We all know our words are powerful. We can slice someone to pieces with just a few syllables. That’s bad enough, but what happens when we turn that power on ourselves? As a young man, the writer Peter Leonard showed a short story to his famous father, novelist Elmore Leonard. Instead of encouraging his son, […]
Archive for Personal Development
Four Emotions Derailing Your Goals
Emotions are powerful, especially if we let them work in our lives without paying full attention. They can derail our goals if we let them. In my experience there are four emotions that usually come mixed in a powerful cocktail, sure to undermine our goals: fear, uncertainty, doubt, and shame. Most of us succumb to […]
Why Retirement Is a Dirty Word
When I left Thomas Nelson a few years back, it seemed like every other person I met asked if I was retiring. I bristled every time I heard the question. In fact, the more I think about the purpose and meaning of work, the more I’m convinced that nothing destroys our sense of purpose and […]
How to Break Free from Your Day Job and Live Your Passion
You might be familiar with The Shawshank Redemption. Remember the storyline? Andy Dufresne, innocent of any crime, is saddled with a life sentence in Shawshank Prison. The experience nearly kills him and his hope for freedom. I filtered the movie through my own experience. Stuck in my day job, I felt imprisoned from my potential. […]
Perceived Scarcity in a World of Outrageous Abundance
When we see what others have, is our basic reaction to notice what we’re missing or express gratitude for what we have? I’ve thought a lot about about this question over the years but came back to it recently when I found myself feeling a little jealous over all the vacation posts popping up on […]
Do You Practice the 5 Habits of a Balanced Life?
Have you ever found yourself in a hyper-productive period? You’re making progress on your goals, checking boxes on your list. It’s like music to your ears. But to everyone else in your life, it’s more like noise. When I first started in publishing I was determined to succeed. I would get to the office at […]