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Getting things done isn’t just about forward progress. Achieving great goals, making tiny progress, or even just planning your next step requires lateral movement. Even more than that. Sometimes it requires moving backwards. From the outside looking in it might appear that you’re not as strong as you need to be. Those side to side movement seem indecisive. Stepping back appears to be a sign of weakness. One of the biggest mistakes you can ever make in attempting to achieve audacious goals is to assume that the only acceptable movement towards success is moving forwards. Relationships requires empathy. If you’re focused on moving forwards at any cost, you’re probably trampling those relationships. Later you’ll wonder why there is no one to have your back. You’ll wonder why when things go wrong for you it seems like everyone is out to get you. They are out to get you. You haven’t done anything to build those bonds. And when it matters most you end up losing. Building wealth requires insi

I have been on hiatus for a while. I needed time to collect my thoughts and change around my site. I lost traffic and interest over the past month but that is okay. I needed that time to evaluate things and now that I have done that, I know what to do. I stopped doing my podcasts. I felt there was no more room in my life for them. It served its purpose at the time. Not anymore. I will write the occasional post on social media. However, I will mostly be writing posts about depression, mental health, grief and death, and anything else that I decide to write about. Is that depressing? No because it is reality of life. It is time to stop hiding from all of that. I felt that only focusing on writing posts that are business and social media related wasn’t allowing me to really express who I am. I lost passion in this site because of that. It all started feeling like a lie. Keeping up with the blog felt like a chore, not something I was passionate about. That is not how it should have been

Speaking to Irish women forced to search elsewhere for abortion services (WNN) Ireland, Western Europe – On a spiritless, silver-skied … Continue reading → The Last Hangover from Communion Wine

I never really thought of myself as a “bon vivant” until a friend told me that he admired my  “bon vivant” lifestyle. Then another friend commented, “You have such joie de vivre”. My French boils down to what little I remember from high school but I remember enough to know that my friends see me as one who not only enjoys good food and wine but is living a full and joyful life. I realized it’s true. I am a bon vivant and that’s exactly what I set out to be decades ago when I decided to become a photographer. My cameras have provided a means to that end – the end being choosing a career that gave me access to a life full of diverse experiences and journeys. It hasn’t always been easy and has had its own challenges and pitfalls, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. For those of you who may want to pursue a similar lifestyle, here are some thoughts and considerations about traveling: You don’t have to be rich to travel. In fact some of the best experiences I have had didn’t cost me a l

The journey is over and the memories have begun to fade.  But the legacy lives on in the film my daughter and I created, when we set out some 3 years ago seeking individuals who were making our world a better place. And indeed, we found many people – ordinary people who were doing extraordinary things. And every one of these people had one thing in common – they had found their purpose in helping others.  The more they gave – the more they got back in return.  But none of them “gave” with the idea of getting something in return. It wasn’t about getting money, favors, recognition, or other ego related pursuits, it was about caring for their “fellow man”. I think that the biggest reward for me in making this film, was sharing that experience with my daughter.  She was fortunate to have been born and raised in a beautiful and privileged part of the world and I wanted her to have a greater global perspective.  It’s almost impossible to “care” for your “fellow man” when if you don’t have an

I never really thought of myself as a “bon vivant” until a friend told me that he admired my  “bon vivant” lifestyle. Then another friend commented, “You have such joie de vivre”. My French boils down to what little I remember from high school but I remember enough to know that my friends see me as one who not only enjoys good food and wine but is living a full and joyful life. I realized it’s true. I am a bon vivant and that’s exactly what I set out to be decades ago when I decided to become a photographer. My cameras have provided a means to that end – the end being choosing a career that gave me access to a life full of diverse experiences and journeys. It hasn’t always been easy and has had its own challenges and pitfalls, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. For those of you who may want to pursue a similar lifestyle, here are some thoughts and considerations about traveling: You don’t have to be rich to travel. In fact some of the best experiences I have had didn’t cost me a lot

If you stop doing the right thing before it starts working, you’ve done the wrong thing. But what do you do when the right thing feels wrong? Or worse, boring? How do you endure the monotony of the daily grind, doing what needs to be done, without seeing much progress or finding inspiration from the details you’re forced to endure? Leadership is a lonely sport. A grinding endeavor. To be successful, you’re going to have to stay at peak performance longer than anyone else around you. You’re going to have to be tougher. More insightful, candid, and steadfast. That requires an emotional resilience that consistently needs to be re-supplied. You’re giving inspiration, vision, and hope. And you need to be even more deliberate about finding those same things for yourself each day. Otherwise, what you do will soon become a series of automatic, inefficient motions. And you going through them. Without thought or potency. Just you trying to finish what needs to be done. Without renewal, your ener

