It’s a basic assumption of mine that if you work to your maximum capabilities, and steadily seek to grow those capabilities, in the long run you will accomplish a great many of your most important tasks, projects, and goals. But while this sounds simple in theory, in daily practice it can be quite difficult. There …
Deep down, we all want to know how good we are, really. But our ability to evaluate how good we are – at our work, at our relationships, at life in general – is unhappily not very good. We’ve all heard of the Dunning-Kruger Effect, which documents this problem. First publicized in 1999, it’s the …
There are times when our work and our lives are going great, and times when that’s less true. But difficult times need not be all bad. They often present ripe opportunities to shake things up and make them better long-term. This seems obvious to me, and there is ample logic supporting this notion. Here it …
As a fan of the Tour de France, arguably one of the most demanding athletic events on the planet, I have long been intrigued by a statement from one of its most famous winners, the American: Greg LeMond. “It never gets easier,” LeMond is quoted as saying, “you just go faster.” For those who don’t …
I’ve written several times on resilience and how to achieve it, starting here and continuing through here. Now I’m doing it again. But this time I’m focusing on some of the benefits of resilience and some of the characteristics you can cultivate to strengthen your ability to rebound from setbacks and difficulties – which we …
You’ll often hear various people say “anything that doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” and also “do something every day that scares you.” I’m on board with these ideas. In fact, I believe there’s great value in the experiences you gain from working through troubles and surviving difficulties. It all boils down to the power …
A lot of the advice you’ll see offered in the world – and let’s face it: a lot of the advice I give – centers around things you can to do make yourself and your world better. But the other side of that coin is just as important. I’m talking now about the things you …
As I’ve suggested quite often, “one necessity for increasing your productivity and success is the ability to work well with people. Your performance often depends on their performance in more ways than I care to count.” You can learn more details here and here on specific ways I’ve suggested to keep your relationships strong. But …
A key but often overlooked foundation of most problem-solving attempts is the assumptions you accept in analyzing the situation and searching for a solution. Although at times you may not be fully aware of some of them, they’re always extremely important. For example, if your sales pitch is working poorly on too many prospects and …
I’m at it again: writing a tricky headline to catch extra interest in hopes of spreading this idea a little wider than it might otherwise go. The truth is I’m not praising pessimism as better than optimism, or suggesting that pessimists have a clearer, more accurate view of the world and where it’s going. In …
