Category Archives: Self-improvement

If you want to know who you really are, what you’re really like, then there’s an easy litmus test: How do you act when no one is looking? … or a slightly modified version is: How do you act when your son, daughter or spouse is looking? Having the mental awareness to ask yourself theseContinueContinue reading “When No One is Looking”

On a scale from 1 to 10, 10 being in complete control, where do you rank yourself on self-control, i.e. having control over your feelings or actions or showing restraint over your impulses, emotions or desires? Today I give myself a 9.  Five years ago, I was a 2.  To change, I had to learnContinueContinue reading “Self-Control”

Self-sacrifice is giving up something you want or desire for the greater good of another.  Self-sacrificing love is giving up something that would benefit you to demonstrate to someone else that you genuinely care about them and that your interests are subordinate to theirs. It is at the core of leadership.  For great leaders, it isContinueContinue reading “Self-Sacrificing Love”

Historically, I’ve had trouble dealing with delay. I don’t like it. It’s especially challenging when I have to wait to get what I want. It’s as though my ego doesn’t allow me to see anyone else’s perspective, and I want what I want now. I don’t want to wait. I’m inherently impatient. That’s an unattractiveContinueContinue reading “Patience as a Habit”

We are controlled by our habits. Some are bad and some are good. They form when our brain forms an automatic pattern response to a trigger. Our brain learns to remember the pattern because there is a reward at the end of the routine. The habit is a closed-loop cycle: trigger, routine, reward; repeat. ThisContinueContinue reading “The Habit of Doing the Right Thing”

I just learned that my grit score is 4.75 out of 5, which makes me grittier than at least 90% of the US population. I’d like to thank Bill Hybels and The Global Leadership Summit Podcast for telling me about the Grit Assessment, a research study and voluntary online survey published by The University ofContinueContinue reading “Grit”

People often confuse pressure with stress. They are different. Pressure is a compelling force or influence. It is good for you. It will push you toward a course of action. It enables the right thing to be done. Pressure is a positive multiplier, the catalyst for maximizing your brain power. Pressure will always direct youContinueContinue reading “Pressure vs. Stress”

Top-of-mind is a term referring to something that occupies a privileged position in memory. It’s the first thing recalled. In marketing, it’s what brands attempt to achieve in consumer minds. Top-of-heart is a term referring to a bond of loyalty based on emotional factors in preference to rational or intellectual factors. I have this typeContinueContinue reading “Mindwork”