Celeste Kieft, a Human Resource Manager, sent out a message to the team at Bold Furniture. The message was profound and timely. It is a message we should all take to heart.

In today’s article, I am going to paraphrase her message and encourage you to think about motivation vs. discipline.

Celeste was reminding team members to wear safety glasses or side shields. This is for the team members’ protection and a big safety concern. Yet, the team members did not see it this way.

The response Celeste heard was: “There are too many other issues to worry about something as small as side shields.”

Ouch! Can you believe that response?  Read more...

I saw a cute meme recently. The headline of the meme was: This is why dogs are happier

The photo showed a man and his dog sitting next to each other. The man had multiple thought bubbles. There were thoughts of

• A car
• A plane
• A house
• Money

Then there was the dog. The dog had one thought bubble:

• The dog and man sitting together

What Are You Focusing On?

This meme shows us something. We’re often lost in thought. We’re not lost in the moment.

Our minds are racing. Thoughts of our house, the next fancy car, or how we’re going to make money run through our minds.

These thoughts crowd out what is happening around us. Our focus isn’t on the present moment. Our focus is on everything else.  Read more...

There are days when I battle extreme bouts of self-doubt. I believe my writing isn’t up to par or that I am a failure as a husband or that I couldn’t lead someone if my life depended upon it.

These days are hard. We all have these days where we fail to believe in ourselves.

This happened especially recently.

I was going through my emails. I saw a marketing email come through. The title said something along the lines of:

Your beginning guide to writing. How to gain your first 100 fans.

My first thought was

I need this! This will help me get more eyes on my writing. It could help me become a serious writer.

Then I had to put on the brakes.

What was I thinking? I’m already a serious writer. I’m not a beginner. I’ve been writing for over a decade.  Read more...

It’s been ingrained in us from an earlier age that failure is bad. You shouldn’t aim to fail. If you do, you’re a failure.

I love what Zig Ziglar said about failure. Zig was famous for saying:

Remember that failure is an event, not a person.

It’s a lesson far too many of us learn too late in life. We’ve had the anti-failure message driven into us.

I know I have. I hated to fail for such a long time. It would drive me crazy. Now I’m getting used to failing.

Some of the recent areas I’ve failed in have been my physical health. But probably not in the way you’re thinking.

I’ve long been into physical fitness. I’ve run multiple half marathons, 25Ks (15.5 miles), and a full marathon. I feel fit and healthy.  Read more...