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Is It Important to you to be Healthy?
How important is your health to you? You might be surprised to discover how many things are more important to you than excellent health.

Set and Achieve High Goals for Success in 2010

Successful people commit to taking personal responsibility for creating the career and life success they want and deserve. Setting and achieving high goals is one way of demonstrating your commitment to your success. Your 2010 -- and any year for that matter -- success begins with your goals. Make sure they are S.M.A.R.T. (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time Bound). You should be able to clearly articulate three things about each of your goals -- 1) What you plan to achieve; 2) Why you want to achieve it; and 3) How you plan on achieving it.

Persistence and Success

Successful people commit to taking personal responsibility for their lives and career. Only you can make you a success. You have to take personal responsibility for creating the successful life and career you want and deserve. Persistence is the mark of people who are committed to taking personal responsibility for their lives and careers. Persistent people keep going; even in -- no especially in -- the face of difficulties and problems. Promise yourself that you will commit to taking personal responsibility for your life and career in 2010. Be persistent. Keep at it, and you will reach your goals

What Is Emotional Dependency?
Are you emotionally dependent? Use this checklist to find out, and discover how you can attain emotional freedom.

Create Your Success by Acting With Enthusiasm

Successful people commit to taking personal responsibility for their career and life success. They decide what they really want out of their life and career. They create a vivid mental image of themselves having what they want. And then they act -- enthusiastically. They seize the day and do whatever it takes to get what they vividly imagine and ardently desire. Commit to taking responsibility for your success. Seize the day -- and act.

Heed the Dalai Lama -- and Fortune Magazine

The Dalai Lama says: “One can be deceived by three types of laziness: the laziness of indolence, which is the wish to procrastinate; the laziness of inferiority, which is doubting your capabilities; and the laziness that is attached to negative actions, or putting great effort into non-virtue.” I really like this quote because it drives home an important point about personal responsibility and becoming an outstanding performer. The Dalai Lama doesn’t let us off the hook by saying, “I didn’t think I could do it.” Instead, he says that doubting our abilities is a form of laziness. That’s some tough love!

Successful People Stick With It

Successful people commit to taking personal responsibility for their lives and careers. You take personal responsibility for your life and career when you do three things: Doing whatever it takes to succeed -- including sticking with it and dealing with pressure; Setting high goals and then doing whatever it takes to achieve them; Responding positively to the negative people and events in your life.

Successful People Focus on Their Goals

Successful people commit to taking personal responsibility for their lives and careers. They set high goals and do whatever it takes to achieve them. Focus on your goals every day. Stop for a minute several times a day and ask yourself if what you are doing is bringing you closer to achieving at least one of your goals. If it isn't, stop what you're doing and start doing something related to achieving your goals.

The State of the Union, Common Sense and Success

Successful people embrace and use their common sense. They apply four key common success principles: 1) clarity of purpose and direction; 2) a sincere commitment to taking personal responsibility for your life and career; 3) unshakeable self confidence; and 4) competence in several key skills. In the State of the Union address, President Obama called common sense a novel concept. It may be. However, if you are serious about creating the successful life and career you want and deserve, you will embrace your common sense. You'll apply your inner knowing of what to do to when it comes to succeeding in this life and in your career.

Create Your Success by Acting on Your Vision
Successful people have a clearly defined purpose and direction for their lives. They also commit to taking personal responsibility for their lives and careers. Getting clear and getting committed are the starting points for creating the successful life and career you want and deserve.

Successful People Treat Life as a Splendid Torch

Successful people commit to taking personal responsibility for creating the successful life and career they want and deserve. They set high goals -- and do whatever it takes to accomplish them. They react positively to the people and events in their lives -- especially the negative people and events. They relish the days when they have a lot to do, and then go on and do it. They get great satisfaction from working hard and seeing the results of their labor.

Personal Responsibility Update

Hollywood sources are reporting that Oliver Stoney, famed producer and director, has acquired the screen rights to a yet unpublished book with the working title, Impersonal Irresponsibility. Sources tell us the cast of characters includes a thirty-ish personal injury lawyer who upon learning he has TB, books airline flights around the world. Powerful dialogue includes the line, “Nobody told me not to.”

Gaining Others' Respect
Are you distressed about how often others are disrespectful to you? Discover why this may be happening and what you can do about it.

Your Success Will Inspire Others
When one person raises the bar, they demonstrate by their example what is possible. We see this in business, sports, all walks of life....people achieving what no one before them had. People raising the bar, pushing the limits, thinking outside of the box of what is possible, and then going after it, taking action and achieving it.

It's Time To Bring An End To... Everything!

What is "Occupy Wall Street" all about, you ask? Well, it's hard to say (without knowing)... all we have to go by is what the protestors themselves say to reporters. It's becoming increasingly difficult to get reporters to go in there (now that the dedicated young protestors have been marinating in their natural un-bathed juices for a few weeks), but when they do, they learn, uh, not much. Many protestors they interview actually have no idea why they're there. But others do seem to be against some stuff, such as banks, and wealth, and capitalism, and (as one intelligent young man summarized) everything....

Core Sadness vs. Wounded Sadness
Discover the vast difference between core sadness and wounded sadness, and what causes each.

Food That Harms, Food that Heals
The food industry, drug companies, and insurance companies are intricately tied up in why we have a health care crisis.

How To Recognize Inspirational Leadership

The line is sometimes fuzzy between inspirational leadership and run-of-the-mill agitation. When leaders stand on soap boxes and deliver passionate speeches, the words and tone often sound the same. But to me, the difference between agitation and true inspirational leadership is often found over time. If you follow something, and it makes you a better person, it was inspirational leadership. If it brings out your less desirable qualities, it probably wasn't....

"Why Are My Partners Always Needy?"
If you have the experience of always meeting needy or controlling people, it is likely because you are also needy and controlling and don't realize it.

"Why Won't my Partner Have Sex With Me?"
Are you wondering why your partner doesn't want to have sex with you? This article may provide the answer for you.

Personal Responsibility: Make Your Own Job

Our nation is locked in one of the greatest ideological battles in its history. Some want the government to do more for people, and spend more on social programs such as unemployment. Others see a terrific threat in tax-and-spend tactics that leave us with an unbelievable national debt. Even if we could handle the debt in future generations, will our government's current "stimulus" (bail-out) strategy really accomplish anything positive? Will people have the motivation and inspiration to create and achieve things when the burden of taxes is higher than any of us has heretofore seen? Will we become so dependent on government programs (like unemployment) that we lose both the will and the ability to earn our own livings? Over time, these are clearly dangers.

Recession-Proof: Have A Second Income Online

We all need to take a step back and think about where we are placing our financial bets, and I'm not talking about investments like the stock market. Where are you betting your own ability to generate income? You may have a solid job with a good company, but things change quickly these days, and you never know what will happen in the coming months and years. Do you have other "clients," or are you betting your entire future on how well your company takes care of business - and, by extension, is able to take care of you? Remember, no matter what it says on your business card, you are in business for and by yourself... always have more than one client.

Inspirational Leadership Starts With Personal Responsibility

Personal responsibility seems to be losing popularity in America these days. At least, if you keep up with the news, you know the current government is operating much more from a position of government intervention and control than from a guiding principle of personal freedom and responsibility. This, though, is excellent news for leaders who have the desire and ability to drive themselves; as leaders who exude an inspired personal responsibility become more scarce, their value in the "leadership marketplace" soars, and great followers seek them out.

Personal Responsibility Keeps You Strong
Dependence on the government, and the largesse of entitlements, could bring this republic down.

Inspirational Leadership: You Go First
If you want to be a more inspirational leader, you have to go first. Take the bold action you want your team to take. Let them see you struggle as you reach for more within yourself than you might think possible... but make sure you can produce a regular flow of success.

Inspirational Leadership Is Learned When It's Lived
I learned one of my life's most powerful lessons in inspirational leadership when I was almost 19, serving as the newspaper editor for the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division. If any of my old buddies are out there, they might confirm this anecdote with a comment or two.

Personal Responsibility: The Bucks Stop Here
I could relate plenty of stories about times, throughout my career, when I failed to live up to my personal aspiration to be an inspirational leader continuously driven by personal responsibility. Instead, this is a story from early in my career when I had one of my triumphs - and started to "get it."

Inspirational Leadership: Three Ideas To Build Inspiration
Many leaders want to become more inspirational, for their team, for their clients, for their organization as a whole. Through years of coaching leaders, I've learned that people only seek inspirational leadership from leaders who are, themselves, inspired. Here are three ideas, in no particular order, to help you build your personal sense of inspiration.

Personal Responsibility: Get Yourself Into Business
If you lose your job, what next? I submit that there are two kinds of people in that situation: the victim, and the entrepreneur.

They Keep Saying The Rich Don't Pay Their Fair Share

These are facts: the top one percent of wage earners in America carry a full 40% of the tax burden. That's only about 1.4 million of us, carrying 40% of the load for the other approximately 300 million. And if the tax rates go back to pre-2001 levels, those 1.4 million who have all that money to invest (and with which to employ vast numbers of other wage earners) will certainly keep that money in their pockets... and that means it'll be sheltered from taxation.

Ten Things To Appreciate Today
Entrepreneurship is a form of inspirational leadership. Inspirational leadership requires encouragement. Encouragement requires appreciation, both of oneself, of others, and of life's many blessings. So I encourage you to find ten things to appreciate today. Here's a list of ten "thought-starters," blessings for which I find myself thankful today, and I hope it helps SPARK some ideas in you.

Personal Responsibility: "Winter's Bone"
If you're struggling with your confidence, or feeling victimized by your circumstances, I saw a movie over the weekend I can heartily recommend: "Winter's Bone." It should make you appreciate your lot in life.

Successful Entrepreneurs Protect Their Nutrition
You might take a shot at doing some great things in the world... and you might fail. But don't fail for a dumb reason. And no reason for failure could be dumber than simply running out of energy and motivation because you let yourself get fat on stupid snack food. It may seem trivial, but it isn't... your inner entrepreneur is hungry and needs you to feed it.

Personal Responsibility: What Entitles You?
... What I got to take away with me was a bloody leg, a great story to tell, and another pointed object lesson on the power of maintaining an attitude of self-reliance and personal responsibility.

"Economic Reform" Bringing New Heat To Election Summer

Now that the political parties' primaries have largely ended, and with less than three months before the crucial mid-term elections in the United States, the campaigning for America's heart and soul is underway in earnest. U.S. voters will be asked nothing less than what kind of nation they want to be, and there is a crisp divide between the two competing ideologies on offer. One side offers a governing philosophy of high taxes and high (some would say outrageous) spending centered around so-called "entitlements." The other side wants you to agree with Henry David Thoreau, who said "That government is best which governs least," and seeks smaller government, low taxes, and reliance on private-sector entrepreneurialism to drive economic growth and prosperity.

You Are A Dragon Slayer
Yes, you are a dragon slayer. You tackle the world's toughest stuff and make it look easy. You dream, and then turn that dream into reality in the face of withering criticism. You're powerful. You are an entrepreneur in the world, creating something out of nothing, and not a victim. You don't call 9-1-1, you ARE 9-1-1.

Six Strategies To Develop Your Confidence!
Why do so many of us struggle with confidence? More importantly are we stuck with the level of or lack of confidence we feel? The answer is yes! As a coach, I know from working with clients that a person's level of confidence is directly related to their overall success and happiness in life.

Personal Responsibility: Keep Yourself Happy
Here's a simple fact: you can't do your best work unless you're happy.

Government Takeover Is Never A Good Idea

I have argued that there are two sorts of people out there (and inside each of us): the Entrepreneur, who is self-reliant, personally responsible and lives by a sense of obligation to his fellow human... and the Victim, who relies on others to solve his problems, and lives by a sense of entitlement. If, as a society, we lean toward Victimhood, we're in trouble. If we can give Entrepreneurship the upper hand, we might just solve this mess.

Successful Entrepreneurs Exercise Good Health Habits

If you're an entrepreneur, you probably think the last thing you have time for is to go on "a health kick." I can relate. I've started and run several businesses, and in each case The Big Idea tends to take over. It becomes your obsession. You question everything you do against the standard of whether the activity advances the business. But consider that it is your personal energy that is the most defining factor in your business' success. If that's true, you better carve out some time to take care of yourself, and your energy level.

Inspirational Leadership: It's All Around Us
I want to tell you about Dave, a guy I met at one of the health clubs where I work out. I don't know him well (in fact, I have no idea what his last name is)... but he's told me enough about himself over the years that I can relate what I know as his story. And I think it's pretty inspiring.

This Economic Reform Seems Bad For Small Business
Yesterday's news included a sound byte from President Obama, urging Congress (and his opponents in the Republican Party) to stop blocking his next stimulus, this one ostensibly for small businesses... right after all of them return from vacation.

A Christmas Memory On A Hot August Night
As I write this, it's a sultry, steamy August evening and I'm thankful for the blessing of a nice air-conditioned home office. For some reason, my mind has drifted to a holiday memory, one featuring very different weather, and a different collection of blessings for which I'll always be grateful.

Real Economic Reform Will Be Like Pulling Teeth
I had the pleasure of playing golf and having lunch with one of my beloved sons the other day. We covered a variety of topics, from my recovery from dental surgery to his worries about the future of our country and our economy. And it occurred to us that the story of the former was a pretty good allegory for the unfolding story of the latter.

Economic "Reform" Is A Dragon You Can Slay
The economy is showing scary signs. It's going to get worse before it gets better, and our generation may have to deal with the sort of privations and difficulties faced by our grandparents and great-grandparents in the Great Depression of the 1930s; I only hope it isn't even worse. Are you ready?

I've Figured Out President Obama's Religion

I've been hearing a lot of talk lately about President Obama's religion (if any). A recent poll discovered that a high and rising number of Americans believe Mr. Obama is a Muslim. This prompted a strong protest from a White House spokesperson, who claimed the president is "obviously a Christian," based on the fact that he does things like meet regularly with spiritual advisors (things that a Muslim would also do, as would a Buddhist or a Hindu or a Navajo medicine man).

Inspirational Leaders Are Masters of Appreciation
Don't get sucked into the cynical, mean-spirited misbehavior of your own personal crowd scene. Remember that you have a lot of good stuff of which you should be appreciative, and that whatever bad stuff you have to endure, if you really want to, you can change it. Take personal responsibility, and stand out from the crowd.

Government Takeover Will Continue
Our current government will keep taking over as many aspects of American life as they can, attacking freedom wherever they see it and installing socialist programs in its place, until we stand up and take our government back. It's supposed to be "by, of, and for the People" - it's time we put things to rights.

Personal Responsibility Is The Prescription For Anxiety

There's a lot of anxiety out there this summer. I've observed a lot of worry among the talented folks I've coached, and often they're frozen by it, unable to contribute the inspirational leadership they've always brought to their teams and organizations. In many cases they need to learn (and practice) a truth held dear by generations of great professional salespeople: If worry is the sickness, action is the cure.

The Best Defense Is To Be Offensive?

I'm a little spooked by all the near misses the bad guys have had lately. I'm afraid all the practice they're getting will improve their game, and it only takes one ball in the basket to make a big mess in our world. Meanwhile, since our government doesn't have to worry about putting energy and resources into the folly of national security that has distracted so many previous administrations, they're free to focus all their efforts on printing money and "fundamentally transforming" our economy with a storm of socialism.

Ten Kindnesses You Can Do Today
Here are ten ideas for things you can do today (maybe even all ten of them) to show kindness to someone else. Try doing at least one of these things every day this week, and see how you feel. Look back over the week and see if you don't think you had more of a tendency to smile... and less time to think about your troubles.

There's An Economic Storm Coming

It's time to pay attention to things like the economy, politics, and the way things are going in the world. If you're like me (and I know I am :), these may be things you haven't spent much time or energy on... and, frankly, don't like to think about. But there are major economic storm clouds gathering, and if you educate yourself now about how to deal with the coming storm, you could be one of the few who come out okay - or even way better than okay.

Liberalism Is A Dangerous Religion
I've heard it said that Liberalism - also known as Progressivism, and even as Socialism and Marxism - is a religion. This is an assertion at which liberals scoff. But what is a religion, really? If you look at the elements by which religion is popularly defined, the assertion that liberalism is a religion is pretty hard to refute.

Ode To Summer
I don't know about you, but I'm not ready to give in just yet. I'm not ready for the fall. Not this year, and not in my life. I have too much to do: too many adventures to pursue, too many fun things to do, too many lessons to learn.

Economic Reform Needs Reason And Sense
I've noticed an interesting trend lately in U.S. national politics: Republicans manage to look and sound stupid while saying smart things, while Democrats look and sound smart while saying stupid things.

Are You Human?
People are like those websites that ask you to read squiggly letters and type what you read into the little box. Have you seen those? It's a security measure: the website wants to make sure you're human, and not a software program or a robot. Evidently robot software programs can't read squiggly letters, so if you can type the right letters into the little box, you must be human.

What's So Special About You?
The fact is, our only hope is that the home-gaming generation wakes up and realizes that freedom isn't free, the future isn't certain, and the Constitution of the United States that we celebrate today is the only thing that really makes us special. It isn't "us." It's only us if we get back to being the ballast of the world that our Founding Fathers designed our nation to be.

Someone On Your Team Rub You The Wrong Way?

You can't make someone like you, and most people think you can't even make yourself like another person. I would agree. There's no magic trick you can use to turn someone from "not my favorite person" to a good buddy... but if you need to inspire someone with whom you don't enjoy a great relationship, there are a few things you can do to try to build more of a sense of collaboration. I've had some success with all three of these, both on the part of clients I've coached and in my own experience; but as they say in those weight-loss commercials, your results may vary.

Thank God For Godless Communism

Though many so-called progressives would love to separate them, from my point of view there are two other continua which march more-or-less in lockstep with communism-capitalism. These are statism-liberty, and atheism-faith. If I correctly remember my eighth-grade history (a subject which is, due to the progressivism currently under discussion, no longer much taught), capitalism has as its running-buddies individual liberty and faith in God. Communism's pals, in stark contrast, are authoritarian control of individuals by the state, and denial of the Almighty in favor of an allegiance to the state that amounts to idolatry.

Make Five Commitments To Your Vitality Today
You need to take personal responsibility to protect your vitality. Take charge today; make five commitments, even little ones, to new health habits that will help you take back your energy. The five most important habits I refer to as The NEWSS: Nutrition, Exercise, Water, Sleep, and Supplements.

Don't Let It Get To You

How can you build your resilience, so that life's little upsets don't become big and gloomy, and so that you don't "waste" emotional time? Here are some ideas you can try, all of which have helped my coaching clients from time to time. The governing principle is that you want to strive to be more of a take-charge "Entrepreneur" type, who takes personal responsibility for keeping a positive attitude, and less of a "Victim" type, who drifts along and allows life to just "happen to him."

Entrepreneurs Don't Claim Entitlement
The purpose of a private enterprise is NOT to employ people and provide them with benefits. The purpose is to find and keep customers (by delighting them with your products and services) and to increase the value of the enterprise to its shareholders.

What Have You Done For Others Lately?
Life Is Not About Keeping Yourself Entertained

Government Takeover Just Doesn't Work
I'm not advocating text/driving. It's dangerous. Before it was against the law, people did it, they had accidents, and some people even died. I am, however, suggesting that there are better ways to attack such a problem than to make a law against it. And this new study proves I'm right. If even one more person died in a traffic fatality because of this law, it's too many.

