Do you have dreams? No, not the ones that happen while you're asleep. The ones that inspire your life. How are these dreams doing? I mean the ones you had as a kid or as a young adult, the ones you have now - dreams that inspire you and give a sense of passion and purpose to your life. 

Erma Bombeck once said, "There are people who put their dreams in a little box and say 'Yes, I've got dreams - of course I do!' Then they put the box away, bring it out once in a while to look… >>>

For most of us, our families come first, before all the other important things in life. But does our behavior reflect that belief? 

Although most people say that nothing is more important than their families, day-to-day behavior can tell another story. As Jennifer James, a former Seattle columnist, once pointed out, "When we're moving fast, sometimes the relationships we care most about get short shrift. We think those we love will forgive us if we spend most of our time on other things. But a child may grow up before we notice that hours of being too busy have extended… >>>

We know what civil rights and copyrights are, but have you ever thought about your rights as a human being?

You probably know about the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness that the United States' Declaration of Independence demanded from England in 1776. Over the decades since, we have given ourselves many other rights, too, though you probably didn't learn about them in school. And they're not usually listed or written down. 

You have the right to make mistakes, to be less than competent, less than perfect. You have a right to ask for what you want… >>>

Do you consider yourself unlucky? Ever feel like fate has dealt you a bad hand? Let's experiment with another way of looking at things.

Did you ever feel cursed by fate? You know, as if something - bad genes, bad parents, childhood trauma, wrong color, wrong body, wrong side of the tracks (it really doesn't matter what) - has ruined your chances to succeed in life? 

If you do, I want to tell you something very important that took me from feeling just like you do to where I am today. Here it is: None of those things are holding… >>>

How good are you at keeping agreements - with yourself? By this, I mean all your agreements, and let me explain what I mean by that.

In their book "Life 101," John-Roger and Peter McWilliams pointed out that the agreements we make are always with ourselves - although sometimes they include other people. In that sense, they're like relationships. All our relationships are with ourselves, but often they include other people as well. 

Now, your word is one of the most precious things you have, but many people think very little of breaking it. This is a mistake for two… >>>

How effective are you while you're at work? Let's look at some ways to increase your on-the-job effectiveness.

If you don't feel very effective or productive while you're at work, it can lead to a downward spiral. By that I mean that when you don't feel effective, it can lower your feelings of self-worth. This, in turn, leads to even less effective performance, and down and down you go. 

A downward spiral is the last thing you need. Chances are you can work far more effectively than you are now and move yourself into an upward trend, instead. How? Well,… >>>

A popular game show in the United States asked, "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" Its initial ratings suggested, and continue to suggest, that the final answer is, "A lot of people!"

According to Success Magazine, every 60 minutes, someone in North America becomes a millionaire. (I have no proof, but that may have slowed down a bit in recent days.) How come one of them isn't you? No, it's not because you aren't educated well enough, and it's not because you're the wrong color, gender or age. It's not because you weren't born into a wealthy family, and it's… >>>

Today, let's look at the art of accepting things from others. Everyone knows that it feels great to give, and most of us have learned that it's better to give than to receive. But there's a blessing to being able to receive gracefully too, and it's what I want to remind you of today. 

How does it feel to give a gift that is virtually ignored or, worse, received badly? Pretty awful, right? Children, especially, labor long and with great love to make special presents for their families. It can be crushing to see their best handiwork ignored or passed… >>>

Warranted high self-esteem, which has always been important psychologically, is a critical factor in economic well-being, too.

For four decades, my company has been working with the most forward-thinking business and world leaders to teach them the importance of a workforce with high self-esteem. The concepts I teach are working their way into mainstream American business culture, and it's about time. A book called "The Power of Self-Esteem," by psychologist Nathaniel Branden pointed out that a workforce lacking confidence in its ability to think and cope with life's challenges won't be very productive or competitive in a demanding global environment.… >>>

Today, I want to share with you one of the most powerful techniques I know for personal growth. 

It is a simple technique that has incredible power to change lives and expand potential. In fact, I don't know of anything that has more power. It's a technique you can use to help your own life grow richer and to help others, as well. 

When you can see yourself not as you are, but as what you can become, you stimulate incredible growth, incredible change. People who find life exciting and who continue to grow and expand their accomplishments are people… >>>

A lot of people are afraid of failure, but do you know anyone who's afraid of success? Let's talk about this rather common problem. 

