Tag: success
Act III: How to Make the Last Third of Your Life the Best
What man needs is not some tension-less state but rather the striving and struggling for some goal worthy of him. – Victor Frankl Are you ready for Act III of your life? As you may recall, in Act I you built your tower as you discovered who you are and what you can do. You felt invincible, or at least pretended to be. Sure, your ego was a bit inflated, but that allowed you to dream big, set ambitious goals, and persevere in the world. Facing Your Limitations Then there was Act II. At this point you are out of survival mode and, humbled by your life’s inevitable setbacks, just a little less full of yourself. You are winning. You […]
What Truly Will Make You Happy?
Lars Petersson, President of IKEA US, recently presented results from IKEA-sponsored research that indicates Americans are buying less stuff for their homes and that this trend is expected to continue. The research also indicates that American’s are instead valuing experiences around the kitchen table more than cool products for the home and that spending less on stuff is helping American’s realize a dream that goes beyond owning material things. Could it be that we are figuring out the key to happiness? Could it be we are sacrificing one household budget line item for another versus “wanting it all” even if that means spending more than what we can afford? Are we abandoning an empty dream? Is Happiness an Illusion? Over […]
The Paradox of Success: How to Build a Life You Won’t Regret
Many wealthy people are little more than the janitors of their possessions. ̴ Frank Lloyd Wright For as long as I can remember my goal was to be successful. As a teenager, I was dead-set on being financially independent as soon as possible so I would be free to live as I chose. Be careful what you ask for… How’s This Working? After giving a talk to a group of young professionals, a determined woman in her late thirties cornered me. “I’ve been married for six years. We met in college. I loved his competiveness and how he dreamed of creating a big life.” Her jaw tightened. “His business is booming. He works in it and on it all the […]
The Successful Person’s Greatest Fear
“I could have been a contender. I could have been somebody.” ~ Terry (Marlon Brando) in On the Waterfront Fear is a natural part of life. It’s a powerful motivator for leaders and entrepreneurs. Each of us chooses to believe that fear is either an ally or something to avoid or deny. Courage is not the absence of fear but rather the willingness to move forward in the face of fear. Yet, in spite of its power, fear gets buried beneath life’s distracting and numbing activities. Every parent fears the loss of a child. Many fear their own death, especially those who deny this fear. High-performers in business who are under forty say that business/career/financial failure is one of their […]
How to Balance Work and Life
I recently was a guest blogger on Inspiyr.com – a cool site dedicated to being healthy, happy and successful. I had a little different take on the topic of work/life balance. There’s nothing wrong with working or working hard. What causes the unintended collateral damage for some high-achievers is their unconscious relationship with work. Too many high-achieving executives try to force themselves to work less rather than address the underlying cause of working too much. Because they can’t dial down the work some people rationalize they can work hard and retire early or sell the company and then balance everything out. Most of the people I know on this plan feel empty, unfulfilled or at least disoriented. They end up […]
Executive Life Coaching: From Success to Fulfillment and Back Again
[this is a reprint of my monthly Musing I published last week] What’s the definition of success? Is this person successful: Self-made multi-million dollar net worth by age thirty, CEO of a company for which you led the IPO by age thirty-five, in good health, solid marriage, active social life, vacation home, expensive European cars in the garage, the time and money to play and vacation in nice settings? Maybe there isn’t one definition for success. Perhaps we all have to determine for ourselves what it is. If so, what’s your definition? I used to be the guy in the first paragraph. I thought I was successful. The problem I ran into was I always wanted more of all of […]