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Many people believe that goals are a good thing. I believe that they are an absolute essential. You know, I wonder about people who have no goals. It isn't just because they aren't going to enjoy much success in their lives. It's because they may not have much of a life, period! 

Humans are teleological beings. In other words, we think in terms of purpose and we are naturally goal-oriented. A teleological nature means that it is absolutely critical for us to have goals. For us to change and grow, we need something tugging at us from the future, something… >>>

Today, I want to talk about the importance of learning how to bounce back from adversity.

Whether it be loss of your job, the current uncertainty about the economy, an illness, or a natural disaster like a tornado or flood, which can cause you to lose almost everything in one fell swoop, it can really knock you off your feet for a while. And when adversity does strike, how fast you get up again depends on a number of things, such as:

  a.. how good your support network is;
  b.. how solid your self-esteem is;
  c.. the… >>>

Today I want to tell you about one of the guiding principles I use in the work that I do with top professional athletes and other high-performance people.

During the last, well nearly 40 years, I've worked closely with many athletes who wanted to improve their performance. And when I work with them, one of the things I make sure they understand before we really get started has to do with the way the process of change works. 

It is simply this: All meaningful and lasting change starts on the inside and then works its way out. 

In other words,… >>>

Have you heard of "either/or thinking?" It's a dangerous but common mistake that many of us have been conditioned to make.

Either/or thinking, or black-and-white thinking as it's sometimes called, is a dangerous thing. It's basically just what it sounds like. Either/or thinkers don't see shades of gray. They want easy answers to difficult questions, so they see life in terms of winners and losers, good guys and bad guys, success or failure, right and wrong.

But they fail to realize that right and wrong often depend on time, place, culture and purpose, among other things. They fail to understand… >>>

What are you trying to avoid in your life? I'll give you a few tips that will help you avoid trouble the easy way.

Most of us try to avoid certain things in life - poverty, depression, unhappiness, stress, illness and pain, to name just a few. It makes sense to want to avoid these things as much as possible. However, some people spend an enormous amount of time worrying about how to avoid them or about how to cope with them IF they do occur.

Just by spending that much time worrying, you are pretty much eliminating the possibility… >>>

Most parents want their kids to be safe, but sometimes they confuse safety with control. Most parents establish a few sensible rules to keep their children safe. Some parents, though, go too far. They control their children more from selfish motives than any desire to help them grow up safely. Of course, if you ask them, they'll invariably tell you it's for the child's own good. 

Now, a great deal of child abuse has been accompanied by the words "for your own good," and it must be stopped. It's a tragic mistake to believe that a child's will must be… >>>

Do you feel that you're a victim? Now it is possible that you are, but accepting that label may be doing you more harm than good. 

Victims generally feel that something bad has happened to them and they, themselves, are in no way responsible for it. Now, authentic victims certainly do exist - let's be perfectly clear on that. However, in a book called, "A Nation of Victims," Charles Sykes pointed out that far too many of us have grown adept at finding someone else to blame for our problems and ignoring our own personal responsibility for them. 

When you… >>>

What are you afraid of, and what does it cost you? Today, I want you to read one of the best descriptions of fear I have ever heard. I don't know where I got this quote originally, but it is one of the best definitions I know, and it seems to be appropriate for the world in which we are living:

"I am Fear. I am the menace that lurks in the paths of life, never visible to the eye but sharply felt in the heart. I am the father of despair, the brother of procrastination, the enemy of progress,… >>>

Do you know what a self-fulfilling prophecy is? If you do, do you know how it works?

Most people know that a self-fulfilling prophecy is an event, which, because it is predicted and expected, is therefore more likely to happen, and even be caused to happen.

Here's one of my favorite examples. According to "Success Magazine," two different groups of psychologists were asked to observe the same child at play. One group was told beforehand that the child was emotionally disturbed. The other group was told that the child was a genius. When the psychologists were asked to report on… >>>

How can the ancient tradition of Sabbath help you perform better at work and feel energized and much more creative?

The ancient idea of Sabbath makes sense in modern times, too, and not just in a religious way. How often do you set aside some time for yourself where you entirely alter your routines? That is what is supposed to happen on the Sabbath, or on a sabbatical, which comes from the same root word. 

Sabbaticals are sometimes necessary if we are to stay fresh and creative. A highly successful businessman I know took nine weeks off from his job.… >>>