Why Not Start A Health Business Now?
There are two things you can do to help prepare for the future of limited health care in the United States: get serious about your daily health habits (so you will postpone and diminish your personal need for medical attention), and think about starting a business related to health and vitality (to help others take personal responsibility for their own health habits).

What's Your "Why?"
What's your "mission?" Here are a few things to think about if you need to create a personal mission in your work, or if it's time to re-evaluate and retool your mission.

Good Means Good
In our modern society, our standards for personal responsibility have virtually disappeared, one "progressive" inch at a time. Today, we tend to give ourselves a free pass for some hideous behavior because we've been "good" in other areas of our lives.

Imagine Your Mission Accomplished
Here's a simple visioning exercise I've used successfully with many coaching clients who've wanted to pump-up their inspirational leadership. Try it as a starting point, and if it doesn't help you define (or refine) your sense of purpose, seek some coaching and make it more of a guided journey.

Welcome (Back) To The Age Of DIY America
Big Government, Big Media, Big Medicine, Big Everybody, take note: we're starting to ask ourselves what, exactly, we need you for.

Does Your Job Make You Sick?

These days, when a general mood of worry and anxiety is on the rise in many industries, your job could start making you sick before you realize what's happening. If you're starting to miss work, or if you notice that feelings of dread and anxiety seem to precede or accompany your bouts of illness, it could be the beginning of a pattern. But don't just quit. First, undertake three courses of action that might help you get healthy and happy with your work.

We Can Do This
Maybe they don't say the same words, and maybe they say it through the actions they take and the behaviors they exhibit. Maybe you get the idea through the values they espouse, and the way they show that tough things are possible by jumping out and doing those things themselves. But the overall message of optimism - the "we can do this" message - is something all inspirational leaders share.

Tax Hikes Are Not About Revenue

It's pretty simple. When the U.S. federal government decreases income taxes, they increase government revenue by creating more business opportunities, more jobs, and more taxpayers. Investment dollars flow into the country. On the other hand, when the government increases taxes, they decrease government revenue. Opportunities and jobs are lost; investment dollars flow away to other, more-business-friendly countries.

Inspirational Leaders Are Driven By Values
A little self-reflection, honesty, and journaling can help you sharpen your value-set, which can help you renew your commitment to your personal sense of integrity. There are many right answers to the question "what do you stand for?"... and inspirational leaders know what their own personal answer is.

It's That Time Of The (Election) Year
Here we are now, three weeks before the mid-term U.S. elections, and it's Stupid Season. Judging from the ads we see and hear in a constant daily bombardment, we are supposed to be stupid enough to believe anything, and evidence would only confuse us.

Don't Get Discouraged!
Upbeat, "feel good" stories are hard to find these days (and you REALLY want to mute those campaign commercials)... but if you dig around, occasionally you find a nugget of pure gold.

Truly Inspirational Leaders Are Selfless
A Recession is when your neighbor loses his job... a Depression is when you lose yours... and a Recovery is when Barack Obama loses his.

Midterm Election: A Shovel-Ready Project
When You Find Yourself In A Hole, Stop Digging

What Are Your Values?
Here's one approach to taking your personal values inventory. It may not be a perfect recipe for you (people do vary), but it's sure to start you reflecting on what's important in your life, and to help you find your own way to clarity around your values, your mission, and your passion.

Foreign Money? Really?
Desperate Democrats Make Wild Claims About Why They're Losing

Can't We All Just Get Along?
I heard a radio commentator the other day describe this politicized shift in the definition of "hate." To liberals, "hate" is any opinion with which liberals don't agree.

Find Some New Appreciation Today
If your pursuit of happiness has taken a hit recently, you aren't alone. But the road to recovery starts with appreciation. Think about how you can rekindle your appreciation for The Big Three in your own life.

Entrepreneurs Are Optimists
I've long argued that there are two types of people out there. I call them "The Victim" and "The Entrepreneur." You can usually tell the difference by the sort of energy a person exudes. While everyone experiences their own personal ups and downs, the long-term trend you sense from an Entrepreneur is one of optimism, and that from a Victim is one of pessimism.

What does Personal Development have to do with Leadership?

I am reading a book by one of my former teachers Gail Gibson, founding faculty member of the Certified Executive Coaching Program and Masters in Leadership Program at Royal Roads University, entitled "Who You Are is How You Lead" In the book Gibson presents a model which identifies awareness, choice and personal responsibility as attributes of Conscious Leadership, and these attributes are supported by trust and courage. The results are support for people's growth and the development of effective organizations occurring simultaneously.

Leadership Needs Inspiration
Whether you're shooting for success at your job, or starting a new business, or trying to create wealth in these tough times, or simply undertaking a personal health intitiative... you need inspiration, and that starts with emotion. You simply have no chance to succeed at anything challenging unless you truly care.

Government Does Not Create Wealth
In the United States, we're a week away from some big changes... and the midterm congressional elections are only a part of what's coming.

Pay No Attention To "Free Advice"
When you get inspired to take on something tough, you're bound to get free advice that you can't make it work. Generally, you should thank the advisor but ignore the advice. If everyone who'd ever been advised against a risky venture had heeded the free advice, nothing great would ever have been accomplished by the human race.

Have A Healthy Halloween
Too many people gain too much weight during the holidays. There are too many delights... too many temptations. Here are some ideas to help you keep this Halloween weekend more healthy.

Our National Debt: Now, That's Scary
I've been hearing a radio ad that's right on the money - literally. It depicts a little kid coming to the door for "trick-or-treat," dressed not as a vampire or a ghost, but as - that's right - the national debt.

Bet On Yourself
And Beat Those Who Are Betting Against You

Another Historic American Election
It seems like there's no story line that hasn't been done (to death) about today's U.S. election. But one that I've heard nothing about is that of parallels between this election and that of 150 years ago.

Enmeshed Parenting
Are you an enmeshed parent? Discover if you are and what you can begin to do about it in this article.

U.S. Issues A Stop-Payment To Its Government
Voters Take First Step To Cancelling Obama's Credit Card

Take Personal Responsibility For Your Future
It's time for inspirational leadership. Don't wait for others to take care of you... and don't wait to see if the changes will just pass you by. To prepare, think about undetaking these three bold actions.

An Interesting Idea Of Inspirational Leadership
Obama Flees To India In Wake Of His "Enemies'" Takeover

Life Is Too Short
You don't have to be a saint. But If you want to avoid later regret, you need to put your ego aside occasionally, Do enough kindnesses to confirm for yourself that you are the person you always intended to be.

Government Takeover: It Ain't Over Yet

It's been over a century since the "progressive" movement took hold in America. Since then, the movement has sought not to overthrow the country through "revolution," but through "evolution." One small move at a time. A new entitlement program here, a liberty withdrawn there. The ultimate goal is to erode the free-market libertarian republic and replace it with another socialist state wherein the smart government leaders ensure that no one is "left behind" - and that no one can get ahead.

Doctor Shortage: Why Your Health Habits Matter
The looming doctor shortage is only one of the scary aspects of our new "health care reform." It's only one reason your health habits matter, and you need to take personal responsibility for your own vitality now so that you might be less dependent on government medicine in the future.

How Much Of Our Lives Will We Let Them Take Over?
Sometimes I really have to wonder about the "political correctness" of California, one of my home states. In fact, in California, "political correctness" is really just a politically-correct term for "liberal insanity." And these days, it seems the state's PC Police have a real thing about the U.S. flag.

It's Hard Work, It's Luck, And It's Faith
When people, such as my beloved offspring or my coaching clients, ask me what my "secret" is, I say that it's simple. There are two types of people in the world, and you have to be as much as you can of the one type and avoid spending much time as the other.

Government Takeover: Oh, So Close
It has taken over a hundred years, but the progressives have patiently handed down their vision, through the generations. But instead of a vision of edification, it's a vision of evolutionary destruction - destruction of the constitutional republic that is America - destruction of the greatest free-enterprise opportunity-generating machine the world has ever known.

Brain Drain: Why Your Health Habits Matter
The American economy is like a patient with a horrible ailment - it's had a trillion-dollar medical "reform" shoved down its throat. The patient, plagued by plenty of illnesses before Obamacare, might have survived anyway; but now, the prognosis is pretty bleak.

Failures Bring The Entrepreneur Ultimate Success
Everybody fails. It's what you see in your failures, to a large extent, that determines your chance to succeed - and succeed big.

Take The Red Pill Now

In "The Matrix," Neo is offered a choice. He can take the blue pill, and his life goes back to "normal." He's told he'll wake up in his bed with no memory of the choice, and "believe whatever you want." Or, he can take the red pill. Do that, he's told, and though you may think you feel like Alice in Wonderland now... your eyes will be opened and you'll learn just how far down the rabbit hole goes.

Inspirational Leaders Love What They Do
If you want to be an inspirational leader, as do many of my coaching clients, you have to have a "why" akin to that of the second stone layer. It has to be bigger - far bigger - than just about you. If you're working to pay the bills, great. But if you want to be an inspirational leader, you need more than that.

Government Standing Pat On Pat-Downs
Yes, it's taken eleven months, but the U.S. Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) is finally responding to the threat representated by last year's failed Christmas Day "underwear bomber" attack. And they're doing it by focusing their energy and resources not on actual terrorists, but on... you.

Medical Rationing: Why Your Health Habits Matter

So will medical care really be rationed? And will we really lose health care plans we wanted to (and were promised we could) keep? Unfortunately, the answer to both questions is "yes." It won't happen all at once, and in some cases the pain won't be felt for years... but Obamacare, if left to stand, virtually guarantees government control of all medical care and the inevitable rationing that would accompany that.

Inspirational Leaders Lead In Giving Thanks
If you seek to be an inspirational leader, try this: make every day a day of thanks giving. Don't be a showboat of humility, but do allow your gratitude for the many blessings in your life to be visible and transparent. And thank your people, all the time, every day.

Thanksgiving Reminder: We Started As Socialists
Most people have no clue how lucky they are to have the opportunity to do all this. If it hadn't been for one key decision by one frightened leader hundreds of years ago, America as we know it would never have existed.

Persnal Responsibility Leads to Success
The blame game takes you to the bottom not the top. Here are some ways to sky rocket to success.

Think About Others First
If you want to be an inspirational leader, think about that. Whatever is troubling you, find someone who's being tormented even more by the same difficulty, and help them battle it. You'll be amazed at how your own obstacles dissolve before your very eyes.

Personal Responsibility: Marva Collins
Marva Collins doesn’t focus on her students’ challenges, even though she teaches children often labeled as “disabled” or “problem” children. Instead, she challenges teachers to examine how they can prove instead of focusing on problems with others. That way, teachers can help students reach their potential.

Opting Out Is In
Today, I think opting out is a good idea, given what the global economy and our governments have in mind for us.

Bad Medicine: Why Your Health Habits Matter
Government health care, at its best, is klunky and inefficient as the medical system tries to fit messy cases into the neat rules that govern who's entitled to what. The trouble is that government health care is rarely at its best. Usually it's at something less than its best, and usually people get sicker, wait forever for remedies, and die.

Want To Be An Inspirational Leader?
What might you be doing to bum out your team? Here are a few simple self-diagnosis questions you can ask to check yourself out.

Government Takeover: They Want Your Money
Here's another way to look at it: it's not that they necessarily want the government to have your money; it's more that they don't want YOU to have it. They want you to feel miserable and needy, and ready to vote for any candidate and proposal that promises to "take care" of you. They need you to be unemployed, depending on the government for welfare and food stamps. They need you to be a victim.

Responsibility
As kids we are expected to take more responsibility as we mature. It starts with the basics, like getting dressed and tidying our room and moves on to contributing around the house and so on.

Government Takeover: "Bush Tax Cuts" Are Now OK

Today's Pearl Harbor Day, but too few in the U.S. are focused on commemorating America's survival of one of the most heinous attacks ever to take place on its soil. Instead, too many people are distracted today by the bomb dropped by the liberal government late yesterday. They've struck a corrupt bargain to extend the current income tax rates only by accompanying that measure with a massive extension of unemployment benefits.

Ye Who Now Will Bless The Poor
One of my favorite Christmas carols tells the story of Good King Wenceslas. Remember him? The moral of the carol is found in the very last lyric: "Ye who now will bless the poor shall, yourselves, find blessing."

It's The Most Wonderful (And Stressful) Time Of The Year

Though it's a challenge, successful entrepreneurs know they have to stay disciplined with their health habits, even during the holidays. If you "run out of gas" during this crucial time of the year, who will drive your business when it most needs driving? So here are a few suggestions to help maintain some attention to the five most important daily health habits I call "The NEWSS" - Nutrition, Exercise, Water, Sleep, and Supplements.

Personal Responsibility: Bloom Where You're Planted
Most of my clients would like to be more inspirational leaders. If this is also true of you, you have to start by being inspired. And I was reminded this morning that good people are often inspired to their best potential in life by learning to "bloom where they're planted."

You Could Be One Of The "Wealthy"

The eerily-accurate economic and societal prophecies of Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged" are coming true all around us, more and more each day. The liberal "statists," patient in their progressive plan to take over America and the global economy through "evolution" instead of "revolution," now have real control of the essential U.S. institutions... and they're coming for your money. But if enough of us resist the temptation to let them "take care" of us, we can keep them from taking control of us.

Are You Joyful This Christmas?

Find a way to make the holidays joyous for yourself this year. There are plenty of things to worry about out there, from the global economic wreck to the alarming lack of health and vitality in America. But worrying about those things won't make them go away, and will only make you live a fearful and anxious life. And making yourself crazy with the commercialism of the season won't help, either. You need to put some joy into your emotional storehouse, and the Christmas season will provide you with plenty of joy, if you let it.

Government Takeover Continues Its Deaf March

If you haven't yet made your move to start your own business and grow and protect your wealth, you need to get on it. President Obama and his liberal colleagues in the U.S. federal government are marching double-time toward their goal of fundamentally transforming America into a Land Of No Opportunity... and their flawless execution of government takeover that transferred a sixth of the U.S. economy from private to public sector (under the Orwellian label of "health care reform") was only the beginning.

Keep Breathing This Christmas
You don't want to think about all the toxins building up inside your body while you let your health habits slip during the holidays. Thinking about that won't make the season more joyful! And your body becomes more vulnerable to toxins as your stress level mounts. So here are three ideas to help you keep the stress a little lower through the holidays....

The Face Of The Season
I think a major reason our clients hire our caroling group is just that... we get them to smile. We are, of course, cleverly entertaining and wittily amusing. But we also consider it our personal responsibility to bring the real spirit of the season to everyone we meet. And that tends to make people smile....

Can a Manager Be Too Nice?
Managers can make or break motivation and productivity for employees. Having the right employee in a management position is crucial for any company.

No Big Tax Hike For Americans... For Now

I credit the president for taking the heat from his radical left-wing base. After all, he did promise many times to end the hated "Bush Tax Cuts." But the deal passed both houses of Congress, largely because they were able to attach more massive spending (and more sky-high federal debt) to what really amounts to an extension of the status quo on income tax rates. It's not like he's cutting anyone's taxes. So while the liberals howl about "tax cuts for the rich," they're probably secretly rejoicing over this deal. They get one more opportunity to fan the flames of class warfare. They get to keep the country marching toward economic disaster and collectivist government....

Use This Simple 3 Circle Strategy To Increase Sales
Sales is demanding especially during challenging times from economic downturns to increased global competition. Here is a simple strategy to get you back on track.

Inspirational Leaders Are True Professionals
I've mentioned before that there are two types of person, the Victim and the Entrepreneur. The Victim blames everyone but himself for anything that goes wrong, yet relies on others to take care of him... the Entrepreneur relies on herself and expects to take care of business. It should be obvious that only the Entrepreneur in each of us is capable of true professionalism.

How we can learn Master Sales lessons

Like many people in Australia, my family and employees have been captivated by MasterChef Australia. What I love about MasterChef is that it can be seen as a metaphor for expressing our talents and being the best we can be. Given my interest in everything to do with sales, personal mastery and performance, I particularly love the parallel I have been able to draw about what it takes to be an elite master chef and an elite sales person and elite sales leader by the observation I have made in MasterChef.

Start An Internet Business Now
There are several reasons now is the perfect time to start an internet business, or to migrate some/all of your brick-and-mortar business to the world of click-and-order....

Don't Rely On Government Health Care
Make it easier for your body to recover from the holidays. In a few days, when you start on your New Year's resolutions, you'll thank yourself....

Inspire Everyone You Meet

Many of my clients are people who own a business or make money by investing, or both; some are captains of industry, some are leaders in other walks of life. Whatever their "calling," the overwhelming majority tell me they'd like to be more inspirational leaders. Here's a tip: if you aspire to inspire great things in others, practice by inspiring small kindnesses in everyday life. Do this by showing kindess yourself....

Keep Christmas Every Day Of The Year!

Liberal politicians are on the wane here in America, and that's another thing we can all be thankful for this holiday season. Meanwhile, like Christ, let's try to remember to keep the spirit of Christmas in us every day of the year. Even if you aren't Christian, I believe it's that same spirit of brotherly love which I recognize as the Christmas spirit which brings out the best in you. And there's no reason not to bring forth your best every single day of the year....

Inspirational Leaders Endure To The Finish
Though the good guys won a very big victory all those years ago, the dark forces of national socialism are still out there today. They're trying to regroup, and through more evolution than revolution, they're still after our freedom. Let's not let the sacrifice of generations of heroes go to waste; let's keep the spirit of the holidays in us, and let's make the most of the freedom we enjoy....

Recession's Over? Bah, Humbug
Don't be fooled. The recession isn't over, and things are going to get a lot worse before they get better. And it will be personal responsibility, not government takeover of the private sector, that will save the economy....

'Tis The Season For Relaxation
We're in the middle of the week between the holidays. Most Americans are enjoying lighter work schedules this week, and a festive mood at home. That's a blessing, and you should take full advantage of it....

Inspirational Leadership: Some Resolutions
Most of my clients are thinking about how to make 2011 a better year in terms of their own inspirational leadership. Here are three ideas for New Year's resolutions for the leader who wants to maximize her potential to inspire....

MLM Downline Building Secrets: How To Master Building A Profitable MLM Dowline
Now more than ever is the most riped time to absolutely explode your MLM downline. Why? Within the next 5 years over 70 million people are looking to start a home based business. But you will not be able to capitalize on this unless you read this article.

Be An Entrepreneur This Year
Whether you own your own business, make your money through investing, or have a traditional job, you need to take personal responsibility for maximizing your Entrepreneurial spirit this year. The challenges out there are tough, and you'll need to bring forth you very best to beat them....

Are You Really Listening?

Most folks are just starting to dig in again after a relaxing holiday season; leaders are no exception. If, like many of my clients and colleagues, you are always on the lookout for ways to increase your inspirational leadership, this is a good time of year to check yourself out on the key skill that can keep a team inspired by your leadership: your listening skill. Here are some key questions to ask as you check the current state of your own listening ability....

Businesses For Introverts: Profits From Cyberspace
Lots of would-be entrepreneurs fail to get into business for themselves for one simple reason: they're introverts, and they're convinced you can't be both an introvert and an entrepreneur. But as a clear introvert with entrepreneurial aspirations, I'm here to tell you it just ain't so. Here are three things introverts should consider when they feel the entrepreneurial urge....

Thriving And Not Just Surviving Is The Key To Growth In Network Marketing
As a society and a culture we are programmed to survive. Not to thrive. For growth in network marketing this applies as much as anything. It’s all in your head.

Be Courteous As You Renew Your Health Habits
Whether you've maintained your regular visits to the gym, or are just embarking on a new membership and a new fitness push, it's important to be respectful of the others you meet at the gym....

