Blog
Read Blog Posts by Category:
Passion: Articles that deal with the inner drive that we all need to want to MOVE from where we currently are to where we dream to be.
Preparation: These posts reference articles, books, documentaries, speakers, quotes, and other inspirational and formative ideas that I have found that helped me and the people around me.
Practice: Articles in this category have a heavy sports and performance training lean.
Performance: These articles focus on how you go about your work. From networking to communications to finding a better way to do what you do.
Perseverance: Articles in this category speak to the mechanics that we go through both mentally and physically to stay on track and not get STUCK.
The Most Dangerous Lie: “Next Year Will Be Different”
Every December, people build their hope on the same fragile promise. They tell themselves that next year will be different. They believe the calendar will do what their character has not done. They imagine that when the ball drops and the clock resets, they will suddenly think clearer, work harder, and become more disciplined.
The problem is simple. The year is not the issue. The person walking into that year is.
The Most Dangerous Lie We Tell Ourselves
As the year comes to a close, people start telling themselves the same story. They convince themselves that enough distance from the past will soften what still hurts, that time will smooth over unresolved issues, and that simply reaching the next calendar year will somehow make things different. It feels patient. It feels responsible. It even feels mature. But it quietly removes responsibility from the one place it belongs.
Time does not change people. Work does.
Time does not confront patterns, expose blind spots, or interrupt habits that feel familiar. It simply passes. And when nothing else changes, time has a way of making problems feel smaller without ever making them better. If your life is going to change, it will not be because enough time passed. It will be because you were willing to do the work; time never will.
That work always begins at the source of the problem.
You.
The Most Dangerous Lie We Tell Ourselves
As the year comes to a close, people start telling themselves the same story. They convince themselves that enough distance from the past will soften what still hurts, that time will smooth over unresolved issues, and that simply reaching the next calendar year will somehow make things different. It feels patient. It feels responsible. It even feels mature. But it quietly removes responsibility from the one place it belongs.
Time does not change people. Work does.
Time does not confront patterns, expose blind spots, or interrupt habits that feel familiar. It simply passes. And when nothing else changes, time has a way of making problems feel smaller without ever making them better. If your life is going to change, it will not be because enough time passed. It will be because you were willing to do the work; time never will.
That work always begins at the source of the problem.
You.
Bet on Yourself: The Ultimate Act of Self-Confidence
Every year, when the Kentucky Derby comes and goes, it reminds me of a conversation I had last May with a man I respected, who was talented, capable, and carrying far more potential than he realized. What started as a simple talk about betting turned into something much deeper about self-belief, risk, and the courage to own your future. That moment stayed with me because it revealed something I’ve seen in thousands of people over the years: they will bet on anything … luck, circumstance, someone else’s decision; before they ever consider betting on themselves.
The Power of Imagination: It’s Not Just For Kids
When we were young, imagination wasn’t entertainment. It was training. When no one was around, we invented games, invented opponents, invented teammates, and created moments so vivid we could feel the wind, the pressure, the crowd. The winning free throw wasn’t a fantasy—it was a full-body rehearsal. The impossible catch wasn’t a wish; it was a moment we had already lived a hundred times in our head.
And then we grew up.
But the skill didn’t disappear. The shot we actually hit. The pass we actually completed. The catch we actually made under pressure wasn’t random talent. It was a memory our mind created before our body ever experienced it.
We didn’t call it visualization. We didn’t need a guru or a seminar. We just imagined it. And imagination expanded our courage long before we could spell “confidence.”
Preparation Disguised as Pain
Every leader eventually faces a season where everything they’ve relied on stops working. The strategy that once brought success falters. The habits that once produced momentum stall. We want growth to be smooth and success to make sense, but real development rarely happens in comfort. The truth is, pain often arrives dressed as preparation. The weight you’re cursing might be the very resistance building what ease never could.
