Tag Archives: mistakes

Be Gentle With Yourself

“Be gentle with yourself, you’re doing the best you can.” – unknown That’s a quote I think I need to tell myself a little more often. I find it’s easier for me to be gentle with others…but it’s not so easy for me to be gentle with myself… I don’t typically give myself a lot […]

Every Dumb Mistake I Ever Made

There are two types of mistakes in life – those we make innocently because we didn’t know better yet and are learning, and there are those we make despite the fact we knew better but made them anyway. Its the latter type that I refer to as “dumb” mistakes. Every “dumb” mistake I EVER made […]

You Can Lead A Horse To Water And Sometimes The Horse Will Crap In It

“You can lead a horse to water and sometimes the horse will crap in it.”  – Roger Ellerton Yesterday I was dealing with some fallout that was caused by someone who made some really unnecessary mistakes in a professional setting that had some really impactful consequences.  What was even more frustrating to me was that […]

Speak The Truth

Years ago I wrote an article for Forbes called Speak The Truth Even If Your Voice Shakes which talked about the importance of giving people honest feedback in a respectful way, even at times it feels uncomfortable or  intimidating to do so.  In the article I shared seven lessons I’d learned about giving feedback and […]

Everyone has a history that can be used to inspire others

Everyone has a story…a history…a series of failures and mistakes that have shaped them into the person they are today.  I, for one, believe we shouldn’t be ashamed of our story. Our story is what helped us become the person we are. That story is what taught us great life lessons that we might not […]

You Have Been Assigned This Mountain To Show Others It Can Be Moved

“You have been assigned this mountain to show others it can be moved.” – unknown Lately troubles seem to travel into my life in packs. No sooner do I start working to solve one problem when another two or three have already reared their ugly head, and before I can take a breath there’s this […]

If You Hold A Cat By The Tail You Learn Things You Cannot Learn Any Other Way

“If you hold a cat by the tail you learn things you cannot learn any other way.” – Mark Twain Today was closing day for my son and his wife on their first home. It’s a starter home that will require some fixing up before they will be able to move in, but once we […]

It May Not Be Your Fault, But It Is Your Responsibility

You may not have caused this problem yourself, but it is your job to do something about it, especially when you hold any kind of a leadership or management position. Management means that you are responsible for everything – whether you personally made the mistake or not – you still have to own the responsibility […]

Learn From The Wisdom Of Those Who Have Experience

“When you are willing to listen and learn, some of life’s most meaningful teachings come from those who have gone before you. They have walked where you are walking and have experienced many of the things you are experiencing. If you listen and respond to their counsel, they can help guide you toward choices that […]

When You Find Yourself Going The Wrong Way On A Freeway Onramp

Following a lunch meeting with two business associates that had come in town for a meeting today I offered to drive them both down with me to our next meeting so we wouldn’t have to take two cars. Now before I tell you what happened next, in my defense I have to say that this […]

Stop Yourself From Making Bad Decisions: Wear The Comfortable Shoes!

I decided to start something called a flashback Friday where I will once in awhile on a Friday repost a blog from the past. You know, the oldies but goodies. So this blog below was one I wrote back in March of 2013: I have been walking for…well let’s see…yeah, about 40 years now.  And […]

Eight Years, 52 Weeks A Year, Five Days A Week, And More Than 2,000 Blog Posts Later

EIGHT YEARS! EIGHT years ago on August 13, 2010 I posted my very first blog post. At that time I committed to my employees that I would write a blog post to them every work day, five days a week, without fail from that point forward, writing every day except official holidays. When I made […]

“Don’t let someone’s words blind you from their behavior.”

If we want to know who another person is all we need to do is watch what they do.  Strip away their words completely and just focus on their actions…observe just their actions over a period of time. As you do this you will begin to know their true character because their actions will be […]

The Courage To Be Imperfect

“The fact is, every single one of us is a work-in-progress. We may be at different stages in life. We may have different strengths and weaknesses, but there isn’t a single person on the planet who hasn’t felt vulnerable or made mistakes. Nor is there a single person who couldn’t be better at something in […]

Have We Done Enough To Make It On Santa’s Nice List This Year?

