Latest Articles — Page 5

Harmonizing Talent and Self-Discipline

Striking a Chord for Personal Growth

I remember clearly the day I first saw someone play an acoustic guitar with finesse. As I listened, my soul was refreshed and awakened to a new desire. With all the dedication a six-year-old boy can muster, I resolved to play guitar well enough to move people. It pulled me in. There was no declaration of purpose based on my talent or willpower. I fell in love with the instrument. It hooked me. Over the following two decades, this love of music would teach me much about the place of hard work and talent.

Pay the Price and Win the Reward like a Champion

How to Harness the Power of Commitment

When I am in the middle of a project, I sometimes feel like I am losing my bearings, and my energy starts to fade. The clarity with which I began falters, and I search for external validation of the unfinished work. I question if I should continue. Will all this effort have any impact in the end? Perhaps you experience this too. If so, let me remind you of a simple truth. It takes commitment to complete anything worth doing.

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?