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Elite athletes will tell you that much of their physical performance is driven by what they put in their bodies. Elite leaders will tell you that much of their mental performance is driven by what they put in their brains — both through their eyes and their ears. So what do you think they listen to?
I once had dinner ...
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I remember my first performance appraisal. This was back in the days when companies still made this an annual event. (Some companies are still back in those days.) It went something like this:
BOSS: Here’s the stuff you’re good at. [reads small list]
ME: Thank you.
BOSS: Here’s the stuff you suck at. [reads much longer list]
ME: Um…okay.
BOSS: So for the next year, I need you to focus most of your energy on ...
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I was having a conversation recently with a friend, and she posed a question that I’ll bet you’ve considered at some point:
“Why is it that most people will put more time and energy into planning a two-week vacation than they’ll put into planning their entire lives?”
Have you had that thought? Have you ever wondered why it’s true (and you and I both know that it is true)?
Well, since my friend posed that question, I have been wondering why ...
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When I was in high school, I used to hang out with a guy named Vince DiCola. You probably haven’t heard of Vince, but he was—and still is—the best rock keyboardist I ever knew. I mean, this guy could play anything! And because I was hanging around with Vince, I decided to learn to play keyboards also. So I did—and I got good enough that, over the years, I’ve played professionally with a few bands. Am I as good as ...
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It was 4:00am yesterday morning, and I was driving to the airport for a speaking engagement in Pittsburgh. This is a pretty common occurrence for me (not necessarily the Pittsburgh part, but the rest of it). All of a sudden I had one of those, “Oh no, did I leave the iron on?” moments. I forget what it was that I was actually worried about—it wasn’t the iron. Probably, “Did I lock the door?” or “Did I water the plants?” ...
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It’s a cold, gray, rainy day here in Seattle, and I noticed fewer people at the gym this morning. Coincidence? Perhaps, but I don’t think so.
See, I almost didn’t go to the gym myself. Who wants to go to the gym on a miserable day like this?
For that matter, who wants to go to work? It’s a dreary, depressing day—a ...
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Last night I heard a television commentator say that the Republican nomination is going to come down to “who wants it more.”
I sincerely hope that this is not the case.
Republican or Democrat, I sincerely hope that we’re not going to choose our leaders on the basis of who wants it more. I mean, really, would you make any other choice ...
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What will your one thing be today?
Back when I was producing my sketch comedy TV show, Almost Live!, I had one cardinal rule that I followed, for each and every show, during the entire 15-year run. That rule was this:
Continue Reading →For each show, there had to be at least one element that would make the audience think, at ...
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First, a status report. My cheese is fine. Nobody’s moved my cheese; my cheese is right where it’s always been.
Cheese, you see, is the reward you get for making it through the maze. It’s the fun stuff. Cheese is:
Cheese is the fun stuff. I’m not going to lose track of my cheese. It’s front-of-mind, and I know exactly where it is.
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What decision will you make today?
Every movement—forward, backward, or sideways—begins with a decision. The quality of that movement is determined, to a large degree, by the quality of the decision. Making a decision is like putting your car in “drive.” You’re not going to go anywhere until you step on the gas, but by shifting into “drive,” you’re making ...
