At the leadership seminar I led in Singapore I remember hearing attendees making job offers to each other. The one in Shanghai led to a group of former strangers forming that continued to meet to follow up the seminar work for months. I haven’t checked recently but they might still be meeting. But Saturdays’ seminar outdid them by far. An attendee approached me at the end while I was giving[…] Keep reading →

I want to thank all the seminar attendees and organizers for a fantastic experience at Saturday’s seminar “How to Lead People So They Want You to Lead Them Again.” I had given that seminar several times before, but this was my first with fifty people in a room at capacity. Everyone seemed attentive, genuinely interested, and open to experimenting. I only know other people’s perspectives what they tell me, but[…] Keep reading →

Perhaps the best honor one person can give another is to understand them and continue their legacy. I’m writing today’s post to suggest you can do that with Martin Luther King more than you think. Many people believe Einstein got bad grades, but I understand he didn’t. Martin Luther King, Jr got bad grades. He started graduate school at a school near Philadelphia called Crozer. Note among his grades —[…] Keep reading →

[This post is part of a series on Cold Showers. If you don’t see a Table of Contents to the left, click here to view that series, where you’ll get more value than reading just this post.] Years ago I tended to have unintentional habits that I did without thinking about them and they didn’t improve my life much. Now they’re mostly ones I intentionally adopted because I knew they[…] Keep reading →

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The United States seems to have two overarching messages on indulging that combine to mess a lot of people up. The puritanical message says indulging is bad or sinful. The advertising message is that sinful or not, you live a tough life and you deserve it. Combining these messages leads people to feel entitled to indulge themselves when they want, but to keep it secret, so others don’t know they’re[…] Keep reading →

With bittersweet feelings, I report that Saturday’s seminar, “How to Lead People So They Want You to Lead Them Again,” is at capacity for the venue. I expect we’ll book future seminars on the topic. I look forward to seeing everyone there. Previous sessions have gotten great reviews. I plan to deliver a great seminar tomorrow.

Many more people believe in minimalism than practice it. They want to get rid of things but fail at it. I’ve gotten decent at it and found three things work best. First, some context to understand why people fail. The best first step for solving a challenging problem is nearly always awareness. Context: why people fail to get rid of things When people think about getting rid of things, even[…] Keep reading →

If you want to change something important in your life, you’d better understand the concept called “empathy gaps.” An example of an empathy gap is when you say in December you’ll go to the gym twice a week for the next year, that you have the fortitude to do it and will simply will yourself to do it no matter what, then find yourself in February saying you’re not in[…] Keep reading →