OneSharpSword

What does the guy who used to be known as The Get-It-Done-Guy who happens to be an MIT engineer and Harvard MBA have to teach us about becoming extraordinary?  A lot, naturally.   Stever Robbins was raised in a travelling commune. With such a different background, his approach to life, politics, and economics gives us a perspective worth pondering.     Stever and I couldn’...

Rob Thomas is a networking hero - he teaches people how to make connections work. It’s a lost art and he’s got it.   The son of old-school communications parents, he learned the importance of crafting the way we engage. His commitment and integrity shine through as examples for any of us.   From the old-style fax toner salesman to the instructor he is now, he says, “don’t be that guy who...

What can being punched in the face teach you about leadership? From Vice-Champion fighter to success coach, Nico Veressen has taken some blows. And as someone used to winning, he knows how to dish it out, too.   Raised in Belgium and now living in Portugal, Nico says he was shy at 14 and that’s when he knew he wanted to get into competitive fighting. After winning his way up the ranks in cham...

Carolyn has almost two decades of business coaching coming from her experience in the corporate world and trying things out - what works and what doesn’t.  She says she’s been a bit of a risk taker, and the lesson here is to bet on yourself! Carolyn continues, noting that her strategy was based on the mistakes she’s made. So just know that you’ll make make your own mistakes and keep moving fo...

From high-school english teacher to broadway producer to founder of Small Pond Enterprises, Michael Roderick shares his amazing insights on How To Create A Referrable Brand!    Great lessons from this beautiful soul today include (and I’m paraphrasing what he actually said):  When an opportunity that matches your dreams arises, don’t hold back. Step into it. That’s how he met Broadw...

Working at 14, but forbidden from going to college… from drilling in a warehouse to becoming a fashion executive - What A Story!   Jill says that she just tried things. She took on the family label for her - Firecracker - and forged into the world.  Drawing on courage and tenacity, Jill embraced the New. And we can all learn from her.   She saw beyond the tradition of the industry a...

SUCH GREAT GEMS on this show!  Marisa, from actress (and waitress) to educational psychologist and organizational change agent, she brings us concepts so useful in our everyday lives.    What a delight to find someone so aligned in our thinking yet so different in our world paths!   Marisa approaches the world and her clients, not from a place of “what’s wrong?” but from a plac...

You are powerful. Noone else has had the experiences you’ve had. Noone else has lived your life.    Here’s the bottom line on this - you get to choose how you approach others. What comes out of you can serve to lift them. And in terms of the M-A-G-I-C formula, the “I” stands for Inspiration.   When you inspire someone else to act or even to think differently, you’ve demonstrated you...

It is SO easy to complain about all of the things going on and going wrong with the world right now. And that complaining does what?   It lowers your ability to be aware of, or receptive to, opportunities that may be right in front of you. Complaining might make you feel better… for a moment. And then, it’s almost like you have to do it again.   Instead, there’s another way to approach t...

We have a problem when a group of people (at work, at home, in the community, in politics) agree that we have a problem. Until one person takes the role of “shepherd” the problem will remain a problem.   You’ll discuss it over and over. It’ll be the same stuff that comes up.   Until you get an accountable “I” - someone who will take responsibility for engaging others to help fix the prob...

Mindset matters more than anything else as it is the filter for everything… EVERYTHING.    From your relationship with your family or partner to your relationship with those at work and even your relationship with Spirit, your mindset allows you to open or shut out possibilities.   And that’s different from a Positive Mental Attitude.  It’s good to have that, and you need to ad...

Oh my gawwwwwwddddd… the whining is unbearable!!!   Wahhh… i can’t do that, I’m not readyyyyyy.   It’s such bulls**t. No one is ever good at something the first time out. You’ve garnered skills in other areas that you’ll apply to whatever it is.  You wobble when you learn to ride a bike. And then, with practice, you get good at it. It’s the forward momentum that keeps you uprig...

