I caught this picture this evening as the sun cut through the clouds over the San Diego bay. The contrast between the overhanging clouds and the light was powerful for me. It reminded me that, in life, we have a choice of what to focus on. We can choose to focus on the dark …
One of my favorite short reminders of how to live life can be found written on the wall in Mother Theresa‘s bedroom of her home for children in Calcutta, India. It is a constant reminder to live by a set of principles that are grounded, unfettered by the whims of societal change. I wish I …
I’ve really come to appreciate the value being curious, where curiosity is defined as a state of mind where one is interested in the how, why, what, when, or where of an event or statement. Curiosity allows us to challenge ourselves, challenge what we’re being told, see if things make sense (vs. blind acceptance), and …
The Value of Staying Curious. Building your CQ (Curiosity Quotient). Read More »
We were down to our last few dollars and I didn’t know how we were going to make payroll. Our business model wasn’t working the way we planned, and we were burning cash faster than expected. Something needed to change. Something big – and something now. The year was 2008 and TakeLessons was working to …
I was chatting with a young employee over a beer the other day and we started talking about confidence and its importance. Here is a summary of the conversation along with a diagram on the cyclical pattern of confidence. What is confidence? Confidence is a state of mind. It is a lens that we choose …
Drive life. Say Yes more often. Challenge your barriers. Be comfortable outside your comfort zone. But, don’t just drive life. Design it. Design your outcome. And design time in between driving, to be still – to float. To explore. To be, without trying. To breathe, without thinking. And to surrender, without wanting. – Steven 2011.
My friend Erin Mellinger posted this on facebook the other day. It’s so insightful, I wanted to share it with you: “There are only 3 colors, 10 digits, and 7 notes; its what we do with them that’s important.” Wow! How powerful that is when you think about it. Every number ever produced is a …
You have all that you need to create an incredible life. Read More »
At the end of each quarter, I take a detailed look at my yearly goals to see how I’m progressing against them. Sometimes I’m ahead – sometimes behind. And what I’ve begun to notice is that I’m ahead on the items where I accomplish smaller tasks more frequently. There’s a concept in goal setting called …
Recently, I’ve started noticing these stickers everywhere. They remind me of a great piece of life advice John Assaraf recently shared with me, encouraging me to make a shift in how I spend my time. A thread runs through this simple sticker and John Assaraf’s words: simply put, spend more time pursuing your passions than …
My buddy, Nadav Wilf, just got back from an incredible trip to Neckar Island with Richard Branson. I was offered to go, but there wasn't a guarantee that Mr. B was going to be there, so I took a pass. (I have another blog post brewing about my own issue of saying 'no' to too …