Inspirational Leaders Communicate With Confidence
There's an old expression the would-be inspirational leader would do well to observe: If you don't believe what you're saying, why should I....

Beginning Sales Tips: Start With The Customer

A good number of my clients and readers are emerging sales professionals. One of the biggest mistakes new salespeople make is to adopt a "push" mindset, which drives them to think first of presenting what they have to offer. A seasoned sales pro, though, knows the best approach starts with a customer-oriented mindset that leads more toward getting to know the customer (and her needs) through artful questioning....

Profitable Online Business Ideas and the Recession; Your Thoughts

Many people believe they are victims or products of their environment. First, I don’t believe we are victims unless we allow ourselves to be one. I simply choose not to be one. Today’s society is way too eager to make everyone out to be a victim. And I believe that too many people are too willing to be made into victims. It does away with personal responsibility. We are all human beings and we can choose how we wish to live. We all have God given abilities and gifts to help us achieve those dreams. We don’t have to be victims or products of our environment, we can change ourselves and thus change our environment. I believe that we are products of our own thoughts.

Inspirational Leaders Are People Of Action

You might be the most empathetic listener and the most confident speaker in the world, but without strong, principled action, your other skills are unlikely to inspire a great followership. People follow those who inspire them, usually because they see the leader herself as inspired... and because they've seen her take on difficult challenges and turn them into inspiring accomplishments. Here are a few ideas for jump-starting your renewed activity for the new year....

Why The Left Must Politicize Tragedy
The most despicable thing that happened last weekend was the mass shooting in Arizona. The second most despicable thing was the left-wing media's abandonment of all objectivity in an attempt to baselessly blame the shooting on conservativism, for their own selfish purposes....

Health Habits: Set Goals And Start Now
You're feeling a little bloated after the holiday festivities? In most of our societies, that's pretty normal this time of year. No need to panic... but you do need to re-establish some discipline in your daily health habits. The key is to set good goals for your own actions and behaviors, and then start immediately....

The Winter Blues Are No Match For Your Optimism

If it's been awhile since you've counted up your many blessings, or reminded yourself how much you appreciate the things and people in your life, it's time to do it again. This time of year, folks in the northern hemisphere get a little sad. The holidays are gone, but the bad weather persists... and it seems some days like it will never end! But if you are able to read this, you are living a life of tremendous abundance. Be thankful for it....

Derailing Your Train of Thought
However, contrary to a lot of people's belief, changes on the outside seldom create genuine change on the inside. That's why you can't buy your way to happiness, or eat your way, or pleasure your way, or even work your way there. Your midlife transition invites you to do the inside work first and, amazingly, the outside has a way of catching up with it.

Successful Entrepreneurs Are Our Last Best Hope

Several recent moves by the leftist administration of President Barack Obama are raising more alarms among those who fear a collapse of the global economy. A blunt summary would be to say the president and his colleagues seek to drastically diminish the standing of America in the world. This would be akin to taking a heavy hammer to the foundation of a house, since (as by far the world's biggest market) the U.S. could fairly be said to be the foundation of global economic activity. Diminishing America will lead to poverty and unrest throughout the world....

Radical Personal Responsibility: A Path to Lasting Peace and Personal Power
New peace, harmony, and power fill your relationships when you practice radical personal responsibility. Through it, you enter a more refined sphere of relating that enhances your life and accelerates the realization of your ultimate spiritual self. Practicing radical personal responsibility forever changes the way you approach and resolve conflict.

Nobody's Inspired By The Blame Game

Too much time and energy have been spent by the major institutions of our country (news media, infotainment, government) in debating who or what was responsible for the shooting of Gabby Giffords and others on January 8. It hasn't inspired anyone. Not enough time and energy have gone toward considering who or what is responsible for her recovery, described by her own doctors as nothing short of "miraculous"....

The Investment World Is Changing Fast

The modifications to the global financial industry have been minor tweaks in comparison to the changes that are coming. Social, political, and economic factors are combining to fundamentally change the game, beginning in the United States with the progressive government's all-out effort to convert the world's largest economy to socialism. That means the old ways of thinking that've served investors so well for decades will not serve them well in the future....

Government Needs To Change Its Own Health Habits

Obamacare is, at bottom, a wild spending spree. It's a government land-grab. It's a transfer of a sixth of the U.S. economy from the job-creating private sector to the wealth-destroying public sector. In a metaphoric sense, Obamacare (having been rammed down the patient's throat with dubious legislative procedures) is like a cancer on our economy. It's a glut of carcinogenic taxes and spending, the likes of which have made our government fat, slow, and stupid....

Inspirational Leaders Know How To Focus
It happens to all of us. No one can stay completely focused, with intensity, all the time. But when you find yourself in a bad patch, when nothing seems to be working in your job or your business, think about renewing your focus....

Personal Responsibility: Protect Your Wealth

There's a global conspiracy against wealth today. It isn't obvious - no conspiracy is - but the signs are there if you know what to look for. A "jobless recovery"... a collapsing dollar... runaway government spending... bloated "zombie" entitlement programs that've long eclipsed the policies they were originally intended to implement and now exist with the sole purpose of furthering their own existence... these are all indicators of the worldwide march away from economic freedom and toward collectivist state control. If and when the conversion to global socialism is completed (and the current liberal U.S. government is sprinting as fast as they can toward that day), wealth will be sin, and it will be too late to protect what you've worked for....

Be A Hawk
Whatever your endeavor, from getting into shape to driving your business, you need to be smart in the way you use your personal resources of time, energy, and focus. So watch for your own opportunities - watch like a hawk - and be ready, when it's time, to seize them....

The Statism Of The Union
The state of America is dreary; the country's in a downward spiral toward statism. We live in a nation where all influential institutions, regardless of how they're chartered, are "owned" by the statists... from the Democrat echo-chamber that our media have become to the boot camps for "progressives" that are our colleges and universities....

Resveratrol: The Best (Easy) Medicine For Anti-Aging
Years ago, researchers from Harvard Medical School (and others) found an impressive nutrient with the power to fight aging, improve cardio-vascular and neurologic health, and help the human body battle everything from fatigue to disease. It's called "resveratrol," and it's the ingredient in red wine that you've heard so much talk about lately....

What Are You Worth?

The other day, I was listening to a highly-successful (millionaire) internet entrepreneur coaching three new colleagues. Each of them had recently decided upon a career transition, leaving their trade-time-for-money jobs to strike out on their own in cyberspace. The coach asked each of them to address three questions: how much money they'd made in the job they just left, why they left, and what they expected to make in their new venture. The conversation went something like this....

Socialism In The End Zone

Late January in the United States: the season of the State of The Union presidential address, and the run-up to the Super Bowl. As the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers prepare to face each other about a week from now (and as the media bombard us with every exciting detail of that preparation), it might be helpful to remember that American politics is a lot like American football. Two sides battle back and forth in both games, and it's amusing to watch....

Focused Action Has The Power To Move You

What goals are you pursuing? Getting into shape, renewing your health? Are you launching a new product or business? Are you recruiting a team to help your business grow and prosper? Any of these goals, and a host of others, require focused action. They require a focus on courage and integrity - either to move yourself, or to help others move forward in great strides. As the leader, the focus of the team is largely your personal responsibility....

Statism Of The Union II
As far as the observation that both have (or had) the ability to make great speeches, I'll concede that Presidents Reagan and Obama are similar. But the similarities end there. In terms of real substance, Barack Obama definitely ain't Ronald Reagan....

Health Habits: 7 Ways To Defeat Stress

I coach people to achieve general excellence in their work - and in their lives. Most of my clients these days are running their own businesses, though I also have many clients who are exercising their "entrepreneurial" muscles in the service of a company they don't own. Either way, the majority of my clients are dealing with major stress issues - some to the point of interference with their job and life satisfaction....

Move Your Iceberg!
How do you make a meaningful change in your life? That's the million-dollar question. Without that question, there would be no executive coaching or personal development industry, and I'd be out of business. Nevertheless, I'm going to answer the question, right here, right now. And chances are you're still going to want more brilliant advice from professionals like me....

Personal Responsibility: No Strings Attached?
I've made two points repeatedly, and I saw a movie last weekend that confirmed 'em both....

Move Your Iceberg II: Be, Do, Have
Most people who want to improve their lives try to do it backwards. They see others enjoying a better life, and their first desire is to HAVE what those others have. If only they had something different (more money, more time, more energy, whatever), they reason, why, then they could DO the right things and BE the better person. Wrong....

In-House Training – Getting to 99% attendance
Here’s how to get your training attendance up saving you both time and money and at the same time building your reputation as an in-house training department.

Send Obama To Egypt!
Given the leftist-driven uprisings in the Middle East, notably in Egypt these days, wouldn't it make more sense to send Mr. Obama over there? Not that it would take much to entice him to make a fundamental transformation in his own job description, but here are some selling points - advantages for all involved - for the idea of promoting the president to pharaoh....

Unconstitutional Obamacare Law Declared "Void"
If Obamacare stands, it will take a few years, but you will lose the opportunity you now have for excellent medical care. It's just a simple fact that government cannot run a nationwide health care system as well as the free market can (it's been proven everywhere it's been tried), and the ultimate losers will be the patients. So don't leave your very health and vitality up to the government....

Beginning Sales Tips: The Wisdom Of SW 4
Present your offering to qualified prospects. Some will buy (though you may have to handle a couple of objections to make them comfortable with their buying decision). Some won't. So what? There are other qualified prospects out there waiting for you to help them make buying decisions that could literally change their lives....

Hume's "50-100" Rule Of Business Success
My experience in these two very-different businesses, both in sales and in management, taught me some valuable lessons which I later developed into a philosophy of entrepreneurship. I call it "Hume's 50-100 Rule of Business Success," and it goes something like this....

Valentine's Day Memories: I (Heart) My Kids

There are two kinds of people out there - "Victims" and "Entrepreneurs" - and only when we are operating as Entrepreneurs do we have the spirit to be leaders. And the truly inspirational leaders do what they do because they, like all Entrepreneurs, have a mission to contribute to others. To be inspiring, they have to start by being inspired... and working from a place of love is a great fast-track to inspiration....

Always Respect What You Have To Offer

Leaders, sales people, consultants - anyone who makes their living by influencing and encouraging others - these folks know it's key to respect what you have to offer. You are a good deal. A GREAT deal. As a starting point, give yourself permission to realize that about yourself. And make sure you work hard to back up such a bold claim! That's what true entrepreneurs do... they figure out what people really need, and they create the solutions that fulfill those needs....

Health Habits: Take Another Look At Your Carbs
Whether you're running a business, like most of my clients, or involved in the pursuit of other achievements, you need your energy. If you're carrying around a lot of extra fat, you're not as nimble as you ought to be. Think about how cutting the carbs can boost your energy in a healthy, disciplined way....

Inspirational Leadership: Ask For Feedback
There are at least three good reasons to do this, and why leaders who seek to inspire their teams should consider asking their subordinates for feedback... even advice....

The Entrepreneur Vs. The Victim
There are basically two types of people out there in the business world. Even though I'm aware that we all have both types within us, and that we might lean more or less in our dominant direction as circumstances change in our lives, I've learned that one or the other type dominates each of us. I'm talking about the Entrepreneur, and the Victim....

Hey, Maybe This Will Win An Award!
Tell you what: those national news-media folks in America are awesome. I know, right? I mean, when I was a young aspiring journalist (I think it was during the Taft administration), they made us report boring stuff, like facts. It must be much more fun to be a journalist these days, when the industry has evolved beyond all that....

Time To Get Rolling!
The other day I had an experience that made me feel terrified, relieved, hilariously amused, and reflective... all in the space of about four minutes....

What Makes A Good Management Consultant?

Many times during the course of my career as a coach to the world's best consultants, I've been asked what it takes to make a good advisor. The short answer - a synthesis of many key attributes - is that great advisors are all about the development of their clients. All consultants are smart, and have good systems backing them up. The great ones don't focus on their own smarts. Their focus is on the smarts of their clients....

Your Mindset Drives Your Vitality

You've heard the same stories I've heard, of people who overcame physical limitations, or even beat diseases, in a way that seems miraculous. Personally, I would not bet against a divine intervention in these cases. But you can't help but notice that people who beat long odds are almost always those who cultivate in themselves an attitude of optimism, a positive spirit, and an expectation of success....

Wealth And Prosperity Is A Slow, Consistent Process

Since the second world war, people in the western world built wealth primarily by working a salaried job, saving money from their salaries, and investing in standard vehicles such as stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. It was the slow-and-steady way to get rich, and it served at least two generations very well. But what worked to build wealth and prosperity for the past sixty years will not work for the next sixty months. In fact, the world economy is in such a shambles right now, traditional wealth-building strategies are already at great risk... and only a tiny percentage of investors are aware of this....

If "Onelife" Can Be Saved By Statist Regs...

Today, I'm chatting with Joe Onelife, the famous "everyman" you've heard so much about recently. I thought Joe would be far too busy to grant me an interview, given he's the center of so much attention from the liberal-statist cultural crusaders running America (and other nations)... but, being unemployed, it turns out Joe has plenty of time on his hands and was happy to join me in my office today....

Inspirational Leadership: "Why Did You Hire Me?"
The most successful leaders know why people choose their leadership, and they continue to develop that "brand" (and adapt it as the market changes) to maximize their success - and that of their business....

7 Secrets of the Wealthy
Veteran Financial Planner shares his experiences financial planning for both the wealthy and the less wealthy. These are the keys to wealth building!

Gain Wealth Through Happiness

There are two types of people: the Victim, and the Entrepreneur. Many Entrepreneurs own their own businesses; some don't, but instead practice their entrepreneurial initiatives in the employ of others. It's not business ownership that distinguishes the two types: it's a mindset of abundance. Entrepreneurs keep their optimism and joy even when business is "down." Victims are never happy, and more money won't change that....

Health Habits: Exercise Your Outside Options
Spring is still almost three weeks away in North America, but in much of the country, "cabin fever" is starting to bring humans back outdoors after months of hibernation. That's a good thing! Getting outside, even for a few minutes a day, can lift your spirits and aid your health and well-being....

Does The Economy Have You Living In Fear?
Inspirational leaders approach life with the entrepreneur's sense of optimism. In every problem they see opportunity; in every storm, a coming rainbow. So those among us with a measure of inspirational leadership will see that the time is now to prepare - for disaster, but more importantly for the wealth and abundance to become a safe haven for others....

Government Does Not Create Jobs Or Wealth

Americans are starting to see behind the curtain, and they're refusing to buy what's behind it. Average Americans see the declining purchasing power of their dollars from the gas pump to the grocery store. They see someone in their family or neighborhood who's been out of work for over a year. They see unions tear apart state capitols for more rights to bloated salaries and benefits, and they see taxpayers stating clearly that such luxurious jobs can no longer be afforded. They see their own credit card bills and their own shaky retirement accounts. When the media asks them to believe what they're being told instead of what they see, average Americans shake their heads and worry....

Interview Questions For Managing Consultants
To help you prepare for your Management Consultant Interview, here are some typical questions you can expect to hear… Behaviour/Skill: Decisiveness Definition: Takes personal responsibility for decisions having considered both the short and long term implications

Happy 94th Birthday, Granny!

It truly amazes me to think about what my grandmother has lived to see, from the rise and fall (and ugly reappearance these days) of the communist experiment to the complete transformation of daily life through technological advancement. Perhaps the most wonderful thing about it, speaking selfishly, is the fact that Granny was able to make it to 94. This beloved person, who always had time for me and saved my life on a number of occasions, would not have lived 94 years if the America of 1917 had existed toward the end of her life, instead of at the beginning....

Beware The Modern-Day Music Man

Wake up, America. The economy is a "dead man walking," and things are going to get much worse before they get better. Are you ready? Do you have your own source of revenue to protect yourself from the day you lose your job? Do you have a plan to protect your family from hyperinflation and the collapse of our currency? Are you aware of the global conspiracy against wealth, and what you can do about it? It is still not too late. If you get smart now, you might well be one of the informed few who profits greatly from the coming financial disaster. Remember: more wealthy people were created during The Great Depression than at any previous time in history....

Take Personal Responsibility For Your Health
Too many of my clients and colleagues are letting their health habits slide. Maybe they feel they're just too busy with other things. Some actually trust in the medical system to "fix" whatever they need fixing, whenever the time comes. But you mustn't do that. You are your own best hope for a long, healthy life....

Attitude at Work

This article explores the role attitude plays in the workplace. It does not delineate between small operator owned businesses and large corporates, for the very reason that attitude exists in each one of us, and has a major impact on motivation, satisfaction and ultimately performance at work. Points to consider are how our personal attitude impacts on others, and how we can begin to grow this in our team members. Techniques are then given to support that. Impetus is also given to people whose negativity is playing havoc at work and impacting on other team member's. This article is worth reading if you are leading people, or simply if you want to feel happier in your place of work.

Inspirational Leadership: Renew Your Own Passion
Since your own passion is key to your ability to deliver inspirational leadership, how do you renew it? Here are some ideas that have worked for my clients over the years....

Maybe States Could Just Swap Their Senators

See, with SWEEP, Wisconsin and Illinois could actually swap senators. Never mind that voters elected them in different places (heck, when has what the voters wanted ever stood in the way of progressive hope and change?)... what matters is that everybody's drinking beer and voting with people they completely agree with. I'm sure there must be a commensurate number of minority Republican state senators in Illinois who'd be happy to commute to Madison to provide a quorum, and to have some beers with other Republicans....

Inspirational Leaders Challenge Themselves

If, like many of my colleagues and clients, you want to be a better leader - even a more inspirational leader - you need to keep challenging yourself. The best leaders are the best people... and only by challenging yourself can you be your best. When you're tempted to pull back and ride the tide, focus on some of the things the world's best purveyors of inspirational leadership think about all the time....

Time To Crash-Proof Your Wealth
The truth is this: the wealth-building strategies that worked for the past six decades will not work for the next six years (or less). What's needed now is a new, informed approach to wealth and prosperity that flies in the face of traditional wisdom....

Ten Ways To Spring-Clean Your Body
It's time to get healthy! If you've spent the winter in sedentary mode, it's time to use the change of seasons as an inspiration to change your health habits. You need to ramp up your vitality and energy so that you'll be at your best to handle the challenges ahead. Here are ten ideas for revitalizing your energy this spring....

Personal Responsibility: Lessons From Japan

Who knows how many lives will be lost to Japan's recent disasters before the final tally is taken? One of the most devastating earthquakes in world history, followed by a cataclysmic tsunami, along with danger from damaged nuclear plants... all enough to create crisis in any nation. Remember the ruin of Haiti in the wake of last year's quake? But every nation of the Earth, including the mighty United States, can take lessons from the character of the Japanese people in their struggle against the adversity they now face....

Wealth Building: Accelerate Your Prosperity

What's the darkest cloud hanging over your head? If you're like most people, it's your financial profile. High debt, a high (and growing) tax burden, and lower earnings can combine to create a worrisome headache for anyone. Sure, the arrival of Spring brings most of us a little uplift in attitude... but to truly revitalize your mindset, start by attacking those dark storm clouds in your personal finances....

Inspirational Leadership: Personal Transformation

You are meant for abundance, for wealth, for a fulfilling and joyous life. But you may be "possessed" by a different character, and that character may be mired in a mindset of scarcity, of poverty, and of misery. It won't be easy to step back into your true self after wearing such an alien costume for so long. But you can do it. Be the successful entrepreneur you know you want to be... then you will do what such people do... and then you will have what such people have....

