There are two essential areas of life in which everyone can choose to be either contented or discontented. Satisfied or dissatisfied. We can be content with “what we have,” and we can be content with “what we are.” Or not. Let’s look at each side of these two areas to see if we can determine which is better for our lives. How content are you with “what you have”? The design of today’s world is to keep us unfulfilled, dissatisfied, and disoriented. Much of it wants to keep us

Have you ever thought of a career in sales? What if I told you, you already have a sales career, and in fact, you are constantly selling in every area of your life? It’s true. Everyone sells all the time. Let’s look at the Oxford Dictionary definition of sell: give or hand over (something) in exchange for money. persuade someone of the merits of. What Are You Selling? These two definitions are important because not all selling requires the exchange of money. Selling involves

A Simple Way to Create What You Want in Life Photo by v.ivash at Freepik How can you squeeze the most out of your life? There is a simple pattern that exists throughout every person’s life. Although you may not have noticed it, you have used it often. Anytime you create something new, whether it is a simple grocery list, or something as complex as your career path, you go through the same process. Yes, this process also applies to the creation of something tangible, such as a

Be Careful What You Feed On Photo by hugoisroger on Pixabay What part of your beliefs create doubt and weaken you? What part of your beliefs create confidence and strengthens you? Let’s explore the underlying cause of these two questions. We are complex creatures with complex minds. Thinking can be experienced as an internal dialogue. You can think and see different perspectives inside your mind without putting those thoughts into words. The question is, do you recognize this

The best assessment to start with for you and your team. Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels Have you ever wondered why some people act the way they do? Imagine being able to better understand how others think, act, and interact with you and other people. Since behaviors are observable, I want to introduce you to one of the best systems I have found for improving communication and diffusing personal conflict among two or more people. Through it you will learn to quickly an

Developing insight in a meaningful way Photo by Jehyun Sung on Unsplash Can you imagine what your life would be like if you did not have eyesight, or were vision impaired? Count yourself blessed if you have good eyesight, but what about the other type of sight, insight? While most of you can see, without insight you can be more blind in some areas than someone who can’t see with their eyes. The importance of Insight As a professional coach, I have worked with many executives

To choose or not to choose, that is the question. It’s true—not making a choice is a choice. It is a choice to not choose. Every time we learn something new, we have a decision to make, and we can make it consciously or unconsciously. This is especially true when we learn something helpful. We can decide to act on new information or decide to just let it be. Letting it be is a choice to not act. As William James put it: “When you have to make a choice and don’t make it, that

Who is leading whom? Are you leading your life or letting life just happen to you? You are always following someone, whether it is yourself or someone else. So who is leading your life? You make all of the decisions in your life, good, bad, and indifferent, whether you choose to or not. But it isn’t always clear who or what you are following, is it? Are your many choices each day made deliberately, haphazardly, or with serious thought? Perhaps a bit of each? Ultimately, you b

What consumes your time, consumes your life. Take a look at what you’ve done so far today. What have you accomplished? What have you spent your time doing? If you had to account for each hour, and even each minute, how much time do you waste and how much do you use wisely? The point is, some of the time you spent today probably passed by unnoticed. Our thoughts can slip by unnoticed as well. What do you think about throughout the day? Do you think about what is most important

Slow down and pay attention. When you notice something, you become aware and “see” what was previously unnoticed or unseen. It’s been there all along, but something happened, and you suddenly paid attention to it. It might be that someone pointed something out, or you just happened to be in a state of mind to see it. If you can slow down and notice what people are saying and doing, or what is there or what is happening, it can change how you see things around you. If you noti

At the age of fifty-one, I became a widower. My wife had gotten cancer and the first diagnosis gave her three to five years to live—yet it was not to be. The cancer spread quickly through her body and they shortened the outlook to eighteen months. Within six months, she passed. To say I was devastated would be an understatement. I met Charlotte during my senior year in high school, and we were married at nineteen. For thirty-two years, we were by each other’s side, with all t

You value many things in your life—your job, your home, your family, your friends, your car, your hobbies, and so much more. Where does the desire for the things we value come from? Are these things truly important to us, and why? Lying beneath the things we value are deep needs. Finding these deeper needs that drive our desires and behavior requires exploration. We need to unearth our needs so we can see them. The best way to explore is to find the right question or question

The Value of Values “Your beliefs become your thoughts, Your thoughts become your words, Your words become your actions, Your actions become your habits, Your habits become your values, Your values become your destiny.” ― Gandhi Have you ever considered your values? For our purposes, let’s define values as your “principles or standards of behavior; your judgment of what is important in life.” Your values significantly influence how you see the world as well as what you

To see more clearly in the present, it’s helpful to peek into the future. By taking a long-term look at what we want, we can better see what is needed in the near-term. Like the old saying goes, “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there.” Don’t be one of the many people who live life that way. Take your time and destination into your own hands and out of the hands of other people’s intentions and unpredictable circumstances. Let’s tackle something sub

Have you heard of the one-in-sixty rule? It’s used in aviation and is based on the fact that for every one degree you travel off course for sixty miles, you will land one mile from where you had intended. If you are traveling across our country, one degree off course will land you about 50 miles from your destination. If you are traveling from the earth to the moon, one degree off course would make you miss your target by more than 4,000 miles! All that error would come from

Success vs. Significance Success is typically inward focused, working in your life. When you are no longer alive, your personal success ends—at least, we know that on the earth, it ends. Significance is focused outward and is about working on your life and helping others. When you are no longer alive, the result of what you did can continue to make an impact. How? Through those you lived for and those whose lives you contributed to. Your results live on through others. What w

We’ve previously discussed the analogy of sowing seeds and working your fields to produce a positive result—and how neglecting your field or garden will inevitably produce a weedy, rocky mess. Now let’s give some thought to what you are actually sowing. Ask yourself: Am I sowing the right seeds? Am I sowing enough seeds? Where is it important to be sowing? Since life doesn’t exist without relationships, this seems like a good place to sow, doesn’t it? If you are sowing into y

Cycles Life is full of cycles. There are cycles throughout history of feast and famine, peace and war, life and death. There is the cycle of the earth’s travel around the sun, from which we receive our seasons, which continue to cycle year after year, adding to the richness of life. The entire universe is filled with cycles. While there are many permutations a cycle can take, let’s look at three types of cycles that exist in life. For our purposes, the definition of cycle is

“Sow a thought, and you reap an act; Sow an act, and you reap a habit; Sow a habit and you reap a character; Sow a character, and you reap a destiny.” – Charles Reade As mentioned in earlier articles, each part of the S.T.A.R. (See Think Act Reap) Approach builds on the last piece and does not stand alone. In other words, seeing new things creates new thoughts, motivating new actions, resulting in reaping something new. Or put another way, the more you see and the clearer it

Take the better way – don’t multitask! Many good habits, over time, become effortless. They also effortlessly lead you into other habits. When you invest in the previously discussed must-do list-making effort, for example, other small but effective efforts often follow. Want to know an interesting thing about the efforts we make each day? They’re generally divided. Divided how? Think about a typical day at work. Sometimes we are able to focus on one thing, putting all of our