Make 2012 The Best Year EVER.

This is my daily 'mantra'. It's comprised of many quotes taken from famous people and around the web (it's not original, but it's powerful). Wake up in the morning and say this to yourself:

Today I will do what others won't, so tomorrow I will accomplish what others can't.

Successful people get ahead during the time that other people waste.

I don't waste time, for time is what life is comprised of.

To live is the rarest thing in the world, and I'm gonna live fully until I die.

At Noon, say this to yourself when things get hard and you get discouraged:

Don't quit.

Put up with adversity now to set the stage of my future life as a champion.

I have to increase my will, my fortitude, my enthusiasm, and my energy to move forward.

Welcome the fight, for the struggle itself will not only teach me new things, it will push me to do better.

Right before you go to bed, say this to yourself to fuel your body and mind for the day ahead:

I moved my life, my career and my relationships forward today.

I did this, and this, and this, and this . . .

I am one step closer to my goals (even though we sometimes have to do the '2 steps forward, 1 step back' dance).

I have a roof over my head, I am not hungry, I am healthy. And I have myself and the wonderful people around me to thank for this.

Feel free to use my 'mantra' or come up with your own for 2012. Trust me — you will MOVE MOUNTAINS.

It's Not As Bad As You Think.

"Why bother? Everything worthwhile has already been discovered."  I don't think you understand just how wrong you are.

In astronomy, scientists are discovering planets that more and more resemble Earth. In our lifetimes, perhaps, one will be discovered that has evidence of oxygen (which strongly suggests life). Moreover, humanity is still working on ways to explore the inner solar system, and the person who rejuvenates space exploration will die rich and famous.

In biology, genetic engineering is pushing at the limits of what was thought possible. The most difficult diseases might be curable with some applications of genetic engineering: malaria, hemophilia, HIV/AIDS, etc. Moving to biochemistry, there might be ways to solve the energy crisis or slow global warming that are on the verge of being discovered.

In chemistry, there are plenty of molecules we know next to nothing about. One of them might be the secret to curing a painful disease.

In computer science, remarkable progress has been made in past years, but the dominance of the Internet will lead to exciting new paradigms and ideas.

In the environmental sciences, there is the problem of global warming (and also pollution, ozone depletion, peak oil, etc.; all of these problems are related). Do we have solutions yet? We sure as hell need to do something. And yet these are not impossible problems.

Moving to geology: we can't predict earthquakes and volcanoes yet. By monitoring seismic activity, it might be possible. Want to save lots of lives and be famous?

In mathematics there are many unsolved problems, and some of them are quite important to cryptography (i.e. the entire Internet relies on recent discoveries in math). Even seemingly simple questions, such as whether there are an infinite number of twin primes, are still unsolved.

In paleontology we are constantly discovering new fossils that reshape our views of the history of life. With new techniques it can be even easier to visualize the past... and perhaps even clone it.

In physics there are still many, many unanswered questions as to the fate of the universe and the nature of matter. Figure out the Theory of Everything and you'll be more famous than Einstein.

Then there is the question about how to fix the United States of America. It is unquestionably broken - but how should it become effective once again? And doubly so for Europe or Africa or India or China.

In art, there is no distinctive contemporary style and no incredibly famous living artist. You could fix that.

Music suffers from fragmentation, with seemingly more styles than there are artists. In classical, jazz, and rock alike, there is no unifying theme or composer, and lots of discord. Music will enter another great era, but who will be there to lead it?

In writing, there is lots to do. Unhappy that the entire young adult section of the bookstore is paranormal romance? Write something amazing and fix it. Want to be the first American in a long time to win a Nobel in literature? Your future is out there. Not to mention the importance of the Internet on literature, which is not completely known.

Now linguistics. It is predicted that thousands of languages are going to die in your lifetime. Can you save or record one, thus preserving an ancient and unique culture?

