The Blog

What keeps you from succeeding?

Failure may be the obvious answer.

But I think it's actually a level deeper. I think it's fear of failure.

And what is fear of failure?

A story you tell yourself about your self.

In Onward: Where Certainty Ends, Possibility Begins, I shared a...

"What is the meaning of life?"

It's one of the most asked questions across all of human history.

But perhaps a more helpful question is, "What gives life meaning?"

I think we have to begin with the fact that life ends.

ANY meaning our life has comes from what we do with it during our journey from...

How do think about the work you do?

Are you working at something?

Is it something worthy of your valuable (and finite) time, attention, and effort?

Are you doing that work in collaboration or community?

If not, why not?

Or maybe you're working for something?

If so, is it a...

Intention and integrity are words I frequently use in my work helping retirees start and scale fulfilling online lifestyle businesses that help fund their retirement.

But what do intention and integrity really mean?

An intention is an aim established for purposeful action.

Intentions are made on...

Some people have a love-hate relationship with social media.

Mine was more of a hate-hate relationship...

That began to change when I was a student and later a 4-time coach in Seth Godin's Marketing Seminar.

What I learned there is that social media is merely a tool. It's like a hammer.

A hammer...

I found Shakespeare difficult to read back in Jr. High School. However, I recently immensely enjoyed rereading As You Like It.

It opens with this line.

"All the world's a stage,

And all the men and women merely players."

The way I read this is that ol' Willie is revealing both the personal...

We all do the work we have to do to make a living.

If we're lucky, that work isn't soul-sucking and maybe even feels rewarding.

And if we're REALLY lucky, that work aligns with who we are, what we're good at, and where we belong.

That kind of work feels meaningful and fulfilling—more of a...

Langston Hughes' poem Dreams was one of the few we encouraged our sons to memorize while homeschooling them.

Do you know it? Here it is.

Dreams, by Langston HughesHold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly. Hold fast to dreams
For when...

For those who seek to make a difference, purpose is crucial.

And yet...

It is a term that is often confused or conflated with other ideas like vision, mission, or goal. I teased apart the difference between purpose and passion already. Here's my current attempt to do the same with these...

Purpose and passion are terms that are often conflated and used interchangeably.

That is unhealthy and dangerous.

Here are five distinctions I make in my work helping others define the difference only they can make (AKA "their purpose") and living more passionately.

1. Purpose is your reason for...