A few weeks ago, I was discussing employment opportunities with a millennial that recently graduated with an MBA. He explained that he is making about $30,000 a year in his current job. He mentioned that he would really like to be an executive with a big box store, but figured it would be next to impossible for him to obtain that job at this point in his career. He stated that a friend of his was making approximately $200,000 as the manager of a Wal-Mart and that he might have an opportunity in that organization. However, he couldn’t see himself taking a position with that organization out of concern that it would be rather embarrassing to tell friends that he worked for the world’s largest discount retailer.

Apparently, it is less embarrassing to turn down $170,000 per year than it is to say, “I work at Wal-Mart.”

I encourage you to not waste an opportunity based on what others “might”...

It is required by most of my contracts that I carry Error & Omissions insurance in the event that one of our consultants makes an error.

I must pay unemployment insurance fees to the state in the event...

Years of research has shown the 80/20 rule applies to almost any activity.  What this means is that 80% of your results come from 20% of your efforts.  To put this another way, 20% of your activities equate to 80% of your fulfillment.

To prove this theory, consider your workplace.  Do 20% of your daily activities equate to 80% of your productivity?  Studies show that they probably do.  Think about the business sector as a whole.  The top earning companies in every industry are a small percentage of companies and yet they earn the largest portion of income.  And if you look at your own habits, you may find you spend a majority of your time watching...

I just spent a couple of days with Seth Godin, the author of Tribes and Purple Cow.    While there are several thoughts and illustrations from our time together captured in my notes, there is one idea that I have circled with the message, “Write blog.”  This is my attempt to convey what I was pondering when I drafted my message.

Give yourself permission to fail.  I don’t mean permission to fail at small things like picking up the kids late from school or forgetting to pack toothpaste for your road trip (I do these things regularly).  I mean the kind of big failures that cause your friends and family to whisper, “What was he/she thinking?”

Each year, I meet dozens of talented and educated people in their 20’s and 30’s who are looking for the role they should play in society.  Having been raised in a culture where failure is considered a character flaw, they have been trained to be...

Twice a year I have the privilege of gathering for a few days with some of the greatest leaders in the world. There is so much information and wisdom available, but it is not just about hearing others tell you how to be a great leader. There are always things to do. For example: lesson one, day one……everybody gives a speech. Not everyone there is or wants to be a public speaker, including me. As a matter of fact, studies reveal that most people report their number one fear to be public speaking, second on the list is death. As Jerry Seinfeld once pointed out, this means that at a funeral, the average person would rather be in the coffin than giving the eulogy.  Okay, okay…I digressed.

Nevertheless, the point is, there is no getting out of this speech. When your time is up, all eyes are on you. In that moment, you can choose to focus on looking good or you can choose to focus on making progress.

Honestly, my default approach...

As a kid, I was often told that being the boss made you a leader. A boss sits atop the organizational chart and tells people what to do and how to things get done. At 18 years old, I had the opportunity to host a talk radio program for teens and college-aged students. I quickly found people to work for me and I built a team of 12 people. Unfortunately, I was a great boss but a lousy leader. I didn’t understand the answer to the question: What is leadership?

Within a few months, our program had become the number two most listened to program in our region. This seemed to solidify my understanding of leadership. I was barking out orders, people were following them, and the organization grew in listeners each week. However, it didn’t take me long to realize that my team didn’t do anything unless I told them what to do and they didn’t really like being told what to do. It was especially tough to lead those who had recently discovered their minor celebrity...

As a young girl, I remember how empowered I felt when someone challenged me. The power that came from my belief that I could be the best at anything I wanted to do. I was a runner and I believed that I could always learn to run faster and further in order to win. I knew it would take a lot of hard work and practice, but I never doubted that I could achieve the results I wanted……winning. I pushed myself everyday to get better and I did, but I didn’t just apply this philosophy and belief to running. I applied it in every aspect of my life and eventually, ‘winning’ wasn’t always possible. The older I got, the more I experienced situations where winning just wasn’t going to happen and no matter how good I was, there was always someone, somewhere better at it than me. The more I lost, the less I tried.

At a crucial turning point in my life I realized I no longer saw challenges as something I could overcome. As a...