Personal Development – Page 30

Rudolph made it. I knew he would!

If you woke up this morning with sugar plums dancing in your head, most likely Santa made it down the chimney … and Rudolph is stretched out on the ottoman with a cup of egg nog in hand.

“Seriously?” my wife said. “You’re really singing Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer while you’re getting dressed this morning?”

I’m afraid so. Honestly, I have no idea how that song got into my head. Maybe because Rudolph … along with Santa and Frosty … are the most iconic images of a secular Christmas? Maybe because Santa brought me some cool loot?

Maybe all that … but for just a moment, I stopped to consider the words … mostly to figure out how to convince my wife that I hadn’t lost it … yet … and it dawned on me that there’s a very timeless message in this simple tune that applies to all of us entrepreneurs … and everyone else trying to find their way in this world. (more…)

The Great Multitasking Hoax: It’s killing us

I'm starting to hate multitasking. I've known for some time that it's not healthy ... And not particularly productive. I caught myself in the spring with The Misleading Meandering of Multitasking. I ignored the Stanford researchers ... and I actually reported almost a year ago that multitasking doesn't work by…

The Zen of Goal Setting: Don’t tell anyone

How many times have we been told to write down our goals so we can keep them in focus ... and make sure we tell everyone around us so they can support us and cheer us on. Derek Sivers strongly disagrees and shares what he's learned from psychologists going back…

Leadership Lessons: Scribbles on an Envelope

It's exciting, isn't it, when we stumble across crumpled notes that have been lodged in our wallet for years ... to discover timeless gems that we may have forgotten? I've earlier reported on the piece of paper carried in the wallet of John Wooden, famed UCLA basketball coach, which bore…

Vol. 56: The Power of Personal Accountability

The Power of One concept is not new — it’s the bedrock of everything from motivational speeches to Army One.

There’s an entire industry devoted to the power we have over our destiny.

In the context of Building a Business, we can view the Power of One as a series of concentric circles that ripple outward from the center … from where we stand as business leaders.

[pullquote]“God grant me the courage to change the things I can, the serenity to accept the things I can’t and the wisdom to know the difference.” – Reinhold Nieburh[/pullquote]

With a stagnant economy that has brought many businesses to their knees, we’ve been inundated with economic data, shards of doubt and glimmers of hope. While we can’t ignore these external forces, we can’t allow them to deter our commitment to reclaiming control of our agenda.

As a result, there’s no better topic with which to start than personal accountability, the singular touchstone of professional success over which we have the greatest control. (more…)