Anchors vs. Sails: Culture and Life
Every team, every business, every person carries two forces: drag and drive. Drag slows you when the wind is perfect. Drive moves you when the wind is dead. The truth is, most organizations don’t fail for lack of talent. Most people don’t fail because of lack of ambition. They fail because they quietly add anchors to their lives and wonder why they aren’t moving.
Anchors and sails are more than metaphors for culture. They’re daily realities, choices you bolt onto the hull of your team, and choices you bolt onto the hull of your own life. And here’s the deeper truth: not all anchors and sails are the same. Some protect you. Some destroy you. Some sails drive you forward. Others blow you wildly off course.
Noise vs Signal: Sharpening Your Focus
Every team, every business, and every individual lives between two competing frequencies: noise and signal. Noise is motion without meaning; the constant hum of distraction that fills every open space. Signal is clarity with purpose, the steady tone that cuts through the static and points toward true north. The truth is, most organizations don’t crumble from a lack of ideas. Most people don’t fail because they lack ambition. They fail because the signal gets drowned out by noise, and they mistake activity for progress.
Legacy Isn’t History. It’s Hunger.
The word legacy gets thrown around like a trophy — something to show off, something to admire, something to protect. But legacy isn’t preservation. It’s propulsion. It’s not a monument to what was — it’s a mandate for what still must be done. When we start protecting our past instead of producing our future, the clock starts ticking on everything we built.
The Power to Rise When the Ground Breaks
Everyone loves to talk about resilience—until they actually have to live it. It sounds good in a meeting, looks inspiring on a poster, but in practice, resilience is ugly. It’s scraped knees, sleepless nights, and the quiet grind of showing up again after failure just knocked the wind out of you.
Resilience isn’t optimism. Optimism says, “It’ll be fine.” Resilience says, “Even if it’s not fine, I’ll find a way through.” Optimism looks for a silver lining. Resilience forges one out of fire. It doesn’t deny pain. It doesn’t escape struggle. It uses both as fuel to keep moving when everything else says stop.
Time Leadership: Why Managing Minutes Isn’t Enough
Time gets treated like it’s negotiable. As if it can be wasted, stretched, or made up later. Too many live like the clock is on their side, when in reality, it’s the most unforgiving opponent they’ll ever face. Money can be recovered, teams can be rebuilt, health can be restored … but time never comes back. The clock doesn’t care about your excuses. It doesn’t care about your intentions. It just runs.
That’s why “time management” has always felt like a lie. You don’t manage time. You don’t control it. What you manage are your choices. What you lead is your attention. And what separates great leaders from average ones isn’t that they have more hours in the day—it’s that they treat every hour like it matters.
Self-Discipline: The Standard That Builds Everything Else
Motivation gets you moving. Excitement gets you started. But neither lasts. They fade the moment the grind begins. The separator—the trait that holds everything together when the spark is gone—is self-discipline.
Self-discipline is the refusal to compromise with excuses. It’s the ability to keep your commitments long after the mood you made them in has disappeared. It’s not about punishment or perfection. It’s about consistency when it would be easier to coast, about living by standards instead of feelings. Without it, nothing else matters. With it, you can outlast talent, outpace comfort, and outwork doubt.
Proactivity: Stop Waiting, Start Leading
Too many leaders are reactors. They sit back, watch things unfold, and then scramble to respond once it’s already too late. They wait for someone else to move, for conditions to be perfect, for permission to be granted. That isn’t leadership. That’s survival.
The leaders who stand out—the ones who rise in business, in sports, and in life—don’t wait for a sign. They move first. They take initiative when others hesitate. They see change coming and prepare before it hits. They build solutions instead of excuses. Proactivity is the difference between being carried by the current and steering the ship.
Emotional Leadership: Making an Impact Without Yelling!
Many leaders believe pressure is the enemy. They spend their energy trying to smooth it out, shorten the meeting, soften the feedback, and keep the waves small. That works until the sea changes. Then the fear shows up, the room tightens, and all the “control” disappears. The leaders who last don’t fight pressure; they learn to carry it without leaking it onto everyone else. That’s emotional leadership. It’s not therapy or theatrics. It’s the discipline of reading the room, telling the truth without shrapnel, and keeping your standard intact when everyone else’s pulse spikes.