What Role Should The Government Be Playing In Health Care?

The government is geared to take as much control of your health care as it can, even though your care will be better the less government intervenes. So don't rely on government health care. Take personal responsibility for your own vitality, and reduce your dependence on the government's role in medical care. Your discipline in your own daily health habits is the most important factor (by far) in the future of your own personal vitality....

What's The Importance Of Purpose And Direction In Business?

Any professional entrepreneur knows that running a business is too hard to do without an overwhelming drive and motivation. Every single day, part of you wants to give up, to go back to your old trade-time-for-money job, to sell the equipment and move to another state. It seems like there are endless forces arrayed against you, and you are tempted to whisper doom to yourself all the time. But that voice in your brain grows softer with each day, week, and month of success in business, which only comes when you have a real "why" driving you....

What's The Best Internet Business To Start?

Of course, you have to make a TEAM of investments (Time, Energy, Attention, and Money) to get into any business, and that never changes. These days, though, you can get into business in cyberspace for a fraction of the TEAM investment previous generations needed to open retail stores, car washes, or law offices. And there are plenty of online business opportunities out there. But which one's best....

Where Are All The Small Businesses?
Sure, the economy is tough, and it's hard to run a successful business even when times are good. You have to make a lot of good decisions, minimize your mistakes, delight your customers, motivate your team. In any time or place, it can seem like an uphill climb. But lately, I've been saddened by seeing too many nice little businesses fail....

Spring Cleaning? Don't Forget Your Colon

Even if you're doing well with your daily health habits, toxins from our modern lifestyles are building up inside you all the time. These toxins tend to be stored in your digestive system; specifically, experts say people carry as much as 25 extra pounds of undigested waste in their colons, and it's a good bet you are carrying at least ten extra pounds there right now. A good cleansing program is the only way to defeat the long-term effects on your health of modern toxicity....

What To Do When You're Lacking Inspiration

The primary source for "inspiration" in business is to focus on "Why." Why do you do what you do? Why'd you choose that career, that industry, that company? Why did you decide to start your own business? Figure out "Why," and you'll find inspiration pretty quickly. I'm a former journalist, and they trained us in journalism school to look at the Ws - Who, What, When, Where, and (of course) Why. (They also threw in How, and constantly lamented the fact that word did not start with W.) If you're struggling with what to do when you're lacking inspiration, try these other "Ws" and see if they don't point back to "Why."

Successful Entrepreneurs Know Their Strengths

I still work hard, as any entrepreneur does, but I now spend my time like a CEO (not like a salesperson, and not like the "administrator" I think my introverted style was driving me to be early-on). I focus on the things I do best, and let some high-power pros do for me the things I don't want to do (or don't do well). And now I coach my new-entrepreneur clients to consider strategic outsourcing as a way for them to do the same....

Unemployed? Plan Your Career Now
Our economy is a mess, and we are in uncharted territory. Most everyone is feeling the pinch, especially if they now find themselves unemployed or wonder if they are the next one to lose their job. Unfortunately, most people put more planning into their next vacation than they do their career or more realistically their “careers.”

5 Tips For Getting Things Done For Work At Home Moms
Many more people these days are taking advantage of the Internet to work from home. It might be that they run an online business, or it might be that they have a job that allows them to "telecommute", so they can do all of their professional work online. A great many telecommuting based jobs allow for flexible hours and pay on a freelance basis.

Inspirational Leaders Make No Excuses
Whatever your line of work, you're going to run into adversity. The most successful people in life are not the ones who seem to have everything handed to them, but the ones who run into deep trouble and find a way to handle it....

Vision and Goal Setting

The “Vision and Goal Setting” article focuses on the value of establishing a vision in order to have a sense of direction and purpose in business. It also discusses ways of focusing clearly on goals and how to achieve them. Suitable for both Management level and individuals it encompasses discussion on how to activate the untapped power of our their minds as they think about a unique strategy to ensures success in their workplace. The article encourages the reader to clearly articulate their vision, define it in a specific and measurable way, and plan the key steps needed in order to achieve it. Both practical and highly motivating, this article creates a palpable excitement, enthusing people to take greater personal responsibility and ownership of projects as they achieve results quickly.

How To Increase Sales Performance

Sales is actually a subset of the company's overall marketing effort - it's the primary tool through which a business finds its customers (just as Customer Service is the subset of marketing activities responsible for keeping those customers). When revenue lags, the marketing manager (or entrepreneur) has to look first at how to increase sales performance. And it turns out Sales has its own lesser-known set of 4-P fundamentals: Planning, Prospecting, Presenting, and Paperwork....

Be Creative With "Hidden" Exercise
You should do everything you can to make time for your health. But if you truly can't take on a regular exercise regimen, be creative. Find ways to get your heart rate up - at least a little - by finding hidden exercise in your everday chores....

Inspirational Leaders Play Show-And-Tell

The most inspirational leaders know how to lead by example, but beyond that, they are excellent show-and-tell masters. They are well beyond simply not letting their employees see them doing the wrong things... they take the time and initiative to show folks how to do the right things. They don't just give orders and advice, they also give demonstrations and training. They don't wait to be asked for directions; they're willing to jump in with examples....

Three Strategies For Crash-Proof Wealth Building
Experts say the powers-that-be have already taken us past the point of no return on global financial collapse, and it's just a matter of time. What can you do to prepare? How can you build wealth, and what is still possible in terms of crash-proofing your prosperity? The first three strategies you should consider are entrepreneurship, education, and engagement....

A Few First Steps Toward Inspirational Leadership

One of the first bits of advice I can give my clients is that they will not begin to develop a reputation for inspirational leadership until they eliminate (or significantly reduce) the things they do that actually de-motivate the very people they're trying to inspire. Many managers, knowingly or unknowingly, fall into patterns of behavior their teams find uninspiring. Here are some of the more common patterns, and what you can do to stay out of the traps and move toward inspirational leadership....

Health Habits: Prevention's Your Only Choice
Smart industry observers have been worrying about looming shortages of doctors and cures ever since the beginning of the "health care reform" debate in every western nation. The progressives, of course, ridiculed such worries as unfounded. But last month's edition of "Cancer" magazine reports the shortages are real, and they're already upon us....

The Best Leaders Are Inspired People
Work to spot the inspirations, great and small, in your own life. They're all around you. And here's another thing I'll tell my clients, and you: I believe your Life wants to be inspired. You are meant to be excited, happy, and full of the joy of your life. So don't just focus on the miles you have to go; rejoice in the miles behind you, and enjoy the moment you're in....

I Want You To Be Stinking Rich
The progressives who've ended up with power in America want you poor, and dependent upon the government for your very livelihood. I don't. I want you to be stinking rich, and making the nation (and the world) a better place for all of us....

Three Places To Look For Inspiration
If your passion and inspiration are waning, try one or all of these three things to give it a new boost. Consider it a "spring cleaning" for your soul, if you like....

Get In The Business Of Getting Into Business

People are making excellent incomes online these days, and enjoying the lifestyle of freedom and prosperity that comes with internet business ownership. Perhaps the greatest opportunity is in recruiting - inspiring others to start their own home businesses, and coaching them to success in their enterprises. If you don't have a Big Idea for an internet business that no one's thought of before, you can join any number of legitimate, lucrative, ready-made platforms for your own business....

Turn Your Body Into A Fat-Burning Machine
You need to take personal responsibility for your own health and vitality. Times are tough already, and experts say far worse times are coming before things get better. So you're going to need your energy to run your own business, succeed in your work, and manage your investments (financially and otherwise)....

The Miracle of Failure
If you're trying to build your inspirational leadership, make sure you have good stories to tell about your successes. But don't leave out the lessons from your failures. Those might be the most inspiring stories you have to tell....

The Coming Economic Basket Case
Hey, guess what! It's Easter weekend, and all over the world, folks' thoughts are turning to baskets. Homemade, store-bought, or recycled from last year... pretty baskets filled with colored eggs and candy. Oh, and don't forget the festive "basket of currencies" with which they're planning to replace the U.S. Dollar as the world's reserve currency....

Don't Take Your Life For Granted
As you may know, many of my clients are seeking to increase their inspirational leadership. You can't be an inspirational leader until you're inspired, and you can't be inspired without being happy and appreciative of the many wonderful things that surround you. So take an inventory of the things (or people) you might be taking for granted, and find a way to be more appreciative of them now....

A Century Of Leadership - Good And Bad

It might be simplistic, and I certainly invite discussion, but today I'm ranking the men who've held the office of President since 1911 in terms of how well they did in resisting this "progress" toward socialism/collectivism by their overall support of the U.S. Constitution. My thinking is this: if, as the foremost leader of the federal government, the president can do a good job at fulfilling his/her oath to uphold the Constitution, prosperity generally becomes much easier to obtain in America (and, frankly, elsewhere in the world). When the president fails to protect the Constitution (or, worse, attacks it), he or she aids the progressive march toward collectivism - but pulls the nation away from prosperity and strength....

Health Habits: It's All In Your Head

Many of my coaching clients have come to me in a condition I can only describe as "stress mess." They were working too many hours, living on caffeine and processed crap/food, getting little sleep, taking no vitamins, and hitting the wine and beer a little too heavily. Needless to say, these conditions keep you from performing at your best, and make it extremely hard to get work done or run a business. Worse, once you're in the stress mess, all it takes is something like a fight with your spouse or an unexpected gas price hike to make you flip right out....

Inspirational Leadership: It's About Them, Not You
The bottom line is this: if you want to inspire someone to give you their best, you have to stop looking and acting like a theater critic and, instead, come across with empathy and appreciation. To do that, you first need the mindset that the discussion should be less about you and more about the other person... and then you need to practice (with good help) to make it happen....

Gas Price Signs: Unfair Right-Wing Messaging!

Gas has never been this expensive in America - and experts say this is just the beginning. But wasn't this all supposed to be George W. Bush's fault? As I recall, Bush, somehow in cahoots with Big Oil and Terrorist Oil Cartels, single-handedly drove gas prices pretty high in 2008, and that's why we desperately needed to elect Barack Obama. But Bush has been gone for more than two years now, and gas is higher than ever. How could this be?

Can Inspiration Be Found In A Death?

I don't feel like rejoicing in Bin Laden's death. I certainly don't feel like this is bad news, of course - the world is better off without him - but it's not a party. It occurs to me that, 31 years ago, perhaps I would not have been all that inspired if Carter's hostage-rescue mission had been a success, since undoubtedly that success would have been accompanied by death. But I believe inspiration starts with appreciation, and there are many things to appreciate in today's news of victory....

Don't Shrug Off This Movie!
As a book, Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged" stands as one of the greatest works of literature in history. As a movie, "Part I" is pretty good... the performances are at least OK, and the faithfulness to the story is outstanding. But as an event, the release of this movie is nothing short of amazing....

Health Habits: Make Sure You're Well-Adjusted
If you haven't tried chiropractic care, or if it's been awhile, give it another look. You definitely can't be your best if you have chronic pain or fatigue... and you might be amazed at what a good spinal adjustment can do for you....

Appreciate Your Own Best Strengths
Lately, some of my clients have been a little down on themselves, and I'm finding that it's often because they're forgetting to play to their strengths. If you find yourself spending too much time doing stuff you don't like, and aren't good at, try to balance that work with projects you know you can do well....

It's Re-Election Time! Get The Picture?

So while everyone was thinking about the brave troops who finally capped Osama Bin Laden the other day, I was also thinking about whether or not they had a 71-Quebec out there with them on that mission (that's Army Talk for "journalist," or at least it used to be). I guess they must have, because this week's big news is President Obama's decision not to release the photos that were taken of Dead Terrorist Number One. So since the global paparrazzi corps was busy sobering up in London after Will-'n'-Kate, and since civilian "journalists" only take pictures of car chases and tornado damage (when they can squeeze those things in around their grip-and-grin work at the White House), any photos that existed had to have been taken by some hard-working military journalist....

Inspirational Leaders Keep An Upbeat Attitude
Many people - including lots of my clients - aspire to be inspirational leaders. Inspirational leaders start as inspirational people, and people who easily inspire others are those who have that infectious, almost-automatic positive outlook on life....

It's The (Growth Of The) Economy, Stupid
Let me explain why I think every American family should have at least one good, solid entrepreneurial venture going these days....

Health Habits: Remember Your Protein
I've often said that it isn't what you eat, but what you DON'T eat, that can harm your health. Make sure you're getting your nutrients, especially protein. And if you want to be good at remembering things, don't forget to take your supplements....

Thank You For Your Service
Whether you agree or not with the "mission" they've been given in certain parts of the world, our military members deserve our appreciation, and our gratitude. It's not too much to ask. And you should always look for things to appreciate. Being good at appreciation is one of the first steps toward becoming good at inspiration....

Presenting The Unprecedented President
This week, President Obama used his favorite word several more times. That word is "unprecedented." Easily, the present president has used that word to a degree which is without precedent, unprecedented by any of the preceding previous presidents who previously preceded him. Easily....

Don't Be Defeated By Inaction

We all end up in tough circumstances in our lives. These days, when the global economy is reeling (and when many experts say things will still get MUCH worse before they get better), a lot of people are struggling just to get by. But as I've learned over the years from the clients I've met who've overcome adversity, inspirational leaders aren't people who never get into tough spots, but are those who have the ability to work their way out....

What Are Your Dreams Waiting For?
Thank God for hard-charging, high-flying cadets like my niece. We need her out there, soaring into the wild blue yonder... and we also need entrepreneurs in every family, with their feet firmly planted on the ground and their dreams free to fly through the heavens. When the predicted crash has come and gone, the entrepreneurs in every family will be the ones who make our nation soar again....

Health Habits: Keep Your Balance
You have to have a well-rounded, multi-faceted approach to maintaining your vitality. Why? Because whatever you do, your modern lifestyle is likely to make it tough to stay healthy. Not only are times demanding (requiring your best energy and efforts), experts say they're likely to get worse. So you have to take personal responsibility for your health....

Every Life Is An Inspiration
You may not know it, but today's a big day in history. On this date in 1940, a person you've never heard of was born in northern Oklahoma. She lived a short and difficult life, and she changed the world....

Cling On, Bitter Clingers!

If we're going to borrow billions of bucks from our buddies in China and send those bucks to Egypt, I would rather we sent them directly to individual Egyptians and God-fearing Muslims... perhaps they have some bitter clingers in their own small towns who don't yet have a Walmart Super Center and could really use some of our money. Let them start businesses and make investments... after all, the U.S. government will tell you it's perfectly OK for anyone to make profits and build wealth, as long as they're not doing that in America....

There's Still Inspiration Out There
As often as you can, surround yourself with entrepreneurs. Recharge the positive side of your personal battery. That energy will help you when you need to bring the best out of people who, for whatever reason, can't seem to see the good around them. And bringing out the best of such people is a big part of what inspirational leadership is all about....

Does Prosperity Always Encompass Wealth?

There's a global economic storm coming that's going to make the Great Depression of the 1930s look like good times. Despite proclamations of recovery by the mainstream media and other mouth-pieces who represent the world's money-elite (the U.S. and other governments, the Federal Reserve, financial "advisors" and the biggest global banks), real experts say real hard times are just around the corner....

Health Habits: Stay Fit In High Places
When you take your body to a place significantly higher than it's used to, you need to modify your daily health habits to maximize your energy and reduce your chance of contracting altitude sickness....

Time To Honor Real Inspirational Leaders

Enjoy your weekend. Our fallen heroes would certainly want you to do that. And I hope you'll also spend a little time this weekend in observance, and that doing so will impart some inspiration to you that will last throughout the year. I coach entrepreneurs, folks who own a business, and other aspiring inspirational leaders in business... but you have to agree, the real inspirational leaders are the ones who gave the full measure of sacrifice on the battlefield so that we could live in a free society....

Should The Government Help Beggars?

As our nation continues its debate (fight) over entitlement reform, we beg (forgive me) this essential question: are we a society of entrepreneurs, or of beggars? The more we push toward redistribution of wealth, the more weatlh we'll eventually run out of - leaving even the beggars, well, begging. If we can swing back to being a nation of wealth-builders, though, there will actually be more wealth for everyone....

Be The Inspiration You Want From Others
It's scary at times, but be thankful for your Entrepreneurial urges. Make sure you build those muscles of personal responsibility, and that you're ready when the crash comes. Want to be an inspiration to others? Then be the inspiring Entrepreneur (at least in spirit) you truly are, and do what successful Entrepreneurs do, whether you own a business or not....

Don't Get Sucked Into Class Envy
The progressive would-be opinion makers want to play to your sense of victimhood. They want you to look with envy upon those with more than you have, and to demand "your" share of what they've earned. They want you to spend your precious life energy being pissed-off at rich people....

Go Play Outside!

You need your energy to run a business, take care of your around-the-house chores, stay at your best on the phone, make the right financial decisions, and do all the things essential to living the life you want to live. You have to take personal responsibility for your vitality. While some elements of fitness are pure drudgery during the winter (schlepping to the gym, running on the treadmill, etc.), things get much more fun when the weather's nice....

Two Dirty Words…
It’s interesting how the meanings of certain words change over time. These two words used to represent the apex of values and ethics. Today these two words cause anxiety, disdain and divisiveness...

Dream It, Do It - But Be Equipped
If you want to inspire people, start by not making them mad every day. Start by finding out what they need to do the best job possible, and by giving it to them....

Yeah, Let's Go Back To 1967!
I don't think the president was speaking only about Israel. In truth, I think Mr. Obama was trying to tell us that he really just wants the whole world - everybody, all of us - to go back to '67....

The Basics of Emotional Intelligence: Emotions as Messengers
An article of 1256 words describing how to recognize and manage your emotions as well as how to control your behavior in response to the emotion.

This D-Day, Reflect On Personal Responsibility
It is not because they felt no fear that those inspirational leaders are remembered as heroes. They were almost all scared to death. No, they're remembered as heroes because they felt the full measure of fear about the near-impossible feats they were about to undertake, and they knew the long odds associated with the incredible personal risks they were about to take... but they did it anyway....

Wealth Building Depends On Low Taxes

The hue and cry in American society today is "tax the rich." Some on the left even screech "Eat the rich!" The collectivist/statists currently running the U.S. government continue to barrel down the road of high taxes and high spending, encouraging class envy, and putting America firmly on a path toward confiscatory taxation. And they, along with their sycophants in the media, never seem to run out of fools who can be persuaded that this is the correct course for the country....

Love thy neighbor as thyself.
One cannot give what one does not own.

Exploration Can Bring Inspiration
The other day, I went looking for North Park. Eventually, I found it, and along the way I found beauty, solitude, and a surprising amount of inspiration....

Health Habits: Watch The Long Hours
You need your energy... and you need to avoid working yourself to death. Even if your work hours are unavoidably long, you can still maintain good discipline in the five key daily health habits I call The NEWSS: Nutrition, Exercise, Water, Sleep, and Supplements....

The Wiener That Ate New York!
But wait: what's this? Turns out Wiener, who just last summer found time in his hectic Beck-bashing schedule to marry a young protege of Hillary Clinton's, has been sending tawdry self-portraits over the internet to various OTHER young women, such as a college girl in Seattle. Really? Seriously, Congressman...?

Finding Inspiration In A Tough Economy
If you feel down about the current state of affairs, look around your local community and find the ordinary people who are still doing extraordinary things. Get to know them. Find out the "why" behind what they're doing... it'll inspire you....

