Category Archives: inspiration

The Meaning of Life IS to have Purpose

“We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” – Winston Churchill

What is the meaning of life? Scientifically speaking, the “meaning” of life is to persist and evolve. Every organism has a drive for self-preservation. Every creature is genetically encoded to replicate, to evolve, and to persist. At the most basic level, that is the fundamental meaning or purpose of life – to live.

But that’s not the kind of “meaning” we’re talking about here. So again, what is the “meaning” of life? Humans have pondered this for thousands of years. It is the very thing that separates humans from other animals…the self-awareness necessary to ask this question.

If you search that question on the internet, you will get back over 2.3 billion results – a clear indication that there is no simple answer. Millions of blogs, articles, even books all claim they have an answer. Read through some of them and you’ll discover a wide range of answers. Some will tell you the meaning of life is to serve a higher power (clearly a spiritual perspective). Philosophers will tell you it’s to be happy (not a bad thought). Academics will tell you our very ability to process thought infers that the meaning of life is the pursuit of knowledge. Overachievers will tell you it is to be successful in whatever you do. And so on… you get the point. Continue reading →

Being Present and Worrying Less

“Take one day at a time. Today, after all, is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.” – Billy Graham

Recently my assistant gave me a desk calendar for my birthday. Knowing I love finding material for my monthly leadership blog, she gave me a calendar that has an inspirational quote for each day. Yes, I know its mid-way through the year, but I’m enjoying flipping through the quotes and finding wonderful nuggets of motivation.

When I stumbled across the quote above, it struck me profoundly. It’s one of those messages that seems simple on its surface, but much deeper when you let it sink in. For me, it speaks to two issues I have been struggling with in my life – being present and worrying less.

Being present is a big one for me. In my work life I have developed the skills of a multitasker. Well, maybe the words “developed” and “skills” are a stretch, but I will certainly confess to being one. The problem is we think that multitasking is a good thing, when in fact it isn’t. I recently read a study that was published that compared men and women to see who the better multitaskers were. Turns out, both are equal, but also equally poor at it. In fact, we are 2 times more likely to make a mistake when we multitask than when we don’t. Continue reading →

We Choose to do the things that are hard…

“We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard” – John F. Kennedy

This month marks the 50th anniversary of the first man on the moon. An amazing milestone in history, one that both changed the course of humanity and resulted in countless innovations that even to this day have improved and enriched the lives of nearly every person on this planet. As Neil Armstrong famously said when he first stepped on the moon, “This is one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind”.

While it was the U.S. that achieved this famous milestone, it was never assured it would be. In fact, at the time of John Kennedy’s famous speech, America was embroiled in a tight race for dominance in space, and the Soviet Union were much further ahead. It was the Soviets who launched the first intercontinental ballistic missile (rocket). It was the Soviets who placed the first artificial satellite in orbit (an important precursor to landing a man on the moon). And at the time, its audible “ping” signals sent from space were a clear and frustrating reminder of how far behind the Americans had fallen. Continue reading →

Want to be Successful in Business? Outhustle the Other Guy/Gal

“There may be people who have more talent than you, but there is no excuse for anyone to work harder than you” Derek Jeter

About a year ago my company started a new service offering – Talent Path. The idea behind this offering is that we recruit and hire recent graduates from top universities who fit our profiles for the right academic foundation, aptitude, and attitude/commitment, then train them in specific skills and key technologies that are in high demand. It’s an unusual offering for a staffing company (particularly considering the investment in training and bench costs), but necessary in an environment like technology where demand far outstrips supply.

Now, to be clear, this isn’t a commercial on my new company/offering, but the context is important. As part of their first week with the company, I spend time with our cohorts to answer questions about the company and our purpose, vision, and mission. Inevitably, those sessions always turn in to a Q&A about the attributes they will need to be successful. Continue reading →

Contrasting Success Factors – Accountability vs. The Blame Game

“Take accountability… Blame is the water in which many dreams and relationships drown” – Steve Maraboli

I’m a little behind in my blog posts this year, probably not the best way to showcase attributes of successful people. I’ll take the blame on that one and chalk it up simply to letting my schedule get overwhelmed. That’s not what successful people do. Then again, successful people take ownership for their actions, don’t they?

