As many know and experience in today’s economy, being self-employed is growing increasingly difficult. However, it is critical that we realize when it comes to the economy, the self-employed contribute a huge proportion. In fact, it is estimated that there are 23 million self-employed businesses in the United States, which represent 80% of the small…

I recently read a short yet powerful synopsis of an interview with Mark Cuban in CRN, Computer Reseller News. We all know of his remarkable success of selling Broadcast.com for billions and his future successes with the Dallas Mavericks and other diverse interests. There are a few golden nuggets from Mark relative to his road…

For 69 days, 33 miners lived thousands of feet underground in Chile. Their story has made headlines for weeks. It only took the faithful rescue crew 22 hours to free each and every one of them. An amazing story of courage, faith, innovation, and persistence. What can we learn from this? What would we want with us if…

I give credit to this title to Deirdre Sullivan, who offered this powerful essay in the book “This I Believe,” which I highly recommend. She tells the story about how her father had once told her she had to go to a funeral she did not want to attend. He said she needed to do this…

Last week I took a trip down memory lane. I had the opportunity to reunite with colleagues from various points in my life, some dating all the way back to my childhood, through several distinct personal and professional meetings. It is interesting what goes through one’s mind and how conversations evolve when reuniting with close…

I read a heartwarming story on the plane coming back from San Francisco this week. It was a story of a war veteran returning home from a controversial war in which we were involved many years ago. There was great hostility toward the veterans, with frequent rudeness and caustic interactions. This man boarded a flight…

Over the years, I have lead workshops where we encourage the participants to get out of their comfort zone and move into their learning zone. That place where we are not quite into the panic zone, yet, we are stretching and challenging ourselves to do something that clearly is not comfortable. This zone could be…

Last week I met with several clients who are experiencing ‘the wobblies.’ You know what I mean, when we are just not 100% sure about basically everything in our lives! Where we are, where we are going, how we really feel, what we really want, or even what we stand for and believe. We believe everyone…

Recently I was visiting with a longtime colleague, and the topic evolved into the question on the lips of many in the ‘mid-place’ in their careers … “What do I really want to do after I make all the money I need to make? I want to do something really extraordinary with my life.” Well, as…

Something came to me today as I was engaging in conversation with a colleague. In order for us to progress as human beings, organizations, and cultures, we often need to break the rules. Many individuals who have truly changed the world went against convention. These folks did indeed go against the current and often broke rules.…