“Excellence is a better teacher than mediocrity.” ~Warren Bennis At different times and with different clients when I ask them if they believe they are achieving excellence, too often I hear… No, I wouldn’t say excellence, BUT we’re better than we were 2 years ago! Each time I hear this my first thought is this,…
“To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.” ~ Lewis B. Smedes The topic of forgiveness is a prickly one because some folks believe that there are situations in life that not only unforgettable but equally unforgivable. Regardless of whether you agree or not, I think it…
“You have to be authentic with yourself before you can be authentic with others.” ~Joe Contrera * Years ago when I was married, my wife and I were going through a rough patch, and so we separated for a while. After a short time, we reconciled, and in celebration of our decision, we threw…
“You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, well you just might find, you get what you need!” ~ The Rolling Stones Hard to believe that after 62 years, The Rolling Stones, are still touring and performing for audiences all over the world. While watching a friend’s video post of their…
“Baseball (*Leadership) is like church. Many attend, but few understand.” ~ Leo Ernest Durocher When I was a kid, we spent hour after hour in our narrow driveway playing baseball. First base was the fence post, third base was the spigot, you get the picture… We didn’t use a regular baseball, we used using…
“Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” ~George Bernard Shaw As a leadership speaker, coach, and consultant for a few decades, I have come to the realization that not every company or leader who says that they want change, really does. The reasons vary, and while…
“Life is like the monkey bars: you have to let go to move forward. Once you make the decision to leap into entrepreneurship, be sure to loosen your grasp on old concepts so you can swing your way to new ones.” ~Leah Busque (American entrepreneur) Entrepreneurs are a special breed. It takes a great sense of…
“Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results.” ~Willie Nelson It has been scientifically proven that humans have a predisposition to focus on the negative. It seems to be inherent in our programming and reinforced by our upbringing. Just think about the time as a child when you came home…
“It is impossible to live without failing at something unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all, in which case you have failed by default.” ~J.K. Rowling One way to more powerfully influence others is to leverage your failures. People don’t realize the power of failure and…
“When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but with creatures of emotion.” ~ Dale Carnegie There is plenty of research on the role that emotions play in the decision-making process. Some folks believe that people make decisions based on rational analysis. And yet, research shows that emotions play a…