With so much going on and so many things you could say are important, how do you decide what to do first?   Think about all of the different things that could go into a picnic basket.  Only the essentials for a picnic actually make it in the basket.   Your day is your picnic basket and you’re the one in charge of what goes into it. Be deliberate. Eliminate unessential meetings. Take...

What got you here won’t get you there. It’s an old saying, and did you ever stop to think about that.   What got you here were all of your life’s experiences up to this point.   Now the questions are: Where is “there” - where are you heading and can you be deliberate about it? What do you need to do, to learn, or to obtain in order to get there? If you were packing for a vacation, you’d...

What “ should ” you be doing? What are you doing? What do you really want to be doing?   We have 24 hours in each day. And we have choice.   This is a gentle reminder that YOU are in control. Thank you for listening to One Sharp Sword!  Be sure to also check out Wednesdays With Wayne for quick, fun, and inspirational mid-week reading.  www. WaynePernell.com/blog

Connie Jakab is a huge advocate for branching out and fighting against the status quo. I saw her speak and was enthralled as her message of mental health expands beyond the bounds of what people usually think when they hear that term.    She’s the director of community for Flourishing Life a global movement centered around wellness and she’s the senior manager of Wellness Innovate. &nbsp...

We have work to do. Noone wants to hear that and yet the TRUTH is that we need to be paying attention on multiple levels. The first place to start is with ourselves.    I Am Bigger Than My Current Life - that’s the ache that most people feel.    What would happen if you decided that you were actually in charge of your life?    Awareness leads to Choice and Choice lead...

One of my VIP clients recently asked me how to handle it when, in a social situation, the conversation turned to gossip and rumors about another mutual acquaintance who wasn’t present. He was uncomfortable and wanted to leave. His partner wanted to stay.   What would you do?   Upleveling IS hard. Staying where you are is comfortably uncomfortable.    I’m responsible for what I...

I’m a fourth-degree blackbelt in the art of Bushido - The Way of The Warrior.  So many people who start out in the martial arts just want the coveted black belt. They don’t realize that the black belt is simply a symbol of competence, and that it’s also a starting place. It’s the place from which mastery is born.   In leading yourself and others, you need to find a way to dive in deep, t...

Maybe you’re feeling a little overwhelmed right now. That’s normal, but the mountains of “stuff” that you’ve been carrying… you were meant to climb.   You need to be in control of your day, your week, your month, your quarter, and the rest of this year. Do that by looking at all of the “stuff” you’ve tried to carry from day to day. Look at where you’ve been putting your energy and recognize t...

It’s odd how people are uncomfortable with silence, isn’t it. What’s amazing is that when I work with teams and leaders, people start to squirm just a few seconds into a pause, a void of talking. By nine seconds, usually the leader has jumped in to say something.   That’s so unnecessary. Four seconds is enough to create safety, to show through your body language and your face that you’re list...

Yes, we all need a reminder - especially at this time of year: there are three “G” words that’ll make your days more powerful, effective, efficient and productive.   G is for Gratitude. Look at what you’ve come through. Look at where you’re headed! Look at the small pebbles that have paved the way, even the ones that have gotten in the way. There is so much to be grateful for. So very much to...

We’ve stared at the same four walls for the past year and a half. We’ve organized the pantry. We’ve learned to work differently. We’ve extended our work hours and have gotten less done in more time (ahhhh - the new math). We thought we’d become more efficient, but when we check email first thing and then throughout the day and then last thing and then stay up longer as a revenge against work so as...

I’m eating sushi with a client when I ask him what he expects of me the following day as I engage with his team. “Excellence,” came the one-word, very direct answer. “Challenge Accepted,” I replied with a smile.   Inside I wondered how to bring him the excellence he expected. What I didn’t know was that he was endorsing me for the excellence he had always experienced in my work with him. &nbs...

From homeless street kid to Marine Corps Captain to Sage & Mentor - Solarzar works magic in there somewhere, too!   He notes that leadership is all about communication and relationships!   He believes in the continuum of relationships, how the teacher imparts to the scholar and at some point, the scholar offers to the teacher.  Solarzar discussed The Hero’s Journey and notes tha...