our world be like if … Tragic … tragic. Varying degrees of tragic, of course. I want you to think of you. You by your lonesome. You imagining all you could do if you only had … I can’t think of anything sadder than you not realizing your potential. I know it seems that it’s … Learn More
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