Friday Food for Thought
Is it better to be Good or Lucky?
It’s basketball playoff season. The Sixers went far given their performance the last few years. In the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals against Toronto they struggled, and ultimately lost in game seven, the last game of the series. It was a buzzer beater, as Kawhi...
What Do You Control?
I recently heard of a guy who every morning before he gets out of bed says some variation of “another f’ing day”. I would bet that he rarely has a good day if it starts out bad even before he gets out of bed. It’s easy to get caught up in that mindset, especially if...
The Only Limit is You
I got to spend 4 days with my tribe in Montreat, North Carolina. Montreat is best known for being the home of Billy Graham, a prominent figure in the Christian community. We also stayed in a beautiful house owned by Wade Burns, a civil rights activist. Being...
Empathy vs. Compassion
During my professional life, I have experienced many difficult situations (remember my job in customer service I mentioned this last fall?) Even though I wouldn’t necessarily want to have those experiences again, the wisdom I’ve gained from them is invaluable and I...
Perseverance and Resilience
This past Sunday Tiger Woods became the second oldest man to win the Masters at 43 years old, just 3 years younger than Jack Nicklaus, who last won the Masters at 46. Additionally, this Sunday Tiger received his 5th Masters jacket and 15th Major tournament win; while...
2 Sides to the Same Coin: Strategy vs. Tactics
Strategy and Tactics. Though both words have a different purpose, they are often interchanged, and, in my opinion, they go hand in hand. I believe one without the other is useless: strategy is about where you are going and why you want to go there, while tactics are...
Quality or Quantity?
Which is better, quality or quantity? I suppose it depends on what is important to you. I recently read a story about a dedicated family man who also brought his work home with him each night. He made it a priority to always be home for dinner and to make time to play...
Being Happy or Being Right?
Being right makes me happy, because being wrong makes me a fool, or so I thought. We live in an age where technology has made voicing your opinion easy. I am constantly hearing and reading things that people agree and disagree with. Ultimately when there is...
Something Worth Enjoying Now
As many of you know I collect bad habits; cigars, wine and whisk(e)y are certainly some of my favorite vices. While my collections pale in comparison to many of my friends, they are still extensive nonetheless. Recently I had dinner with some friends and they opened...
Sympathy vs. Empathy
I am a fixer. When I see or hear a problem, my reaction is to solve the problem and move on from it. To me, all the noise that surrounds the problem is just that, noise. While it’s great being proactive, the problem with simply “removing the nail” is that there is no...
Is Technology Making Me Dumber or Better?
Is technology making us dumber or better? The answer is YES!! 😊 While you can’t deny the pros of using technology, I still believe that technology is making us dumber. Having access to all this technology right at our fingertips requires us to think less. One negative...
Je vais de mieux en mieux
Emile Coué was a French psychologist and pharmacist that developed a method of self-improvement called autosuggestion, a very simple process of repeating something to one self. Emile Coué used it to heal his patients by telling them “Tous les jours, à tous points de...
Defining the Relationship
Greetings from Cuba! With travel being one of my many passions, I have had the opportunity to visit many parts of the world, and one of the things that I have noticed during my travels is how people view money and their relationship with it. I have found that in many...
Achieving Success
If I offered you $20 to cross an empty street, I bet you would take me up on it. But if I offered you $20 to cross a busy intersection, you would probably think twice. But I would bet that you would run through that same busy intersection for free if a loved one was...
Relational vs. Transactional
Years ago, Sanjay and I would network a lot. We had just started J2 and we rarely turned down a chance to meet people. Our goal was to meet as many folks as possible no matter what they did and gain the opportunity to learn about them and share about us. Several of...
The Art of Wabi-Sabi
According to Japanese legend, a gentleman named Sen no Rikyu set out to learn a set of customs known as the “Way of Tea”. He went to tea-master Takeeno Joo, who tested Rikyu by requesting he tend to the garden. Rikyu cleaned up debris and raked the ground until it was...
Is it Ever a Good Time?
