I will never forget the time I popped my first personal development audio cassette into my deck fourteen years ago.  To say it had a major impact on my life would be an understatement.  That one recording opened my eyes (and ears!) to a whole new world of “self education.”  I became a junkie.  It…

I just got off the phone with one of my friends and leaders, and it inspired me so much to hear the fire in his voice and the excitement he is experiencing as he is out building his business full speed.  It reminded me of an old CD I did years ago called, "Life in…

The only bad experience is the unevaluated experience.  Although experience gives the test first and the lesson later (John Maxwell), it would be even more tragic to have the experience and never bother to get the lesson! The best way to evaluate our experiences, and thereby make the most of them, is to ask proper…

Wow.  That was quite a reaction to my last post on blind spots.  I would almost venture to say that we had more than three readers on that one!  I must have struck a sewer pipe, er um, I mean a nerve. Anyway, one of your comments prompted a thought: wouldn't it be cool if…

There is a saying that I have always liked: "The difference between self-perception and reality is often enormous." The size of that difference is called a "blind spot."  Unfortunately, we all have them.  Perhaps the way you chew your food drives people crazy.  Or maybe you interrupt others constantly and annoy them as a result. …

In the world of personal business ownership, a level of understanding must develop.  For people to take you seriously, and for you to expect adequate returns on your investment of time and effort, it is necessary to think professionally regarding your business.  What do I mean by thinking professionally?  There is a big difference between…

In Dante’s Divine Comedy, in Canto III, Dante is guided by Virgil, the Roman poet of antiquity, to the gates of Hell.  The first beings they meet on this perilous journey are a group of lost souls called the "Drearies," who linger around Hell’s gate.  As Dante writes, they are "those who lived without blame…

If you are going to be a leader, you are going to be in the business of building and maintaining relationships.  For some people, this is a nearly automatic thing, but for many, it is less than natural.  Both types of people, however, should and must learn to make this critical area of leadership a…

There was once a book written by Rich DeVos with this title.  In my opinion, it’s a very good title.  When I originally read the book, I bought in whole-heartedly to the concepts contained therein.  What the concept meant to me (and still does) is the idea that both compassion and capitalism can work side-by-side…

One of the central points of Orrin Woodward and my book, Launching a Leadership Revolution, is the key role hunger plays in the life of a leader.  There are a lot of terms that could be used to describe a leader, but hunger is a primary prerequisite.  Why is hunger so central to becoming a…