In political science, how can the Internet be used to promote - or suppress - democracy? Would true, informed democracy be possible if every citizen had a wireless connection?

Now if you like exploring... there are still plenty of summits not yet reached, and the vast majority of the ocean has not been mapped. The deepest point of the ocean might not even be known to man yet. You could fix that. And there are still many, many unexplored caves, too, just in case that isn't enough.

In archaeology, there are still plenty of new discoveries coming in. Do some fieldwork in the right place and you'll chance across a new Amazonian city. Theories of the past are being rapidly changed.

There is so much opportunity out there in the world. Sometimes, I think it could not be more exciting than to live today.

Here's Steve Jobs to back me up (46 seconds):

Information gleaned from tick_tock_clock at Reddit.

Catch Rich on the GardenFork Podcast!

Eric Rochow is a very peculiar man. Peculiar in a way that he's just like me. He loves a lot of really cool things. Eric has one of the most listened to and watched podcasts on iTunes, called GardenFork TV. I ran into it one day while browsing the main list of famous podcasts. GardenFork is an eclectic mix of cooking, DIY gardening, and whatever cool stuff Eric thinks might be fun to share with people.

And his personality is perfect for the podcast medium. He's a great interviewer, knowledgable about a million different things, and a genuinely nice person. I listen to ALL of his podcasts on my commute to my office each day and on the weekends, my family and I watch his video podcasts.

I reached out to him a few weeks ago with a short letter* inviting him to breakfast since his weekly commute (to his weekend home in CT) takes him smack dab past my town of Oxford, CT. Next thing I know, Eric invites me on the air to coach him!

So without further ado — here's my full interview with Eric. Enjoy!

*Did you catch that readers? A simple email invitation opens doors. Yes it happens in real life.

10 Gifts For YOU.

As my holiday gift to you, here are my most read & requested posts from 2011:(it's funny - most of them have steps, tips, or ways)

Set Your 2012 Goals In Two Steps It's December 2011. Many people are scrambling to get their end of the year targets complete. How do you guarantee a great 2012?

5 Tips On How To Treat New Employees Whew! After a phlanx of interviewees and resumes, late nights, early mornings and lost lunches, you've just hired that new team member. Now make sure your new hire is happy, engaged, enthusiastic, and motivated.

Four Powerful Questions To Ask Yourself This Season Most people use New Year's Eve (and Day) to plan forward for what might be in store for 2012. And that's a good thing. During the holidays, I try to look back at what happened over the past 12 months and ask myself a few simple questions.

Top 10 Powerful Pieces Of Advice To Be Successful As a coach, I run into many great pieces of advice from books, clients, workshops, seminars, and instructors. Here is a powerful cross-section of great advice I've used in business and life.

Top 5 Regrets of the Dying I've just finished one of the most powerful books I've read this year. It's by a wonderful woman named Bronnie Ware,and it focuses in on the actual voiced regrets of people she encountered when they were dying. Powerful stuff!

The One Secret To Look More Confident There are hundreds of books out there. Thousands of speakers. And they all talk about confidence. But it's really easy. Here's the secret.

5 Mistakes You Make With Business Cards They bring me business and success everyday. That's why they are ALWAYS in my left pocket. But most people either don't have them (shame on you) or if they do - have terrible designs. Here are some mistakes people make with business cards.

Top 5 Regrets of Struggling Businesses This post is for all business owners - In my 10+ years of coaching around the world, I've seen it happen to many successful businesses. Most people get it, but there are a few who take their eye off the prize and let their house of cards tumble to the ground.

3 Ideas To Bring A Bit More Sanity To Your Life I was sitting in church this Sunday and we had a simple prayer. One part really stood out for me.

How One Powerful Poem Can Change Your Life I love Rudyard Kipling's "If". It's a magnificent poem - it doesn't get too maudlin, but it does have its highs (it's been voted Britain's favorite poem).

Get set for an unbelievable new year. It's almost 2012! - Rich

This Motivational Quote Greets Me Every Day.