A few years ago, I met up with a friend that I hadn’t seen in a while for dinner. First thing out of his mouth was “You look like crap!” (it wasn’t exactly that, but I am keeping it clean 😊). What a great way to greet a friend, right? In response, I gave him the...
Graciousness
I spent the last few days in New Orleans with my forum / mastermind group, which I have written about before in several FFfT’s. During these meetings we spend time discussing our professional and personal lives. We laugh, we cry, we reflect, we nurture; at the end of...
Breathe and Carry On
Sunday’s Eagles game against Chicago was a real nail biter: the Eagles came into the game as underdogs with lots of injuries and a backup quarterback. They kept us guessing on whether we would move on to the Divisional Playoffs and some may argue that they got lucky...
Apex Line
Welcome to 2019. Once again, we start with 365 blank pages to accomplish our goals. Usually the shortest route anywhere is a straight line. In racing there is a term called the “racing line” which is the line that provides the optimal path around the course. The...
Relax and Recharge
Christmas and New Year’s fell mid-week this year. For many of us that meant additional days off either by taking vacation or the company giving you a few extra days off. The downside to this extra time off is that maybe you had to spend extra time finishing up...
Mirror Images
It’s December 21st, T-minus 4 days until Christmas. Tensions are running high, and you can begin to see the look of panic in passerby’s eyes as they rush to get their last-minute shopping done. While the holidays are intended to bring out the best of everyone,...
Consensus is Bad
A few weeks ago, I wrote about the benefits of Crowdthink. In the case of my recent time spent at Harvard, working together with other entrepreneurs and listening to their thoughts and ideas while expressing my own as well, was beneficial. By collaborating with others...
The Choices You Make…
Two of the 10 axioms of Choice Theory state the following: The only person whose behavior we can control is our own. All we can give another person is information. How we behave is up to us. Do you choose to complain all the time, or do you make the best of a bad...
You Are Who You Are
There is a phrase: “How you do anything is how you do everything”. I believe this to be true, for the most part. They say a messy desk is a sign of genius. I am no genius, but my desk at the office is a mess. It drives my assistant nuts. My room at home is also a...
Grateful Living
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday filled with family, friends, football and fantastic food. Each year, it feels like the holiday season starts earlier and earlier. Halloween candy is out in August, holiday decorations start going up in October, and...
Power of a Crowd
When the gameshow Who Wants to be a Millionaire made its original television debut, each contestant was provided with 3 “life lines” when they weren’t sure of the correct answer. One of those life line options was called “Ask the Audience”. The thought process behind...
Time Travel to Success
Elections are over. Hooray! This is not a commentary on the political condition of our country or about my views on politics. This is about consciously traveling towards success. I have a friend that ran for City Commissioner in Florida. She started her campaign over...
Fear and the Present Moment
I hope you all enjoyed Halloween. This year marks the 40th anniversary of (in my opinion) one of the best horror films made: the original Halloween movie. Halloween captured my undivided attention and kept me on the edge of my seat during the entire movie. Horror...
Exponential Dreaming
I recently came back from a conference that was conducted by Singularity University and EO (Entrepreneurs Organization). The conference was about innovation, problem-solving and looking at things from a different perspective to solve problems that significantly impact...
Action > Intention
Ever notice that words semi related to each other are vastly different? For instance, the dictionary tells us that “should” is the past tense of “shall”- how is that possible? To me, there are huge differences between these two words. The word “should” expresses...
Tech Rage
Technology has had some incredible advances in the last century… decade… year…month…and even day. It makes us more efficient and more connected. We can do things with cell phones today that we could not do a few years ago, or even a few weeks ago. Every time a new...
Higher goals = Higher results
Goal setting is a powerful exercise and its effects are tremendous. When setting goals, how high do you aim? When you set goals that are easy to achieve, not only are you not giving it your all, but you’re ultimately cheating yourself. I was recently reading an...
