Is it me, or does living life these days make you feel like Bill Murray in the movie Groundhog Day?  When it comes to working toward goals, that can be a tremendous asset. It's also something that will break you free when things don't feel like they are going your way. Everybody has ups and downs. Up days are lots of fun. Down days make you want to crawl under a rock. But like the movie, with the right mindset, you always get another chance to try again. How would you feel if every day was...

If you've struggled to stay on track daily, your happiness creation skill is out of balance. Before I go on, happiness creation is more than a slogan; it is not automatically activated upon birth.  Rising into your Happiness is a personal choice. It is a decision followed by discipline to become a complete person instead of a narrowly focused human stumbling through life. It is a power that arrives when you realize that the sum is better than the parts. It's not about your health,...

Clarity Eliminates Confusion Have you noticed we live in an age when what you hear and see is not necessarily happening?  It seems our shorter attention spans and social media have elevated attention-grabbing to the point where it overtakes the clarity of the message. One of my mentors is Donald Miller, the creator of Story Brand. He says, “If you make somebody burn too many calories to understand you, they will never understand you, and they’ll move on to an easier choice.” Another one...

Painting Your Way to Success My wife and I are settling into our home, and she has assigned herself to paint every inch of the house. Not because we couldn’t hire somebody to do the job. Strangely, it’s because she loves to paint.  I’ll admit that I’ve felt a little guilty leaving her with a rolling brush and a couple of gallons while I find something more interesting to do - which is pretty much anything. Still, I offered to join the painting party and speed up progress in the largest and...

Relative Time Management In my entire life, I've always found it interesting that there never seems to be enough time in the day. Still, most days, everything seems to get done. If it doesn't, the world didn't come to an end, and I survived to check off another item from my to-do list tomorrow. I know I'm not the first human on the planet to face the problem of time, but I do think I'm one of those smartypants people that have figured out how our time works in real life. And it was 180...

Leaders Look For Conflict I admit that the title, 'Leaders Look for Conflict,' might be a bit over-the-top. But, I know that you want to be a better leader. I also know that you hate and don't want anything to do with conflict - especially since I can hear you saying — "Why can't we all get along?" I get it. Saying the word "No" is hard enough. Saying "Yes" when others agree or disagree with your choice can be more difficult. "Why can't we all get along?" The answer is that we can....

Stoic Happiness I'm a fan of Stoic Philosophy. While it may be over 2,000 years old, its practicality is still useful. These rules to live by will help you have a happier life: 1. If you're going to learn and succeed, be humble. There is always someone smarter, more successful, and wiser.   2. Find the right scene. Choose your friends and situations. If you want to rise in life, you can't allow yourself to be held down by others. 3. Protect your time. Seneca said, "We're tight-fisted with...

Decision-Making Accelerator No matter what you desire in your life, everything starts as a thought in your mind. It will demand your attention. You have three options: 1) Deny it and keep moving. 2) Accept it and put it into action. 3) Delay it and drive yourself crazy. Deny it. Deal with it. Delay it. The quality of your life will be a result of your choice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Questions To Ponder Focus is important as you move forward.  Answering these questions will help: 1) What do you want to do? 2) What do you want to have? 3) Where do you want to go? 4) What contribution do you want to make? 5) What do you want to become? 6) What do you want to learn? 7) Who do you want to spend my time with? 8) How much money do you want to earn, save, invest? 9) How much time do you want off? 10) What will you do to create optimum health? Learn more about your ad choices....

Always a Way When life gets in the way, do you get frustrated about being blocked?   I used to be that way. Something changed. I learned a long time ago that getting blocked was going to be an everyday occurrence. And, the bigger my goals, the more blocks would arrive. I could live with endless frustrations - or find a better way. It came down to this: 1) Blocks have nothing to do with who I am. They could be self-inflicted or caused by others, but they still have nothing to do with me as...

Get What You Want I just got off the phone with a client. We were chatting about getting moving. She said, “That’s the hardest part! I need help getting off my butt.” She’s not alone.  Getting what you want comes down to pure physics: 1) An object at rest stays at rest, and an object in motion stays at the same speed and direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. 2) Inertia must overcome your resting state or your current path.  That will require a - 3) Catalyst is what gets you...

More Opportunity Do you sometimes feel stuck and overwhelmed? Feeling as if there is nothing you can do? It happens to everybody. You are not alone. However, people who break free understand three things: 1) Everything in life is temporary. Good or bad, nothing lasts forever. 2) No matter how stuck you feel, there is always more opportunity. More than one person could ever take advantage of in a lifetime. 3) Even though you don’t feel it, successful people start shaking trees until the...

