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.
Earn Your Respect: Understand Every Level
Leadership often looks effortless from the outside. The decisions seem clear, the pace looks controlled, and the person in charge appears calm even when everyone else feels the pressure. Most people assume that calm is personality. In reality, calm is usually built on something far more practical. Understanding.
Early in my career as a strength coach, I thought I knew what “running a program” meant. Write training, coach the lifts, demand standards, drive effort, and get athletes ready to perform. That was the visible part. What I did not understand at first was how many difficult, unglamorous jobs surrounded my role and quietly determined whether my work succeeded or failed.
The higher I climbed, the clearer it became. You do not rise into leadership by mastering only your lane. You rise by understanding the lanes that intersect with yours, especially the ones most people overlook because they do not look impressive on a résumé. Those “hard jobs” are the backbone of a business. If you do not understand them, you can still get promoted. You just cannot lead well once you get there.
Most leaders do not get exposed by lack of ambition. They get exposed by lack of operational understanding. They inherit authority without context, then they try to lead through meetings, dashboards, and secondhand explanations. That is when decisions start landing wrong. It is also when trust begins to erode, because the people doing the real work can tell immediately when a leader does not understand what it actually takes to keep the place running.
You do not need to know every job to do it yourself. You need to know enough to respect it, communicate with it, resource it, and protect it. That is how leadership gets easier, not by lowering the standard, but by increasing your understanding of what the standard actually requires.
Who Inspires You?
Inspiration is not neutral. The people you admire, study, and model yourself after quietly shape how you think, how you act, and what you believe is possible for your life. Most people assume inspiration is always positive, but that assumption is careless. Inspiration can elevate you, distort you, or slowly pull you away from who you are meant to become.
The question is not whether you are influenced. You are. The real question is whether you are being influenced with intention or by default. Left unchecked, admiration turns into imitation, and imitation without understanding leads people to adopt behaviors, attitudes, and standards that were never meant for them.
Who you choose to be inspired by matters more than most people realize.
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.
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.”
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.
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.
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.
Growth Takes Time, But Happens Quickly
We’ve been conditioned to associate growth with the result—new roles, bigger responsibilities, increased performance, and more visible success. What gets overlooked is everything that comes before those shifts—the time when nothing flashy is happening. No titles are changing. No milestones are being posted. Just slow, consistent, often unnoticed work is being done behind the scenes.
That’s where the real growth takes place—not in the headlines, but in the habits.
People talk about breakthroughs like they happen overnight. They rarely do. What looks sudden from the outside usually isn’t. The ground has been shifting quietly for a while. A pattern has been forming. The foundation has been laid. You just couldn’t see it yet.
Respect and Consistency: Foundation for Success
There’s a reason the elite seem unshaken. It’s not just talent. It’s not just titles. It’s because they’ve earned something that can’t be bought, inherited, or faked: RESPECT. And the foundation of that respect is one thing—CONSISTENCY.
Not loud consistency. Not look-at-me consistency. But the kind you can count on. The kind that always shows up at 6:00 a.m. on a Monday when the day doesn’t start until 7:00 a.m. The person who looks exactly the same no matter whether they are in the middle of a crisis, a record-breaking quarter, or a pink slip meeting. Prepared and organized with a 'Get To' mindset. That kind of consistency builds trust, and trust is the currency of leadership.
Building Your Team: A Strategic Approach
To be the best at what I did and add value to the organization, I felt it was imperative to concentrate on three pivotal areas: establishing a clear vision, fostering a culture of continuous improvement, and making the people I worked with the best they could be. This plan's steps were critical in ensuring cutting-edge growth and sustained success.
The Power of Believing In YOU!
Have you ever noticed that when something good happens to you, it changes your whole outlook? How long can we hope for good things to “just happen”? Wouldn’t it be nice if you could have that positive outlook every day? It’s inside of you, you need to know how to get it front and center in your mind.
We all know that positive thinking isn’t just a feel-good mantra; it’s a powerful mindset that shapes our reality. By focusing on life's optimistic and beneficial aspects, we unlock doors to mental and physical well-being, creativity, and positive relationships.
When you lead with a positive mindset, it will have a profound impact on your life. Keep reading and learn how to make positive thinking a standard in your life and how it will change every aspect of your life.
Unleashing Your Potential
Have you ever felt that spark inside you, a desire to become the best version of yourself? Welcome to the exhilarating world of personal growth and self-improvement! This journey is about reaching new heights and transforming your life into one full of purpose, fulfillment, and happiness. By setting clear goals, developing empowering habits, learning from your experiences, and embracing continuous evolution, you can unlock your full potential and create a meaningful life.
Prioritize Your Schedule: Transform “Got To’s” into “Get To’s”
Have you ever looked at your to-do list and felt a wave of dread wash over you? It’s time to change that perspective! Instead of viewing tasks as burdens, let’s focus on transforming those dreaded “Got To’s” into exciting “Get To’s.” By reshaping how we approach our daily schedules, we can find joy in even the most mundane jobs.
Move Your Needle: Process Over Outcome
When we get wrapped up in only the results and tangible achievements, it’s easy to fall into the trap of focusing solely on outcomes. This isn’t just in sports; the concept of Process Over Outcome happens in your personal life and business ventures. We tend to measure success by the end result rather than appreciating the intricate journey that leads us there. However, embracing the process over the outcome can transform our approach to life and work, allowing us to cultivate resilience, creativity, and the ability to live the life we are meant to live.
How to Stop Being Too Busy
We are not inherently “too busy.” Instead, we prioritize certain activities over others based on their perceived value or urgency. We all have the same 24 hours, the same 1440 minutes, and the exact same 86,400 seconds in our day; what changes is our perspective on priorities.
Empty Your Cup
In the hustle and bustle of our careers, it’s easy to fall into the trap of believing we’ve reached our peak. After all, isn’t there a certain comfort in knowing we’re “good enough”? But what if I told you that true excellence is more than just reaching a destination; it's about the continuous journey of learning? Just as one cannot pour tea into a full cup, we cannot become who we are meant to be if we are unwilling to empty our minds and make room for new knowledge.
The Paradox of Knowledge
Have you heard the saying, “The more you learn, the less you know”?
Isn’t it funny how there are still gaps in our knowledge during the internet revolution, where we have so much more information at our fingertips than ever in all human history? On top of that, as we learn more, we find the vastness of genuinely understanding a topic to its end seems farther out of reach than when we started.
This paradox, “The more you learn, the less you know,” has made great thinkers pause and marvel at its depth of meaning. This concept lends to our curiosity and insatiable hunger to know and understand more.