Start a Sidcha! Resolutions and short-term thinking create short-term results and long-term failure. Start a Sidcha to last a lifetime. I just read yet another thread of people pledging resolutions, suspiciously many being ones they failed last year. This year they really meant it, though. Right. I had to comment on what works and doesn’t. Habits that work The day Nelson Mandela walked free for the first time in 27 years–a day of global importance[…] Keep reading →

Lies We Tell Ourselves When We Pollute We all want clean air, water, and land, yet pollute more than necessary. Leaders act with responsibility, accountability, and self-awareness. Our leadership vacuum on the environment I hook my audiences easily in my workshops on my podcast, Leadership and the Environment, by saying, Raise your hand if you like pollution, rising sea levels, and more plastic in the ocean than fish. No hands ever go up. I continue, Now raise your[…] Keep reading →

Morning Routines and Success You show me a successful person and I’ll show you one with daily habits. MyMorningRoutine.com brings today’s successful people’s habits. You show me a successful person and I’ll show you one with structured daily habits. The more successful, the more self-imposed, challenging, relevant, and active his or her habits. Even bad-boy athletes, apparently self-indulgent rock stars, and counter-cultural artists have habits. Rather, the long-term successful ones do. The[…] Keep reading →

My Inc. post today, “The 20/80 Rule, Leadership, and Integrity,” begins The 20/80 Rule, Leadership, and Integrity In a leader’s relationships, the 20/80 rule counts, not the 80/20 rule. Leadership means people watch you–not to what you want to say or do, or mean to, but what you actually say and do. Attention to detail counts. Not sometimes, but always. What Vince Lombardi said about winning applies to leadership: Leading is not a sometime thing; it’s an all the time thing. You[…] Keep reading →

My Inc. post yesterday, “The Coat of the Future: Bring on the Winter,” began The Coat of the Future: Bring on the Winter When the temperature dropped into the 20s, I was prepared, looked great, and lived by my values. A couple years ago on a winter vacation toward the end of my last parka’s life, I saw a beautiful coat. Despite the designer name it was affordable. But I[…] Keep reading →

[EDIT: Lloyd Austin has since become the United States Secretary of Defense. He also endorsed my book, Leadership Step by Step, saying: Great leaders aren’t born with a ‘leadership gene’; great leaders develop the necessary skills and gain confidence through practice and hard work. In Leadership Step by Step Joshua Spodek presents a thoughtful approach to becoming a highly effective leader that emphasizes the importance of experiential learning. It will[…] Keep reading →

A reader, Melissa Gaudart, wrote from Australia about starting habits, after reading about my one-minute wake-up habit. I thought our question and answer would be valuable for others, so here is her question: Great article and glad you’re waking up faster as there is a lot to be excited about first thing in the morning. I’m wondering if you’ve thought about how people can form and change habits instantly. This[…] Keep reading →

My latest Inc. article, “A Contrarian View of Invention,” begins A Contrarian View of Invention We put innovation and invention on pedestals. Should we? I’ll start by pointing out that I have several patents to my name. I conceived of the inventions and wrote the patents. I have advanced degrees in science. I started several ventures. I’m not writing to brag or put patents or innovation down, just that I think I hold my own on innovation[…] Keep reading →

My post Tuesday on Inc.com, “Why Minimalism Should Be Called Maximalism,” began Why Minimalism Should Be Called Maximalism Why define something valuable by the opposite of its values? Minimalism as a lifestyle seems popular. The name backward, though, which confuses people and makes it less accessble. It’s a lifestyle about maximizing, not minimizing. I may be too late because maximalism appears taken by a movement unrelated to what I describe below, but I suggest changing the[…] Keep reading →