Daily Boost — Motivation and Coaching

In 300 BC, political life was driving people crazy. To calm the masses, several schools of philosophy popped up. Stoicism still resonates powerfully today. 1. Don't enslave yourself to annoying people. 2. Choose reasonable expectations. 3. Pre-meditate those expectations. 4. You are a mind that is operating a bag of chemicals you call a body. 5. Stop pretending you know that things are bad. 6. You...

When will you get to do what you want to do?  More people than you know lose sleep over that question. If that sounds like something you have experienced, you’re not alone.  Almost everybody begins their journey when a thought pops into their mind. Then, day-to-day life keeps them busy, and they spend frustrating months fixin’ to get ready. You know, starting to prepare… so you can begin to do… so...

I’m not sure how you feel about the Universe and how things work in the world, but does the Universe speak to you? I can’t tell you if the ‘Universe’ stands alone or if ‘God’ created the ‘Universe’ and runs the show. That’s above my pay grade.  What I can say is this.  We live and breathe every day in a world that is ganging up on us and trying to get our attention. The question is, are you listen...

A few years ago, my friend Louis Gates taught me about the nine-year life cycle. It's an easy way to get what you want using the Law of Attraction.  9-year cycles begin the day you are born and repeat throughout your life. Happiness is as simple as paying attention to your cycle - and asking for what you want. In year 1, start asking for a new purpose in life. It will reveal itself in year 2. Your...

I'm sure you have a lot to do today. You’re probably in for a busy day if you use a traditional To-Do list. If I may, I’d like to pass on some advice to make your days much more fun. LOSE your "To-Do List." Replace it with a "Did I Do It List."   Of course, a traditional To-Do list will get the job done. But it’s far too easy to focus entirely on your list of things to do instead of what you're su...

The Law of Attraction should be called the Law of What You Think About Most. Like attracts like, what you think about, you get.  If you think, "I won't get it because I never do," - you are correct. Dreaming of something new while focusing on current problems is a sure way to keep spinning your wheels. The secret is to focus your attention and actions on what you want to attract. That will require...

It’s Time To Explore What’s Possible I’ve spent the last couple of days saying things like — “What do you do when you are doing you, and your purpose is to find your purpose?” Now, I realize that something so simple is also something most people will ignore.  I also realized that for some people, as soon as they begin reading and realize they’ve already heard it, tune out and open the next email. ...

Say YES to Yourself More This Year Do you ever wish you had a less complicated life?   Even if your job and life are overcomplicated out of necessity, like launching a rocket or performing brain surgery, you can still simplify everything. How do you do it? Your actions in your life and your job are probably not causing the overwhelm. It's the people and the results that are causing you to feel tha...

My friend Sid called to tell me he had found his next big thing. He decided to take flying lessons and couldn't wait to get started. After hearing my Mom's stories over the years, I have always wanted to learn to fly. Her father was a contractor in Wilmington, North Carolina. When an airport client couldn't pay, he offered lessons. She was 15 years old. Her stories of landing on the beaches of Nor...

One thing that I'm always going to do is refine my morning routine — it's a never-ending process.  You hear a lot about using morning rituals to get more done. But what if you could use your mornings to get more done for YOU? In the fast-paced world we live in today, there seem to be two groups when it comes to how to use mornings — personal and productive. Once folks remove themselves from the cr...

Over the years, I've witnessed dozens of people set themselves up for failure by following seemingly wise advice - "When you set a goal, make it public and tell everybody you know so they can support you." In my experience, that could have worked better - especially on long-term goals. The reason is that nobody outside my close relationships knows me well enough to understand why I'm doing what I'...

Creating a difference in your life is a non-stop process that requires simple actions to help you get what you want. And it is, after all, about getting what you want and keeping what you love. You’ll always go through these steps: 1) Decide. Everything begins with your decision to head off in a new direction. While sometimes you may feel like you’ve made a decision, if you’re not moving, you have...

