It’s our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities. J.K. Rawlings.

Every decision we make – every decision – isn’t really about what to do about a particular problem or issue that’s bothering us. It’s about who we really are.

There isn’t one of us that doesn’t have a problem of one sort or another. Some of them come out of the blue, totally unexpected, not of our making. Others have been hanging around for a long time, old baggage we refuse to deal with: a job we hate, an empty relationship that has gone sour, a client that keeps us hanging, a promotion we didn’t get, a changing business environment we won’t address.

Whatever the cause, they can tie us up in knots, keeping us trapped and unable to move forward:

A friend of mine once said to me, “You know, Drew, with the exception of a truly serious illness or something similar over which one doesn’t have any control, all problems have a solution. It’s just a matter of how much the solution is going to cost and whether you are willing to pay the price.”

It was a hard answer. But sometimes life is hard.

The problems vary in intensity and seriousness and seem unsolvable. Being human, trying to contain them, we erect boundaries around them, trying to ease the pain. But it doesn’t work.

Sometimes the problem really isn’t that big, but other times, to resolve it – you have to *’break the china.’

So you can move forward again.

* Break the China. A old, polite English expression meaning do whatever the hell you have to do to fix it. And don’t worry about appearances!

Leave a Comment

Almost always, the creative, dedicated minority has made the world better. Martin Luther King

If you are still competing with the crowd, trying to look like everyone else, matching or beating their prices and still trotting out the same old ideas that clearly aren’t working anymore, maybe it’s time to rethink your proposition.

Here are three critical questions to consider:

1. Who, specifically, are you trying to reach?
2. What story are you telling them?
3. What do you need to do to get more people to listen?

We’re in an era where the winners are coming from the ranks of those willing to step out ahead of the crowd. To grow your enterprise or advance your career in today’s hard scrabble environment, you’ve got to continually innovate, tell your own story and work smarter.

What you don’t want is to work safe.

Leave a Comment

Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm. Emerson.

We’ve all heard the old expression: “When the going get gets tough, the tough get going.”

But’s it’s more than that. When times are particularly trying, when the odds seem insurmountable, it’s not just about being tough that  prevails.

It’s your personal resolve, how much you believe in yourself, your passion and, above all, it’s your courage and attitude that will see you through.

Leave a Comment

It is only by following your deepest instinct that you can lead a rich life. If you let your fear of consequences prevent you from following your instinct, then your life will be safe, expedient and thin. Katherine Butler Hathaway.

Today, many are searching for answers and a deeper meaning for a life they feel is theirs alone and a lifestyle with a more human dimension – in a world that is becoming increasing dehumanized and distracted.

The world has changed and so have you. You are not the same person you were in your late teens and twenties when you first started out – trying to live up to the expectations and playing by the rules set down by your tribe and the greater society.

Breaking through and challenging the rules that don’t fit your personality and world view anymore can lead to extreme discomfort and anxiety but there is no way away around it.

It is one of the first steps you have to take – and it is one of the most daunting because of the tribe’s death-like grip.

No matter how difficult, though, the more uncomfortable you feel casting off these old rules, the greater the chance of your challenging and pushing aside old habits and beliefs that have been holding you back for so long – and keeping you from being the person you know you are.

Growing isn’t easy. Often it is one step forward, two steps back – but take heart. Your courage will keep you forging ahead

In fact, the moment you make the decision to cast off the rules you will start growing again. You’ll actually feel it.

Leave a Comment

1. Never Stop Thinking
2. Have Courage
3. Be Compassionate
4. Do the Right Things  Rather Than Doing Things Right
5. Never Lose Faith in Yourself
6. Always Make Time For Those You Love and Who Love
   and Nurture You
7. Be Thankful for All You Have
8. Be Honest
9. Be Real
10. Do the Work

Leave a Comment