Start Your Business Venture Now

During the Great Depression, more millionaires were created than at any other time in history. They were the Entrepreneurs, the ordinary people who didn't lose their way, and didn't lose their nerve. They realized that times of extreme calamity present new and unprecedented opportunities. They cut themselves loose from the stranglehold of socialist administration, and went out and started a business....

Your Vitality Is Your Personal Responsibility
You need your energy to run your business, take care of your family, investigate new wealth-building strategies, and live your life to the fullest. Don't assume for a second that government medicine will take care of you as you approach your sunset years. Since a pound of cure will not be available to you at any price, you need all the ounces of prevention you can get....

Inspirational Leadership: A TEAM Activity
You have a "TEAM" of personal resources available to you as you go about developing (and demonstrating) inspirational leadership, and you'll want to make sure to engage all of those resources. I'm referring to your Time, Energy, Attention, and (in the case of the entrepreneurs among you) Money....

Renewing Limited Government: Spending Limits

We have to renew limited government in the United States, or the entire world will enter a new era of darkness the likes of which no one can foresee. There are at least ten limits we could impose on government (and, in some cases, on what I see as quasi-governmental U.S. institutions) that would have a remarkable turn-around impact on our economy - and on our society. And one of the first, if not THE first, is to limit government spending....

Leadership Traits - Does Your Leader Have These Traits?

I've been a leadership counselor for years, but since the last presidential election I've come to realize that I've been doing it all wrong. Clients often ask me what the great leadership traits are, and of course no one has a comprehensive list. But given what I've learned since 2008, I've revised my list of the core traits that make a great (as far as you know) leader. Here are some of the biggies....

Three Ways To Win With Empathy

Many of my clients want to be more inspirational as leaders, but suffer in that quest because too many of their interactions with teammates degrade from dialogue to debate... and frustrating debate, at that. Whether you own a business or have a leadership role in running the business, you know that no one is inspired by such arguments. So here are three suggestions for leaders who'd rather skip the debate and interact in dialogue....

Too Big To Fail: Part Of The Story
I didn't know what to expect from a network whose producers happily broadcast leftist Bill Maher's periodic rants... but I should have expected exactly what "Too Big To Fail" delivered: part of the story, with some very key ingredients left out (or distorted). That's just what you get when the progressives have overrun (and merged) the information and entertainment industries....

Just Say No To Adverse Drug Reactions
See how long you can go before you become dependent on "government medicine," and how long you can avoid the adverse affects which have skyrocketed in the last decade and show no signs of slowing....

How To Care About People
If you truly don't care about a person, it's impossible to show them any empathy, let alone respect. And without these foundational elements, you'll never inspire good things in others. That's why I've made inspirational leadership, with empathy as a cornerstone, the foundation of my coaching practice....

Inspirational Leadership: Show And Tell

There's no doubt - as the leader, you have to, well, lead the way. Take a good look in the mirror (and get feedback when you can), and make sure you're embodying the right things. And don't be shy about sitting your folks down and being the teacher and coach. If you have the right attitude about it, you're not overstepping your bounds or micro-managing - you're providing help for which your team will likely be appreciative....

Three Reasons Now's The Time
Many of my clients are thinking about starting a business, but wonder about the timing. After all, the economy's a mess, right? It is, but that doesn't mean it's a bad time to make an investment, even a big one such as a business start-up....

Your Business Will Be As Healthy As You Are
Business owners - especially the ones who know they have to do whatever it takes to make the business successful - are extremely hard workers. Nothing wrong with that. But some lose sight of the fact that if their personal vitality fails, so will their business. As far as your little business is concerned, you are critical. You're too big to fail....

Inspirational Leadership Requires Character
One media personality caught my attention about three years ago, principally because everyone (and I mean everyone) was against the guy. Entire well-funded organizations had come into existence with the sole (or main) purpose of discrediting and slandering him. Any guy in the media who's so reviled by everyone else in the media, I reasoned, must be worth getting to know....

Debt Ceiling? What Debt Ceiling?
The other day, we're driving down the road, and I see a big AWESOME boat and trailer parked out in front of a dealership. "Cool!" I say. "I'm getting that!" But Colonel Wife was all, like, no way we could afford to spend that kind of money. But I go, "Ridiculous. We'll just raise our Debt Ceiling...".

Time To Declare A New Independence
Happy Fourth of July. Enjoy the party! And while you're at it, think about how you can be part of the next generation of inspirational leaders dedicated to refounding the republic we call "the land of the Free, and the home of the Brave...".

Dad's Job Advice
As a counselor to consultants and other business operators, as well as to personal clients, I'm often told stories of work woe. Most people (especially those who have a coach or counselor) have at least some degree of dissatisfaction with their job....

Health Habits: Keep Score On Your Fitness
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services publishes "Physical Activity Guidelines" for adults. In 2008, those guidelines called for moderate-intensity aerobic exercise at least 150 minutes a week, vigorous-intensity aerobic exercise at least 75 minutes a week, and strength-training at least twice a week....

Inspirational Leadership: Start Something
Years ago, I decided to start a business on the side, in the performing arts. I held auditions, picked some talented young singers, wrote and arranged several entertaining tunes, and launched a six-voice acappella group. In our fifteenth month, we booked twenty-two paid gigs, which is quite good....

These Storms Aren't Really Storms
There is no truth to the rumor that the president's hometown will now be known as the "Appropriately Windy City, No More Windy Than Any Other...".

Today Is Your Lucky Day
It's 7-11-11 today, and those are some lucky numbers. But before you go out and buy that lottery ticket, take a few minutes to remember all the things that should make you feel like every day is your lucky day....

Don't Raise The Debt Ceiling, Ever
Regardless of the wheeling and dealing that's been going on for weeks in the hallowed halls of Washington, there is no good reason to raise the federal government's debt ceiling. Ever....

Your Business Depends On Energy - Yours
Every now and then, we all run into a low-energy day. Even if you do a great job with your daily health habits, it can happen to you any time. Here are some ideas to help get through those melting-ice days....

Inspirational Leadership On The Links
People are inspired by greatness. But they're also inspired by the honest effort to achieve it. Some of the most inspirational leaders I've ever known were young, talented people who hadn't put in anything close to 10,000 hours, but who were clearly and visibly on their own personal program toward greatness....

Peas And Carrots
I am as proud of the president now as I've ever been, or ever will be. Just the other day, he proclaimed that we need to "eat our peas." And I think we should give peas a chance....

Personal Responsibility: The Natural Event
If you're looking for a way to make an inspirational positive change in your life, start by scouring your behaviors and mindsets for anything that betrays your inner Victim. Maybe you've allowed some of the wrong notions to creep into your thinking... things you never used to think... stuff that never used to bother you... negativity that never was supposed to be part of you....

Two Views Of America's Future

Believe it or not, I never cared much for politics. It always seemed like the political machinations of running the country were happening someplace far away, that people who cared deeply about such things were "on it," and that there wasn't much a single person could do to change things, anyway. Besides, I was generally too busy raising kids, running a business, or leading a team to give politics much time or thought....

Health Habits: The Gym Makes You Smarter
According to researchers at the famed Mayo Clinic, exercise boosts blood flow to the brain, and helps it absorb and utilize the oxygen and nutrients which literally fuel your thinking. The better shape you're in, according to these reports, the faster you may think....

Be An Adventure Capitalist
Entrepreneurs are Adventure Capitalists. To them, most of whom own a business, the opportunity to create a viable commercial concern - to find and keep happy customers - is the great adventure of life. Like almost all famous businesspeople of all time, they fail time and time again, but never lose that spirit of adventure that tells them they'll hit it big one day....

Don't Vote For Me In 2004
Here's a true story of idiocy and self-deprecation. After the Twin Towers fell in 2001 (and after a few days of shock and mourning), like most big-mouths, I started spouting off about what I would do if I were president of these-here United States....

Love Is Still The Answer
Mourning, revenge, anger... they're always natural human reactions to catastrophes like these. But they should never find action. They're never the answer. The Answer, as it has always been and always will be, is love....

Occupy The Vote!

They say that if you're in your twenties and you're not a liberal, you have no heart - and that if you're in your forties and you're not a conservative, you have no brain. This is true, of course... so the key to attaining our Utopian national bliss is to make a few simple changes to our voting laws! I mean, if we work it right, we can make people vote so brainlessly they won't even know they're voting....

Government Takeover: We're Boiling
In business school I learned of the parable of the boiling frog - the story that illustrates how gradual, progressive movements can radically transform a situation. It's a story all Americans should understand today....

Health Habits: Keep Smiling At Adversity
Economy got you down? You're not alone. A lot of people are struggling to do their jobs these days... or to find a job... or to keep their job. Add other bits of diversity to the struggle, such as a fight with a friend, a divorce, a death in the family, or the like, and it can be tough to keep a positive attitude....

How To Calm An Angry Person
Maybe it's the summer heat. Maybe it's the general frustration with the economy, the government, whatever. Perhaps it's even the growing realization of a global conspiracy against wealth. Whatever the cause, people seem a little angry these days....

They Blinded Us With "Science!"

I finally found my true calling the other day, when I had the sad fortune to find a dead bunny rabbit just off the front porch of our country home. I conducted a thorough examination of the bunny's carcass before properly disposing of it - by which I mean, I looked at it from a safe and comfortable distance. I could not see what might've caused the bunny's demise, so of course I concluded that the poor wretch paid the ultimate price for the sinful climate change caused by humankind....

Make It A Month Of Inspirational Leadership
As I looked out at the dark, sparsely-lit landscape that had been, a few hours earlier, the scene of blazing sunset color, I counted down the last few minutes of the month, and quietly welcomed August. I spent a few minutes reflecting on how July went, and how the month had changed me, and what progress had been made on my personal mission of health, wealth, and inspirational leadership....

Inspirational Leadership: Morals Are Required
If you want to be an inspirational leader, figure out your values. Sure, there might be exceptions... but the existence of very-rare exceptions shouldn't destroy the need for the moral "rules" that separate good behavior from bad. And, to put it bluntly, you will never inspire greatness in anyone if you don't have an obvious set of moral rules by which you consistently live....

Happy Birthday, Colorado

I think there's a reason Ayn Rand picked Colorado as the fictional last bastion of entrepreneurship in the dark world she described in "Atlas Shrugged." And today, when those who want to ride in the wagon are beginning to overburden those who are willing to pull it, American can take a lesson from the Centennial State. This nation is not about victims, or collectivism, or false socialist ideals. It's about rugged individualism. It's about being willing to start a business, to create opportunities where none existed before, to build wealth through toil and ingenuity....

Health Habits: Protein After Exercise
If you're focused on your health and vitality, no doubt you realize the importance of daily discipline, especially in terms of exercise. Whether you travel a lot, or work a stressful job, or own your own business, you know you need to maximize your energy level in order to handle the rigors of your work. You want to make sure every move you make to enhance your health really counts....

How To Calm An Angry Person, II

If you want to be an inspirational leader, you have to deal in the realm of emotions. I've had several clients over the years who sought to manage from pure logic, from rational analysis, from a perspective that "the numbers will tell us what to do." That's OK for management, and people certainly appreciate knowing they're doing the logically-correct thing, but it's an approach that falls short of the sort of inspirational leadership that ignites the passion to go beyond the "correct" to the "great...."

Janitorial Power
Everyone in your organization should be as powerful as possible. Think about it…When your janitor is powerful, the CEO doesn’t need to mop the floors!

Successful People are Self-Taught…ALWAYS!
Before anyone gets in a twist, this isn’t MBA bashing or PhD envy. However, every successful person I’ve ever met is and continues to be self-taught...

Is China Running Out Of Our Money?

It's been said that the trouble with collectivist economic approaches, such as socialism and communism, is that, eventually, you run out of other peoples' money. If there's a lesson from the last century of adventures in collective statism, I guess it's that the big collective economies only work for a while, and only if there's a bigger free-market economy out there (like ours has been), cranking out growth and creating markets for the rest of the world....

The Dying Art of Discipline
I almost started this article by saying, “Please forgive me if I’m going on a bit of a rant today.” Forget about it; I am going on a rant and I’m not asking for anyone’s forgiveness, indulgence or permission. These are the facts and what I’m about to share with you is the truth: period.

Strengthen The Things That Remain
I've been saying for more than a year that a global depression was on the way, and that it would make the Great Depression of the 1930s look like the salad days. It's not beyond imagining that the recent world economic events are the beginning of just such a depression. But it's only money....

The Soft Side of Managing Talent is About Making Hard Choices
One of the greatest barriers to optimum team performance is having people on the team that are not capable of pulling their weight. Keeping the wrong people around is unfair to the right people because they see their hard work impeded by those who cannot or will not perform as needed.

You Get What You Reward
More often than not an organization says one thing in its literature, on nicely formatted signs in hallways and conference rooms, but unfortunately does not practice what it preaches. As your organization decides what it wants its culture to be, look closely at what it will reward. Remember…You get what you reward.

Downgrade Should Shock Nobody
By now you know that Standard & Poor's downgraded America's federal debt, attaching a negative outlook to the rating that promises more such downgrades in the future (barring stark changes in the current government's economic direction). For the first time in the history of such ratings, America is no longer considered a safe bet....

Break The Rules - Think, And Be Adaptive

Organizations and their leadership must be prepared to throw away their insecurities and embrace new unconventional thinking. They must do this to deal more effectively with situations, which are complex, ever-changing, and for the most part uncontrollable. Mark McCormack states it very nicely in his book What They Don’t Teach You At Harvard Business School, when he says, “Have you noticed that the best-run companies all seem to be managed unconventionally?” He goes on to state, “Their success is attributed to breaking the rules, not following them.

There's No Substitute For The NEWSS

Your body is a complex set of systems that work together to keep you at your energetic best. It's a network that's so well designed, it can compensate for the rotten things you do to yourself, in many cases. But my clients - entrepreneurs and others who look to develop themselves in the key areas of health, wealth, and inspirational leadership - know how important it is not to give short shrift to their health. Everything in this life depends on it....

Are You or Your Partner Possessive?
Are you and your partner operating in a relationship system that is based on possessiveness?

How To Calm An Angry Person, III
Inspirational leaders tend to take on tough challenges, and dare to tackle the world's most difficult problems. Because of that, and because human nature is what it is, a good leader is likely to step on some toes now and then. You might be doing everything right as a leader, and still be in a position to need to know how to calm an angry person....

Personal Responsibility and Work

As the work world becomes more complex personal responsibility is also becoming very important both for the individual and for the organization he or she works for. We live in an age of excuses for our action and see them played out in our news constantly. Yet in the "knowledge" workplace individuals need to become a company of one, held to the highest standards of responsibility, if we are to remain competitive.

A Talent Driven Organization
“Winning is about having the best people on your team. It doesn’t help if you’re surrounded by people who are less talented than you are.” So much of leadership is about accomplishing results through others. The building of a great team starts with developing great leadership or a “great coaching staff” – a staff that gets rewarded for building a great, high performance team.

It's The Imaginary Economy, Stupid
It's a bit early, kind of, but the national media is really into this whole 2012 re-election campaign. And the eighty percent of national news personalities who tend to "lean forward" (possibly because it's much easier than trying to find and report actual facts) refer to it precisely as the "2012 re-election" because, well, they have determined that the president deserves your vote - again....

Organizational Cultural Values to Consider

Every organization has a culture, the way things get done, how people react and how people are treated. Most organizations do not spend time truly creating a desired culture, but rather, leave its creation to chance. Oh there may be statements on the wall that were created at a one day off-site meeting, but sadly they remain just that...statements. This article provides insight into "values" which can be used to begin the process of truly creating the culture which will best serve your organization.

Renew Your Optimism, Renew Your Inspiration
In the last few days I've had some inspiring discussions with clients and potential clients. I've learned that many people are "down" these days, overly-anxious about their work, their jobs, their careers. But I've also learned that there are excited, positive people out there anticipating (and working to create) a great future....

Business Makes, But Government Takes
A "Demediacrat" said the other day that, if the government puts people to work digging a ditch and then filling it in again, it's not a bad thing. "At least they're productively employed," was the assertion....

What Happened To Your Energy?
An entire market has sprung up around that "two-thirty tired" feeling you have when your personal energy is low. Some of the all-natural supplement drinks, particularly liquid nutraceuticals that include real-food extracts (and not much caffeine), are helpful. But the high-sugar, high-caffeine "buzz" drinks can hurt you. You'd be better off with an overall healthy lifestyle....

Do Your People Know You?
Many of my coaching clients aspire to be more inspirational as leaders. They want to have the "deeper" sort of relationship with their team, with their customers, even with their vendors, that encourages a very meaningful, often personal sort of dialogue. But some of them think they can encourage their people to "open up" without doing so themselves....

When Mars Attacks, The Economy Roars!
When I was a student at the Graduate School of Public Administration (our school colors were red and more red; our motto, "Sempre Turfbuildus"), they made us study the works of major geniuses in such fields as economics and massive government. One of the chief geniuses in both fields was Paul Krugman, who was an advisor to President Clinton (and now claims President Obama among his adherents)....

What Color Is Your Taco?
Invited by a dear friend who's a savvy collector of Native American paintings, I took a quick day-trip this weekend to the annual Indian Market in Santa Fe. I met a handful of the best Native American artists in the world (introduced in most cases by my friend), and feasted my eyes on some amazing works of art in "The City Different," which is an artwork in its own right....

Renewing Limited Government

The whole idea behind America is that, at least with regard to daily life in a temporal world, the people can rule themselves. The nation's founders, in establishing the framework for this great experiment (which is what it was, 235 years ago), realized that government would grow to fill all unguarded space in terms of power, and therefore they worked hard to set up a constitutional system of "limited" government....

Are You Living In Stress City?
Most people think stress is a killer. It can be, but only in excessive amounts. You may know someone who says they "thrive on stress," and though your friend may just be an adrenaline junkie, the same could be said of the human race. Stress gets our attention, and switches on the "fight or flight" instincts that were key to our ancestors' survival....

Successful Entrepreneurs Stay Inspired

Times are tough, and you might often find it difficult to renew your optimism and inspiration. You might be "too busy," at least as you see your work and your hectic life. But don't let your personal inspiration fall from the top of your priority list. It's not a "nice-to-have." Personal inspiration, in times that challenge us all, is a must-have ingredient to your life of health, wealth, and happiness.

Who Says There Are No Jobs?
Despite record levels of unemployment, we all know, of course, that our president is on the case. He's the Jobs President... if you don't believe it, just ask him, or any of his sycophantic Demediacrats! But only those who are sufficient Biblical scholars to have heard of Job (with a capital "J") understand that it's really a case of mispronunciation of the vowel....

What Growing Up Means
Twenty-seven years ago today, I became a father for the second time. The event of my beloved son's birth served as another major wake-up call for me: as I held that baby for the first time, I kidded around, but I was struck with a deep realization that I was a grown-up. And that I better act like one....

Renewing Limited Government II

A century of progressivism, culminating these days as the Obama administration seeks to "fundamentally transform" our society from one fueled by free-market entrepreneurship to a European-style socialist state, has skirted (or ignored) the original limits established to constrain the growth of the government state. Here are a few ideas worth considering (and in need of inspirational leadership from the grass roots) to renew our commitment to limited government and restore our free republic....

The NEWSS Can Help Your Memory
This June's issue of the "Journal of Neural Engineering" reports that scientists are making progress on a sort of "prosthetic memory switch" they hope will help victims of Alzheimer's disease, stroke, or brain injury. Their research on rats has been promising, and has enhanced their (the rats') memory capability....

Lessons From Skyline Drive
About half an hour west of our southern Colorado home, up in the scenic Rocky Mountains, is a road that presents an amazing adventure... and more than one lesson for aspiring inspirational leaders....

