If you’re doing anything the same way this year, as you did last year, you’re in trouble. The trouble might not come from the way you’re doing things, but it’s coming. The only way to avoid it is to maintain a constant awareness of the inevitability and the necessity for change. Change is inherent in [...]
There’s a story often attributed to the writer, Henry Miller, about a little boy in India, who sat watching a guru study an object he held in his hand. As the little boy came closer to get a better look, the guru sensed his curiosity and said, “It’s called a cocoon.” “And, inside is a [...]
This week, I'd like to share three simple, CounterThink tactics with you. I've personally used each of them, over and over, to kick my competitor's ass. See if you can pick them out... Being a CounterThinker means-- at its most basic foundational terms-- thinking and acting in direct opposition to the mainstream crowd. In practice, it [...]
I can clearly remember sitting in the back row of Mrs. Kennedy’s third grade class, but I can’t, for the life of me, remember what she was teaching that day. I wasn’t paying attention. I was staring out the window, daydreaming. When Mrs. Kennedy noticed that my thoughts were a thousand miles away and not [...]
If you are at all familiar with my work, you’ve heard me, on many occasions, say something to the effect of: We are happiest when we are serving others. And that’s true. But here’s the thing—this happiness is not due to any great sense of altruism on our part. The fact that others may benefit [...]
Last week, I began sharing my thumbnail sketch of a highly creative person, in an attempt to help us all become more creative. We learned that highly creative people tend to operate with a high degree of self-awareness. They are fully aware of the power of their mind— to transform a mental vision into a [...]
Maybe it’s because of the work I do, but I tend to find myself surrounded by creative types most of the time. Sure, I’ve worked with my fair share of artists, performers, writers and the like. But surprisingly, many of the people I’ve found to be most creative are not those whom one might necessarily [...]
A man hunting tigers in India was suddenly surprised by a huge Bengal tiger—by the time he saw the tiger, it was almost on top of him. The hunter raised his rifle and fired, but he overshot and missed. The tiger, surprised by the man, and thrown off his stride by the noise of the [...]
Years ago, I heard a story about an old farmer, who decided to do something with a huge piece of granite, that sat in the middle of his sweet potato field. He got out a hammer and chisel and before long; he had carved a very respectable, life-sized rendition of an elephant. The sight amazed [...]
When I was very young, I would sit on my Italian grandfather’s lap while we listened to music—operas, mostly— and he would tell me stories. One story, in particular, still sticks in my mind. Its kind of a miniature parable wrapped into a joke, about the man who jumped on his horse and ha guidato [...]
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