From Volume 8, Issue 6:We all fall into a funk every now and then. It’s not a fun place to be. You have less energy, it’s harder to get things done, and all the color and joy can drain out of life for a time. But what causes funks, and how can we pull ourselves out of these periods so we can get on with enjoying our miraculous lives?
From Volume 8, Issue 5:Let’s play a game. Imagine that you’re in a classroom. In front of you, there’s a professor, wagging his or her finger while preaching to you. (The professor is in the Knower/Judger persona, naturally…it’s the job.) The professor goes on and on while you sit there. How likely is it that you are going to retain the new information? Now imagine that you’re being given the same information but there is a game or competition involved. Will it be easier to learn? You bet! Here’s why.
From Volume 8, Issue 5:Sometimes you do everything right—dot every “i,” cross every “t,” hit 1,000 consecutive foul shots, invest in tech stocks just before the new one is offered—and you still lose. That’s life. Losing can be a valuable part of the human condition. You know the old saying “Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% what you do about it”? Losing builds character, but boy does it sting. Here’s what I’ve lost recently, and how I’m coping with the change.
From Volume 8, Issue 3:Acceleration in my world of racing has two major components: power and traction. Using this metaphor, how can we accelerate to get what we want in our world?
From Volume 8, Issue 1:In our culture, “doubt” is normally considered a detriment. From the early days of our education, we are praised for knowing the answer and made to feel less than adequate if we don’t.
But I’m here to sing the praises of doubt. Doubt’s a good thing. If I doubt, it means I’m not sure. And too much certainty can be crippling.
From Volume 7, Issue 12:It’s Christmastime again. The season when we all try to decompress and review the past year and vow to chill and get along.
But somehow the opposite seems to happen. I’m stressed because I can’t get it all done in time—tree, decorations, shopping, cooking. The last person I want to be cooped up with on Christmas Day is my aunt, who never smiles. And then there are all the projects, both at home and at work, that aren’t going to get done because I’m putting all the “some assembly required” toys together. Can we just skip Christmas this year?
From Volume 7, Issue 8:The recent passing of Robin Williams has me thinking about how much of what we believe we know about each other relies on surfaces. Many illnesses, both mental and physical, can torment people without the slightest outward appearance. So when we learn about their suffering, we’re shocked. “But he looked so good,” we think. And that’s the problem—looking good is not the same as being OK.
From Volume 7, Issue 7:“Quitters never win and winners never quit.”
—Vince Lombardi
“Never say never.”
—Charles Dickens, The Pickwick Papers
I tend to differ with Coach Lombardi and agree with Dickens on this one. Quitting is the tactical execution of the strategic positive power of “no”—in order to make a “no” stick, you have to be willing to quit.
From Volume 7, Issue 5:“It’s 106 miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it’s dark… and we’re wearing sunglasses.” —Elwood
What happens next? Jake and Elwood—the Blues Brothers—are forced off their Chicago-bound highway by a huge barricade across the road and the word “DETOUR.”
Generally, we see detours as disruptions in our status quo—changes we didn’t bargain for or plan around. But even when a detour is unavoidable, we have a choice about how we handle it.
From Volume 7, Issue 5:When I assembled a group to write The Positive Power of No: How That Little Word You Love to Hate Can Make or Break Your Business back in 2003, I had no idea it would be the foundation of most of the Clarity work I do today.
We had a credo when we were crafting the book: “‘No’ is the foundation of freedom, the cornerstone of clarity, and the icon of integrity.” So why are we so hesitant to pull out that powerful little word? And how you can use it to your advantage?
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