The Earthquake That Ate Washington!
Seismologists watching California fear the "San Andreas Fault," because it can cause earthquakes that bring a lot of damage. President Obama talks more about "Bush's Fault," which apparently caused the unlikely recent D.C. earthquake... though it's the current president's policies that're doing all the damage....

Happy Labor Day!
Today in the United States is one of the handful of national holidays that enjoys nearly universal observance: Labor Day. The first Monday of September, we take a day off to pause in remembrance of the sacrifices and achievements of the American worker.

Renewing Limited Government: Term Limits
In America, the "land of the free," the government has run amok. The Founders, who fought (and in some cases, died) to leave a country wherein citizens were to rule and the government was supposed to be limited, would be shocked at the size of the behemoth that is the modern federal government. And many states have just as bloated a bureaucracy....

Health Habits: Watch The Hidden Calories
Americans love their snacks, and June's edition of the journal of the Institute of Food Technologists reported that the trend is not only continuing, but growing. If you're an average American (no such thing, right?), the Institute says you get about a fourth of your total daily calories from snacks....

How Can You Inspire A Person In Crisis?
If your journey along the road of inspirational leadership places you in a position to help a person in crisis, here are three ideas to consider as you reach out (or respond)....

Taking Exception To America
President Obama famously said he believed in American exceptionalism in the same way Brits believe in British exceptionalism, and the Irish believe in Irish exceptionalism, etc. Of course, if everyone's exceptional, no one is... which I think was the president's point. There's nothing special about you Americans! Sit down and shut up!...

Take A Cue From Heroes: \"Let\'s Roll!\"
Like nearly all Americans, I was acutely aware yesterday of the ten-year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on our country. I watched some documentaries, spent some time with family members with whom I'd spent the day ten years ago... and watched again the haunting movie which depicts the heroic actions of passengers on "United 93" during that now-long-ago tragedy....

Renewing Limited Government: Page Limits
No one has talked about page limits, but I believe it's a serious idea that would productively limit the growth of the government beast while costing America nothing. The Constitution of the United States was fewer than fifty pages long - no federal legislation should be longer....

Health Habits: Vitality Isn\'t Magical
You need to use your brain in renewing your personal vitality... but use it to discipline yourself toward productive health habits, not to engage in the sort of "magical thinking" that keeps some people fat and lacking energy....

What Are You Harvesting?

Talk about a cliche - we actually went for a drive in the country last Sunday. That's right, a "Sunday Drive," like people used to do two and three generations ago. It was delightful to roam around the southern Colorado countryside, with no time pressures and no particular destination. We ended up patronizing a roadside "farmer's market" fruit-and-vegetable stand, and it got me thinking about inspiration....

You Will Notice What We Tell You To Notice!
Just the other day... months and months after the fact... the venerable Washington Post reported that, though it went "largely unnoticed" at the time, Islamicists were at the center of the "Arab Spring" revolutions earlier this year, including the more recent regime change in Libya....

Build Your Health To Build Your Wealth

America - and much of the rest of the world - is overweight. My home state of Colorado is perenially the "least overweight" U.S. state according to surveys, but that moniker itself is indicative of the trend... we used to call it the "most lean" or "most fit" state. People move here to take advantage of the outstanding climate and outdoor opportunities, so there are thousands of fit-as-a-fiddle Coloradans. But you can still go to any store in the cities and see grossly-fat people who seem to have blown up like balloons....

Get Outside Before The Snow Flies
Technically, according to whoever's in charge of the calendar, today's the first full day of Fall. Whatever you were going to do this summer, if you haven't done it by now, the calendar says you've missed it....

Get The Facts And Fight The Smears!
Well, guess what! It's campaign season again (like that ever ends), and we have a whole new snitch site: "AttackWatch.com," complete with Soviet-style black-and-red graphics, which asks us to "get the facts, fight the smears!" Otherwise, those non-liberals in the media (both of them) might convince some people to vote against the president's re-election....

Are Your Days Adding Up To Your Life?

See if this sounds familiar: you roll out of bed and hit the alarm, feeling groggy, feeling like you didn\'t get enough real rest. You deal with three family problems before you start your commute to work - the kids, the spouse, even the dog seems to be in a negative mood. Traffic is hell. The first meeting of your day turns into a gripe session, and is followed by more griping in impromptu \"breakouts\" around the office or shop. You have plenty to gripe about, and it\'s tempting to join in....

Renewing Limited Government: Tax Limits
In latter years, Americans have fallen asleep, and have allowed their elected (and unelected) leaders to dodge the Constitutional limits on government... far too often, for far too long. Until we get back to true limited government, as defined by the Constitution, America will continue to slide toward the collectivist abyss that has claimed every great nation in history....

Health Habits: Can The Pop
I bet you didn't know that there's a "Morbidity And Mortality Weekly Report." Well, there is, and in an edition of the report this June readers got more statistics on how hard soda pop is on your body....

Successful Entrepreneurs Have Running Buddies

When you make the decision to go it alone, don't go it alone. Find trusted advisors with whom you can kick around ideas and exchange inspiration. When times get tough - when you're at that spot on the jogging trail where you find yourself bent over, hands-on-knees, gasping for air and looking for the courage to take on the next length... it's handy to have a running buddy who simply says, "Come on, let's go, you can do it...."

Shocking Shark Shenanigans!
The bottom line is this: the Tea Party is a major threat to our increasingly-socialist way of life. Left unchecked, they'd have us go back to the failed policies of the past, under which people got away with insane capers like starting a business, building wealth, or even furnishing others with private employment. Say it isn't so! We must not go back! We must always, always lean forward....

Three Primary Reasons To Become An Entrepreneur

For some time, I've written and spoken about the difference between two basic types of person out there these days: The Victim, and The Entrepreneur. The Victim needs to be taken care of... the Entrepreneur takes care of herself, and others. The Victim is competitive, and views life as a win-lose (sometimes even a lose-lose) proposition; the Entrepreneur is collaborative, and sees life as win-win. Victims blame others; Entrepreneurs are self-reliant, and get things done....

Renewing Limited Government: Debt Limits
U.S. government debt should be limited to a fraction of what it is today - say, one trillion dollars after we've had a chance to renew limited government for a few years - and the limit should be strictly enforced. It's not only possible; if we want the nation to survive, it's necessary....

How's Your Night Life?
A slew of new research confims what we've known all along - you have to take care of your physical vitality if you expect to perform at your intellectual peak. In fact, several new studies talk about the importance of an often-neglected health habit: getting a good night's sleep....

Inspirational Leaders Aren't Angry People

Maybe you can't convince, but you can definitely influence other people. Agitators know this, and they are skilled at bringing things out of their followers that serve their (the agitators') purposes... often, especially during these days of "occupation" protests, those things include anger, outrage, and misdirected (or undirected) passion. But inspirational leaders bring out very different things that make their followers better people... and here's how they do it....

Renewing Limited Government: Bureaucracy

Bureaucracy in the federal government is a little like bad weather: people complain about it, but nobody does anything about it. Jokes aside, the citizenry of the United States, intended to be enlightened and to rule itself, has slowly accepted huge and growing levels of ineffective federal bureacracy as inevitable, much like rain, snow, or high winds. But the time has come for America to see the difference. Bureaucracy can, and must, be limited....

Get The NEWSS: Exercise Makes You Smarter
Bottom line: you need to exercise. Whether you own your own business, work for someone else, or are a gentleman or lady of leisure, if you want to keep your marbles rolling around in your head, you need to develop the habit of hitting the gym....

Liberal Friends: Is This OK With You?
Wasn't America better when we had an objective presentation of the facts and the people made up their own minds? Liberal friends, weren't YOU better when you had to present a cogent argument for your proposals and win a fair debate over your opponents? I love my friends, even when I disagree with them... so I have to ask, is all this stuff OK with you...?

Nice Work, If You Can Sit It
A few days ago I heard on the radio contraption that you can make anywhere from $350 to $650 a week to join the "movement," and all you have to do is occupy! I'm definitely going to apply, because I have TONS of experience. I've been occupying various places for years. I'm occupying a space right now! I can do this....

Inspirational Leaders Know How To Commit
The holidays are coming, and for many people, it's the most inspiring time of the year. That's certainly the case for me, and for many of my clients who are seeking to ramp-up their inspirational leadership. So this is a bit of a warning to those high-achievers among you: as the old saying goes, don't bite off more than you can chew this fall....

The Vital Importance of Community
Discover why people in a particular kind of community die of old age, rather than from heart disease and cancer.

Renewing Limited Government: Regulations
America's 40th president said many spot-on things about the massive growth of government his "progressive" foes always sought. One of my favorite quotes is this little quip Ronald Reagan had to say about the federal government: "It's like a baby. It's an alimentary canal with an appetite on one end and no sense of responsibility on the other...."

Vacation Can Be Good For Your Business
No matter what you do, if you're like my clients, you have to bring your "A game" to your work every day. If you own your own business, your performance (and, therefore, your vitality and level of energy) are key to the company's success. Some entrepreneurs claim they don't have the time (or, ironically, the energy) to undertake a "health kick;" however, staying fit is good for business....

Who's Inspiring You Today?
Draw inspiration from the great people in your life, wherever you find them - don't leave out the ones with whom you don't agree on everything. Cultivate that inspiration. Because now it's your turn... you have to live a life that inspires the generations to come....

Even In Small Bites, Spending Is Hard To Swallow
I'm a nice guy, right? And I really hate to be critical. Really, I do. But I find myself needing to level some biting criticism at what the U.S. administration is cooking up these days....

Live Right, Work Hard, And Trust Your Team
Yesterday, I saw something remarkable during a professional football game, the likes of which I used to see all the time but haven't seen in awhile. It was a stunning last-minute comeback led by a young, much maligned quarterback, whose skills are thought by experts to be suspect and whose most prominent strength seems to be that elusive and hard-to-quantify "will" to win....

Renewing Limited Government: Litigation
You can't convince me that tort reform can't be successful in America. You can't tell me that damages can't be limited without limiting the true freedom of Americans. And if you could institute such limits, the overall society would greatly benefit from the added freedom enjoyed by the marketplace....

Self-Pity or Self-Compassion
Do you understand the difference between self-pity and self-compassion?

Tough Times Giving You A Headache?

Hey, it's no secret that times are tough, and you (or someone you know) might be developing some health complications to go along with the wealth complications our society is facing these days. There's a lot of stress out there, and though some stress is okay (and necessary), an out-of-balance excess of stress can cause a lot of trouble for your vitality. And one of the most common stress-related maladies is the onset of chronic tension headaches....

Inspirational Leadership: The Art Of Appreciation

The most inspirational leaders are, first, inspired people. Though they might seem scarce, you can still find inspired folks out there, going through the same hard times and working the same kinds of jobs as everyone else... but they set themselves naturally apart through their upbeat everyday actions. And if you study them, as I have, you find they start by developing an ability to appreciate people....

Hoping For A Meaningful Change

Babies are helpless little critters who need their forebears to take care of every aspect of their lives. Mom and Dad need to feed the baby, clothe the baby, bathe the baby, shelter the baby, teach the baby, and save money so they can educate the baby and help the baby get a good start in life. And regularly, when the baby (who can't do ANY of this for himself) gets stinky, he needs Mom and Dad to change his smelly pants....

The Spooky Rise Of Halloween
You may recall that "A Christmas Carol" is indeed a ghost story... but I'll bet most people watch the movie only at Christmas time. I prefer to use the film to remind myself to keep Halloween in its proper place - as a fun, spooky holiday for kids - and to keep Christmas on top as my personal favorite holiday....

Great Leadership Requires Inspiration, VII
I hope this true story gives you a little inspiration... because without becoming and staying personally inspired, you can never be an inspirational leader for others. Whether you own your own business, or your leadership mission is undertaken in the service of a firm you don't own, you want to be as inspirational a leader as you can be these days....

Renewing Limited Government: Limit Unions
We can, and must, limit the runaway growth of corrupt labor unions in America. Workers should have the choice to organize, but not be forced to be bled by high dues and high taxes which go to ruin the very companies that employ them. Keep the unions... but limit them to the good and noble function for which they're intended....

Don't Worry: Eat Fat And Be Happy
Guess what! Not only should you pull up short of cutting all the fat out of your diet, you should actually make sure you're getting enough of the right kind of fat. Your very happiness might depend on it....

Real Hope For The Future
I couldn't be more proud of my offspring - all of them - but since it's her birthday today, I'll tell you about my youngest. As far as I know, she's not a celebrity (and also not wanted by law enforcement)... she's just a "normal" twenty-something. But if all normal twenty-something Americans were more like my daughter, we'd indeed have a bright future in store....

They Sure Make Oakland Look Like Paradise!
A few years ago my company sponsored a sales contest (back when companies were allowed to do business by selling things). It was a big deal. First prize was a week-long vacation in Hawaii. Second prize was a week in San Diego. Third prize was a week in Palm Springs. There was also a consolation prize for next-to-last place: a week in Oakland....

I'll Do It In A Minute... Or Maybe I Won't
Do you suffer from distractability? Do you put off starting things? This piece on procrastination is just for you!

Inspirational Leadership: The Happy Accident

A good executive coach can help you skill-up with techniques to help bring out the best in your people. But whether you own a business or work as a leader (emerging or established) in an organization, the first step toward greater inspirational leadership is to stop trying to inspire others before you've done the work to rekindle your own personal inspiration. And the best coaches help you do THAT as a top priority....

Renewing Limited Government: Tenure Limits
Limit the factory of big-government liberalism that the American academic institution has become, and you'll go far toward restoring freedom, prosperity, and strength to America (and to the worldwide economy she leads). And the easiest first step toward a more sane academe would be to limit faculty tenure at all schools, colleges, and universities....

Don't Go Into The Water - Yet
This July's edition of the journal "Medicine, Science and the Law" reported findings that might interest you if you're a swimmer. It's a little morbid: the researchers basically conducted a review of 536 autopsies, and they found that nearly eighty percent of those who'd drowned accidentally did have visible stomach contents. Mom was right: it's dangerous to eat and swim....

Inspirational Leadership: The Art Of Appreciation II
I've written often about the primary "need" expressed by most of my clients - the need (or desire) to increase their inspirational leadership. I've also written a good deal about the two basic types of people out there - the Entrepreneur, and the Victim. It turns out the two concepts are linked. It's all about appreciation of yourself and of others....

If You Can't Win On Merit, Cheat!
Seen another boffo Republican presidential debate on the TV contraption t'other night... well, part of it, anyway. And I got to thinking: Man, I want that deal! I want to be up in front of all those people, getting to say all those smart things, being the guy who has all the answers on how to fix America....

Take Care Of Your Business
Are you taking care of your business? Today, whether you own a commercial enterprise or not, you are pretty-much in business for yourself. And your business will take care of you, ultimately, if you take care of your business....

Inspirational Leadership: Do It Your Way

If you want to be a more inspirational leader, as do most of my clients, you first have to be inspired. It's natural to think of inspirational role models who've helped ignite your passion for what you do (whether you own your own business or toil in the service of an organization) and think, "I want to do what he does," or "I want to be more like her." That might work... but a lot of the time, it doesn't....

Renewing Limited Government: Currency Inflation
Slowly, over time (one might say, progressively), we can get rid of currency inflation and get back to a solid dollar. If we did, and we renewed the other essential limits on our government, we'd enter an era of unprecedented worldwide peace, strength, and prosperity....

Get Your Fill On Blueberry Hill
This summer, the University of Alabama at Birmingham released some research findings about one little thing you can do to reap healthy rewards, even if you're a busy person. Just eat your blueberries....

Low Morality Does Not Inspire People
Many of my clients want to be more inspirational as leaders, and like most of us, they have an eye on the interesting event that started as "Occupy Wall Street" and has now spread to include tiny protests that seek to "occupy everything" in America. Is this an example of inspirational leadership, or the spread of something closer to an infectious disease?

It's A Blurb! It's A Blame! It's Super Committee!
It was August, it was hot as heck, and the situation was dire. The president needed his credit limit increased in time for the holidays, or the world would be destroyed! So he took the sort of drastic action only a career politician with vast experience in community organizing could take: he appointed a committee....

Help Somebody Today
The ability to inspire others starts by being inspired yourself. If you are a sad-sack who sees no great passion in life and daily work, you'll never be a particularly inspirational leader. So find a way to turn on your own lights, and keep them lit, and you'll have great potential as an inspirational leader....

Why Small Government Is Better
I've written at length about what I see as the biggest need in the United States today: renewing limited government. Why? Because the strength and prosperity of free people throughout the world depends on limited government in the U.S. The more government grows, the more the economy shrinks, taking down with it the freedom, prosperity, and strength of all free nations....

Do You Really Need More Reasons To Exercise?
You know you have to work hard to keep from getting madly out of shape in the next few weeks. If you already have a personal vitality program, good for you... the battle will be easier. If not, it's probably an excellent time to start....

Thankful For The President - Really
Happy Thanksgiving. And here's to the president. I wouldn't say he's the founder of our feast, but he's a decent fellow, our elected leader, and a person worthy of at least some gratitude from all of us....

The Trouble With "Capitalism"

Finally, it dawned on me that the president does, indeed, have a grand plan for fixing the mess we're in, and you Obama-fans are to be heartily congratulated for knowing this erudite leader would be smart enough to solve it all. He isn't borrowing mountains of cash from China... no! He's selling off unneeded portions of the U.S. to the Peoples' Republic! Starting with Hawaii. Which is why Hawaii is now part of Asia, which is why the president said that, probably....

Don't Try To Convert A Victim

Whatever your career aspirations, you will not arrive at your destination without learning how to deal with the Victims you'll encounter. Find your own style - every effective leader's is different. And whatever you do, don't fall victim to victimhood yourself. You are an Entrepreneur in spirit, and a positive inspirational leader as demonstrated in the activities you do in just being yourself, every day....

The Investment You Can Create
Think about it: every professional who's hung out a shingle and built a client list has created property. Every writer who's published a book has created property. Everyone who's ever come up with a good idea and turned it into a commercial enterprise has created property....

Are You Running For "Victim?"
My name is Joe Average, America, and I'm here today to announce that I'm running a campaign. I'm here to announce that I'm a candidate. For a heart attack....

One Of The Most Inspiring Leaders Ever
This is an ode to one of the most inspirational leaders I've ever known: my wife. And since I've had the privilege to meet and work with a surprising number of the world's best business leaders over the past several years, calling her that is saying something....

The Turkeys We Send To D.C.
You've heard the old joke, the one they tell every year at this time: "Know why they aren't having Thanksgiving in (Chicago)? They sent the turkey to Washington!" Usually, the quip refers to the president - any president - but lately, all the elected federal officials from both parties have been particularly turkey-like....

There's A Reason Holidays Are For Kids

Life's too short, and my clients - busy, accomplished people all - are often in danger of letting too much of their lives go by without inspiration. You know how to seek out the sort of inspiration that works for you, and where to find it. Don't let the busy-ness of your daily life become an excuse for failing to be inspired. It's inspiration, and inspirational leadership, that truly makes your business worth doing in the first place....

Progressivism Isn't Progress

If you own a business, or seek to build wealth through investing, watch out. Beware the march toward big-government tyranny euphemistically labeled "progressivism" these days. Things will get much worse before they get better, no matter what we do now... but if we're committed to real American ideals, business (and the people) will return one day to prosperity. The first step, though arduous, is clear: halt progressivism, wherever you find it, in order to return to progress....

