I just finished reading a book called “Turning Pro” by one of my favorite writers, Steven Pressfield. His other book, “The War of Art,” is a classic, and I can tell you it changed my business life when I read it years ago, so when a friend mentioned that he had read another good Pressfield book, I had to pick it up. And there’s an idea in the book that is so simple, yet so true, that I couldn’t get away from it; I have been thinking about it for days, and I wanted to share it with you. It’s […]
Speak without Fear
You can’t fix yourself by breaking someone else
You can’t fix yourself by breaking someone else… You often hear the phrase that life is precious and we need to be careful with our words, our actions and our attitude, and I wholeheartedly agree with that statement and believe it to be true. We all need to follow the wisdom of those words, but what I find so disappointing in watching others is the bizarre attitude of some people who think that by tearing everyone else down they are building themselves up. Sorry, Charlie, it doesn’t work that way, because you can’t fix yourself by breaking someone else. It’s […]
Are You Addicted to Doing?
I know you’ve heard the phrase, “just say no.” And while it was used to take aim at the war on drugs, I am here to encourage you to “just say no” and stop willfully taking another drug of choice that many people take and tend to overdose on, especially at the holidays–the drug of doing. I’ve never understood why so many good people are addicted to the need for doing, especially when they don’t enjoy it and can’t afford it. What I see is that they feel pressured by others because they feel have no way out. We are […]
Start and Finish
Recently a client called me about entering a competition – she was not sure she wanted to go through the hard work, early mornings and late nights and stress, pain, and hassle of it all, so she called to asked me what I thought. Realizing that she would have a lot of work to do to win the race – I was tempted to let her off the hook this time – to focus on her work – to build her career – to push her to the top but then I realized looking back over our last year together how far […]
Don’t Be a Clapper
Recently in an interview session, I asked my client what was the best advice she’d ever received and she replied, “Don’t be a clapper.” What,” I said, “what does that mean”? She said that all her life her parents had told her never to stand on the sideline of life but to jump into whatever opportunity came her way so she wouldn’t be one of the crowd, the audience or those in the stands, enjoying the action but never participating in the thrilling excitement of the game, the sweat and tears of the action. She said that those sideline people […]
Business, Politics and Pageants Have a Lot in Common!
For many years I was a rock star pageant interview coach…I know I know your probably surprised to know that at one time I was one of the Southeasts top pageant interview coaches for Miss America, Miss USA, Little Miss, the Rodeo queens, the cow queens and watermelon queens and the list goes on… at one time I had more winners on the stage than any coach in the Carolina’s and probably the Southeast. But what’s interesting – as I learned early on… it’s really not me but by coaching my clients to dig deep within themselves and learn to […]
Act As If
Recently a friend who was on my show used a phrase that has really stuck with me… in the course of our conversation in talking about how to keep your spirits up even when it seems like life has thrown you a curve ball she said – that every time her spirits started to wane (in her job search) she would – as she said, Act As If… act as if it was going to be okay, act as if you had the courage to do the job, act as if you were in the job of your dreams. Just […]
Aspire to Inspire before you Expire…
I was sitting with friends and we were chatting about our morning rituals – what is the first thing you do in the morning when you get out of bed… Some folks head straight for coffee pot or put on their running shoes and go for a quick run some stay in bed and read emails or hit the snooze button. I head straight to the shower so I can get dressed to be ready for the day. Being self-employed, for more years than I can remember, I learned early on to get up and get going and get ready […]
Patience, Perseverance and Practice
The other day I saw a man who had the telling scar of a knee replacement, and what made it unusual is that I noticed his knee was stiff and not very workable, so he had learned to swing it in a walking motion instead of walking with a normal gait. When I asked about his surgery, he admitted that he had not done all the exercises that were required right after the surgery and the knee healed in a stiff position. I am sure that he could stretch the muscles and sinew to make his walking easier and more […]