First Things

Trust … People size you up in seconds, but what exactly are they evaluating?  Harvard Business School professor Amy Cuddy has been studying first impressions alongside fellow psychologists Susan Fiske and Peter Glick for more than 15 years, and has discovered patterns in these interactions. In her new book, "Presence," Cuddy says people quickly answer two questions when they […] The post #082 – Tr...

It's well known that good communication is the foundation of any successful relationship, be it personal or professional. It's important to recognize, though, that it's our nonverbal communication—our facial expressions, gestures, eye contact, posture, and tone of voice—that speak the loudest. The ability to understand and use nonverbal communication, or body language, is a powerful […] The post #...

We continue our study on "The Like Switch" by Jack Schafer and Marvin Karlins. This week we look at the Friend vs Foe continuum as discussed in Chp 1. What is the "urban scowl"? And how might our nonverbal facial expressions be causing people to see us as undesirable or worse a foe in life? Click to […] The post #080 – Friend or Foe (Like Switch Pt 2) [Podcast] appeared first on First Things .

We begin a new study this week on "The Like Switch" by Jack Schafer and Marvin Karlins. This week we look at the "Friendship Formula" as discussed in Chp 1. The Friendship Formula is rather simple:  Friendship = Proximity + Frequency + Duration + Intensity. In this episode, we discuss each of these aspects in […] The post #079 – Friendship Formula (Like Switch Pt 1) [Podcast] appeared first on Fir...

No one would ever say they want to live with regrets at the end of their life. Yet, we can get so busy in life, that we can never think through the very things that will cause regrets later.   Numerous research has shown what a lot of people consider as regrets at the end […] The post #078 – Without Regrets [Podcast] appeared first on First Things .

Wayne Dyer recently passed away. He was a hero of mine, and someone that I always listened to and realigned my life afterward. Dr. Dyer has many amazing teaching out, and I would encourage that you check them out.   In this episode, I talk about some of the top 10 things I have learned […] The post #077 – Wayne Dyer Tribute [Podcast] appeared first on First Things .

I'm back! After a VERY long absence, I decided to return to podcasting. Where have I been? What have I been up to? What is the future of the show? Hear all about it! Click to Listen "The Return" Show Notes No show notes for this week. "The Return" Episode Resources   No resources for this […] The post #076 – The Return [Podcast] appeared first on First Things .

We introduced the concept of "mindsets" in our last episode. I always like to get the author's perspective on their topic.   In this episode, we listen to a speech that Carol gave on the topic of mindset. Click to Listen "Carol Dweck on Mindsets" Show Notes "Carol Dweck on Mindsets" Episode Resources Resources on Mindset: […] The post #075 – Carol Dweck on Mindset (Mindset Pt 2) [Podcast] appeared...

Mindset is a simple idea discovered by world-renowned Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck in decades of research on achievement and success—a simple idea that makes all the difference. Every so often a truly groundbreaking idea comes along. This is one. Mindset explains: Why brains and talent don't bring success How they can stand in the […] The post #074 – Mindset Intro (Mindset Pt 1) [P...

We have spent 22 weeks talking about the issue of Essentialism.  We are now at the end of our study on this, and today we give an Essentialism Summary.  In this episode, we cover the last chapter of Greg's book, as well as go through a big overview of the entire book. What is the […] The post #073 – Essentialism Summary (Essentialism Pt 23) [Podcast] appeared first on First Things .

What does it mean to live fully in the now … the present moment? It means that your awareness is completely centered on the here and now. You are not worrying about the future or thinking about the past. When you live in the present, you are living where life is happening. The past and […] The post #072 – Now (Essentialism Pt 22) [Podcast] appeared first on First Things .

As we wrap up this study on Essentialism, I wanted to play an interview with Greg McKeown. I had hoped to interview Greg myself, but our schedules didn't work out.  Instead, I want to play you a recent interview with Greg by Michael Hyatt.  This interview comes from Platform University, a wonderful interactive environment from […] The post #071 – Greg McKeown Interview (Essentialism Pt 21) [Podcas...