"Work your butt off so one day . . . your signature becomes an autograph."

From one of my favorite sites - http://www.reddit.com/r/GetMotivated/

Check it out.

One Way To Make IT Happen.

"When you know WHAT you want and you want it BAD enough, you find a way TO GET IT."

A great quote from Jim Rohn. 

My Favorite Motivational Quote.

"The best revenge is massive success."- Frank Sinatra

One Guaranteed Secret To Reach Your Goal.

Are you ready? Here it is: If you are absolutely, relentlessly focused — no, obsessed — on one singular goal, you will achieve it.

That's it.

I would love to insert a special quote from Anthony Robbins, Eleanor Roosevelt, or Chuck Norris to reinforce my point — but the simple fact remains NO amount of quote-compiling, mantra-repeating, excuse-making, or navel-gazing will get you there.

I'm not going to waste your time trying to convince you otherwise if dozens of graphics, quotes and stories have failed to do the job.

You either do it, or you don't.

No magic, just dedication.

"That's how Dad did it, that's how America does it . . . and it's worked out pretty well so far." - Tony Stark

How One Powerful Poem Can Change Your Life.

I love Rudyard Kipling's "If". It's a magnificent poem — it doesn't get too maudlin, but it does have its highs (it's been voted Britain's favorite poem). Check out the bolded areas and see if they have meaning for you and what you do.

Trust me — it's powerful (the line with triumph and disaster is emblazoned at Centre Court at Wimbledon).

If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you, If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too; If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or being lied about, don't deal in lies, Or being hated, don't give way to hating, And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master; If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim; If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat those two impostors just the same; If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken, And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss, And lose, and start again at your beginnings And never breathe a word about your loss; If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew To serve your turn long after they are gone, And so hold on when there is nothing in you Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, ' Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch, if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you, If all men count with you, but none too much; If you can fill the unforgiving minute With sixty seconds' worth of distance run, Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it, And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

POST YOUR QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS BELOW

P.S. Which quote resonated clearly with your career? Which one made you think twice? Let's talk. I've worked with a number of clients — and we developed a successful strategy to grow your career exponentially. If you’re not a client . . . pick up the phone and call me — I offer only one complimentary session each week.

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

It's sad when you see a true visionary leave this mortal coil before it was their time.

Someone who has done so much in so short a time. Someone who had their ups and downs — a person who built inventions for the masses and took his company from a small garage to the most valuable organization in the world. Steve Jobs touched me in many ways.

Not only with his inventions (1 iMac, 3 MacBooks, 6 iPods, 4 iPhones, and 1 iPad), but even with his presentation style and salesmanship. No one else comes close.

I want to impart his words of wisdom to you in some small way — so here's his commencement address to Stanford in 2005:

I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That's it. No big deal. Just three stories.

The first story is about connecting the dots.

I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out?

It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: "We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?" They said: "Of course." My biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would someday go to college.

And 17 years later I did go to college. But I naively chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my working-class parents' savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldn't see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out I could stop taking the required classes that didn't interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting.

It wasn't all romantic. I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends' rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5¢ deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on. Let me give you one example:

Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer, was beautifully hand calligraphed. Because I had dropped out and didn't have to take the normal classes, I decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and san serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can't capture, and I found it fascinating.

None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, it's likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later.

Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

My second story is about love and loss.

I was lucky — I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had just released our finest creation — the Macintosh — a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company you started? Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so things went well. But then our visions of the future began to diverge and eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating.

I really didn't know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down - that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard and Bob Noyce and tried to apologize for screwing up so badly. I was a very public failure, and I even thought about running away from the valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me — I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.

I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.

During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the worlds first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, I returned to Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple's current renaissance. And Laurene and I have a wonderful family together.

I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn't been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle.

My third story is about death.

When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn't even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor's code for prepare to die. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you'd have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.

I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach and into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I'm fine now.

