Have you ever had anyone tell you you’re crazy?  If so, congratulations!  If not, why not?  When my friends tell me I am crazy, I know I am pushing beyond the standard norm.  I know that my dream is big and makes them uncomfortable.  Living boldly is not conforming.  Living boldly often results in folks telling you that you are crazy.

We begin life with zero constraints on our potential.  In time, we conform.  Our parents tell us something that sticks with us for the rest of our lives.  This is how the box we keep ourselves in begins to form.  Society tells us that everyone in our race is a certain way, so almost unconsciously, we begin to conform.  We grow up in a certain region that has a particular stigma, so we adopt it unknowingly.  The box continues to shrink in on us and further defines our behavior.  Someone told you that you were lazy once, so you became lazy.  Someone tells you that you will never...

Maya Angelou said “I have learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” It occurred to me that this statement applies to more than just conversations or interactions with others. It can be applied to nearly all aspects of life and work. If you want to leave the person you are interacting with feeling good about themselves, or a customer feeling good about your company, just focus on a happy ending.

First let's go over the fundamentals of attentively interacting with another person or company:

1. Be present when they are present. What comes to mind when a person you are talking to looks at their phone or watch?  They aren't paying attention, or maybe there is something more important for them to tend to. Wherever you are, being there is fundamental to building meaningful relationships and maintaining sanity in this ultra-connected world. Think of your attention as...

Our society’s lust for comfort and entertainment is insidiously reducing its ability to observe reality.  The further society moves away from observing reality, the faster it will collapse.  History has demonstrated that societies rise and fall as do businesses.  The battleground in a democratic society supported by capitalism appears to be between government and business.  What are they battling for is the question?  Our attention is the answer!  They apply different strategies for capturing our attention.  For example, the media (media is a business posing as a third-party informant) knows that negativity and sensationalism appeal to our primal nature.  Humans are hard-wired for fight or flight at every turn.  The media (and politicians) exploit this natural tendency at every turn.  Businesses exploit this tendency by limiting quantities through supply management.  Nothing sells better than scarcity.

This article...

If you were to consider a valuation of your personal stock, would you be excited?  Has your personal stock value increased in the last year or has it been flat?  Maybe you lost a job or went through a divorce that has your personal stock at an all time low.  If you are familiar with the stock market, you might know there is only one reason to invest in a stock: future value.  We invest in a company because we anticipate its value will rise over time.

With this concept in mind, would you invest in you?  If not, why not? And if you said yes, now what?  I want to be clear that we all have equal value in the sight of God, but our value in the markets vary greatly.  My bet is that you have the capacity to increase your value to the market by 10X.  You only lack a clearer strategy of how to get there. This article will offer a framework for you to begin growing your personal stock.  Warning: it will not happen overnight.  You...

Recently, I quit a professional group that I had been a part of for several years.  In this professional group, I had built intimate relationships with fellow members.  The perceived social pressure to continue with this group can be significant.  I dreaded the decision.  What would my group mates think about me quitting?  I was concerned about how the conversation would go.  I avoided the decision for several months even though I knew it was the right thing to do given my availability.  Finally, I quit.  It turns out nobody gave it a second thought except for me.  Their lack of shock doesn’t mean they don’t care that I won't be with them but I had built it up in my head as though it would. It is truly a microcosm of life itself.  We think everyone is watching us.  We think that our decisions to serve our own lives will get extra scrutiny.  The truth is, nobody cares but us.  No one has invested in your...

How do you feel after you watch the news?  Do you feel empowered?  Are you excited and enthusiastic about the world you live in?  Or are you discouraged, concerned, and worried about the future?

Today’s news has a singular purpose and it is not to educate you.  They want you hooked.  They want you on the edge of your chair, awaiting the next tragedy so they can lure you into their advertising lair.  They offer opinions 24/7 with limited unbiased news reporting in between.  Each channel seems to focus on its political agenda.  They pander to their demos to keep them coming back for more.  Many years ago, political campaign managers learned that negativity wins far more elections.  It didn’t take long for the news services to realize that negativity attracts viewers.  Sensationalize everything!  Seriously, you hear “breaking news” five hundred times in 24 hours on every station, but the news is...

We all have routines, but the key is to intentionally develop your routine to set you up for success.  There have been many books written about "habits" and how to develop “healthy habits.”  Habits are part of routine and a fundamental building block for intentional living.

What is intentional living?  The best definition I have for intentional living is living with purpose and in service to what matters most in your life, realizing that long-term happiness can only be achieved through service and contribution to a purpose greater than you.  The basis for this definition has been proven through study after study.  Service to a cause greater than ourselves is fundamental to happiness and a powerful antidote to depression.

An intentionally developed routine will allow us to win the day before it begins.  The morning routine is important for establishing your mindset.  The evening routine can set you up for tomorrow’s success and...