A reader contacted me and suggested I read the book “Why Does the World Exist?: An Existential Detective Story,” by Jim Holt. The author writes for the New Yorker among other things, which implies I’ll enjoy his writing. The book promised to explore the question why the universe exists as opposed to not existing. Why being and not nothingness. I borrowed the book from the library. I hadn’t considered its[…] Keep reading →

As children we start defenseless. I don’t mean physically, though we start physically defenseless too. I mean kids don’t protect themselves from being emotionally hurt or having their identities challenged. Kids say things we adults recognize we would catch in mental filters before speaking. What mental filters? Everybody knows what I mean. As we get older we learn to protect our vulnerabilities. We learn protocol and manners. We learn how[…] Keep reading →

I wanted to follow up on a recent post, “You tell me what you do best. I’ll tell you what you do worst.” When you have a problem to solve, only one thing determines the solution: the problem itself. If you’re good at doing one thing, but another thing solves the problem, it doesn’t matter how well you do the other thing. Your skill may help solve the problem, but[…] Keep reading →

Today I’ll cover an exercise I do in my seminar and when I address a group of professionals. You can do it while reading this post. It teaches you about Yourself Self-awareness Teamwork, especially team building I can cover it in a few minutes or can use it to discuss teamwork, self-awareness, and my experience for thirty-minutes or more. Introduction I start by telling the group “I’m going to ask[…] Keep reading →

I reader emailed me a model he uses along the lines of the models and beliefs I put in my series on beliefs and now my book on the same topic. I’m honored and flattered that he used my format. I recommend looking at your beliefs and understanding them. In his email he described how his belief evolved as he wrote it — an effect I found too. Just writing[…] Keep reading →

Another leadership coach, Marshall Goldsmith, asked a question during a presentation: At your jobs you ask your clients and managers how you can do better. Do you ask your spouse, family members, or other people you care about if you can be a better spouse/mother/father/etc.? If not, why not? Marshall has no problem connecting your professional and personal lives. I hope you don’t. This topic is as much about professional[…] Keep reading →

I posted my second ebook on Amazon the other day. Longtime readers will recognize I based it on this spring’s extended series on beliefs that became one of my more popular series. You can save the cost of the book by reading that series, but I edited the book to make it worth the cost. It’s more polished, with tables and reordering for better continuity. I would only post it[…] Keep reading →