[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 →

With thousands of posts, where do you begin? I recommend scanning the archives. Here are some favorites: My TEDx talks Book page: Leadership Step by Step Book page: Initiative Webinar: Life Changing Habits Self-imposed daily challenging healthy activities (sidchas) Burpees Cold showers Avoiding food packaging I swam across the Hudson River Podcast: Top downloaded guest episodes Podcast: 500: This Podcast’s Next Milestone Podcast: I lost $10 million on September 11,[…] Keep reading →

George Samuels hosts the It Will Come podcast. Its subtitle, “A philosophy of success through patience, persistence and momentum” is right up the alley of someone like me with my years of daily burpees, blog posts, cold showers, and other sidchas. He posted our conversation, “How To Become The Leader Other People Will Follow.” I’d write how much I enjoyed the conversation and how I recommend it, but his comprehensive[…] Keep reading →

You subscribed to my daily newsletter. Thank you and welcome aboard! You’re about to get daily emails from me. Actually, I send posts here that I consider remarkable, which means 2 to 4 times a week usually. It may seem like a lot, but I recommend staying subscribed. Why stay subscribed? People tell me they find the posts motivate them in their daily tasks. Even if they don’t read each[…] Keep reading →

Yesterday’s rowing session on the rowing machine took me to 999,316 meters. My next rowing session will be my next cold shower day, May 4, unless it’s as beautiful a day as today and I feel like running outdoors, and I’ll hit 1,000,000 meters. One million meters is a nice milestone. It’s small compared to a competitive rower, but that’s the point. I’m not a serious rower. I’m 45. I[…] Keep reading →

I wish I could convey how much fun Daniel Gefen and I had talking before the podcast. I think it comes out in the conversation. Beyond being fun, Daniel went into depth nobody has about something I long wished someone would—the motivation behind the burpees and sidchas. Most interviewers ask about what I do, less about why or the effects. Daniel delved into consistency and how much it can create[…] Keep reading →

People who feel inspired to start sidchas sometimes ask me for ideas. Burpees, cold showers, and blog posts seem too much for many to do daily. I thought of a new one, especially for city dwellers: Pick up at least one piece of trash per day from the ground and put it in a trash can. This one has been formulating in my mind for a while. New York City[…] Keep reading →