Blog
Read Blog Posts by Category:
Passion: Articles that deal with the inner drive that we all need to want to MOVE from where we currently are to where we dream to be.
Preparation: These posts reference articles, books, documentaries, speakers, quotes, and other inspirational and formative ideas that I have found that helped me and the people around me.
Practice: Articles in this category have a heavy sports and performance training lean.
Performance: These articles focus on how you go about your work. From networking to communications to finding a better way to do what you do.
Perseverance: Articles in this category speak to the mechanics that we go through both mentally and physically to stay on track and not get STUCK.
Empty Your Cup
In the hustle and bustle of our careers, it’s easy to fall into the trap of believing we’ve reached our peak. After all, isn’t there a certain comfort in knowing we’re “good enough”? But what if I told you that true excellence is more than just reaching a destination; it's about the continuous journey of learning? Just as one cannot pour tea into a full cup, we cannot become who we are meant to be if we are unwilling to empty our minds and make room for new knowledge.
The Paradox of Knowledge
Have you heard the saying, “The more you learn, the less you know”?
Isn’t it funny how there are still gaps in our knowledge during the internet revolution, where we have so much more information at our fingertips than ever in all human history? On top of that, as we learn more, we find the vastness of genuinely understanding a topic to its end seems farther out of reach than when we started.
This paradox, “The more you learn, the less you know,” has made great thinkers pause and marvel at its depth of meaning. This concept lends to our curiosity and insatiable hunger to know and understand more.
Becoming the Smartest Person in the Room
David Weinberger's quote, “The smartest person in the room is the room,” is both right and wrong, depending on the chair you are sitting in.
If you sit in the chair or a CEO or the Head Coach, Weinberger might be right.
But if you are one of the people seated in that room, you are paid to be the smartest in your area. Then Weinberger is dead wrong.
Your job is to be the smartest person in your field and share insight and knowledge from your area of expertise. The room will never know more than you in your area of expertise. Though some think they know more, they only know what they read in an article or heard at a convention, which has no foundation or context for the discussions in your meeting room.
Success: Focus on the Right, Not on the Easy
In a world where instant gratification and shortcuts are often glorified, it can be tempting to choose the easy path. However, I have seen true success and fulfillment come from focusing on what is right, not what is easy. This mindset shift requires dedication, perseverance, and a willingness to embrace the challenges that life throws at us.
From Stuck to Significance
Young and old alike began to realize that life was not working out like they had imagined. They were quickly moving from stuck to stagnation. Stuck is when there is little movement. Stagnation occurs when all movement stops, and you begin to accept your plight.
Think Differently
Today, I see people getting caught up in THOUGHT BOXES. A THOUGHT BOX is where one becomes so stuck in one way of thought that they can’t think differently. Because of their education, they have been taught by people who have never been “in the field” to see if what they are teaching actually stands up to real-life situations.
Building Your Team
During my coaching tenure, I devised a strategy to ensure I always had a diverse and talented group of coaches and advisors around me. The key to success is not just surrounding yourself with the best but also with those who bring unique perspectives and skills. It's about having the confidence to attract individuals who are smarter than you in specific areas.
Always Prepare for the Possible
Too many, after receiving negative feedback or rejection: shutdown. They throw up their hands and quit.
Why?
Nothing is over until it is truly over.
We become so spun up in our feelings about what just happened that we don’t take the time to plan for what might happen in the future. If we live in the past, we can’t live in the present which will adversely affect our future.
Instead of giving up, give yourself a chance by being prepared for the possible.
Finding The Missing Piece to Your Puzzle
I am the king of stupid questions.
I wear that crown with pride. How did I earn it? Simply by being willing to “look stupid” by asking a question that I didn’t know the answer to.
What came out of this “stupidity” … I accomplished all my professional goals and dreams. It doesn’t seem like much of a cost when you look at it in that way does it? If I told you that you could be the best at whatever you wanted by asking questions, how many of you would raise your hand?