I distinctly remember as a kid the fear I had of doing something bad that would cause me to get put on Santa’s naughty list. I think most kids, from a very young age, are fully knowledgeable about Santa’s Naughty and Nice list that he uses to determine whether he will be bringing them presents […]

Have you cheated the man in the glass?

When you get what you want in your struggle for self And the world makes you king for a day, Just go to the mirror and look at yourself  And see what “the man” has to say. For it isn’t your father or mother or wife Whose judgment upon you must pass. The fellow whose […]

We can learn it the easy way or we can learn it the hard way and only we can decide which it will be

“Don’t touch that, it’s hot” my mom said as she pulled out a fresh tray of cookies from the oven – yet immediately I started thinking “I wonder how hot it really is? It’s probably not that hot. I think I’ll just see for myself just how hot it is.” You would think that nursing […]

Never Underestimate What You Are Capable Of Accomplishing

I left home to come to college when I was 17 years old. One of the first things I had to do was setup my very first checking account at the bank. Up to that point I had never had my own checking account. I had always had jobs and worked throughout High School but […]

The safest road to Hell is the gradual one

“Indeed, the safest road to Hell is the gradual one—the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.” – C. S. Lewis There are so many ways to off-track in life, and so many of them happen through a series of poor smaller choices that end up leading to big mistakes, but […]

Life isn’t easy and people aren’t perfect

“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently he starts […]

The Energy That Comes From Doing What You Love

“The only great work is to love what you do.” – Steve Jobs Tonight I was asked to give a keynote speech to a group of entrepreneurs at Startup Ignition, a startup Bootcamp program for entrepreneurs. Truth be told as I was driving down to give my speech I was feeling exhausted from having had […]

Without Accountability For Actions There Would Be No Progression

Without accountability for actions there would be no progression in our lives or in our organizations.  And as Tomas Paine expressed when he stated, “…men holding themselves accountable to nobody ought not to be trusted by anybody.” We ought not trust those who are unwilling to be accountable. Each of us has a moral and legal […]

Taking accountability does far more to restore credibility than attempting to cover things up

Last week I spent the week hosting a group of fabulous people on our houseboat at Lake Powell. It is always a ton of work to host a big group for a week but its also incredibly rewarding to spend quality time really getting to know people on a closer level without any technology distractions […]

A quiet conscience makes one strong

“How noble and good everyone could be if, every evening before falling asleep, they were to recall to their minds the events of the whole day and consider exactly what has been good and bad. Then, without realizing it you try to improve yourself at the start of each new day; of course, you achieve […]

Principles of Peace – An Easter Message

Peace…We can’t turn on the TV news or listen to the radio without hearing daily reports of worldwide tragedies, of acts of hatred and terror, of wars and rumors of wars. There is not much peace to be found in those reports. And on top of that we are all going through our own personal […]

Choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong

Mistakes are going to happen in every organization because people aren’t perfect and making mistakes is often how people learn and grow. Some mistakes are small and insignificant, and others turn out to be far more serious, even bringing unpleasant consequences. What matters most when a mistake occurs is to own the fact that it […]

A Happy Thanksgiving Wish From Me to You

The best way I know how to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving is for me to express my thanks to all of you. I am so grateful to all of you make time in your lives for me and the words I share in my blog. And I am grateful for the comments and the […]

Recognize Your Own Song And Sing It Well

In the book ‘Wisdom of the Heart’ Alan Cohen tells the following story: When a woman in a certain African tribe knows she is pregnant, she goes out into the wilderness with a few friends and together they pray and meditate until they hear the song of the child. They recognize that every soul has […]

Learning the Hard Way

The older we get the more we realize how much better life is if we are just willing to learn things the easy way – like by listening to those who have been there and done it and who have the experience to give us advice on avoiding pitfalls we will face. In the early […]

Try And Keep On Trying

“Try and keep on trying until that which seems difficult becomes possible and that which seems only possible becomes habit and a real part of you.” -Dieter F. Uchtdorf The first step to fixing anything is to TRY. We have to try to believe we can do it, try to learn how to do it, […]