As many of us know. the first step to ‘upping your game’ is to honestly assess where you are today AND where you want to be tomorrow! Thus, as we end 2014, now is the time to take a hard look in the mirror and determine if 2014 was all and more than you wanted it to be…..or if there is still room for growth and improvement.

On this Veteran’s Day and month of Thanksgiving, I thought it was only fitting to ask the poignant question: For what are you grateful? I, for one, believe that by deliberately cultivating gratitude, we can increase our well-being and happiness. Some are obvious, others are not.

This past week I took Lulu (my precious rescue schnauzer) to our family lake house in Arkansas. This particular year, I decided to reach out to a few old friends to reconnect. What I learned from these women, and from this beautiful exchange, was worth writing about and sharing with you…as it does apply to life and to business.

I can assure you, each person reading this has most certainly experienced a broken relationship due to the break down of trust. This breakdown could be in the form of a spouse cheating on them or a colleague using information (which you developed or found) as if it were their own with no accreditation to you. It could be someone outright stealing a concept from a keynote or workshop, and using it as if it were their own. Or it could be a so-called friend or colleague saying one thing to your face and calling you a ‘friend’ only to have them back-stabbing you with unflattering commentary or falsehoods behind your back. Let’s face it, trust is so integral to our relationships that we often take it for granted; yet in an era marked by business scandals and a desire for accountability – we clearly need to nurture trust in our professional and personal lives. Where in the world has all the trust gone? And what do we do about it?

“Leadership” and its development within individuals has become a multi-billion dollar industry. However, what I have observed over the course of my career, and most recently through my work as a leadership development consultant and coach, is that the recipe for becoming an effective leader is seldom – if ever – found outside of oneself. What is the secret??

Many of you know I recently adopted a rescue schnauzer puppy. She is a precious pooch who has endured a lot in her short 6 years of life. What I am learning from her is often hysterical….and always simply amazing.

Recently, I was purging through 30 years of old files, and ran across my ‘special file’ where I kept those unique articles, emails, letters, and notes which were ‘too good’ to throw away. I found an email from 1998 which summarized Dave Packard’s 11 simple rules on how to deal with each other on a daily basis. He believed if we followed these simple rules, we would all emerge as winners – this blog offers a shortened version of the email.

As long as I can remember, my father has sent my sister and me newspaper articles, quotations, and other wise bits of information. This started when we were children; and now, at age 85 (my father) and 52 (me), he still continues this practice….selflessly and conscientiously he teaches, shares, and helps me become the best person I can. So, this week, in honor of Father’s Day, I am sharing the latest gift my father sent us late last month.

As many may know, ABC has a real hit on its hands with The Shark Tank! The stars are a ruthless, shrewd collection of diverse, self-made millionaires who judge, qualify, and either select or ‘de-select’ budding entrepreneurs for further investment. If you haven’t watched it, you will either love it or hate it. Recently, there was an episode focusing on how to capture the sharks attention AND close the deal…..interesting. This blog offers my two cents…..

Over this past month, I have been exposed to many individuals who have defied the odds of creating, building, and accomplishing their dreams. It has been inspiring to watch each of them succeed. I wanted to highlight four such individuals and collections of individuals to not only spread their word and give them heightened visibility; but, at the end of this article, I hope to shine a light on a few ‘lessons’ I gleaned, from their experiences.