About Michael Hyatt

Inside of each of our heads lives a storyteller. He narrates the events of our lives in real time. But we don’t have to accept his version of reality. We can chose a different storyline.

Great results don’t just happen. You don’t usually drift to a destination you would have chosen. Instead, you have to be intentional, force yourself to get clear on what you want and why it’s important, and then pursue a plan of action that accomplishes your objective. Sometimes, this involves setting an achievement goal with a […]

Ask leaders about the most efficient way to be inefficient, and I bet most will say “bad meetings.” But the hard truth is that meetings are not only inevitable, they’re also essential. Why? If our teams are going to achieve major goals, we need to be able to plan, coordinate, and tackle problems together. The […]

One key to leadership is being willing to take responsibility for your mistakes. Good leaders do this even when they’re guilty of only 10 percent of the problem or accusation. But the truth is we’ve all had cases where we’ve been guilty of the whole enchilada, right? I once had a teammate—this was years ago […]

In her book The Future and Its Enemies, Virginia Postrel classifies people as either stasists or dynamists. Stasists resist change and try to tightly manage it. Dynamists, on the other hand, embrace change. They see the future as wide open and teeming with possibility. Which of the two are you? I ask because nothing is […]

More than a decade ago, I decided I needed to get back into regular exercise. I was overweight and tired of feeling exhausted. I needed to do something. But like everyone else, I was busy. I had a habit goal I wanted to install: Exercise for thirty minutes, Monday through Friday, at 6:00 a.m. There […]

In life, we have to learn there is a fine line between working hard and forcing an outcome that isn’t meant to be. Sometimes we have to let go and simply trust.

We all know the physical benefits to running. However, people who don’t run, often miss the non-physical ones. Here are three.

We’ve all heard it’s more blessed to give than to receive. Probably like you, I take that on faith. But it’s fun to see how research agrees that special benefits come from giving, not just receiving. Giving has been an important part of Christmas ever since the Three Wise Men presented their gifts of gold, […]

I’m already seeing a lot of Christmas images on Instagram, and I expect to see a flood in the next few days. The company just announced it surpassed 600 million users. Instagram launched in 2010. I joined a year later, but I only became a heavy user a couple of years ago. The company’s growth […]

Social media remains one of the most efficient ways for leaders to get heard and make a difference. What’s not efficient for most is the management of their social media presence. Many leaders try overcoming this problem by bringing outside resources to bear. They might involve existing teammates, hire new employees, or contract with someone […]

Sometimes leading a business can feel like running a marathon. That’s especially true when our goals seem ambitious, daunting, and a long way off. What could the sport of running teach us about reaching the finish line? I’ve been a fan of Dean Karnazes ever since I read his book, Ultramarathon Man several years ago. […]

New Year’s resolutions are as old as time, but that doesn’t mean they’re very effective. It only takes a day or two into January before the #resolutionfail hashtag starts trending on social media. Roughly 200 million Americans make New Year’s resolutions at least some of the time, according to research by the University of Scranton. […]

I’ve been an advocate of goal-setting for decades. Most successful people I know are. They set big goals and recommend others do as well. But some people are more doubtful. They point to significant goal-related disasters and suggest goals can backfire. In 2002, for instance, General Motors determined to boost its share of the U.S. […]

Tell me this hasn’t happened to you: At the end of the year, you brainstorm several goals. You start the New Year full of determination and enthusiasm. But after several weeks, you get distracted and lose ground. Months later you realize you’ve made no real progress. You either feel lousy and quit, or feel lousy […]

You know the adage, “What you don’t measure, you can’t improve”? That’s obviously true for sports, science, and business. But did you know it’s also true for your life? What if you could measure yourself in the areas that matter most? What if you could get an overall score for your life, gain a newfound […]

Duke University’s Mike Krzyzewski is the winningest coach in college basketball. His players have won over a thousand games and five national championships. And I know his secret. Before their 2015 tournament, Coach K and his players and coaches wrote the names of people who had helped them on a ball. They took it with […]

When I asked successful business and thought leaders how they prepared to reach their goals in the upcoming year, several said gratitude gave them an edge. Some mentioned setting aside special time to reflect and express gratitude for all the positive they experienced. This close to Thanksgiving, that seems perfect this time of year. But […]

I’ve studied high achievers for decades. They all have different traits and habits that make them unique, but what I find fascinating are all the commonalities. What if having a successful year came down to just a handful of best practices? I asked thirty well known high achievers to tell me how they set themselves […]

This week my team met for strategic planning. We set aside several days so the leadership team could review our values, goals, and budget. We’re just finishing up today, actually. But Day 1 was dedicated not just to leaders, but to the full team. Why? I prioritize my team. Customers are important for a business. […]

Many people fail because they are afraid to dream. Their thinking is too small. In this post I provide seven steps for becoming a big thinker.

Several years ago, I was having a really rough day at the office. It seemed everything that could go wrong was going wrong—at the worst possible time.

Years ago, I heard a motivational speaker encourage his audience to “eat that frog.” The line has a long history. And it makes sense: Stop procrastinating and just do the thing you fear. Once you do that, everything else is easy. While that may be helpful in overcoming procrastination, it’s exactly backwards for big goals […]

Leadership and entrepreneurial breakthroughs depend on creativity. But we don’t always feel very creative, do we? Thankfully, research suggests we all have access to the kind of creativity we need to get the results we want—even if you don’t feel especially creative. Last week I went fly fishing on Hesse Creek in East Tennessee. Nothing […]