I’ve noticed in my life that humans are hoarders when it comes to keeping stuff that works and doesn’t.  They keep hanging on; their life depends on it. Now, before I go on, I think there are two situations at play here: 1) Hanging on to what has worked well but needs to go so you can do more of what you want to do. 2) Hanging on what doesn’t work in hopes that it will work well someday. Both can...

Every day, we all jump into the craziness of life with little thought to the basic rules we use to run our day.  Here are a few of mine. You can borrow them if you would like: 1) Do what makes your heart sing. You'll always feel better when you are dancing down your path. 2) Believe anything is possible. As soon as you believe - everything IS possible. 3) Be nice to others. Expect them to do the s...

The Gift of Making a Decision As we approach the most spiritual time of year, I find more and more of my thoughts are focused on what my future will bring. But instead of drafting a list of goals, my mind seems to settle into a different place— What if I could give myself a gift that instantly gives me what I want? What if I don't have to chase my dreams and start living them instead? What if ther...

All You Need is ONE Goal Let me start by saying that goal setting is powerful, and you should be doing it - but there is a good chance that you are overdoing it. It's human nature to set goals; you do it daily without thinking. That's why it's so powerful. It's also why it's so easy to set so many goals that you can never get any of them done.  Let me define how I see goals. No matter what distrac...

Why Slow is Fast and Fast is Slow. I was riding my Harley-Davidson Road King a few days ago when my mind suddenly thought - “The Chinese Philosophical concept of Yin and yang describes how opposite or contrary forces may be complementary, interconnected, and interdependent in the natural world.” What? What? Huh? It happened right before the Daytona Speedway and got me thinking about the advice I g...

Expectations in Love And Everything When I first met my wife, Joi, I knew we would be married and live happily ever after. But there was a problem. Joi didn’t see it that way - at least not right away. If life has taught me anything, almost nobody is on the same page when they first meet. We might be in the same book but not on the same page.  In the early weeks of our relationship, I was in full-...

Exploring Your Possibilities What do I want to be when I grow up?  The first time you ask yourself that question is when you are very young - if you ever asked it at all. Frankly, somebody else usually asks you, and you probably don't have an answer, so you just take off running with this thing called life.  And then it happens — Forty or fifty years later, people start asking themselves that ques...

Wouldn't it be great if you received the gift of a wonderful life this year?   What if you could have lots of free time, less stress, more money, and great relationships?   In my years of coaching folks all over the world, I've learned a few things about lifestyle design: 1) It all begins when you become aware of what you want and accept that it's up to you. 2) It would be best to believe your dre...

Happy Thanksgiving! These days, most folks don't remember what Thanksgiving is all about - other than big sales all over Amazon. The Pilgrims celebrated the first Thanksgiving after a successful harvest in October 1621. The feast lasted three days. The federal holiday began in 1863 when President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of "Thanksgiving."   Thanksgiving is about being grateful. I...

With a new year almost upon us, it’s time to crank up those 2025 goals. One of the most natural methods of achieving success is to stick to tried and true. That doesn’t mean you can’t move toward something more meaningful. It means that you forgo new knowledge and skills and leverage what you already understand. No-brainer success assumes: 1) You already have experience and wisdom. You will learn...

Have you ever found yourself stuck in the middle? I was speaking with a client who was trying to be everything to everybody. His business was not growing. His life was not happy. He couldn’t seem to find a way to make progress.   That’s when I said… “My friend, you are stuck in the middle. Nothing good happens when you are in the middle.” In business and life, it’s okay to have a low expectation a...

Your best life is built sequentially, one level at a time. Forget the elevator, climb all the stairs to the top, and you’ll have lasting success. In 1954, Abraham Maslow released Motivation and Personality. His Hierarchy of needs theory is all about climbing to the top. Maslow suggested that to reach your full potential: 1) You must provide for your physiological needs: food, clothing, shelter, mo...

Do you remember what it was like to be in 1st grade? It was a time when everybody lavished you with encouragement for being YOU - and because you finished your art project without eating the glue. Those were beautiful times. But you may have noticed things have changed since you were okay to take a nap in the middle of class. You grew up. Yes, growing into an adult brings many mentors your way. Th...