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First you write the book, then the book writes you. This universal law can bring us peace along our creative journey. Because although end user of whatever it is we’re working probably won’t appreciate or reward or even notice our diligence, we certainly will. That soothing sense of fulfillment we gain from the experience is something that nobody can take away from us. It’s like when a comedian, who…

My actor friend approaches auditions in an incredibly healthy and sane way. Here’s his process. Prepare well, show up fully, assume you’re not going to get the part, and the moment you walk out the door, never think about it again. This reveals a posture of wholeness that difficult for many performers to find. But after a dozen years in showbusiness, my friend knows that if he’s looking to…

In the fifteenth century, most of the world believed that the sun revolved around the earth. But then the unspeakable happened. Copernicus, the legendary mathematician and astrology, stumbled upon the realization that our planet wasn’t the center of the universe. Shortly before his death, the publication of his model became a major event in the history of the scientific revolution. Not surprisingly, it also royally pissed off the church….

We assume that something has to be hard for it to work. No wonder there is no shortage of bumper stickers, business books and novelty shirts with slogans that reinforce this fallacy. If it’s easy, then it’s not worth doing. If it isn’t hard, then it doesn’t count. If you’re not struggling, then you’re doing it wrong. f it’s not painful, then you’re not trying hard enough. Protestant work…

Rage has become the new currency. Our culture has elevated it to the status of virtue. The more we express and sustain our outrage, the faster we pat ourselves on the back for being offended, and the louder we lament what the rest of the world is getting away with, the more status we gain. It makes total sense. Why would anyone waste their time being an example of…

Carlin, in one of his final interviews before his death, tells the rebellious origin story about getting great marks in high school, but because the nuns weren’t teaching what he liked, he didn’t care. That realization freed him to drop out in ninth grade and pursue his artistic dream of becoming one of the greatest artists of all time. George said: It’s important in life if you don’t give…

Enneagram fours are known as the individualists, artists and romantics. Since we connect to the world through being different, we have a keen ability to identify what is missing in that world. Our core compulsion is longing for reality to be different than it is. Like a knight on a quest, we search until we find that thing, and if we can’t, then we’ll just make the damn thing…

My first book went viral before viral was viral. The website got over a million hits in one day, emails began pouring in from across the world and the nametag story spread like wildfire. My career was officially launched. And to my surprise, that media storm lasted for nearly two years. You can’t pay for that kind of coverage. Looking back, I estimate my advertising value equivalency to be…

During my years as a valet parker at a luxury hotel, we learned how to bookend our service with something called the gold standard of hospitality. Every guest would receive a warm, sincere greeting, and a fond farewell. This act assured that the first and last interaction, as brief as our exchange might have been, still reinforced our mission of extraordinary service. Guests couldn’t walk in or out of…

When I started my company, I didn’t have a logo. My only priority was getting my book into people’s hands, getting my message into people’s hearts and getting my name into people’s heads. Everything else was secondary. Including design. But about a year into my career, I noticed something pretty interesting. My brand identity started taking on a life of its own. Any time my book title, website address, company…