Abraham Maslow, one of the 20th Century's great psychologists, called it a "Jonah Complex," because Jonah chose to turn his back on the great things God had planned for him. Of course, the Bible tells us that Jonah eventually found himself inside the belly of a great fish, but most people who fear success eventually find themselves consumed with regrets for things that might have been. 

We turn away from the challenges that will bring us… >>>

Today, let's talk about frustration - a feeling all of us experience from time to time - and how to overcome it.

One of the roadblocks on the path to success is frustration. Everyone feels it from time to time. It's kind of like anxiety with a little anger thrown in, isn't it? You feel like a tiger in a cage, filled with tension and negative energy but accomplishing nothing. And that tension and negative energy represent both the danger and the opportunity in frustration.

The danger is the tension and the negativity, because negativity blocks all the positive feelings… >>>

Today, I want to say a few words about peak performance to everyone who would like to improve at a sport or game, and I am not talking about performance-enhancing substances. 

People are finally starting to realize that "the right stuff" isn't something you have to be born with. The fact that we can learn to tap previously unexplored potential has been quickest, perhaps, to take hold in the world of professional sports. However, the principles involved will work just as well for weekend and high school athletes, too. 

One of the best-known techniques, for what sports psychologists and counselors… >>>

Did you know that there is an important difference between efficiency and effectiveness? Let's talk about that difference and why it matters.

Most businesses focus a lot of energy on running an efficient operation - efficient in the sense that things get done with a minimum of effort and motion. It's low input and high output. In other words, efficiency is doing things right. But doing what things? Ah! This is a very important question.

You see, effectiveness, to me, is doing the right things right. And effectiveness is what you want to aim for, because you can be extremely… >>>

Today, I want to share with you one of the most powerful techniques I know for personal growth - and it works for individuals, teams, organizations, communities, even nations.

It is a simple technique that has incredible power to change lives and expand potential. In fact, I don't know of anything that has more power. It's a technique you can use to help your own life grow richer and to help others, as well. 

When you can see yourself, not as you are, but as you can become, you stimulate incredible growth and previously unbelievable change. People who find life… >>>

Have you ever watched highly competitive sports with your kids? Let's talk about the kinds of messages our kids get from these games.

Many years ago, I coached high school football, and I still do a lot of work with college and professional athletes. Now it's always been clear to me, and I always tried to make it clear to the kids I coached, that the point of competition is to bring out the best in us. It's great to win, but for every winner there's a loser, and sports isn't about always being the winner. It's about playing the… >>>

Some people say that long-term goals are the kind you need to set if you really want to get anywhere. Other people say that long-term goals are too distant to get their arms around. Here's what I think, and it's backed up by research out of Stanford University as well as other leading edge studies. 

The best kind of goals to have is a combination of short- and long-term. If you have only long-term goals, you may indeed find it rough going. The realities of life are that most of us have many pressing goals in the present - things… >>>

Are you planning to make a change in yourself? If you are, I would like to share some tips on how to go about getting the best results.

Maybe you want to lose weight, get into good physical shape, or quit smoking. Maybe you'd like to learn to do something new, or do something you already do better. Maybe you want to work on your anger, like we talked about yesterday. Whatever it is you want to do, there are three things we now know about self-directed change that can help you. 

First, set goals that aren't too big, too… >>>

Do you find yourself feeling out of sorts or angry a lot? What do you do when you get angry?  Let's talk about this powerful feeling.

Anger is a powerful emotion that reveals itself in many different ways. Some folks seem to go through life with a chip on their shoulder. They are quick to find things to be angry about, always fix the cause of their anger as somewhere outside themselves, and occasionally erupt into rage. Other people seem to run on a pretty even keel most of the time, but when they get angry they explode and feel… >>>

As you might have guessed, I do a lot of reflective writing, whether it is in preparation for a presentation, a weekend seminar, or a taping session.  Often, I go through old journals, checking on my own personal progression toward growth. I came across some personal reflections recently, about some information I found in early 2000. I'd like to share them with you today.

When the new century had settled down, some fascinating, but not entirely unexpected data appeared concerning death rates in the month of January 2000.  You see, they went up - higher than any January before.  It… >>>