Once upon a time, a young, accomplished and enthusiastic worker named SHE got her first job. SHE – being an ambitious, solid and diligent worker – was noticed by those at the top of her organization. Not surprisingly, those at the top quickly promoted SHE to the position of team leader. SHE’s world changed. The … Read more
Martha Stewart, Steve Jobs and some other famous people have reputations as perfectionists. But are those reputations justified? Are those famous figures truly perfectionists, or are they, perhaps, those seeking excellence in disguise? And even if our famous figures’ reputations are deserved, and true perfectionism is what plagues or plagued them, what are the costs … Read more
“Understanding the difference between healthy striving and perfectionism is critical to laying down the shield and picking up your life. Research shows that perfectionism hampers success. In fact, it’s often the path to depression, anxiety, addiction, and life paralysis. Healthy striving is self-focused: ‘How can I improve?’ Perfectionism is other-focused: ‘What will they think?’” … Read more
“The truth won’t set us free until we develop the skills and the habit and the talent and the moral courage to use it.” —Margaret Heffernan, “Dare to Disagree” TED Talk at www.ted.com/talks/margaret_heffernan_dare_to_disagree?language=en Image courtesy of Stoonn at FreeDigitalPhotos.net. After decades of research pointing to the fact that people skills matter to business success, here … Read more
“Probably a lot of you know the story of the two salesmen who went down to Africa in the 1900s. They were sent down to find if there was any opportunity for selling shoes, and they wrote telegrams back to Manchester. And one of them wrote, ‘Situation hopeless. Stop. They don’t wear shoes.’ And the … Read more
“Don’t look for the big, quick improvement. Seek the small improvement one day at a time. That’s the only way it happens—and when it happens, it lasts.” —John Wooden Despite the fact that we live in a culture that admires “big”—big breakthroughs, big ideas, big money, big muscles, big everything—wise coaches, whether from the world … Read more
Success image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net. “Habits are like financial capital—forming one today is an investment that will automatically give out returns for years to come. “Happiness is not the belief that we don’t need to change; it’s the realization that we can.” —Shawn Achor If you could achieve: 37% greater sales 3x … Read more
