One of my favorite podcasts is How I Build This with Guy Raz. He takes us deep into the stories of companies, how they were founded, and their struggles along the way. This past week, I listened to the story of Patreon, a company founded on the idea that some of us are willing to pay [...]
A parent told me recently that others have shared this advice with her: your children look at you in a way that you do not see in yourself. We may feel self-conscious, small, uninspiring, and yet, we may just be a light for others to follow. We have a power to influence, and we are [...]
A motive is "something (such as a need or desire) that causes a person to act." So, to 'motivate' is to get someone to act by creating a need or supplying a desire to do so. When working with a group, maybe the question shouldn't be how to motivate people, maybe the question is how [...]
Made a call to a business on the weekend. They are closed weekends. Always. Their message: "Due to circumstances beyond our control, our offices are closed. Please try again later." Really folks? Funny how people shy away from taking responsibility...
I think I make it pretty clear that I believe in living a vibrant life in the moment. I don't want to spend years miserable for some future promise. And yet, that doesn't mean I'm just in a happy status. I love the journey. And part of that means constantly asking "what's next?" What's our [...]
When Netflix was starting out, its founders were trying different things (features, packages, other selling tactics) constantly. Initially they started creating a new test every two weeks. Then they got quicker and started changing and testing every couple of days. The quicker tests were not as perfect. Sometimes links were broken, or there might be [...]
How do we shift out of "a mood". After things go wrong, or out of our control, simply as unplanned...how quickly do we recover? I think we all have different speeds within which we recover, but that we can learn to speed up the process. Is it talking to someone? Yelling into a pillow and [...]
I am often meeting with strangers. Before I meet with them for potentially two to three hours, I have a name and a lot of other information about them. It is amazing to me that I always come up with some idea in my head about what this person I'm about to meet with will [...]
What would you do if you had an extra day? An extra hour? Schedules often change. It's too cold for your kids' sports practice or your own hobby. A friend cancels a get-together. Something at work gets postponed. Are you fickle enough to fill it with something fun or productive? The extra time could be [...]
This is a question I have heard used in different contexts as we figure out how to do something we are working towards. I think it's a great one, as I think we often make things difficult for ourselves. I decided recently that I am going to start a podcast. Then I realized that I [...]
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