Recently, my daughter Mary mentioned that she would like to begin speaking professionally. As an accomplished businesswoman and popular blogger, she was routinely on stage, but she was ready to turn pro. She asked for my help. As an amateur-turned-pro myself, I sat down and deconstructed how I got started. I emailed her a simple, […]

If there’s one thing most entrepreneurs don’t lack, it’s ideas. I dream up new products and businesses every week. You’re probably the same way. The problem is lots of ideas aren’t worth pursuing, are they? One major facepalm for me was when we launched the Best Year Ever Leaders Edition last year. Best Year Ever […]

I’ve been writing about marriage and family for the past four years. This is the equivalent of the time I spent getting my undergraduate degree almost twenty years ago. I never had a successful career in anything related to my degree. But my career as a blogger, author, and speaker in the area of marriage […]

I once had a boss who with the reputation of being very harsh. He could be hard on people. But that wasn’t my experience. Why? I knew the secret. My boss was definitely tough. On a few different occasions I saw him chew a person’s face off. But here’s why: He hated it when someone […]

It’s a little hard to believe, but my new book, Living Forward: A Proven Plan to Stop Drifting and Get the Life You Want, is almost here. I wrote it with my friend Daniel Harkavy to help people get from where they are now to where they really want to be—in every area of life. […]

About 150 million Americans make New Year’s resolutions every year. That’s a lot of disappointed people. A quarter of those people will abandon their resolutions in just a week. Fewer than half will still be on track by summer. Ultimately, only 8 percent will be successful. But don’t think about the percentages. Think about all […]

Steve Mura was a Triple-A baseball pitcher. He was starting one night in an away game, but he almost lost before leaving the dugout. Why? “I can never win on this mound,” he told his pitching coach and shook his head. For Mura, the game was already over, and he hadn’t even thrown the first […]

What does it take to accomplish your goals? Some people think it’s mostly about luck, smarts, good looks, and social connections. Nope. Researcher Angela Lee Duckworth studied West Point cadets, National Spelling Bee contestants, teachers in tough schools, and sales peoples, asking who would succeed and why. “In all those very different contexts one characteristic […]

We all dream of great things for our lives, don’t we? A fulfilling marriage, happy kids, a meaningful and profitable career. We all know people who have achieved those things, so we know it’s possible. And the truth is most of us have already experienced more success than we realize. But wherever we are, most […]

We are almost in the holiday season, and that means a lot of great things: fun memories, good food, and more. But it also means a few challenges. You know one of my big ones? Let’s visit the Honest Planet for a minute. It’s awkward conversations. You probably know what I mean. With all the […]