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Putting our heart into it isn’t enough. That’s merely the price of admission. To keep the momentum going, to keep the resistance away and to keep the goal in sight, we have to put our back into it. Real, physical exertion. Sweat equity. Elbow grease. Getting up earlier than we need, staying up later than we want, and aching every moment in between. That’s what life requires of us….

When we decided to leave home and relocate across the country, my parents were enthusiastic, empathetic and encouraging. But they were also concerned. They knew I had a history of omitting feelings, withholding emotions and concealing the contents my inner life. And if I planned to live a thousand miles away, that lack of communication wasn’t going to cut it anymore. You have to talk to us, they said….

Carrot Creative was the first full-service agency specializing in social media strategy, design and development. I sat down with Mike Germano, CEO and Co-Founder, and posed three crucial questions about belonging: 1. Good brands are bought; great brands are joined. Why do you think your employees join yours? Carrot Creative spends more time on company culture than on clients. Our employee avatars, for example, are badges of honor. Unlike…

Punctuation changes posture. And posture changes everything. When we live our lives as periods, we crash into the wall of certainty with eyes of arrogance. And we see only what we want to see. But. When we live our lives as question marks, we knock at the door of mystery with knuckles of curiosity. And we see what needs to be seen. The choice is ours.

Everybody wants the scar, but nobody wants the scab. We’re too impatient to wait, too accustomed to instant gratification and too seduced by our something-for-nothing culture. That’s why we seek shortcuts to boost our numbers, trick people into buying from us and, eventually, get what we want without actually putting in our time. Because we can. Why bleed for what we want when we can buy what we don’t…

The only stories that count are the ones we pay for. The ones we suffer through, burn calories for, lose everything from, change everything with and stop lying to ourselves because. Without that expenditure, without that investment of emotional labor, the story doesn’t truly belong to us. It may be superimposed upon our memory, but it will never be scored upon our heart. But when we get it right,…

We can’t be in the pretty good business. We have to be amazing. We have to bring everything inside that we have. We have to figure out a way to blow people away, every time, in the most magical and unexpected way possible. Only then do we have power. Only then do we have choices. And it’s worth all the preparation. All the sweat. All the early morning starts…

The Jar Group is a data-driven agency of internet enthusiasts who produce integrated marketing strategies and happy clients. They were named on the Inc. 500 List of Fastest Growing Private Companies and Linkshare’s 2010 Agency of the Year.                       I sat down with President AJ Lawrence, and posed three crucial questions about employee belonging: 1. Good brands are bought, but great brands are joined. Why do you think employees join yours?…

We all hear voices. That doesn’t make us crazy – it just makes us human. The hard part is when the voice we most want to be quiet starts to torment us. Our natural instinct is to ignore it. Or run away. Or drown it out. Or stick our fingers in our ears and pretend it’s not really there. And with most voices, that’s a helpful approach. It protects…

You’ve chosen an uncertain path. You’ve adopted an inconvenient lifestyle. You’ve embarked upon an unconventional journey. You’ve felt the voice inside you growing more urgent. You’ve committed yourself enough so you can’t turn back. IN SHORT: You’ve decided to play for keeps. This is the critical crossroads – the emotional turning point – in the life of every young artist. And I’ve been there myself. From my latest book,…