I had a fantastic conversation with Jim Harshaw for his podcast, Wrestling With Success. I am honored and humbled that he invited me into the ranks of his guests. I recommend listening to many other episodes besides mine, including his early ones where you get to learn about him. Among other guests, he’s had people in space. I’ve only helped build satellites. Jim is a Division 1 champion wrestler and[…] Keep reading →

Continuing my Saturday series on posting my answers to questions from Quora, here are my next questions answered: What are some historical examples of failures managed by great leaders? Especially by taking responsibility and not throwing anybody under the bus. How do I overcome feelings of anger and jealousy? How can people overcome insecurity and jealousy in their relationships? Is it possible to overcome jealousy? If so, how can jealousy[…] Keep reading →

My Inc.com post yesterday, “A Leadership Lesson From Nelson Mandela (Happy Birthday)” began A Leadership Lesson From Nelson Mandela (Happy Birthday) Nelson Mandela, perhaps the greatest leader of our time, would have turned 98 last week. Here is an example of him leading his jailers on his way to becoming President. Happy birthday Nelson Mandela, arguably the greatest leader of our time. He would have turned 98 last week. He[…] Keep reading →

My Inc.com post yesterday, “There Are 2 Kinds of Inspiration. If You Want to Inspire, Better Know Both.” begins: There Are 2 Kinds of Inspiration. If You Want to Inspire, Better Know Both. Some leaders inspire a nation to sacrifice to get to the moon. Others to buy steak knives. Both work, as long as you don’t confuse them. Everyone feels inspired in late December to get fit. Then, come[…] Keep reading →

My Inc.com article today, “Habits Are Contagious. How to Make The Science Work for You.” began Habits Are Contagious. How to Make The Science Work for You. Research finds that we transmit habits like diseases, or like cures. How to use that insight to make the habits you want stick. Studies show that quitting smoking and losing weight spread through networks like diseases do. Many other behavioral changes work similarly.[…] Keep reading →

I was honored and flattered to receive this email from Feedspot: My name is Anuj Agarwal. I’m Founder of Feedspot. I would like to personally congratulate you as your blog Joshua Spodek | LEADERSHIP MEANING PASSION has been selected by our panelist as one of the Top 300 Leadership blogs on the web. […] I personally give you a high-five and want to thank you for your contribution to this[…] Keep reading →

I’ve been answering questions on the social media site Quora for about a month. My responses are getting more views and upvotes, so I thought I’d put some here, since the posts there are like posts here for readers who don’t feel like going there. I’m thinking about making a standard Saturday practice of collecting my responses here from there for the week. Since I have a month to catch[…] Keep reading →

A friend read my book, ReModel, and asked me: Josh, what’s your model about yourself? He clarified: You wrote about how people can be Cathedral-Builders instead of being miserable. What’s your equivalent of being a Cathedral-Builder? “Cathedral-Builder” refers to the parable of The Three Stonecutters: Many years ago, a passerby saw three workers cutting stones in a quarry. Though they were doing similar work, one looked unhappy, another looked content,[…] Keep reading →

Speaking authentically is a key task of leadership. People will doubt you if you can’t. Charles Barkley is one of my role models for speaking authentically. While he spoke and acted authentically his whole career, I believe he changed markedly after handling the incident where he spit in the direction of heckling attendees and hit a girl. Until then, he could reasonably suggest you could see his incidents of bar[…] Keep reading →