This was the closest I've been to facing death, and I hope it's the closest I get for a few more decades. Having lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept:

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late 1960's, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with typewriters, scissors, and polaroid cameras. It was sort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google came along: it was idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and great notions.

Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole Earth Catalog, and then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue. It was the mid-1970s, and I was your age. On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words: "Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish." It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. Thank you all very much.

Why Aren't You Working On The Big Stuff?

Your life is filled with small stuff. And sometimes, as Richard Carlson said, "Don't sweat the small stuff". Unfortunately, we get caught up handling the small stuff almost all the time.

And it takes us away from working on that one big thing which will define us. That one project to get us exposure, a promotion, and solidify our position in the organization.

Or the big thing which will allow us to exponentially grow our business to great heights. To give it the perfect acceleration to grow beyond our dreams.

But we still spend most (if not all) of our time messing around with the small stuff. Why?

• It's easy. One and done — small things are simple to accomplish.
• We can do lots of them. We feel we are really making progress when we do them in succession.
• Organization. We can clean off our desk  of all the annoying papers, post-it notes, reminders in Outlook, etc. We are making progress!

Now don't get me wrong, they are important. But they shouldn't take up ALL of your waking hours to complete. You need to allocate a certain fraction of your day to work on the one or two BIG things which will ultimately define your work.

A great example is social media (read this). Lately, we've been indoctrinated to get out there and touch social media 'all the time'. Being hyper-active with social media tends to satisfy the 'small things' part of our workday (and I've been guilty of this lately). You also need to allocate time for your big thing.

So what's the ONE BIG THING you're working on this week?

Who Moved Your Acorn?

"The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn." — Ralph Waldo Emerson What's your acorn? 

Okay, okay - I know. We all work hard. And long. And most of the time, it's boring.

But when we got out of school, we all had a dream. A dream of being someone important, making great strides, doing great things. Making a difference.

Unfortunately, life intervened. Work snuck it's ugly head in. Then family. Friends. Hobbies. Activities. TV. You get my drift.

Today, I have one question to ask you: What's YOUR acorn? What's your dream?

How do you want to make a difference in the world? Who do you want to help? My charge today is simple — how can you integrate your acorn into your daily activities?

Don't think big picture — start small — take baby steps. What can you do today to ultimately make a difference in the world? Something that will change one person's life . . . ten lives . . . a hundred lives . . . millions?

If you think I'm crazy, one person already did — check this out.

If he can do it . . . so can you.

What's your acorn? I'd love to hear.

Get RUNNING.

Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up.It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn't matter whether you're a lion or a gazelle. When the sun comes up, you better be RUNNING.

- African Proverb

"What would you think if I sang out of tune?"

"What would you think if I sang out of tune,Would you stand up and walk out on me? Lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song, And I'll try not to sing out of key. Oh I get by with a little help from my friends." - With a Little Help from My Friends - Lennon/McCartney

Yesterday was a powerful day for me. Thursday is my networking day and I met over 100 people starting at 6:00 AM all the way to 8:00 PM. A long day.

But I was energized when I got home.

Here's a quick synopsis:

5-6 AM - Commute (beat the traffic!) 6-7 AM - Blog at Starbucks, meet new people. 7-9 AM - BNI Networking Meeting - My Sales Force. 9-11 AM - Catchup Meeting with an influential force in Finance. 11-2 PM - Lunch and Brainstorming meeting with a future partner. 2-4 PM - Meeting with a new colleague - helping with his job situation. 4-6 PM - Mastermind/Networking Group - a great time was had by all. 6-8 PM - Client's Grand Re-Opening Celebration - lots of networking. 8-9 PM - Commute home (listen to motivational audiobooks).

I made a lot of new friends and deepened relationships with many current ones.

Bottom line — this is the life-blood of my business and career.

An esteemed colleague quoted Michael Gerber last night, "Most entrepreneurs fail because you are working IN your business rather than ON your business." He couldn't be more correct.

