A Case for Optimism

I have long held humans are meaning-seeking and meaning-creating creatures. Language is our primary tool of meaning creation and transmission. The words we use create our lives, both individually and organizationally. If you work in an organization (of any sort, or size) the words that are chosen, and repeated, make a huge difference. Take a…

Men acquire a particular quality by constantly acting a particular way. You become just by performing just actions, temperate by performing temperate actions, brave by performing brave actions. – Aristotle What we do makes us. The idea of “muscle-memory” applies to character and life skills as much as it does to playing tennis or baseball….

You must take personal responsibility. You cannot change the circumstances, the seasons, or the wind, but you can change yourself. That is something you have charge of. You don’t have charge of the constellations, but you do have charge of whether you read, develop new skills, or take new classes. – Jim Rohn You can…

“If anything terrifies me, I must try to conquer it.” – Francis Chichester Sometimes what scares us is what we must do. Sometimes it’s the last thing we should do. Knowing the difference is one the key skills of a great life.

How our environment shapes us is something I have often thought about. What we surround ourselves with can either build us up, or not. Our physical environment, who we associate with, the books, music and ideas we pay attention to and the thoughts we entertain and repeat all matter in terms of our development, or…

The beginning is the most important part of the work. – Plato Why? Because without the beginning there is no in-between and no ending. So often the hardest thing is to begin. But there’s magic in starting. How? Because it’s always easy to do a little more (once you’ve started . . . ). It…