Authenticity. We like things that are authentic. Things that are REAL. We also like people who are authentic. People who are REAL. As our civilization grows, however, it seems to become increasingly difficult to live authentically. Why is that? As entities grow bigger — whether nations or companies — there’s an increasing need for organization. Structure emerges, and with structure comes rules...
We are all creators. I played soccer for 20 years and when I think back to what it was I loved so much about the game, it was the creativity. It was the ability to create. Every time I got the ball I had a chance to create something – a move, a pass, a shot, a goal. Sometimes it was beautiful, sometimes it wasn’t, but it was all art. It was all an expression of who I was in that moment. In...
If you want to become a great leader, study a great mother. Yesterday I asked one such great mother (my own), “What’s the role of a mother?” Without hesitation, she provided an answer: “To love, nurture, and protect.” Isn’t that the role of every leader? The expression of love will look different in a professional setting compared to a family setting, but it is still love that your people are...
Up the ladder, down the ladder. Wherever you are in your professional life, it might be said that you are on some rung of the career ladder. The top and bottom rungs of that ladder may have been defined by you or, more likely, by society. But either way, you’re on a rung. Naturally, we all want to do what one wants to do when on a ladder: CLIMB! And so it is, perhaps quite naturally, that...
I love questions. I’ve spent the entirety of my professional life in sales, and the entirety of my personal life in philosophy. Two pastimes deeply rooted in questions. Questions challenge. And questions help us get to the core. Salesmen and philosophers alike need to do both. The difference between a good salesman and a great salesman is not their ability to sell, but their ability to ask the...
Throughout the course of my career there have been days when I’ve found myself sitting at my desk asking the question, “What the hell am I doing here?” Days when I’ve lost any sense of purpose or meaning in what I’m doing. Have you ever had days like that? Those are tough days. My motivation is at an all-time low on those days. Coming out of school with a major in Philosophy it’s safe to say that...