I came home last night with a pile of new business cards, a bunch of referral slips, and a small list of to-do's to get out by the end of the day today.

I made new friends. I deepened relationships with current friends. And I hope I helped a few people along the way.

That's the profession I've chosen — and I love it every single day.

What do you do to make new friends during the work-week?

How To Be More Effective On The Job.

"Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things." - Peter Drucker   Efficiency has been pounded into us since grade school.

• Keep your desk clean.
• Finish your tests on-time.
• Always have three sharpened pencils.
• Let's squeeze 7-8 classes into one day.

And the list goes on and on.

Even on the job, one is forced to comply to look busy, to fit as much 'stuff' into a workday as possible, to outshine your peers, and fly through your duties. It reminds me of a great song by Kevin Kline in the Sandra Boynton musical "Philadelphia Chickens" called 'Busy Busy Busy'*:

We’re very very busy And we’ve got a lot to do And we haven’t got a minute To explain it all to you For on Sunday Monday Tuesday There are people we must see And on Wednesday Thursday Friday We’re as busy as can be With our most important meetings And our most important calls And we have to do so many things And post them on the walls…

We have to hurry far away And then we hurry near And we have to hurry everywhere And be both there and here And we have to send out messages By e-mail, phone, and fax And we’re talking every minute And we really can’t relax And we think there is a reason To be running neck-and-neck And it must be quite important But we don’t have time to check.

I'm not saying efficiency is bad, it's just overrated. But effectiveness is the key to success. Just doing things will not deliver the requisite benefits — results are key in any endeavor. It's what differentiates you from the chattel who worry about their job every day.

Is this you? I have to:

• Do tons of work to show everyone I am the master of my domain.
• Read, assess, and answer all of the 150 emails I receive every day.
• Attend every meeting I'm invited to so I don't miss anything.
• Provide an audience to every person who comes into my office or passes by my cubicle.
• Never make a mistake - so I double- and triple-check every thing I do.
• Return every phone call, meet with every new prospect, and get on every project.
• Do the safe/easy things - I can do them quickly and not worry about not delivering quantity.
• "Push a lot of buttons to get results."

Now, focus on being effective:

• Out of the 150 emails I receive, what 10-20 are really important for my attention?
• What meetings are really important? (usually none)
• Setup specific times for open door policies and drive-by's.
• Who really is your key customer? What project will really deliver growth for the company?
• I tackle those things which will deliver maximum results and not worry about getting many little things done.
• How can I focus on the 20% which delivers the 80%?
• "I can push THE button."

What is the best reason for effectiveness?

It allows you to develop the confidence to take on new challenges, to push your envelope, and to not worry about failure. Because if you fail - you will just try again.

"Efficiency is making many things happen. Effectiveness is making IT happen." - Rich Gee

How do you balance efficiency and effectiveness?

*This song was introduced to my by one of my favorite and dearest colleagues, Diane Senior. Thank you Diane, I still laugh listening to the CD — it so reminded us of our environment at that time.

Looking For Light At The End Of The Tunnel.

"When it is dark enough, you can see stars." Received this in a fortune cookie Friday night at our favorite asian restaurant in downtown New Haven (date night with my beautiful wife, Silvia).

After a small amount of research, I found it's attributed to Charles Beard, one of the most influential American historians of the 20th century.

IMHO, the meaning of the quote is quite apparent — when life is going badly, look around, there are many opportunities to make it better.

Do you agree? Let's say it's true — Opportunities are all around us:

1. They are difficult to initially see — we must look hard for them.

Opportunities are not going to drive up to your door in a limousine to pick you up. In the beginning, it might feel there is a 'darkness' all around you. But if you begin to open your eyes, positive situations will start to appear.

Open your mind, be more positive, and hang around with more positive people. Don't follow the news, point yourself towards more motivating resources — audiobooks, people, exercise, books, etc.