Emotional leadership isn’t soft. It’s showing control under heat. It’s choosing response over reaction. It’s accountability that doesn’t come out as an attack, and empathy that doesn’t excuse. It shows up in three places that matter most: at work, on a team, and at home.
Creativity: The Courage to Break the Pattern
Most people think creativity is about being artistic, activities such as painting, music, and design. But in leadership, creativity is something else entirely. It’s the courage to look at the same situation as everyone else and see a different possibility. It’s refusing to get trapped in “the way it’s always been.” Creativity is not optional for leaders. It’s survival. Because the moment you stop creating, you start copying. And when you’re copying, you’re already behind.
Creativity isn’t chaos. It’s not throwing ideas against a wall and hoping something sticks. It’s disciplined freedom—the willingness to explore new approaches without abandoning standards. It’s the grit to innovate, not for novelty’s sake, but because yesterday’s solutions won’t solve tomorrow’s problems.
Critical Thinking: The Discipline of Seeing Clearly
Information is everywhere. Opinions fly fast, emotions run high, and decisions are often made in the heat of urgency. What separates strong leaders, resilient teams, and grounded individuals from the rest is not the amount of information they consume but the clarity with which they process it. That clarity comes from critical thinking.
Critical thinking isn’t about being cynical or playing devil’s advocate. It’s about slowing the rush, stepping back, and asking the questions that cut through noise. It’s the ability to challenge assumptions, test perspectives, and see beyond surface-level answers. Without it, leadership decisions become reactions, coaching becomes guesswork, and personal growth stalls in the fog of confusion.
Problem Solving: Why the Best Leaders Don’t Wait for the Answer
Problem solving isn’t a bonus skill—it’s the job. And if you’re in a leadership role, hoping someone else will make the tough call, you’re already behind. The real leaders don’t sit back and wait for the storm to pass—they walk straight into it with clarity and command.
Every organization has friction. Every mission faces resistance. The difference lies in how quickly and effectively it gets resolved. Elite problem solvers don’t need all the information to act. They’ve built the instincts to move when it counts. The rest? They wait, they waffle, and they wonder why momentum keeps stalling.
Leadership: The Standard That Outlasts Circumstances
Most people think leadership is about authority. Titles, corner offices, or the ability to make the final call. But titles don’t lead. Authority doesn’t inspire. If leadership was just about position, then the highest-ranked person in every organization would also be the most trusted, most followed, and most respected. You and I both know that’s not true.
Real leadership isn’t given. It’s built. It shows up when the pressure spikes, when people are watching with doubt in their eyes, when the easy path is to retreat or explode. Leadership is the ability to set the standard and hold it — not once, not when it’s convenient, but consistently, in every environment where people are counting on you.
That’s what separates the ones who leave a mark from the ones who just hold a title.
Dualism: Triggers vs. Glimmers: What Are You Really Training Your Mind to Find?
We’ve all heard the word trigger thrown around like a buzzer waiting to go off. Triggers are the things that knock us off balance, ignite old wounds, or set our nervous system into high alert. Most people know their triggers—at least the obvious ones. Deadlines. Criticism. The sound of a whistle that reminds them of a coach who broke them instead of built them. The email that hits their inbox with just the right subject line to ruin their day.
What we don’t talk about enough is the other side of the equation.
Glimmers.
I came across this idea recently while I was doing research on relieving anxiety for one of my clients. It hit different—not because it was flashy, but because it was true. Glimmers are the opposite of triggers. They’re the moments that pull you back to center. The subtle, barely-noticeable cues that tell your nervous system, you’re okay here. That you’re safe, grounded, connected. The world didn’t just get perfect—but for this one breath, it didn’t need to be.
That’s a glimmer.