As a child I was taught the importance of respect – we were taught showing respect for other people, showing respect for other’s cultures, showing respect for people’s position of authority, showing respect for a venue, showing respect for an event, etc. This principle was emphasized greatly in my home and it is something I […]
“Spending today complaining about yesterday won’t make tomorrow any better.” -unknown Nothing in life goes perfect for any of us, which means we can always find plenty of things to complain about. In fact, I’m fairly certain that most of us could fill our days complaining about things that have gone wrong in our lives […]
If there is something you want badly enough my advice is: Put yourself in the running. Even if you don’t get chosen, you will get noticed. As the CEO of a fast growing company I was constantly looking for great people to fill management positions within the company. Even though growth is a huge blessing […]
“Learn to be satisfied. It is just as easy as being dissatisfied – and much more pleasant.” -Jacob de Jager For over five years now I have been writing a daily blog. The topic of each blog typically stems from something I went through or experienced during that particular day that stuck in my mind […]
You can love Donald Trump, or you can hate Donald Trump, but what you cannot deny is the fact that Donald Trump has managed to make politics interesting again. I normally cannot stand watching Presidential debates because I always end up feeling I’ve just heard a bunch of politically correct answers that use a whole […]
The approach of most higher education institutions is completely backwards today. Rather than first year college students picking their classes based on their goal of a specific dream job, they end up picking classes based on what the University deems to be generally required, the classes their friends are signing up for, and what time […]
Managing a To-Do List has been the bane of my existence for more years than I care to think about. As the CEO of a growing company I tried out countless Task Management Software programs along with exploring about every To-Do App that got released. Yet, no matter how many systems I tried I couldn’t […]
Have you ever felt so strongly about something that you wish you could jump up and literally scream it from the rooftops? Well that is exactly how I feel about the things I shared in the article I posted yesterday for Forbes. Like I literally wish I had a megaphone that I could scream to […]
“It’s only by saying “no” that you can concentrate on the things that are really important.” – Steve Jobs Saying “No” can be awkward, uncomfortable, and downright difficult. After all, it is human nature to want to be liked, and what better way to be liked then to make people happy by saying “Yes” when […]
I was a CEO of a high-growth technology company for many years and so believe me when I say that I don’t make this next statement lightly: There is no tougher CEO position in the world than that of the CEO of a home. As CEO of a home you are not just the Chief […]
“The greatest discovery of any generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind.” —Albert Schweitzer All one has to do is Google the word Optimist to locate study after study showing that Optimists do better in most avenues of life than Pessimists. Studies show that Optimists accomplish more, make more […]
Actually it’s not really that funny at all…it’s really sad when it happens to be true. It’s unbelievably hard when someone you love and respect and consider a friend does something to hurt you deeply. It’s downright brutal. I’m sure many of us have been through times where this has happened. We are betrayed by […]
A boss or a manager ticks you off, an employee makes you angry, or a friend or family member upsets you. Holding a grudge and harboring resentment are about as beneficial as…well…nothing. As Malachy McCourt once said, “Resentment is like taking poison and waiting for the other person to die.” Grudges do no good whatsoever […]
“We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope.” –Martin Luther King Jr. History is full of stories about people who came into hard times, lost hope, and gave up. We rarely come to learn what would have happened with these individuals if they had given up. We are left to wonder […]
“Creativity is seeing what everyone else has seen, and thinking what no one else has thought.” – Albert Einstein Creativity is one of the most intrinsically rewarding endeavors we engage in. Creativity requires a combination of innovation, inspiration, and a tremendous amount of hard work. It allows us to explore both the wondrous potential and […]
“All through my growing up years as I would run out the door of our home, my mother would yell the phrase “Remember who you are and what you stand for”. I would guess I have heard that phrase literally thousands of times as a child. Most days she said it I would roll my […]
Every one of us is a leader in our own right. Whether we lead an entire company, or a team of people, or a group of friends, or our families, or just ourselves…we are all leaders in some form or fashion. Whatever size our circle of influence may be today, if we work to improve […]
How do we stack up? It’s a question we seem to constantly ask ourselves. Our brains want to know how we are measuring up compared to everyone else. Do we matter more than other people matter? Is our position more valuable than another person’s position? People can spend their entire lives trying to determine where […]
Last Thursday iconic independent filmmakers Robert Redford and George Lucas sat down to be interviewed by renowned film critic Leonard Martin at the Sundance Film Festival Power of Stories panel. I was fortunate enough to be present for this discussion which was titled, “The Visions of Independence.” It was clear from the conversation that these […]
I still remember as a child seeing my mother standing in the kitchen talking to herself. No joke. She would literally have entire conversations with herself. At the time I just assumed my Mom must be a little bit crazy, after all the woman had ten children so by rights she was entitled to be […]
“Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion.” – Muhammad Ali. At the age of 23 I made my first goal poster. It began with a bulletin board, a pair of scissors, and a glue stick. I then found pictures from magazines and printed other pictures I found on the Internet and I glued then […]
I’ve learned many lessons through my years of leading a company, but without question, the most surprising thing I learned was this: The thing you can do that will make you the strongest, is the thing that is most counter-intuitive to do: Be openly vulnerable. I am sure many of you are scratching your head […]
It has been said that the key to success is being ready to act when opportunity comes knocking at your door. Well hopefully you are ready, because opportunity is about to start knocking with a billion dollar vengeance! This particular opportunity starts with one word – Genealogy. Now before you tune out, you should know […]
According to an international poll recently conducted by Monster.com, an overwhelming majority of people believe that they could do a better job than their manager. When asked the question, “In your current or most recent job, do you think you could do a better job than your manager?” over 4,800 responded, and 84% of them […]
Life is short but apparently it can become a lot shorter if you spend your days dealing with a bad boss. In a recent study performed by Keas.com they found that 77% of employees experienced physical symptoms of stress from bad bosses and workers who had inconsiderate or uncommunicative managers were 60% more likely to suffer […]
Fear of failure is said to be the greatest barrier to one’s success, which makes total sense given that our fear of failure is what stops us from making attempts in the first place. Yet, can anyone blame us for fearing failure? Just think about it, from the first moment we are born we begin […]
Job security is something everyone longs for, and typically we moving up in the organization as a sign that our jobs are indeed secure. Increased wealth and opportunity are also things we long for, and a promotion at work can help to achieve that. But receiving a promotion doesn’t always come easy, so here are […]
Friday and Saturday of last week were two incredibly long days of filming on the set of American Gnuity, the new reality television series which picks amazing entrepreneurial companies from across the country to be mentored until the top 20 teams are narrowed down to the top three by all of America who can support […]
One of the greatest things about becoming successful in business is the ability to take time to mentor young people who are just starting out. This week has been filled with one entrepreneurship extravaganza after another. It began with the IPOP Foundation (www.ipop.org) event at Alta High School with high school students pitching their entrepreneurial […]
Making money while making the world a better place – what could possibly be better than that? That is exactly the goal of impact investors. James Lee Sorenson, successful entrepreneur and philanthropist, calls it the “double bottom line,” and achieving that double bottom line is something he is incredibly passionate about. Impact investing is “doing […]
