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All creativity begins with curiosity. About how things work. About how things could work BETTER. About why things are the way they are. About why people do things they way they do. But don’t MY word for it. Let’s hear what three of the world’s most notable creativity gurus had to say about the value of curiosity… 1. Leonardo Davinci. He called it curiosita, defined as, “An insatiably curious…

(Read part 1 of this post series here!) (Read part 2 of this post series here!) 11. Well-roundedness is overrated. Let go of your past programmed, liberal education mindset. Instead, just get really, really good at one (maybe two) specific things. THEN, be known for them. THEN, be the first hit on Google for them. THEN, let them become your leading attributes. THEN, keep doing more OF and getting…

I just think stuff like this is interesting. Kind of a neat mirror of our culture. According to Webster’s, these are some of the words that were added to the dictionary last year: 1. bada-bing 2. beer pong 3. belly-up 4. bling 5. breakout 6. Central Casting 7. cross-training 8. de-pants 9. Disneyfication 10. drive-by 11. gay-friendly 12. gross-out 13. hard-ass 14. ill-deserved 15. liposculpture 16. looky-loo 17. low-rent…

Ever meet someone who thinks EVERYTHING is a competition? Kind of silly, isn’t it? I mean, there’s nothing wrong with having a competitive spirit. But it always seemed like a waste of energy to me. A lot of misplaced, macho anger. I think that when it comes to your competition, there’s no reason to be mean. No reason to put them down. No reason to slash their tires. No…

It’s never too early to begin … basting that turkey. It’s never too early to begin … being really, really successful. It’s never too early to begin … being useful to the world. It’s never too early to begin … bending the ears of smart people. It’s never too early to begin … building word-of-mouth into your ideas. It’s never too early to begin … career exploration. It’s never…

Framing is everything. So, when approaching your staff, employees, volunteers or members, be careful of using “Kill Phrases.” These types of setup comments negatively influence and/or negate whatever comes out of your mouth next. For example: 1. “With all due respect…” PROBLEM: people use this as a Get Out of Jail Free Card. A conversational passport to say whatever they want. As if insulting someone is OK if you…

The problem with your resume is that YOU wrote it. Which means it’s kind of biased. You may as well call it a resu-MEE. Because that’s what it is: ME saying why ME is so great. If you want to persuade potential employers, prospects and customers to hire you, remember this: your resume is most effective when someone OTHER than you writes it. In fact, the word resume comes…

(Read part 1 of this post series here!) 6. People don’t care what you know or (even) what you’ve done. They care ABOUT, are interested BY and want to learn HOW … you think. Period. That’s the key differentiator. That’s why your clients keep coming back AND telling their friends about you. Because of the way you think. Because you Have a Beautiful Mind (ahem, top three books I…

Social acceptance ranks among the highest of human needs. Which is why it’s natural to want to say yes to everybody. Still, your time is the most precious commodity you have. And if you don’t set boundaries for yourself, people will set them for you. Which, unfortunately, is why you CAN’T say yes to everybody. And that’s the big challenge of approachability: choosing your company wisely. Now. Over the…

If you build it, they (might) come. For that reason, you MUST stick yourself out there. In three ways: 1. STICK YOURSELF OUT THERE … IN PERSON. YOUR GOAL: to expand your comfort zone. In the hallways. In the elevators. In your conversations. At networking events. At conferences. During meetings. Be willing to do something crazy. To break people’s patterns. To violate their expectations. To be unexpected and unforgettable….