As a person who loves to learn something new every day, I tend to spend a lot of time thinking and brainstorming new ideas. I’m especially fond of brainstorming while walking or exercising, and also really enjoy brainstorming with colleagues. Often when I’m excited about a good idea, I send myself multiple voice messages to capture my thoughts so I can mull them over later. My fondness for brainstorming results in frequent new ideas—which is great! And many of those ideas are pursued to fruition. But sometimes I am so enamored with a particular idea, concept, phrase, or title that I find it d ..read more

I love to walk. When the weather is nice, I walk for miles around my neighborhood. When the weather is not so nice, I do the same inside my gym. Whether I’m listening to a podcast, dictating an article, or having a phone meeting, my brain is always engaged and the wheels are turning with every step. I enjoy the exercise—physically and mentally—and also enjoy seeing and greeting my neighbors and gym buddies. Without a doubt, I love to walk. And when I walk, I walk in my favorite shoes, because they’re comfortable. They’re clean yet broken in; they fit well, and they don’t rub my feet in weird ..read more

Highly successful people are creators. Now before you protest, “I’m not a creative person!” let me explain. To be creative doesn’t mean you have to be skilled with a paintbrush, play an instrument, or have an eye for interior design. Creative instinct takes many forms. Whether they create new businesses, incredible art, valuable relationships, innovative products, powerful literature, unique opportunities, or impressive margin, I’m sure you’ll agree that the highly successful tend to be highly creative in their own ways. But how do they accomplish all that they do? In my experience, the more ..read more

Years ago I discovered an excellent blog post by bestselling author and speaker Jon Acuff. Jon made a rather surprising list of all the good things that happen to you when you compare your success to someone else’s. That’s right—good things. Just wait until you see the list! Here it is—I just added a couple things to it: 1. 2. 3. Did you catch that? Here’s the list of those 3 benefits again, study it carefully: 1. 2. 3. Wow. Amazing, right? I think this list pretty well sums up the good things that happen as a result of comparing your success to that of other people. No, your eyes aren’t ..read more

Home from school at last, the five-year-old boy ran up the stairs, bursting at the seams with excitement, anxious to tell his daddy what had happened in class today. “Guess what, Daddy? I got to be the Class Leader today!” Turning to greet his son, the father caught the contagious excitement of his preschooler and responded enthusiastically, “Really? Class Leader? That’s a big deal, little buddy. What did you get to do as the Class Leader?” Without hesitation the boy proudly declared, “I got to open doors for people!” This charming story, about author Bill Treasurer and his son, Ian, served a ..read more

Every leader receives critique. Some leaders appreciate it, some dread it, and some resent it – but every good leader needs it. In order to truly achieve leadership excellence, you need to learn, grow, mature, develop, and improve as a leader, and one of the best tools for accomplishing this is critique. Without honest critique, you risk doing the same thing the same way without ever realizing you could do better. You miss out on incredible opportunities for improvement and squelch your potential. Critique is absolutely essential for growth! If you are a leader, you are being critiqued. Some ..read more

Years ago I wrote down something Michael Hyatt said and with which I absolutely agree: “There is no failure unless I quit.” I’ve written on this topic many times, but I believe in this concept so strongly that I can’t help but revisit it, particularly as we begin a new year. There really is no failure unless you quit. While you can’t control what life throws at you, you can determine your response. In life’s many battles, your attitude is the most powerful weapon you wield. You can respond to opposition and setbacks with a spirit of defeat and hopelessness, or you can resp ..read more

The post Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! first appeared on Dan Nielsen ..read more

I’ve always believed it’s your habits that define you. This means that your life is defined by small choices that you make every minute of every day. In the same way, I’ve noticed that while life presents some large moments that can have a major impact on your life, life is more often defined by small, seemingly inconsequential moments. Throughout my life, I have had many of these moments. I recall one encounter in particular, while I was enjoying a cup of coffee at a Barnes & Noble Café a number of years ago. While attempting to stay focused on the project I was working on related to my ..read more

Next week is Thanksgiving. Though the date changes year to year, my entire life Thanksgiving Day has fallen just after my birthday, which makes it an even greater season of reflection for me.  A few years ago I shared about sitting in a Starbucks and observing an interaction between two men. One was middle-aged and the other quite elderly and feeble. The two men entered the coffee shop together, with the younger man firmly grasping the belt of the older, ensuring the elderly gentleman didn’t fall. Watching the duo order coffee and shuffle over to sit down stirred my curiosity and compass ..read more