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1. Do as I say AND as I do. Life your life of zero distinction between the two. Where the message you’re preaching is the dominant reality of your life. Where your footsteps are in line with your mouthsteps. And where your onstage performance is congruent with your backstage reality. In what areas of your life are you forgetting to partner with integrity? 2. A journey of a thousand…

According to www.HumanForSale.com, I am worth $2,693,430. Sweet. That’s a nice self-esteem booster. Still, while I took the online assessment, I started thinking: What IS self-esteem, really? My handy etymology dictionary informed me that the term “esteem” comes from the Latin aestimare, or “to estimate.” THEREFORE: Self-esteem is how you estimate yourself. The overall appraisal of your personal value. Today we’re going to talk about how to supercharge your…

I write early. Usually four or five in the morning. I don’t do this because I’m a morning person. Just ask my family: You don’t want to KNOW me before about nine. THE POINT IS: Writing (or any creative activity) early in the morning has nothing to do with preference. Discipline always trumps desire. It’s all about positioning yourself in the best possible environment to leverage your creativity. I…

As the evil killer lunges towards Watson’s neck, Sherlock Holmes grabs the arm of his attacker, stopping the invisible dagger millimeters before slicing the jugular of his faithful companion. “How did you see that?” Watson gasps. “Because I was looking for it,” Holmes replies. LESSON LEARNED: Awareness is power. THE GOOD NEWS IS: Creativity isn’t as hard as people convince themselves it is. Let’s explore seven ways for getting…

Probably the most frequently asked question I get about writing and creativity is the issue of discipline. How do you become disciplined? How do you STAY disciplined? Since it comes up so often, I’ve be addressing this topic in a variety of posts lately. For now, this should get you started: 1. Shift your attitude toward writing. Your discipline will begin to kick in the moment you embrace the…

1. 80% of life isn’t showing up – it’s FOLLOWING THROUGH. That you show up is eclipsed by the importance of HOW you show up. People respond to the sum total of what you present to them. Positively, negatively, or not at all. It all depends on how you show up. The problem is, people often shrink from showing UP because they’re terrified of being accused of showing OFF….

1. Writing is blood in disguise. Sit down, slice open a vein a bleed your truth all over the page. That’s my official definition of writing. And after publishing ten books and a thousand articles, here’s what I’ve discovered: Writing in blood is a huge time saver. Think about it. If you approach the writing with that mindset, you don’t have to waste valuable hours editing. Because you can’t…

Email spam – while annoying, unethical, sexually graphic and a colossal time waster – IS quite entertaining. It’s also a consummate example of smart marketing. Recently, I spent some time perusing the 1,385 messages in my spam folder. Not surprisingly, patterns began to arise. So, I extracted a collection of subject lines and headers that either grabbed my attention, made me laugh, or caused my body to react in…

1. Don’t go where the money is – going where the money is going. Think Gretzky: He always skated where the puck was going. 1,016 goals later, the entire world calls him – and ONLY him – The Great One. This is not coincidence. Just strategy. Anticipatory thinking. It’s predicting the future. Are you thinking ten years out? 2. Faith doesn’t move mountains – faith IS the mountain. In…

1. What techniques can you suggest for getting ideas out of your head and linking them? First, write Morning Pages. I know that tends to be my answer for everything, but I’m serious when I say it’s the most crucial component of ANY writer’s creative practice. Start them tomorrow. Second, here’s the approach I use regularly. Go to Office Depot. Buy a box of index cards. Write one idea…