The Answer is Simple
Ever call tech support for an issue and have the representative start asking you dumb question like: “is it turned on?”Or, “is it plugged in?”. There is a reason for these questions. They are trying to eliminate the simple issues. To many of us it may seem like tech...
Patience leads to success
Who ever said that “Patience is a virtue” would not have survived in the fast paced world of today. Today’s world moves lightning fast and we are constantly bombarded with information that we need to respond to, react to, and post on Social Media. I am by nature not...
Why? THAT is the question.
One of the most annoying questions someone can ask is Why? Sometimes you just want to respond with “Because I said so” or just “Because” or even “Don’t ask questions, just do it” to flip it back to the person originally asking. As annoying as Why can sometimes be, it...
FOMO can lead to JOMO
Most you know that when it comes to learning, I am a sponge. Many of you also know that over the last few years I started following the cigar culture in a big way. While for me a cigar is a way to relax and unwind, what I’ve learned is that I am just scratching the...
The Fine Line Between Elite and Elitist
Years ago, while working security at a club, Julius Erving, aka “Dr. J” came in with his family for dinner. For those who don’t know, Dr. J was probably one of the best basketball players of his era. Given his fame and status he was constantly being asked to pose for...
What if you don’t have tomorrow?
Last year at an event the speaker asked the question: “If I told you that you had 70 years to live would you still be here?” The answer by almost everybody was yes. He then re-asked the question: “If I told you that you had 7 years to live would you still be here?” ...
Know Your Tribe
In a previous career I was in a meeting with a client and at some point, during the meeting I said “hell”. It was more of a reaction to a comment made, and I may have said “what the hell!” Back at the office my supervisor pulled me into his office and told me that was...
Imperfectly Perfect
I am perfect. Imperfectly perfect. I have my quirks and there are things that I do that drive my friends, family and employees nuts. But in my own way, I am perfect. While that is a bold statement, it is my imperfections that make me perfect and unique. Kintsugi is...
It’s a Small World After All
A few years ago while walking the streets of Chicago, I got lost. I could see my hotel but could not easily get there. This was before smart phones were so smart. I stopped a couple and asked for directions. Yes, I am capable of that, I like things simple, remember....
My Superhero Power
I just returned from my quarterly retreat with a group of Entrepreneurs from all over the East Coast. During these retreats we spend time discussing not only our businesses but our personal lives as well. Many of the discussions go late into the night and some of the...
My Brain Hurts
The brain is an amazing organ. It makes thousands of decisions a day, almost at a rate of a decision every second. It helps you decide what to wear, when to eat, what to eat, what pen to use, or whether to answer the phone or not. It also helps you post a picture...
Not My Job
I just finished a book on customer service in the hospitality industry. All the lessons in the book can be related not only to every industry, but to everybody. The author dives into culture, employee engagement and customer value. One of the lessons learned in the...
Happy
On July 4th, we celebrated Independence Day. The celebration of this day began in 1941, despite Independence being declared on July 2nd, 1776. Two days later, thirteen states adopted The Declaration of Independence, which states that certain rights are unalienable:...
Empowered Leaders Empower Others
Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors, changed the company’s dress code policy by paring a ten-page document down to two words: “Dress appropriately.” Seems easy enough but it wasn’t: The Human Resources department deemed it unclear. Really? Two words aren’t clear? One...
Everything We See is Perspective, Not Truth
I recently saw a video on Facebook where a family was treated horribly by a waitress at a restaurant when ordering a meal. The waitress serving them was one of the rudest individuals I had ever witnessed. She spoke down to this family, berated the children and refused...
Your Limitations are False
Did you see that news story this week about the raccoon in Minnesota that climbed a 25-story building? He was first found resting on a ledge 20 feet above ground level, at which point he was retrieved safely and brought back to the ground. The raccoon then proceeded...
When is Enough, Enough?
How much is enough? This is the question a few friends and I were kicking around a few weeks ago when we were enjoying a lighthearted conversation about what that meant. While we didn’t necessarily come up with the answer then and there, we did manage to pin down what...