3 Steps to Stay Motivated I wondered why I couldn't always have my way as a child. Mom and Dad were so mean! I couldn't wait to grow up, move out, and experience being an adult. Everything would be different - or so I thought. After stepping into the adult world, it didn't take long to realize that not much had changed. It turns out it wasn't my parents. It was a life that was turning down my requests. Life was getting in the way, and what was even worse was that I was getting in my...

Your Productive Morning Routine I love the quiet, peacefulness of mornings, but I'm not too fond of mornings happening so early. Still, the focus, creativity, and feeling of momentum that come with getting up before the chickens have such value that I needed to make it a bit easier. My solution is to drop the complicated and establish a simple routine.  I begin by deciding which area I'm currently prioritizing and choosing a "first thing" task that will move me closer to my goal. Next, I...

Give Your Life a Happy Ending If you could write a book about the person you have become today, would it have a happy ending? A good portion of my day is spent interacting with clients worldwide. They are usually upbeat, open to problem-solving, and seeking my advice to help them. Or, as they would say, "Help me get out of my way and get my act together.” That's where writing a book comes to mind, and a good question from me - "Okay. Before we begin, if you were to write a book about...

Are You Living Somebody Else's Dreams? All I have ever wanted to do is have fun, impact people mostly positively, make them laugh, have a great family and friends, make some money, and not take life too seriously.   Simple enough.  But in the overly complicated and widely distracting monkey-see-monkey-do world, it's easy to get what you want and still end up with a superficially satisfying life. I suggest such a life is easy to achieve and perfect for anybody willing to get out of bed and...

Successful People Actions If you study people who have succeeded in any area of their lives, you will find they have much in common.  Not only do they follow a set of rules, but they also follow those rules no matter how much life gets in the way. What are those rules? The person who has the strongest "Why" wins. The person who shows up wins. The person who shows up on time wins. The person who is most persistent wins. The person who never assumes wins. The person who is the best at what...

You Don’t Need Plan B Have you ever wondered how the most successful people in the world get that way? Is their timing right?   Do they “know” somebody?  Luck? That’s it. They get lucky! Maybe, but there is more to it. Every person I’ve ever known who achieved remarkable success did three things: 1) They recognized what they wanted and envisioned themselves living that life. 2) At some point, they commit and go all in. Their dream IS going to happen. There is no “Plan B.”  3) They...

Moving Past Frustration When life gets in the way, do you get frustrated about being blocked?   I used to be that way. Something changed. I learned long ago that getting blocked would be an everyday occurrence. And, the bigger my goals, the more blocks would arrive. I could live with endless frustrations - or find a better way. It came down to this: 1) Blocks have nothing to do with who I am. They could be self-inflicted or caused by others, but they still have nothing to do with me.  2)...

ONE Important Thing I have a question for you. What is your ONE most important activity?   What is the ONE core activity that, if you do, everything else is fine? What is the ONE core activity that, if you don’t do it, causes everything to fall apart? Many people focus on anything but the most critical activity in their lives. They are usually surprised when things fall apart. Is it showing up for work on time or doing a great job? Could it be your unflinching attention to your...

Freedom Between the Lines Are you a fun-loving, carefree person who prefers to drift with the wind? Are you happier following the rules and staying within the lines? Whichever you are, happiness and success will arrive when you combine both: 1) Too much flexibility in life doesn’t allow for compounding your life experience. Like money in the bank, leave it alone once you know what works. 2) Too much structure will limit your ability to discover growth opportunities. Don’t get...

Born to Do YOU Can you imagine what might happen if you dared to think like your true self, act your true self, and share your true self?  That makes you smile - right? Or you may feel that living from the inside out and being fully authentic with the world is self-centered and egotistical, not how you should be. Still, I bet you’re smiling, at least a little, at the thought. You were born with two things that are yours, and you alone to use as you see fit—or not. The first is Free...

Conflict. Confusion. Clarity. Are conflict and confusion driving your life? Are they keeping you on an endless search? Everybody has challenges in life. Solving them is easy when you know what is driving you. Three things will keep you on edge. Understand them, and you’ll move forward: 1) Internal. Everything you do produces personal feelings. Only you can feel them. Only you can do something about them. 2) External. There is something outside of you that is causing your inner feelings....

You Need Two Mission Statements Mission Statements communicate a purpose to an organization. There is no reason why you can't use them to accomplish your dreams. But you need more than one. I know. It's difficult enough to create a single Mission Statement for your personal life or business. Why do you need two? Because the first is your Internal Mission Statement. It is precise, deeply rooted in your WHY, and will guide you and your closest group of friends, family, and associates to your...