The Thrill of Victory, The Agony of (Temporary) Defeat

Don’t you just hate it when a person or event “ruins” your day? It could be somebody refusing to help you when you know he or she could. Or it might be an email that politely thanks you for your job application or manuscript submission and concludes with some variation of “There was someone better

Perfect Success and Happiness

Have you ever noticed that after receiving clarity about how to be happier and have more of what you want in life, that sadness, exhaustion, and even a little regret creeps into your consciousness? It has with me. I think to myself, “Why didn’t I ‘get with the program’ sooner? Why did I wait so

Growing Success

Today, I am down in Hyde Park during a marathon of resume reviews for Chicago Booth students. You might think that this is a painful austerity, but I rather like it. I feel that I am helping a whole lot of students pave the way to greater success.  So the next time you are doing

Why Ask?

 When you want to do something at home, work, or school, do you ask for permission first? Sometimes this can be a great thing, yet other times it is clearly a sign of weakness. Recently, I noticed myself asking before acting a lot. I think that I was in a little bit of a slump

Where Are You Leading?

I have worked in a variety of environments over the years and I have been thinking about the best of each. While I didn’t work for my father, from the time I was a toddler I had the opportunity (sometimes when I didn’t even want it) to observe how a single-mindedly determined entrepreneur leads. His

The Great Competition

Perhaps it’s the summer or my need to be around interesting (one of my favorite words) people – yet I have been seeing many more friends than on a typical month. I have been encouraged and inspired by their ideas. One friend, Sarah, has a wonderful idea for a reality show. It’s called “The Great

It Takes Guts

I was visiting with several friends last night. We were having our “usual” unusual topics of conversation from the heat index of 110F+ to how individuals deliberately transform challenges into opportunity (as cliché as that may sound – it’s truly amazing what people can do.)  Then, one of my friends, Lirella (aka Ever Victorious,) piped

The Wisdom of Success and Happiness

On my way to the office, I was reading Wisdom: From Philosophy to Neuroscience by Stephen S. Hall, a fascinating book offering both a complex and reductionist view of the subject. Some of Mr. Hall’s thoughts I agree with and others I do not. That said, one thing in the book really stuck with me:

Who is More Successful?

Who has the more successful view of the world, the person who points out everything that needs to be fixed or the baby who is delighted by everything that she sees? While the adult can solve lots of problems, the power of the baby is her ego free innocence. How can you carry this purity

“Weight Lifting” for Success and Happiness

I met with a friend yesterday afternoon. She’s an educator and not teaching this summer. Yet she has an enormous project for the summer months – she’s become a professional weight lifter of life. She’s training to take her life to a whole new level – which means multiple hours each day delving into the