Get Your Mechanics Adjusted
Whether you own a business, or work as a leader in an organization, or simply make your living through investing (nearly all of my clients fit into one of those categories), you need to take personal responsibility for your own vitality. Your mission (possibly even the life of your company) depends on your personal vitality and energy. By the way: so does your own happy life....

Have You Counted Your Blessings Lately?
'Tis the season to count your blessings... just as it was last month, and just as it will be next month, and the month after. Each of us contains two basic characters - the Entrepreneur, and the Victim, and we'll each by dominated by the character we "feed." Counting (and recounting) your blessings feeds your inner Entrepreneur, and starves the lesser self I call your inner Victim....

Workers Of The World, Untie!

Maybe the reason a community organizer could rise to the highest office in the land is that, well, the leftist community has always been in great need of organization. The trouble with socialism, as Maggie Thatcher said, is that you eventually run out of other people's money... but the trouble with socialists seems to be that they can't ever agree on which of them is best suited for totalitarian leadership of the Utopia they envision....

Christmas Present: Put A Tebow On It

Inspirational leadership requires that you be inspired, first and foremost. So to deliver a fresh dose of inspiration, please pardon me if I bring in the "G-word" today - "God." Because whether or not you are a fan of the unabashedly-religious Tim Tebow, or of my beloved Denver Broncos (for whom he plays), or even of sports in general... I'm here today to tell you that you are Ebenezer Scrooge, and the Spirits are coming to call....

Progressivism Isn't Progress, II
In graduate school, they taught us the parable of The Boiling Frog... and, though I think they meant us to take away a different lesson, the parable provides a perfect way to describe "progressivism:" the slow war against freedom, strength, and prosperity being waged in the United States since the late 19th century....

Think About Your Health!
How many Christmas parties have you visited so far this season? I've visited at least a dozen - a couple as a guest and a few in my role as a singer with the Original Dickens Carolers in Colorado. And there are plenty more to come. How, during this festive season, do you keep from making too many bad dietary choices?

Personal Initiative Is Not Dead
If you want to be a more inspirational leader (as do most of my clients), you have to be inspired. One way you'll know you're getting there is when you find yourself inexplicably driven to take on big challenges against tall odds....

Dickens Would Love "A Broncos Carol"
The ol' Broncos were dead - as dead as a doornail. This must be clearly understood (and at 1-4, believe me, it was clearly understood), or nothing of the miraculous can be perceived in that which follows....

'Tis The Season To Count Blessings
There are two types of person out there (actually, within each of us) - the Entrepreneur, who's a glass-is-half-full optimist, and the Victim, for whom life is always bad and getting worse. The holidays seem to amplify these types: during the holiday season, you see these two characters almost overplay their parts. The happy are happier... the sad are downright miserable....

The Academic Roots Of Progressivism
It all started when America decided to hire an erudite professor - a guy who sold things like hope and change, a guy who sounded smart when he said not-so-smart things, a guy who looked better than his Republican opponents - to the presidency. They wanted a change. They just forgot that, when things change, they might get worse - not better....

You're Getting Sleepy... Sleepy...
It was just one of those mornings... I woke up after only four hours of sleep, and I just couldn't get back to Dreamland. My brain insisted on getting on with the day, well before my body was ready....

How Snow Can Give You A Warm Feeling
I've lived in Colorado most of my life, so I have to admit that my approach to snow is unconventional. OK, some would call it eccentric. In fact, many have called me rubber-room-crazy, right to my face, for the way I tend to dress when it's snowing....

The Year That Wasn't
So here's a look back at some zany highlights from 2011 - stories you never heard, and which, according to the media and the government, never actually happened....

Appreciate Your Adversaries
It's the season of love and joy. Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus, who brought a message of love to the world and taught us to love our enemies... which many of us find hard to do. If you struggle with loving your enemies, maybe you can start by appreciating your adversaries....

Progressivism Isn't Progress, IV

The progressives have erected a formidable fortress in the American administrative state. With it, they may well achieve their Holy Grail objective - the collapse of the free market system, the eradication of prosperity, the "equalization" of everyone, and totalitarian government control of the population. We will cease completely to be the nation we were established to be (and the nation we've struggled to act like for decades). We'll still have a "one percent," but they'll be our government masters, not our entrepreneurial employers....

You've Seen This Movie Before

With the cinema season on the top of my mind, yet ever-mindful of my health habits (as well as those of my coaching clients, whether they own a business or carry out a different kind of leadership mission), I was intrigued to read about a study reported earlier this year in the "Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin." Researchers studied popcorn consumption by movie patrons, and their findings were interesting....

What A Beautiful Year
It was a weird year, and in many ways, a difficult year. It was a year of uncertainty, even a year of adversity for many people. It was a mean year for politics, a brutal year for business, and a disastrous year for the economy. But it was also a beautiful year....

Thank (God) For Godless Holidays
Now that the holidays are over, we can get back to the business of America. And thank God - no, strike that, thank the "community" - we have a president who understands what the business of America is (crony socialism, of course!)....

Creating Synchronicity in Your Life
Synchronicity is the coming together of two of more events at just the right time and place. Find out how to take control of your life in order to start creating more synchronicity and to move towards a more compelling positive future.

Appreciate Your Adversaries, II

We all end up with adversaries in life - people who seem to oppose you at every turn, sometimes for no particular good reason. You've met a few strong Entrepreneur-types, though, who seem to acknowledge the reality of adversaries but live as though their aspiration is not to have any opponents at all. That type of person has realized that appreciating her adversaries is an excellent form of attitude maintenance, that it keeps her better nature strong while leaving her lesser nature wanting....

Progressivism Isn't Progress, V

Collectivists in the United States knew a bloody revolution wouldn't work in America... so they sought to achieve the same ends slowly, through the "evolution" of progressivism. They've been called liberals, socialists, left-wingers, and a variety of other terms - but the "politically correct" label they prefer is "progressive." That's because the term reminds you of "progress" - but progressivism is anything but....

Get Happy To Get Healthy
If you want to look around for reasons to be depressed and unhappy, you'll have an easy time of it these days, no doubt. The economy's in a shambles, a lot of people are out of work (you might be one of them)... and if you own a business, or run somebody else's business, you know it's very tough sledding out there. It's easy to fall into a victim's attitude....

Get Inspired: Silence Your Cell Phone
We're blessed to be able to spend some of the winter in our second home in California, and here, it's time for the Palm Springs Film Festival. There are few indoor activities as fun as watching movies (I didn't say there were none), and we often think of early January as "cinema season." And for those seeking inspiration, the movie theater may be just the place....

Maintaining Our Spending Superiority

Now that the long-awaited second Carter term is entering its fourth year, we should not be surprised that the president is finally getting a handle on defense spending. He was on the TV contraption the other day, announcing we'll be slashing our defense budget, but "we'll still maintain our military superiority." After all, he argues, we ought to be able to get by on a budget still greater than that of the next ten nations combined....

Appreciate Your Adversaries, III

Who are your "adversaries" these days? You probably have one or two (hopefully not a lot more than two) people who seem to oppose you in work, and in life. In some cases, your adversary sets himself in solid, committed opposition to you, and can't be dealt with in any way but to fight the good fight and defeat him. But for most of life's adversaries, I'd say it's better to first try a little appreciation....

Progressivism Isn't Progress, VI

One of the big ways the progressives seek your support is to continuously adjust your expectations downward - your expectations of prosperity and abundance, of lifestyle, of enjoying the fruits of honest labor, of a long and happy life itself. They constantly bombard you with messages about how unfair all of those things are, and how evil it supposedly is that some enjoy prosperous lives while others don't....

The More You Sweat, The Less You "Sweat"

You've heard that wonderful expression, "Don't sweat the small stuff... and it's all small stuff!" In fact, I'm pretty sure some writer has made a boatload of money with little books bearing similarly-worded titles. But the fact is, if you own a business - or if your leadership mission is a challenging, "entrepreneurial" one - you have to sweat the small stuff. It often seems as though your business and mission depend on it....

Get Your Mind Out Of The Gutters

I'm an inspirational leader, and that's because I'm an inspired person. Being inspired is a prerequisite to inspiring others - a fact of which I often remind my clients. So whether it's in the board room, on the shop floor, in your business, or out in your father-in-law's back yard, you should look for inspiration anywhere you can find it. If you didn't have the opportunity today to get dirty helping an old man clean out his roof gutters, I feel sorry for you. Because it did me a world of good....

Health Habits: Supplement Your Brain
Guess what! Your brain does not operate on its own… it’s attached to the rest of you. If you keep your body healthy, your brain will be healthier too, and you will be giving your brain a better chance to help you stay smarter and live a longer life of abundance and vitality....

Progressivism Isn't Progress, VII

I still hear otherwise-brilliant people (including the erudite Newt Gingrich and talented talker Glenn Beck) refer to this "progressivism of the right," claiming that it leads to fascism as inexorably as "progressivism of the left" leads to communism. That's wrong. It's true that progressivism is a disease that's infected all major American institutions of influence, including both political parties, but in fact progressivism only "progresses" in one direction: toward the left, toward big government, and toward totalitarian statism....

Appreciate Your Adversaries, IV

On the occasion of the annual holiday honoring the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., it's appropriate to think again about how to be a more inspirational leader. Being more inspiring is one of the top goals of most of my leadership clients, and they know it all starts by being more inspired themselves. And a great technique employed by inspirational leaders is to learn to appreciate their adversaries....

Corporations Are Not People!
So we're hanging out in California the other day, because space travel is now affordable and we thought we'd explore a different planet and see if we could find any intelligent life. We didn't. But we did find a lady in a wheel chair, rolling around a resort city with a big sign reading "Corporations Are Not People!" and collecting alms....

How's Your Masterpiece Coming Along?
We were hanging out in Malibu this week, because we can, and we decided to go see what "The Getty Villa" is all about. I figured we'd spend a few minutes walking through the rich guy's old house, checking out some cool antique furniture and remnants of an opulent lifestyle of the past. Turns out it's a huge, full-blown art museum, and four hours later we still hadn't really seen it all....

The More You Sweat... The Less!

One Percent Rap, Dog!
Let's rap about that evil One Percent, testament! They cry, they occupy, downtown in stinky tents. Ain't fair that some got money, while other mothers don't... even if they risk and work while other mothers won't? But take from the residents, and give to the government, all you gonna get is just a different One Percent....

Appreciate Your Adversaries, V

This series has focused on how you can make your own life happier (and more productive) by learning to appreciate your adversaries. It's true: sometimes, you have to oppose and defeat a committed adversary; but you'll often do better by starting with a mindset of appreciation. See your opponent as just another human, like yourself. Find something good about her. And remember - from her perspective, you are the adversary... and you need to learn why....

Progressivism Isn't Progress, VIII
It sounds like "progress," but that's only one example of how they deftly make one thing look (or sound) like another in order to produce the desired emotional effect. Everyone likes progress! But few people realize that progressivism is about as far from progress as tyranny is from liberty....

The NEWSS Helps Keep The Bugs Away
You're going to pick up bugs, such as cold viruses, from time to time. But how badly they affect you, and how long they stay around, depends on how well you're doing on keeping yourself vital and strong. The better your health habits, the better you'll fare against the bugs....

Great Leadership Requires Inspiration

Go out and take a walk. As you stroll around your city, town, or countryside, think of all the good things about it and remember why you chose to live there. Get out of town and take a hike in nature. As you walk around, think about all the wonderful things about your state or nation, and why you're blessed to live there. Walk around your home, inside and out, and think about all the reasons your own home is such a blessing, too....

What's With The Party-Pooper In Chief?

Normally I'm very supportive of our president. After all, he has the toughest job on the planet, and it must be incredibly difficult to get up every day and do the often-self-abasing things he has to do to get the job done (meaning, get re-elected with a record of "governance" like his). But he's really dropped the ball on this Keystone Pipeline thing. I mean, Mardi Gras is right around the corner, and he's depriving the gulf states of the smoothest Got-danged beer out there....

Appreciate Your Adversaries, VI

Learn to recognize when your adversary is a person who's in a tough spot - but still your teammate - and when they're an enemy who needs to be defeated. Even if you think you can't turn the relationship around, remember that, for most of the adversaries you end up with, appreciation is the way to go. Especially if you're serious about being an inspirational leader. Get known as an appreciative leader, and you'll inspire everyone around you....

Progressivism Isn't Progress, IX

If the progressives get their way, your efforts to do your best will not only be unappreciated, they'll be opposed. The mass victim mentality that will dominate the society will replace "Be all you can be" with "Who do you think you are?"... "Work hard to get ahead" with "Why do you think you can have something I don't have?"... and "It's important to make a good impression" with "Why are you trying to make the rest of us look bad?" When "fairness" reigns, personal excellence will become a bad thing....

Health Habits: Get Fit, Save Money

You know what they say: "The road to Hell is paved with good intentions." That's what's happening with health care in the United States, and perhaps throughout the world of "Western socialism" today. The good intentions which may have spawned such government interventions as the recent American health law ("Obamacare") seek to reduce the overall cost to society of medical care. But, like most liberal or big-government initiatives, Obamacare is actually dramatically increasing health care costs while radically reducing the quality and availability of care....

Great Leadership Requires Inspiration, II

In the first part of this series, I talked about planting the seeds for personal inspiration... about beginning to take a positive view of the people you know, the society of which you're a part, the place in which you choose to live. Next, to keep yourself inspired, you need to develop habits which bring balance to what you put into your mind and heart. You need to make it your goal to stay inspired; it should be part of your professional practice as a leader. Here are four practices to start with....

Smartest President EVER!
We're in a tight spot here in America, possibly because NO ONE could've realized how badly the previous U.S. administration had balled things up - not even the smartest president ever, who got us to give him the job based on the assurance that he - and only he - could fix it. Here we are, though, more than three years later, and just look at how brilliantly it's all coming together....

First Blame Yourself -- The Amazing Opportunity In Responsibility
Learning that the buck stops with you and learning to take responsibility for your own actions is one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself.

Appreciate Your Adversaries, VII

Inspirational leaders learn to recognize the difference between the small percentage of opponents they encounter who can't be won-over, and the vast majority of adversaries - the ones who might be ameliorated or even converted to willing participants in collaborative relationships. Strong leaders learn to see the good in others, and to focus more on being appreciative and less on showing they can give an incisive critiques....

Progressivism Isn't Progress, X

The word "progessive" sounds good, because it makes you think of "progress." But since it is slowly taking America (and the rest of the world) away from the principles of liberty, private property, and limited government upon which the nation was founded (and which made the United States the greatest engine of strength and prosperity for all the world's peoples in the history of the human race), progressivism definitely isn't progress....

Keep The NEWSS In Mind
It's not about politics. Whether or not they're fans of the president and his party (and his other policies), Americans generally are not fans of the health care reform legislation they pushed through two years ago and are now in the process of implementing. It will change the nation economically, for sure, but it will also make deep changes in the way Americans keep themselves healthy....

The Power of Responsibility!
Responsibility is not something we "put" on ourselves, something someone inflicts on us, it is a first step to ensuring things are going to get better.

Great Leadership Requires Inspiration, III

Inspirational leadership - or more of it, anyway - is the goal of many of my coaching clients. Increasingly, leaders recognize that command-and-control isn't enough to get the job done these days, when a generation of their teammates are more interested in "having" a job than in "doing" the job the leader remembers signing up for years ago. So, since inspirational leadership requires being an inspired person, we've been talking about how to become more personally inspired....

Again, With The Occupation?
Are you overcome with a feeling of deja vu, all over again? If you're like me (and I know I am), you might be. Just four short years ago, in 2008, some giants from New York won an epic contest over some patriots, despite the fact the patriots were favored. And it's, like, happening again....

Appreciate Your Adversaries, VIII
No. You don't have to do this. You might do it anyway... we all do, sometimes... but you don't have to. You're bigger and better than that. And your unexpected (and undeserved) extension of kindness and patience might be just what your adversary needs to save his day, his month, his year, his job, or even his life....

Progressivism Isn't Progress, XI
Things we used to think were outlandish are now business-as-usual. Things we used to do, or say, or even think, have now been proclaimed wrong and bad... and we no longer do, or say, or try to think those things. That's progressivism....

When You're Hot, You Really Are Hot!

Ever hear that old expression, "When you're hot, you're hot"...? There was even a popular song in the early 1970s with the same hook - the chorus proclaimed that when you're hot, you're hot... and when you're not, you're not. The idea is that, sometimes, you just get on a roll. Things are going well, and maybe your luck is on a high... but mostly, YOU are performing well. And each success drives you to another, greater success....

Great Leadership Requires Inspiration, IV

It's made me sad, over the years, to see so many promising young leaders (and business owners) who just don't seem to have any passion - for anything. They're all very good at what they do... but by the time they get to me (or any number of my fellow executive coaches), they've come to a point in their lives and careers where they're just not into it. And the first thing they want me to tell them is how they can find their passion....

Eat Your Vegetables... Or ELSE!
"Your pet carrot will live," the doctor said, "but it's going to be a vegetable for the rest of its life." Maybe you've heard that old joke, and you've probably heard the old expression "You are what you eat." Synthesize these two, and add the recent brainless activity of a guv'mint school lunch inspector, and you see how serious our dear leaders are about eating vegetables....

Appreciate Your Adversaries, IX
You have an adversary or two in your life... someone who seems to oppose you at every turn... someone you're thinking about right now, without whom life would be so much easier. How have you dealt with that person? Have you tried showing him some kindness, or empathy, with the crazy notion that you might just turn the relationship around? Have you tried appreciation?

Progressivism Isn't Progress, XII

Taking the country back from the progressives is the biggest project we've ever faced - even bigger than the World Wars and the Great Depression (which many now believe was caused by the very governmental intrusion that purported to "solve" it). In fact, in the progressive movement, America may finally have met her match. We may well end up willingly destroying ourselves, generations after other "super power" regimes learned the same lessons we're about to learn the hard way....

Health Habits: Protect Against Cancer

Cancer is still one of the biggest threats to your life. Medical advances have made cancer a little less of an absolute death sentence, but it's still pretty scary. Life in our modern world makes it nearly impossible to keep toxins out of our bodies... and one result of an overly-toxic life can be the growth of cancer. New research, though, points out the cancer-fighting qualities of certain nutrients you may be overlooking....

Great Leadership Requires Inspiration, V

Are you inspired? If you are not an inspired person, with a wealth of experiences and perspectives which have served to ignite your passion for what you do, you will never be an inspirational leader. Great leadership - the sort of leadership others see as inspirational - requires the leader to be personally inspired. That's why you hear the most inspirational leaders tell stories from time to time: it's a great way to "harvest" the inspiration they've developed in themselves and offer it to others....

Your Own Inner Work Affects the Whole World!
You have more of an effect on the world than you know!

End-Of-Life Counseling For America
That President Obama ROCKS! I know, right? I mean, we need to re-elect that dude right away, if for no other reason than his awesome health care reforms... he's a man with a plan for our country. An end-of-life plan....

Appreciate Your Adversaries, X
If you can appreciate your adversaries, you can be an inspirational leader. If you can't, chances are you'll never be seen as more than a competent manager... and, over time, even that modest sort of reputation might be beyond your reach....

The Conscience Of A Restorationist
As a freedom-loving wealth-mongerer, you have an important restoration project to undertake. You have to do your part to help restore America to the free-market Constitutional republic it once was, and can be again. Our freedom to start a business, run an enterprise, build prosperity, protect ourselves, seek Divine grace, and pursue happiness depends on this project of American restoration....

Giving To Others: Draining Or Fulfilling?
Do you get drained or fulfilled in giving to others? Discover why!