In my life I've gone through periods of intense, driven productivity – months where everything fell into place, and my goals almost seemed to accomplish themselves. At the other extreme, there have been times in my life where I was completely overwhelmed, burdened by my different projects and responsibilities – and frustrated because so many […] The post #070 – Focus (Essentialism Pt 20) [Podcast]...

Every day do something that will inch you closer to a better tomorrow … toward your resonators … your dreams … your essential things. We can get so "destination minded" that we forget the journey in front of us. If we do this we lose site that making any progress is better than no progress. Click […] The post #069 – Progress (Essentialism Pt 19) [Podcast] appeared first on First Things .

To attain knowledge, add things every day. To attain wisdom, subtract things every day. —Lao-tzu What is the obstacle that is keeping you back from achieving what really matters to you? By systematically identifying and removing this "constraint" you'll be able to significantly reduce the friction keeping you from executing what is essential. Click to […] The post #068 – Subtract (Essentialism Pt...

The problem is that very few people know what buffer is, let alone ever experience it. So why don't we have any? Why are we so overcommitted and crazy-busy? Life is a long-distance run not a sprint. If you and I are going to be effective over the long-term, we have to create buffer and pace ourselves. […] The post #067 – Buffer (Essentialism Pt 17) [Podcast] appeared first on First Things .

Margin is the space between our load and our limits.  It is the amount allowed beyond that which is needed.  Margin is something held in reserve for contingencies or unanticipated situations. If you and I are going to be effective over the long term, we have to create margin in our lives.  This is not […] The post #066 – Margin (Essentialism Pt 16) [Podcast] appeared first on First Things .

We previously likened looking at our lives as a journalist … listening, asking questions, connecting the dots, investigating. Another way to integrate Essentialism is to see yourself as an editor, where you edit your life. The root word for "decision" is cis or cid, which means "to cut."  You see this root word in "scissors."  A great way […] The post #065 – Edit (Essentialism Pt 15) [Podcast] app...

Sometimes we truly have so much to do, we don't know which end is up. But sometimes the frenzy is self-induced. Feeling overwhelmed is sometimes a matter of perception – if you think you have too much to do, your limbic system takes over and you can't think creatively about alternatives. Overscheduling is a common […] The post #064 – Uncommit (Essentialism Pt 14) [Podcast] appeared first on First...

I dare you … dare you to simply say "no" to the trivial many things in your life.  But how exactly do we do this?  Sometimes that is easier said than done. Yet, the right "no" spoken at the right time can change the course of history.  Are you ready to take this dare and […] The post #063 – Dare (Essentialism Pt 13) [Podcast] appeared first on First Things .

Clarity … the first type of nonessential you're going to learn how to eliminate is simply any activity that is misaligned with what you are intending to achieve.   We need a "mission statement" to help gain clarity in our lives.  Knowing what our goals are in life are the first step in saying "No" […] The post #062 – Clarity (Essentialism Pt 12) [Podcast] appeared first on First Things .

If the answer isn't a definite yes, then the answer should be no.  Part of essentialism is being picky about what we say yes to.  Your most effective no is a well-defined yes.   Ok ok … but how can we really do this?  How can we implement a stronger, selective criteria into our lives.  We discuss that in this episode. […] The post #061 – Being Picky (Essentialism Pt 11) [Podcast] appeared first on...

Sleep … the last frontier.  These are the voyages of "Gee do I have to?" and "I can live off of just 4 hours" craziness.  The mission is to totally crash my life by going against every bit of research about what meaningful sleep actually is.   Ok ok … so I'm being a little […] The post #060 – Sleep (Essentialism Pt 10) [Podcast] appeared first on First Things .

Many of us have been lied to.  We were told that play is trivial. That it is a waste of time …unnecessary … childish. And this is further from the truth. Play is essential in many ways. Stuart Brown, the founder of the National Institute for Play, has studied over six thousand individuals and has concluded that play has the power to […] The post #059 – Play (Essentialism Pt 9) [Podcast] appeared f...

I want to get personal today and tell you about some of my struggles (and successes) with Essentialism.  Also, I need your help!  I discuss some of the future of First Things podcast in this episode. I hope you will consider taking the first annual survey of First Things listeners.  The survey link is in […] The post #058 – SPECIAL: My Essentials and the Future of First Things appeared first on Fi...