2. They are not in the form we expect.

This always happens. We tend to look at opportunities from certain avenues and forget the little side streets which might deliver the goods.

It might be with a person who initially seems inconsequential or a company who is not filling your sweet spot. Keep your eyes and mind open to new possibilities.

3. They are far away — in space or time — we must go after them.

Everyone wants opportunities to come to them quickly. In certain circumstances, it takes time for the opportunity to come into focus.

For example, you might want a promotion — but it might take the better part of a year to get your boss on board and then for him to coax upper management and HR on the idea. Be patient (but look for continuous results).

4. They look small and inconsequential at first, but as we get closer, they take on prominence and importance.

This is always the case with big opportunities. They are usually all around us, but we are looking for the immediate 'big win'.

It's almost like growing a delicate flower — watering, feeding, sunlight, clearing the weeds — all to ensure it matures into a beautiful rose.

What opportunities do you see all around you?

The One Mistake We All Make.

"In looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence, and energy. And if they don't have the first, the other two will kill you."— Warren Buffett

If you don't know Warren, he's an American industrialist and philanthropist widely regarded as one of the most successful investors in the world. Often called the "Oracle of Omaha", he is the primary shareholder, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is consistently ranked among the world's wealthiest people (third wealthiest person in the world as of 2011).

So he knows what he is talking about.

It's interesting Warren places integrity first. In today's work- and marketplace, the focus is centered on intelligence and energy. How much do you know? What experience do you have? What have you done? Are you willing to spend 10-12 hours a day (and more) knocking it out of the park for me?

But we always forget about integrity. A definition of integrity — "Adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty."

Let's be honest — how many times do you experience a concerted effort by management to adhere to moral and ethical principles? Where everyone displays a powerful moral character? Where people don't lie and endeavor to tell the truth in their business dealings?

I'm not saying the marketplace or workplace is totally devoid of integrity. But it does take a back seat to profits, targets, stock price and power. Not even a back seat . . . it's in the trunk with the spare tire.

In the wake of all the turmoil with Wall Street, Washington, and many boardrooms, (and even on Twitter lately) we all need to begin to make harder choices based on integrity. Who we invest in, who we purchase from, who we do business with.

And sometimes we need to look within for our anchor to integrity — because sometimes we fall short. We need to also pay attention to our own actions and decisions and how they impact others.

Whatever we do, we will continue to face ethical challenges. It's how we react to them that counts.

What do you do to stay ethically anchored?

Why Bad Things Happen When We Least Expect It.

"Some changes look negative on the surface but you will soon realize that space is being created in your life for something new to emerge." — Eckhart Tolle For many years, I felt bad things just happen in our lives. I'm not talking about a sudden death in the family, or a severe illness. That's truly unfortunate.

I'm talking about a bad boss, a missed job offer, or a client who got away at the last minute. These are situations thrust into our lives to not only teach us to appreciate the good times, but to also clearly understand something better is probably around the corner.

First off, I'm not trying to be mystical here. There are too many people in this world who expect a cavalcade of good things to be driven and deposited to their door. That's unrealistic and more often than not, an unreasonable frame of mind to live with.

But too many times I've found in my life, with my clients, and my colleagues a loss coupled with a better change right around the corner. For me, a bad boss was thrust into my life — I had to endure his unprofessional antics for about six months until one day, it delivered a clear decision for me to move on from that organization. I left the position and never looked back. Best decision I've ever made.

Are you in a similar position at work? Do you put up with unprofessional shenanigans that impact your position and your work?

This clearly comes into play when interviewing for a new position. How many times have you been passed over for a prime opportunity to then ultimately find a great position offered just a few weeks or months later? If you originally got the first job, the second would never have materialized. Has this ever happened to you?

Finally, clients are a fickle fish to fry. They come and go at a moment's notice. You might put in an enormous amount of work into getting their business and then — poof — they slip away at the last second.