Effective leaders make people feel loved. They’re not just intelligent. Not just experienced. Not just driven, candid, inspiring and visionary. They love people. They heal people.  The people that work for them know that what they do is noticed. They aren’t just a number on the spreadsheet. They are known by name. That sense of purpose is wildly important in any organization or movement. The best leaders know that to get the best results from those that follow them, they have to invest in a relationship. That’s not by shouting louder, demanding more, being less approachable, or playing politics. It’s the simple things. Common decency. Respect. Candor. And demanding excellence. People know they are appreciated when they are challenged to do better than they have in the past. Complacency and malaise — being allowed to stay mediocre when extraordinary capability is possible — is the opposite of being loved. Great leaders demand more because they want the best from those around them. Not j

You don’t have to shout to be heard. There will be few times as a leader where you will need to stand in front of your team and inspire them to battle on in spite of terrific odds. Those times will be rare. Your true test as a leader is to inspire greatness when mediocrity is acceptable. Words just can’t do that. You have to lead by example. You’re being watched. Even when it seems like you’re all alone. What you do matters. Not just what you say. What you do. And how you do what you’re doing. You set the the standard for greatness and give permission to those behind you to do what you do. They don’t care because you don’t. Which is why your actions and attitudes matter so much. What you have been doing is what they are doing. What you do when no one is watching is what they will do when no one is watching. How you respond to being treated unfairly — to stress and frustration — is how they will respond in the same situations. It’s ridiculous to assume that just because you’ve said it t

You can be anything you want to be as long as you are willing to be something different than you are right now. You can’t be better and still do the same mediocre activities that make you good enough right now. You can’t evolve, expand, and take your game to the next level if you’re not willing to dramatically change what you do. You have to change before change happens. Deliberate, uncomfortable change. Not different excuses. Not better reasons. Not new ideas, easier challenges, or trendy schemes. Real change. You have to do the hard things that you’re not doing right now. On a schedule. Each day. Bit by bit by bit. Not all at once. Not one sprint towards the finish line. Continual, obsessive progress. If you want to achieve something you have never had before, you must do something you have never done before. And then keep doing it. Until it works. That’s the secret to living a life without limits. That’s the answer to your struggle to lead better, to get promoted, to make more money

Let’s do great things together With the launch of Windows 10, we’re striving to make the most important upgrades. Join Microsoft in celebrating people and organizations that #UpgradeYourWorld in big and small ways every day. Learn more and vote for a local org Windows 10 is the best combination of the Windows you already know, plus lots of great improvements that make it more productive, personal, and flexible than ever. Join our 60-minute workshop to get an overview of everything Windows 10 has to offer for everyday use, whether it’s for work or play, home or office. You’ll learn how get the most out of new features, how to personalize your Windows experience, work and play across all your devices, and get more done faster with new productivity capabilities. Aspects of Windows 10 covered in the workshop include: Navigation, Start, Windows Explorer, Menus, Accessing Applications, Security Features and Synchronization across Devices. Register today and do great things with Windows 10!

I realized recently that I had succumbed to the prevailing trend in editorial writing – the “top ten” syndrome – the top ten places to see in a lifetime, 10 tips on how to be more productive, 10 tips for taking better photos, the 10 best towns to live in – you get the picture. Train tracks, Mississippi Seems like we want our info and we want it fast and easy to digest. The problem is we tend to lose sight of the things that aren’t on the top ten lists and lose focus on who we are. I spent my summer redesigning our company’s website, editing a new motion reel and strategizing with my partner on marketing ideas. I am grateful for whatever outside forces motivated me creatively to have such a productive summer. I learned some of the pitfalls of following just the advice of “top ten” check lists when it came to editing our new motion reel. For example, these tips: Pick music that sets the tone for your brand and footage. Select only your best clips. Cut on the action. Cut to the music –

“You need to do what scares you.”  You have heard that before. It’s an easy-to-throw-around motivational phrase — if it’s scary, it must be good. If it’s scary, it must be something you need in your life. It’s that missing thing. That radical idea that will propel you past the obstacles in your way towards success. If you just do what scares you, you’ll fix your money problems and your business problems, be more happy, healthy, and inspired. It often seems like the scary thing is a quick fix. A last ditch, radical turn-around to whatever problem seems insurmountable at the time. But that’s not what really scares you. Do you know what really scares you? To believe in yourself enough to keep working towards getting to where you want to be even when it seems like your day-to-day efforts aren’t moving you forward. Do you know what really scares you? To avoid running after quick fixes and easy alternatives to solving your problem and just do the hard work each day that getting out of troubl