If you want to be the best, how hard is it to raise your hand and ask: “Why?” or “How?” or “Can you repeat that?” or “How does that cause this?”
When we were children, we went through the questioning everything phase. Then when we became young adults, we again questioned everything. Why is it then when we become adults, we stop asking questions?
Stepping Away from the Chaos
But in most cases, individuals cause their own chaos. They’ll argue and give you “excuses” for why they are always running out of time. Why their work is substandard. Why they had to stay late. Why they came to the meeting late. Why they lost the information that they needed. Why their car ran out of gas.
Yes, they always seem to have legit excuses for all the chaos. Shit does happen. But not the same shit every week. When it becomes repetitive then it’s not the “shit” that is happening, it becomes the “shit” that you are neglecting to do when you have time to do it is not getting done. This traffic jam of projects that need to be done builds up, which leads to the chaos. The problem is not “chance”, it’s caused by the person.
Narrowing Your Focus
In life when we try to make everyone happy, we end up disappointing most everyone.
In business if we try to take on too much, we end up going broke.
With our goals in life if we have too many, we don’t accomplish any of them.
Live Your Best Life
It’s totally up to YOU. If you aren’t moving towards your plan, the only person you can blame is the person who you are looking at in the mirror. If you are accomplishing the steps to make the plan real, it’s the person you are looking at in the mirror that needs to get the credit. Trust yourself. You can do this!
The Value of a Mentor
Things get hard. We begin to feel like we are all alone. We try to subtly reach out … but no one is picking up.
Life Lesson: WE CAN’T DO THIS BY OURSELVES
What about our Quarters can’t they help? Sure, sometimes they can help, but at other times it’s out of their realm of understanding so all they offer is encouragement.
QUESTION: So, now what?
ANSWER: Find a mentor!!
Three People You Need in Your Life: Lifters – Guides - Challengers
This life is hard. It’s too big for us to try to do it on our own. For those who are “lone wolves” let me remind you that the lone wolf doesn’t survive long on its own. There are too many pitfalls. Too many problems that we can’t solve on our own.
What we need are people around us that lift us, that guide us and those that will challenge us.
Forever a Student
Let me ask you, “When was the last time that you learned something new?” Hopefully it was just a minute ago. “Where did you learn this new something?” Probably from reading or watching someone do this task.
Life is constantly happening around us. If we stop learning (EVERY DAY) then life will pass us by. Have you ever seen someone who has never used an iPhone (or whatever you use) try to navigate through an app? It’s like showing a monkey a road map … they just stare at it. How does this happen?
Success: Faith and Trust
Did you hear the story about the leader who took forty years to get his group to their optimal destination? We might think that this guy was tenacious. This guy had grit and determination. One who doesn’t know the meaning of quit … right?
What happens if I told you that he could have gotten his group to their destination in eleven days, instead of forty years?
Building a Presentation – Part IV
Movement is the only way you have of affecting the world around you. — Daniel Wolpert
As you near the end of construction, whether it is a structure or a presentation, you will begin to add the parts that will breathe life and endless possibilities into your project. A house or an office building will seem cold without the walls being painted, the rugs, the lighting, the art work and the furniture. Just like in a presentation, without the finishing touches your talk will seem drab and colorless. When you add these to your finished piece a normal looking structure, or talk, will become a million-dollar work of art.
Building a Presentation – Part III
Words build bridges into unexplored regions. – Robert Frost
Mr. Frost was spot-on. Great transitions, clear examples and a dynamite introduction will build the bridges that will entrance your audience as you pass along your message. These three ideas will lift an average presentation in to a life changing motivational oration. It only takes a little creativity to spice up your words and stories.
Building a Presentation – Part II
My style, as a motivational speaker, is to use stories to draw the listener towards a realization. The stories help to lift or challenge the audience. Once they are caught up I the message I call on the audience to take action.
Building a Presentation
Speaking to 600 Pre-K through 6th Grade students I could not take anything for granted. I could not assume they would have any name references, historical references, sports references, life-lesson references. I had to build my talks to reach each of the students at their level of understanding.