"It’s not what happens, it’s how you respond."  These are easy words to hear, but hard ones to live out.  For most of us, it is easy to let people "hi-jack" us emotionally, to "blow our lid," or "get ticked off," or "blow our stack," or "lose our temper, " or "come un-glued," or "let…

"Too bad that all the people who know how to run the country are busy driving taxicabs and cutting hair."  – George Burns "It is only after time has been given for cool and deliberate reflection that the real voice of the people can be known."  – George Washington "When the people applauded him wildly,…

It is fascinating to use historical examples to illustrate leadership principles.  In the Lauching a Leadership Revolution book, co-author Orrin Woodward and I use several.  What I don’t think we’ve ever told anyone, however, is that we stumbled upon the idea by discussing Tom Brady, quarterback of the New England Patriots.  His story was such…

"Don’t talk about yourself.  It will be done when you leave."  – Wilson Mizner "One nice thing about egotists: They don’t talk about other people."  – Lucille S. Harper "Egotism is nature’s compensation for mediocrity."  – L. A. Safian "There’s only one thing that can keep growing without nourishment: the human ego."  – Marshall Lumsden…

One of the biggest challenges leaders of all types will face is the difficulty in dealing with people.  Some people are easy to deal with, while others can be tough.  But it’s even more complicated than that.  Sometimes the easiest people to get along with harbor quiet resentments, while the difficult ones will at least…

One of the biggest things to understand, if you’re going to be a leader, is that you must take responsbility for your results in life.  One of my favorite quotes goes something like this, "You are where you are because of the sum total of your actions to this point in your life."  That’s tough…

Victor Frankl, survivor of a Nazi concentration camp, who saw everything and nearly everyone in his life taken from him and destroyed, lived to teach the world from his experience.  One of my favorite Victor Frankl quotes comes from his book Man's Search for Meaning: "Man's main concern is not to gain pleasure or to…

"I need someone to make me do what I know I need to do," said one, "I need someone to motivate me," said another, "I could do more if you would just hold me accountable like a boss," said still another.  These and other comments by the hundreds of this nature I have heard in…

"Whenever you purpose to consult with anyone about your affairs, first observe how he has managed his own; for he who has shown poor judgment in conducting his own business will never give wise counsel about the business of others."  – Isocrates, letter to Demonicus It is curious to me how quickly people are to…

I recently came across an article I had written a couple years ago but never published anywhere, and, thinking that readers of this blog might enjoy it, decided to include it here.                           We were fishing near the Northwest Channel, just outside the boundaries of the…