Some people say working with Walmart is like owning a boat — you celebrate the first day of receiving the business and you celebrate the last day you do business.

I feel the client who gets away deserves to stay in the pond for another person to handle their business. Someone else will trundle along for you who is bigger, better, and more fun to do business with.

It took years for me to fully understand and appreciate this passage. I hope I helped you today.

What job, position, or client went away and then the universe suddenly opened up a new perspective to your career?

Two Secrets From Leonardo da Vinci That Will Rock Your World.

 "I have been impressed with the urgency of doing.Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do."  — Leonardo da Vinci

That da Vinci character was a pretty smart guy. These words, uttered over five hundred years ago, are still true today.

We go to school for 16+ years and we think we know everything. "We Must Apply." or in other words, "Get busy applying what you know to your life and work."

We dream, wish, hope and pray for things to happen and nothing does. "We Must Do." or in other words, "Stop sitting around waiting for something to happen, you need to take action, NOW."

I see it happen to many of my clients. They talk a really good game about their situation. They know all the players and obstacles holding them back. They understand their inaction is actually hurting them. But they are still stuck in first gear and are afraid of taking the first step to begin the process.

Secret #1

We Must Apply — take what you know and develop a simple plan to take you forward. A lot of people think a plan should be hundreds of pages.

You only need one page. Take out a piece of paper and on one side start writing down all the things you need to do. Don't worry about priority or placement, just get them down on the paper. Use circles, lines, arrows, or boxes to fill in the whole page with many of the steps.

Don't over-think this part — try to get everything down within 20-30 minutes.

When you have exhausted your page with activities, turn the paper over and begin to take all of your ideas and prioritize them into sequential groups. Add timing to each activity or task and ensure any additional resource should be involved.

Now you have a plan.

Secret #2

We Must Do — when the time comes, take the first step, the second, and the third until you complete your plan.

Find out what is holding you back. Is the first step too big? Is it too hard? Do you not know how to start? Are you afraid? Are you lazy? Be honest with yourself and take the necessary steps to move forward slowly.

When we are in a dark room, we tend to move slowly, shuffling our feet forward, sometimes bumping into furniture. But we make it to the other side of the room and then we turn on the light.

Our success relies on applying our knowledge to a problem and taking action. Any less will keep you in the same state you're currently in.

There's no better day to start than RIGHT NOW.

What is your favorite obstacle that frequently holds you back?

Top 10 Powerful Pieces Of Advice To Be Successful.

As a coach, I run into many great pieces of advice from books, clients, workshops, seminars, and instructors. Here is a powerful cross-section of great advice I’ve used in business and life:

1. “The first few months at a job, just shut up.” You will learn who to talk to and who the idiots are very quickly.
2. “If it takes 60 seconds or less to complete, don't complain or postpone. Just do it now and get it over with.”
3. "Talent without work amounts to nothing". For example: If you take one writing workshop and wrote every day a few hours a day, in 10 years, they'd all have a decent book published. Maybe not the Great American Novel, but a decent one.
4. “If you're at work, take a hour and don't work during lunch.” My old boss (who was very successful in business) took an hour everyday and made us stop working and go to lunch.
5. “When looking for a job, look at the company's mission statement." If you can't figure out what they do in 3 sentences or less, walk away. They have their head up their butts.
6. “Most people who seem confident aren't or started without confidence.” The trick to being self-confident is to fake it until you're not faking it any more.
7. "If you don't ask, you don't get." It’s not rude or out-of-line to ask.
8. A business class professor said on the first day of class: "Look around you and shake the person's hand next you and get to know them and everyone in this class. Over the long run, that will be more valuable than anything I can teach you."
9. “If you want something you've never had, you're going to have to do something you've never done.”
10. “Mistakes are like stones in a backpack, carrying them with you can make you stronger, but theres a point at which you need to drop them to even move forward.”

Do you have any great pieces of advice to share that’s impacted your career?

Image provided by laughlin at flickr.