I write about beliefs and mental models. We humans have a weird pattern that we will often believe something that’s catchy just because it sticks in our heads. “No pain, no gain,” for example, rhymes, so sticks in our heads. We often choose not to do painful things, as if the statement were true. Commercial jingles often work this way. Another examples is “a rising tide lifts all boats.” It’s[…] Keep reading →

This passage interviewing a guy who walked in space, plus some context, can help you enjoy life more, even—especially—if you can’t get to space but expect you’d love the experience. From the article: In the 1960s, he says, “astronauts were celebrities. They were invited on JFK’s boat. If you wanted to go to space, you had to become Neil Armstrong.” Today, however, space-travel companies like Virgin Galactic and SpaceX are[…] Keep reading →

Teaching entrepreneurship, I often hear people say they want “to become an entrepreneur,” “to be their own boss,” and “to run their own company.” I have to distinguish between thinking and behaving entrepreneurially and “becoming an entrepreneur.” Thinking and behaving entrepreneurially means identifying problems that people would pay you to solve, figuring out how to solve them, creating sustainable models to implement the solutions, attracting teammates, marketing and selling the[…] Keep reading →

My post at Inc. today, “How Beatles Producer George Martin Succeeded Where Every Label Failed,” begins: How Beatles Producer George Martin Succeeded Where Every Label Failed George Martin signed the Beatles in 1962 after every British label rejected them. How the experts missed the opportunity happens more than you think. I played Abbey Road until the stylus on my child’s cheap record player destroyed each groove from Come Together to[…] Keep reading →

I’ve shown this representation of what I call The Worst Problem in the World at many seminars. I wrote about it about five years ago. Now you can see the video. Watch all the way through to see some solutions. Take my course if you want to get beyond it and resolve it in your life, mainly by doing the exercises in it to develop compassion and empathy.

My post today on Inc.com, “This Insidious (and Subtle) Innovation Myth is Killing Your Creativity,” begins: This Insidious (and Subtle) Innovation Myth is Killing Your Creativity This specious myth is so commonly held enough that few challenge it. Yet overcoming it is easy and rewarding. Thomas Edison was an outlier. For someone to invent so many products and succeed with so many, even accounting for his failures, just doesn’t happen,[…] Keep reading →

I wrote a few years ago about the Samurai Walk, a great way to plan and achieve goals. I recommend reading that post. It’s visual, so I did a video on it recently. Once you get it, I predict you’ll use it, and I bet you’ll find yourself getting more done with less effort, remaining more calm.

My post today on Inc.com, “How to Win an NBA Championship as a 66-Year-Old Grandmother of Five,” begins: How to Win an NBA Championship as a 66-Year-Old Grandmother of Five Knowing your values and living by them enables you to achieve the value of what others only dream of. This is a post about values, living by them, and achieving more through it. You read Inc.com. You value achievement. Let’s talk[…] Keep reading →

An Op/Ed piece in the New York Times, “What a Million Syllabuses Can Teach Us,” illustrated a perspective that will turn higher education into a dinosaur if it doesn’t learn some new perspectives. It begins COLLEGE course syllabuses are curious documents. They represent the best efforts by faculty and instructors to distill human knowledge on a given subject into 14-week chunks. They structure the main activity of colleges and universities.[…] Keep reading →