The Monday Motivation Blog

These 4 Not-So-Secret Weapons Win the Battle with Self-Doubt

Is Your Flame of Ambition Flickering?

Do you want more?

We can be content with what we have but not complacent. Grateful, but not passive. Since healthy human beings grow, this desire for more is inevitable and necessary for our thriving.

Do You Think Your Story Is Significant?

Stop Hiding Your Real Self, and Create Impact

Everything that happens has a purpose. If you believe this is true, even mundane coincidences have meaning. If everything you go through is for a reason, even the lowest and most painful moments are vital to the plot. To skip them would be to miss the point. Yet these shameful, gut-wrenching, or embarrassing moments are the ones we tend to scrub from our memories. We sanitize our stories and leave them without dynamism.

How Perseverance Can Launch You into Purposeful Living

Remember, Success is a Team Sport

This past week was packed full of tasks requiring intellectual and emotional energy. From Monday through Wednesday, I assisted coworkers at my job on an urgent initiative. Then in my off hours, I coached two clients and prepared to attend a retreat nearby. I support entrepreneurs as they clarify their vision, strategy, and tactics. And I do so from a just few steps ahead. My business is not mature enough for me to leap into full-time entrepreneurship. I hoped the retreat would realign my values and that I could return to my coaching work with renewed vigor.

How Wisdom and Skill Position Us for Good Luck

Don't Wait for Lightning to Strike

I used the word luck for the first time when I was an inquisitive eight-year-old boy. It had a mysterious and powerful ring to it. I needed a word to capture the idea that things happened by chance. It helped me think about the the apparent meaninglessness of some of my early childhood experiences. Despite my excitement about it, the word was not well-received. Someone, I think one of my parents, said I must never say the word again.

On Eating Frogs and Climbing Hills

Prioritizing the Unglamorous to Preserve Willpower

Several years ago, I read a delightful book called Eat that Frog by Brian Tracy. The book’s premise is simple. Since we lose willpower throughout the day, it is best to do the hard things first. Hopefully, you never have to eat an actual frog. But if a frog is on the menu, eat it first thing in the morning.

How to Keep Hope Alive

Make Today Better Than Yesterday

“No matter how bad things got, I always focused on what I could do that day. It’s like they say, it is best to live in the moment.” My new friend looked at me with raised eyebrows expecting a response. I could see that this was one of her core beliefs.

Keep Learning

It's the Best Way to Get Something Nobody Will Ever Steal

If there is one lesson I have learned more times than any other, it is this: I have a small amount of understanding. And my understanding of the limits of my knowledge is not trustworthy. I am likely to believe I understand something and be wrong or partly correct, even when l am convinced. But if this is true, why should I continue to learn? No matter what I understand today, tomorrow, I will need to relearn at least some aspect of it.

How Can I Choose the Right Opportunity?

It's Not Only About Hard Work

“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”
— Thomas Edison

Open doors for success are everywhere, and we overlook many of them. But should we say yes to every high-yield opportunity that requires hard work?

Are You Worth More to Your Business Than a Powerful Computer?

You Certainly Can Be!

“Let me tell you something,” he said with a smile, “I’ve made a lot of money, but I never did it by being original.” As he turned and opened his car door, the sun was setting. Car engines began whirring to life around us. We chatted briefly, and soon we stood alone in the parking lot.

Are You Happy Like an Addict?

The Answer May Surprise You

In recent years, I have spoken to several people who sleep on the streets. I expected to find that those who lived on the streets were there due to misfortune and that, given the opportunity, they would gladly adopt a better life. And to be sure, some of them did fit that description.