I find it amazing how quickly we make excuses or tend to point fingers when things go wrong. I don’t know if this has become a cultural phenomenon, but it sure feels like an epidemic. When things go wrong, we immediately look for someone to blame. Someone who didn’t do their job. Someone who failed to see the warning signs. Someone who simply dropped the ball.

I have a routine I have done every morning now for years. On the way in to the office, I flip between CNN and Fox News, largely for entertainment purposes. I guess I could tune my SiriusXM to the comedy channel, but I find more humor in these two networks. To be fair, they sprinkle in a little bit of news here and there, but most of it is one sided color commentary, and often it’s an amazing example of the blame game on steroids. Continue reading →

Contrasting Success Factors – Entitlement vs. Empowerment

“I spend my life constantly calling in ‘imaginary’ debts that aren’t owed to me in order to avoid the ‘real’ debts that I owe to others, and so everybody ends up bankrupt.”  – Craig D. Lounsbrough

As I shift my attention to the new year, I thought I would take a slightly different approach to my leadership blog posts. This year, or at least for the next few months, I’d like to focus on the topic of “Success” by contrasting the different attributes of successful vs. unsuccessful people. So, let’s start this series out with a discussion on entitlement vs. empowerment.

More and more these days I find myself running in to the issue of entitlement. Sure, you have all heard plenty about the ‘entitlement’ mentality of the millennials (which I think is both incorrect and misunderstood). But to be honest, I’m seeing the issue of entitlement just as frequently (perhaps even more so) in the older generations. I’ll avoid any political association to this post and simply say that I believe entitlement has become far too prevalent today. And yes, there is a difference between social responsibility and entitlement. Continue reading →

Want to start a new habit? Start tiny. Be ready to fail. A lot.

NOTE from Editor: I had full intention of posting a blog on new year’s resolutions, with a theme around “start small and built it up”. While researching, I stumbled across a friend’s blog who had just written a similar piece. In the spirit of cooperation, I’ve received his blessing to share his post here on leadingwright. Hope you enjoy, and thank you Brian Beckcom for the insight!

With the new year upon us, many of you are hoping to achieve some New Year’s resolutions. Unfortunately, the statistics of people actually achieving New Year’s resolutions are shockingly small. Why?

Perhaps because once our brains are hardwired with a particular habit, it is almost impossible to “get rid” of that habit. That habit has literally become part of the physical wiring of our brain.

But people can – and do – change. And people can – and do – meet their New Year’s resolutions. The obvious question is, why do most people ultimately fail but a few succeed?

I recently read an awesome story about how to change your habits. First, you have to understand that you’re not really changing your habits. Instead, you’re forming new habits that override the old ones. Here are some tips on creating amazing new habits: Continue reading →

The Gift of Gratitude and Appreciation

He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has. – Epictetus

The holiday season is supposed to be a time to celebrate all of the blessings we’ve received. It’s a season of giving, receiving and celebrating historical events that define our religious and moral being. It’s the ending of a year, and the beginning of another. A time for reflection, and a time to be grateful. I know personally 2018 has been an amazing year, as I celebrated a healthy 20 year marriage, my daughter’s graduation, and turning 50. OK, so maybe I’m not so excited about turning 50, but I digress.

For others, it can be dark and depressing. At times life gives us more than we think we can handle. In the past year I’ve personally witnessed several of my closest friends dealing with the loss of loved ones, their jobs, and their marriage. The three most difficult events in life for anyone to experience. At the worst it can destroy lives, and at best it can sour your outlook and damage your self-esteem. Continue reading →