Great Leadership Requires Inspiration, VI

If you're like most of my coaching clients, you are always on the lookout for ways to improve your leadership - and you want to be a more inspirational leader. One thing we've learned over the years of leadership counseling is that, if you want to be inspirational for others (especially as a leader), you have to be inspired. Almost anyone can hold down a solid management job, but great leadership requires inspiration....

Easing The Radical Transformation
You gotta hand it to the president: he's got that whole transparency thing going on, big time. He told us four years ago that, if elected, he'd radically transform the United States of America... and, boy howdy, has he ever! You can hardly recognize the place....

Take Care Of Your Business, II

You are in business for yourself, regardless of where you work or who owns the cash flow you're helping create. Even a government worker with an entrepreneurial spirit realizes she's a business, and sees her employer as the biggest (perhaps exclusive) customer for her time, energy, and talents. The sooner you realize this key foundation for a good career attitude, the better and faster your career will progress....

The Conscience Of A Restorationist, III

With the explosion of progressivism in America, every major institution that influences public opinion has been overrun by collectivist/statists, from the movie theater to the classroom. That means that your kids (along with the rest of us) are constantly bombarded with leftist messages. Every day, they hear that business is the problem and ever-bigger government is the solution. They are told all the time that anyone who opposes Barack Obama and the current statist government is a racist, a bigot, a homophobe, a sexist, and a greedy wealth-mongerer....

Health Habits: Play That Funky Music!
I know, you're very busy with your business. Whether you own your own company, or your entrepreneurial spirit is fulfilled in your work for someone else's firm, you're so busy you often struggle to find time to consistently undertake key health habits, such as exercise. But you need to make time for your vitality, whatever it takes. Your business, and your mission, depend on it....

Great Leadership Requires Inspiration, VIII
You're a leader, and you want to be a great one. You want to be a more inspirational leader, an ambassador of the entrepreneurial spirit whether you work in the employ of an organization or you own your own business. Whatever your mission, if you're like most of my coaching clients, you know things will go better if you can be a great, inspirational leader....

This Election Year's A Gas!
This week, the new numbers came out, and wow! The president's approval number is now 5.29.9, and gas is at 41%... of your life savings. And they've stopped putting a number on unemployment - the Bureau of Labored Statistics is simply calling it "dang near all y'all"....

Take Care Of Your Business, III
Lately, it's been all-the-fashion to talk about the "evils" of competition. Especially in America, where current election-year rhetoric features quite a bit of hot air about "fairness," "corporations are not people," and "shame on The One Percent," leaders play to the inner "Victim" of their constituents by claiming the government can make sure everyone gets their fair share of life's bounty....

The Conscience Of A Restorationist, IV

What's your project? You could do something related to the media, or you could start a business, or you could write a book. How about politics? Most of us never think of ourselves as "political" in our mindset (the progressives are much more into that)... but it's true that evil will flourish when good people do nothing. So some of us need to take on a project in politics, in order to aid the restoration of America. Here are some thought-starters....

Your Business Depends On Your Vitality

Being an entrepreneur is demanding. Many of my clients are entrepreneurs, and they're characterized by a willingness (some might say a compulsion) to work much harder than the average person. Whether you own a business, or you're the type of entrepreneur who's simply on a driven mission in your existing job, you probably push yourself pretty hard. In some cases, that admirable work ethic can be pushed too far....

Great Leadership Requires Inspiration, IX

Assertive leaders can be quite inspiring. People who don't believe this are often confusing assertiveness with aggressiveness; the difference is that assertiveness is merely confident presence and expression, while aggressiveness is generally about "winning" and, in fact, about inflicting some sort of harm on another. Naturally, you wouldn't be at all inspired by an aggressive person, but you might well find an assertive person inspiring....

The War On Women!

March 1st (or maybe it was February 29th... I don't remember exactly... sometime that week, anyway): A date which will live in INFAMY! In a sudden and deliberate attack by the empire of treacherous tea-partiers, Republicans, entrepreneurs, what have ya, Admiral Rush Limbaugh called a woman a bad name. The Demediacrat Coalition was quick to respond, though, with a targeted smart-bomb of rhetoric describing Limbaugh's gaffe as the first salvo in the Republican Party's WAR on women....

The Conscience Of A Restorationist, V

We must restore America, as founded. What project can you dream up and take on? How can you help the restoration? Educate yourself, then write a book. Teach a class at a local college. Start a business. Take on an entrepreneurial initiative within your existing business. Or work on restoring something we used to have in America and which would've come in handy when the progressives conducted their insidious campaign: journalism....

What Do I Need Zinc For, Again?

What's the one thing business owners and leaders have to do better than anything else? Well, thinking and deciding are probably right at the top of any list of your "must-haves" if you own your own business or make your living as a leader. You have to keep your mind sharp. What might not be as obvious - it certainly hasn't been obvious to some of my over-stressed clients - is that your mind's health depends on your body's....

Take Care Of Your Business, V
What makes a leader? If you think about it, the only real requirement for being a leader is to have someone follow you. Look around: you have followers, whether or not you are officially labeled a "boss" of anyone....

The Conscience Of A Restorationist, VI

What can you do? You might run for office or support a campaign, seeking to restore freedom to our nation's political process. You might write letters or start asking questions at public meetings, seeking to restore true "citizen journalism" as the watchdog for our freedoms. Or you could unleash your entrepreneurial spirit by doing the one thing Americans have always done better than anyone: start and run a business....

Make It Your Business To Exercise
The most successful entrepreneurs are characterized by good health and vitality. They don't let the daily grind of running a business (or driving a leadership mission) keep them from taking care of themselves... they know their business and mission depend on their own energy level and fitness, and they make it a priority to stay healthy....

Great Leadership Requires Inspiration, XI
Give some thought to how you can build your inspirational leadership by becoming a great influencer (and influencee). Do some reading, get some coaching, and go for it. You have nothing to lose but the perception others might have that you think you have everything figured out already....

What Grinch Stole Dr. Seuss' Lorax?
Dr. Seuss has passed on. But he left to his niece, for her garden, a wonderful, magical piece. This piece for his niece was so magical that you would have to say anyone'd want this small statue. But now it is gone. Purloined from the lawn! The niece says the piece is now gone from the lawn....

Take Care Of Your Business, VI

It's Easter-time, and it seems like an appropriate time to talk about this notion of the ability to "rise again." Jesus rose from the dead; and, just as we Christians can take good lessons from the leaders and founders of other religions, anyone can take a worldly lesson from the event celebrated this time of year. You'll get knocked down in life. Will you get back up? A true Entrepreneur will get back up every time....

The Conscience Of A Restorationist, VII

America's in the midst of a great ideological struggle - perhaps the most important such struggle since the Civil War. The very existence of America (at least as founded) is at stake. On one side are "progressive" statists, masters of divisive politics, who seek to centralize control over American life within a powerful authoritarian government. Their only opposition is found among those who seek to restore America to limited government and a free-market, opportunity-based society....

Be A Model For Your Kids

Do you have little kids in your home? If so, I applaud your courage and hard work - it takes plenty of both to raise kids these days. When they reach a certain age (around adolescence), you may become convinced otherwise, but your kids take most of their cues from you. You should do whatever you can to keep yourself healthy for your own sake - but developing (and displaying) great health habits is even more important when you have kids watching everything you do....

Great Leadership Requires Inspiration, XII

If you aspire to be a more inspirational leader, as do the majority of my clients, it means you dare to relate with people around their most important problems, and in the most meaningful way possible. It's a challenge. If it weren't hard, you probably wouldn't feel like it was worth taking on. But if you work closely with the toughest people on the toughest problems, you're going to experience interpersonal conflict. Someone's going to step on someone's toes....

Mom! He Got More Than I Got!

You will always find "prosperity" after "progressivism." That is, if by "always find," you are referring to looking these two words up in the dictionary. In the real world, of course, it turns out to be just the opposite... and subversives in our culture, from those who own a business to those who support one-percenters like Mitt Romney, always seem to fall all over themselves pointing this out....

Take Care Of Your Business, VII
Things are tough these days, and you often feel as though your dreams are going down to defeat. But take care of your business, at all costs. Hang in there, and you'll lick 'em tomorrow....

The Conscience Of A Restorationist, VIII
There's room for thousands of personal restoration projects in our education system. What's yours? You may be able to take on a big project, or yours might be modest... but no project is too small for such an important restoration. The future of our country literally depends on it....

Take Care Of Your Business, VIII
Make, don't take. Expect to take care of yourself and others, not to be taken care of. Thinking of ways to create new opportunities beats sitting around and lamenting the opportunities politicians say you never got. It beats it every time....

Successful Entrepreneurs Have The Health Habit

You're no victim, you're an entrepreneur... so you've started a business, or you're just about to do so. You are not going to rely on the government, or on anyone else, for your livelihood. You're not going to wait around for the government's ham-handed efforts to reduce joblessness to have a positive impact on your life (which is good, because the prospects are not promising). You're going to create your own job, your own opportunities. And while you're at it, you're creating opportunities and jobs for others....

Great Leadership Requires Inspiration, XIII
If you want to be an inspirational leader, get inspired to coach other inspirational leaders. Stop babysitting your people, and look creatively for ways to make them the best they can be, and give them their best possible chance for success. In the process, you'll be your best, you'll be inspired, and you won't be able to avoid being an inspiration to others....

I Know: You Should Start A Business!
I bumped into an old buddy in cyberspace the other day, and we met for a quick drink to catch up. He had decided to start a business, possibly because there has always been something seriously wrong with the guy, so of course I wanted to hear all about it. We met at a little watering hole next-door to his business (a little downtown coffee shop)....

Can You Love Others?
What is loving to yourself and others is not always clear. This article presents some important questions to consider.

The Conscience Of A Restorationist, IX

We're not black or white, or hispanic... we're Americans. We're not men or women... we're Americans. We're not rich or poor... we're Americans. We’re not old or young… we’re Americans. We're supposed to be ONE nation, under God. We must hang together, or we'll be divided, and conquered. Whatever other restoration projects you take on - however you help restore our limited-government, free-market republic - make sure your values and behaviors bolster American unity. We value diversity in America, sure, but that doesn't mean we don't value unity. Unity is the foundation of our republic. Always has been, and always (as long as we can keep our republic) will be....

What Are You Sick And Tired Of?
Do what you can to keep your body healthy, and your energy high enough to drive your business mission. When your body is the battlefield between the bugs and the drugs, try to make sure you give the drugs the best chance they can have to help you win....

Great Leadership Requires Inspiration, XIV

There are many ways to coach another person, but two major strategies: the direct approach, which relies primarily on the coach's knowledge and experience, and the indirect approach, by which the coach seeks to ignite the coachee's inner wisdom. When you're coaching a junior person - a potential leader who's just rising in terms of her knowledge and experience - she'll be thankful when you stick with the direct approach....

Yellow Journalists Go Red, But Feel Blue

Obviously the only way to keep America safe and free is to gut as much of its citizens' strength and liberty as we can get away with, and the president and his Demediacrat coalition have been sprinting away with great chunks of both for three years. Running like they stole something - which they did! But now, when she needs it most, the government must step in to help one of its biggest allies. I'm referring, of course, to the New York Times....

Take Care Of Your Business, IX
Entrepreneurs aren't as concerned about "fairness." They want to make sure everything is good, and constantly getting better. Life is not about what they get, it's about what they become. For the Entrepreneur, it's all about being the best you can be - a mindset which is totally foreign to the Victim....

The Conscience Of A Restorationist, X

There are lots of projects you could take on to do your part in the great restoration of America. You could run for the school board. You could start a business. You could become a citizen journalist, a citizen educator, or a citizen candidate for office. You should pick something that's a good match with your own talents and skills. But whatever else you choose, it's not a bad idea to be a good neighbor....

Health Habits: Work At Home
Many of us don't have the luxury of working at home. Personally, I've commuted to work most of my adult life, and I've become very familiar with driving-and-parking, riding the bus, riding the train, and carpooling. But if you own a business, you might be well-served by exploring how much of your company's work can be done in the homes of your people....

Great Leadership Requires Inspiration, XV

Great leaders are inspirational leaders, and inspirational leaders are inspired people. What has inspired you? It might've been an impactful moment or event, or even the sort of personal awakening you might experience as you take in the beauty of the natural world. Most people will say they've been inspired by other people - sometimes in ways they didn't expect, and struggle to describe. The most inspirational leaders see the potential in others, and they help people discover inner inspiration....

Twice The Crime, In Half The Time!

As we learn daily in the national media, there's nothing wrong with America today that can't still be blamed on the guy who left the country in such a mess almost four years ago. You remember - when gas was around $1.90, unemployment was around four percent, and our national deficit was around $8 trillion. Look at any of these indicators, and it's easy to see why Demediacrats everywhere say Barack Obama is twice the president Bush was! And in half the time! Only hard-core capitalist pigs want that Bush mess back....

Take Care Of Your Business, X

We each will be dominated, to a greater or lesser extent, by the inner image we nourish. So a great way to feed your inner Entrepreneur (and starve your inner Victim) is to think of yourself as being in business for yourself, even if (and especially if), in a commercial sense, you are not. The Victim in your workplace acts as though it's the "company's" job to make sure he survives... the Entrepreneur next to him operates as though the company's survival depends upon her, and her performance. The two mindsets are completely opposed to one another....

The Conscience Of A Restorationist, XI

This year, we face a monumental choice in America, with nothing less at stake than the very nature (and future) of our nation. Forget the parties. Forget the candidates. Forget all the hype you hear, because more than nine-tenths of it will come only from the minority's brain-ray machine. All you need to know is this: some want you to see yourself as a loser, and they'll be feeding your inner Victim whenever they get a chance. When you see that, make sure you vote for their opponents, no matter what else you see or hear....

Health Habits: Berry Important

Deepak Chopra, M.D., famously noted that ninety-eight percent of the atoms in our bodies were not there a year ago. We're constantly regenerating! That makes your daily health habits particularly important, especially if you have the sort of busy schedule typical of most of my clients (leaders, consultants, and people who own a business). You want next year's body to be able to deliver the energy and vitality necessary to your mission....

Great Leadership Requires Inspiration, XVI
Get to know an inspirational leader, and you'll find she has two key attributes that less-inspiring people don't enjoy; she has great interpersonal awareness (meaning, she knows herself well and can accurately "read" other people), and she's driven by a deep sense of purpose....

Free '65 Haircut Sinks Romney's Campaign!
The point is that this Romney guy, aside from being a Republican and a churchgoer and a free-market businessman (all bad enough!), was caught possibly practicing unlicensed hairstyling...!

Take Care Of Your Business, XI

In your business mission, there will be times when you are off your game - just like an ordinarily-competent golfer who has a round in which he can't seem to hit the green to save his life. Before you reach for help from a pro, make sure you'll get the most out of your coaching by first coaching yourself. And don't be your own worst critic - be your own BEST critic with Brutal honesty, renewal of your personal standard of Excellence, a Sense of humor, and enough guts and adventure to keep Trying....

The Conscience Of A Restorationist, XII

I can't say I've always been an awesome American citizen. Like many people of my generation (especially those of us lucky enough to "come of age" during the Reagan administration), I had better things to do. I was working. I was starting and raising a family. I was getting on with my life, and I assumed our country's leaders had the situation under control. After all, the economy was booming, I could always get a better job, and the Cold War we'd all feared during my military service was over....

Health Habits: Fat Is Not Your Fate
If you own your own business, believe me, I know how hard it can be to justify what looks like a major investment of time and energy in becoming a regular at the gym… and unless your business calls for regular physical activity, you might be tempted to give up on exercise and let yourself fatten....

Great Leadership Requires Inspiration, XVII
Your personal brand of inspiration has to be genuine. That's why I generally advise my leadership clients to start with a style of inspirational leadership that would work on themselves. What have leaders done to inspire you? Start with those things. It's likely to be easier to inspire from a place of authenticity when you do....

What Is "Truth," Anyway?
I know it's an election year, and there are a few million radicals out there (Tea Partiers, capitalists, right-wingers, Constitutional restorationists, Republicans, and people who own a business) who keep fanning the flames of discontent with their subversive facts, but come on. Let's all just calm down. Stop asking questions, and get back to loving Barack and chanting "Yes We Can!"...

Take Care Of Your Business, XII

Pay attention to what motivates you. We're all driven to some extent by fear, but Victims and Entrepreneurs fear very different. things. Victims are afraid to try. Entrepreneurs are afraid not to try. Victims are afraid they won't "get" enough. Entrepreneurs are afraid they won't "do" enough. Victims fear what's ahead. Entrepreneurs fear looking back with regret. Victims fear failure; Entrepreneurs don't fear failing (they know they'll learn from their failures), but they're often scared they'll miss an awesome opportunity....

The Conscience Of A Restorationist, XIII
Start a business, write a song, take on a project at work. Do something inspiring. Undertake your own American restoration project. Understand that you'll barely get away with it, if you do at all... but don't be scared. We've been barely getting away with it for more than two hundred years....

Health Habits: Exercise Your Brain
And don't forget to exercise your brain, including your feelings. Especially if you own your own business, you need to find a way to stay happy, and work on things that keep you sharp. Those who live to stay smart often turn out to be smart about how (and how long) they live!

Great Leadership Requires Inspiration, XVIII
It's easy to see why people follow the upbeat-energy leader. People like to win, and they like to spend their time and energy winning instead of worrying. The upbeat leader inspires that sort of attitude in her team... and, under such optimistic leadership, people find themselves doing more and accomplishing more than they otherwise thought they could....

Don't Germs Have Rights, Too?

Bain Capital invests in companies, makes them leaner and more competitive, and more often than not, they "save" the companies in which they invest. It's fashionable to talk about how Bain "runs up the company's debt" before they start axing employees - and only some crazy tea partier would point out that's because Bain loans their clients money when others wouldn't. It's like the bank that was crazy enough to give you a mortgage - didn't they "run up your debt?" Usually, a company is lucky to be Bain's client - it would've died, but for Bain's intervention. But at what price? I mean, do you really have to lay off unproductive employees just because it saves the company? How cruel....

Take Care Of Your Business, XIII

The choices you make regarding how you use your TEA – your personal resources of Time, Energy, and Attention - will go far toward determining which of your own inner natures you allow to dominate you. There are two types of person out there, and in each of us: the critical, political, cynical inner "Victim," and the appreciative, collaborative, creative inner "Entrepreneur." When you wisely invest your TEA in positive pursuits, you feed your inner Entrepreneur and starve your inner Victim....

The Conscience Of A Restorationist, XIV

What happened to us, America? We built the strongest, most prosperous nation in the history of the world by being home to the hardest-working people in history. You used to hear so much about the American Work Ethic, about how people came to the United States, worked crazy-hard, built businesses and created opportunities for entire families and generations of new Americans. That work ethic now seems to be more a part of America's history than a key feature of the nation today....

Health Habits: Build Yourself Up
I can't say I'm much of a "handy man." When it comes to my career, I'm a writer, not a builder. And when something needs fixing around the house, I'm still a writer - I write checks to professionals who are much better than I am at the handyman thing....

Great Leadership Requires Inspiration, XIX

Does your team seem to be frozen in indecision, or in "analysis paralysis?" Is morale low? Have you taken over a unit that's been ruled with an iron fist, or which has such a history of political behavior and in-fighting that folks are afraid to make a move (ANY move)? In short, does your business seem like it's swimming in spaghetti because it's populated by people living in fear? It can be tough to operate as an inspirational leader in an environment like that....

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