Latest stories

May 22, 2016

5 Reasons Why You Will Choose The Wrong Career

By Ryan Paugh
6 Min Read
22May

Consider two statistics. Statistic #1: The average person spends 90,000 hours of their life at work. Statistic #2: 80% of working professionals are dissatisfied with their job (according to Deloitte’s Shift Index survey). Put another way, our plight looks something like this: (A lot of time doing something) x (Not enjoying doing that something) = L L is our life. It seems we can do two things to...

May 22, 2016

Put Down The Carrot, Step Away From The Stick

By Ryan Paugh
6 Min Read

I like carrots. When they’re in my salad they provide a rich source of antioxidants, and when they’re in my business they provide a great incentive to keep our sales teams motivated. Or do they? In the early days of my sales career I experienced the ultimate carrot. At the end of the year, anyone who achieved their quota earned time in “the money machine.” The higher your achievement, the more...

May 21, 2016

A Job, A Career, Or A Mission?

By Ryan Paugh
1 Min Read
21May

John wakes up every day and goes to work for money. He clocks in, clocks out, and collects his paycheck. Susan wakes up every day and goes to work because she wants to be great at what she does. She’s extremely talented and working toward mastery of her profession. Brian wakes up every day and goes to work because he wants to change the world in some way big or small. He is relentless in his...

March 15, 2016

What Poker Taught Me About Sales

By Ryan Paugh
5 Min Read
15March

I’ve spent so much of my life between sales pitches and poker tables that I sometimes forget which game I’m playing. I’ll be in a sales pitch and a client will push back with a bold objection. In my head a poker voice will ask, ‘Did I just get raised?’ I’ll be at the poker table betting with a strong hand and my opponent will be unsure if he should call or not...

February 22, 2016

This Is It

By Ryan Paugh
1 Min Read
22February

This is it, this is it, this is it. Look around. This is life. This desk, this weather, this taxi driver. This body, this family, this job. Life doesn’t start tomorrow. Life doesn’t start when the weather gets better, when I get a better job, when I make more money, when I publish a book. Look around. This is life. Right here, right now. It’s a mess, and it’s beautiful. This is it, this is...

February 5, 2016

What Are You Doing With What You’ve Been Given?

By Ryan Paugh
4 Min Read
05February

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...

February 5, 2016

There Is No Meaning In Your Career. Here’s Why That’s Good News…

By Ryan Paugh
4 Min Read

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...

July 18, 2015

3 Steps To Hack Your Fear Of Public Speaking

By Ryan Paugh
4 Min Read
18July

There’s a story in psychology circles about a man who was deathly afraid of riding in a car. He had been to a number of psychiatrists and no one could find a way to help. They tried probing with powerful questions, digging into his past, looking for reasons why the phobia was there, recommending books, psychotherapy — the whole lot. Until he came to his final psychiatrist. After...

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With decades spent exploring the outer world and the inner world, I share some of the insights I have learned along the way.

Topics include mindfulness, spirituality, growth, perspective, and career.

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