Very few people can claim that they have achieved all that they are capable of. In the Western world most of us do moderately well. We get an education and a succession of jobs; we have some relationships that work; we are well fed; we avoid penury and destitution. We can take…

What in your life can you control? Not much, as it happens. In fact, most of the areas we feel most in control of are riddled with uncertainty and unpredictability: business, health, parenting, finances. In a lot of cases – like picking which stocks to invest in – the average person actually underperforms random selection. That…

One of the most important steps (if not the most important one) you can take when starting a business is to talk with your partner/spouse before you embark on your adventure. It’s absolutely crucial to have your partner with you on the same page when you start a business. Without their support and “buy-in,” in…

I’ve heard a lot of great business ideas lately — and more than a few people announcing that now is the right time to go into business for yourself. I think that there’s a lot to be said for becoming an entrepreneur during a down economy — although the risks definitely go up. With…

Most geeks know who Ray Kurzweil is. Most musicians do too, and so do many blind people. Kurzweil has invented so many things in so many different fields, it’s hard to know where to begin. Perhaps one of the things he’s most famous for, aside from inventing the first reading machine and some awesome keyboards (the…

I say, fail a lot. Push yourself to the limits of your talents, endurance, and common sense, and then go one step further and fall down, spectacularly if possible. Failure is one of life’s great forces; it’s driven far more innovation than talent, creativity, or necessity combined. Plus, its stories are better. Most…

“Why don’t you join me on the line?” Do you think I’m inviting you to get on a conference call? Is the football player in you visualizing the scrimmage line? Does ‘on the line’ mean anything in particular to you? The line that we’re going to look at today is the line that separates risk from…

“A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be.” ~ Wayne Gretzky Think about this… If you could predict the future, your productivity would skyrocket. The biggest hurdles to productivity are interruptions, distractions, and unknowns. No matter how many tools you use, lists you…

Have you noticed how often people draw back from trying something new because of fear? Fear that they might not make it; fear that the outcome will not be as good as they hope that it will be; fear that change may prove that what they’ve been doing until now isn’t as good as they’ve…

There are lots of methods and techniques for making decisions. One of the most commonly used is the pros versus cons list or risks versus rewards. This type of list helps make a clear distinction about what benefits a choice offers, and also what you have to lose. To make it easy, I put together a…