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It’s true that your ego will always find something to cut the legs out from underneath your success. That it will throw at you everything it has to prove its story.  And yet, your ego is still a valuable vehicle. It’s simply a matter of knowing when and where and how to park it.  Maisel’s research on rethinking depression reminds us that we are all built with an ego and powerful…

Execution isn’t about what you do, it’s about what you delete.  When I first started my business, it’s almost embarrassing the number of tasks and routines and endeavors I engaged in that were stupid, unnecessary, expensive or simply made no sense at all.  Consider the amount of money I spent on four color printing for pointless collateral materials that customers didn’t even notice. That alone cost me and arm…

I admire people who dish out tough love like candy.  They possess the generosity and courage and audacity and perspective to give others straightforward feedback, tell the ugly truth and help them identify their own missteps. It’s a lost art. Only a small percentage of the population can do it well.  But in that moment, when a person tells you exactly what the odds against you are, and perhaps…

Becker’s book on the birth and death of meaning claims that very few of us ever find our authentic talent. Usually it is found for us, he writes, as we stumble into a way of life that society rewards us for, entering into an existing hero system in which we find the expression of our unique gifts.  But not everybody labors vain. Not everybody becomes dissatisfied with the exact use that…

All creativity begins with the moment of conception. That little piece of kindling that gets the fire going. That initial source of inspiration that takes on a life of its own. That single note from which the entire symphony grows. That single spark of life that signals an idea’s movement value, almost screaming to us, something wants to be built here. Based on my books in The Prolific Series, I’m going…

When things are going well, you run the danger of assuming your success is inevitable.  As if all the momentum you’ve generated was going to make you invincible.  But you soon realize, just because you’re riding a bicycle downhill doesn’t mean your legs are strong. You still have to pedal. You always have to pedal.  Roethlisberger was the legendary first round draft pick and rookie of the year who…

Years ago, my mentor recounted a story about one of his former employees that always stuck with me.  During the exit interview, his direct report was outraged at her termination, explaining that she had put in ten years of experience with the organization, and had earned the right to stay on the team.  But he explained to her that she didn’t have ten years of experience, she had one…

One of our chief goals in life is to make ourselves proud. To experience the satisfaction of having lived up to our expectations for ourselves.  And so, any time we write or compose or code or perform a piece of work that we’re legitimately proud of, it’s important to take a moment, look at the art and say, wow, now that’s really good, nice job.  To forget all about our cultural conditioning…

When waves of loneliness and isolation come crashing in, I immediately recognize them for what they are, but I don’t dwell on them.  Because I know that sitting around like an inert zombie waiting for time to pass only compounds the pain. It only causes me to behave in ways that push away the very people who might alleviate my loneliness. It only leads to the atrophy of social…

I recently launched a software application that helps people identify what’s already true for them, and then leverage that asset to increase the rate of return on their investment.  Here’s one of my favorite questions from the list.  What are you already doing that could be making money?  It’s a brilliant time saver, income generator and value creator. Because it challenges people to conduct an ongoing analysis of their current talent…