“If you are going to achieve excellence in big things, you develop the habit in little matters. Excellence is not an exception, it’s a prevailing attitude.”

                                                                                            - General Colin Powell

Each martial arts class I teach ends with the same question posed to my students, “What’s our goal?”

With enthusiasm they respond in unison, “Black Belt Excellence, sir!”

In the martial arts, the concept of excellence is a reminder that our intention is to always do our best and to show up as the highest expression of ourselves in attitude, focus and action in everything we do.  We know when we do this, more times...

“Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world.”  

                                                                                                      - Joel A. Barker

I believe we are all born with a vision for what we want in our lives inside of us. 

Just think back to when you were child and the numerous visions you had for what you wanted to be in when you “grew up”.  Your imagination was boundless.  I personally wanted to be a cartoonist, a doctor, an astronaut and a super-hero (Actually, when I was 5-years old, I WAS Batman).

I believe these visions exist inside of us so we have a means to...

“People aren’t grateful because they are happy, they are happy because they are grateful.”

                                                                                                            - Anonymous

This coming Thursday, we will be joining our family and friends around the table to celebrate one of my favorite holidays, Thanksgiving. 

In addition to indulging in an array of traditional foods like turkey, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie, we will also pause to reflect on the many blessings in our lives and share our appreciation for family, friends and the many wonderful things our life provides us.

While taking a day to remember and express our gratitude is...

“You have been criticizing yourself for years, and it hasn’t worked.  Try appreciating yourself and see what happens.”

                                                                                                          - Louise L. Hay

Today marks the 100^th consecutive week that I have published a Mind of a Champion Tip of the Week video and written blog. 

I want to thank all of my readers and viewers of this blog over the past two years who have supported me with your comments, “likes”, “shares” and words of encouragement and appreciation.  I am truly humbled to be able to share these messages with you.

I also want to acknowledge myself for...

“Can you imagine a life with no fear?  What if faith, not fear, was your default reaction to threats?”

                                                                                                               - Max Lucado

Leadership during challenge is multi-faceted.  Leaders must first be adept at dealing with challenges in the present moment.  When problems arise, and they will, organizations look to those in leadership to help weather the storm. 

Additionally, leaders must understand the past.  They must have a keen understanding of what worked and what did not in previous events and be able to discern from that knowledge how to proceed in times of difficulty.

...

“Leadership ………. is like a big door that swings.  But that big door of leadership swings on the small hinge of character.”

                                                                                          - Admiral James Stavridis (Ret.)

I was recently listening to an interview with Retired Admiral James Stavridis, who was out promoting his new book on leadership, Sailing True North: Ten Admirals and the Voyage of Character.   

I have to admit, I was half-listening to the interview while I was working out, when the admiral said something and made me immediately stop and go running for a pen and paper to write it down when he shared,

“Leadership is how we influence...

“Déjà vu is when you think you’re doing something you’ve done before; it happens because God thought it was so funny, He had to rewind it for his friends.”

                                                                                                         - Anonymous

Déjà vu, almost all of us has experienced it.  We are in the middle of doing something, and we get this overwhelming feeling that we have been at this same place doing this same thing before.  In French, this phrase is literally translated as “already seen”.  While some interpret this phenomenon as a paranormal premonition, mainstream science attributes déjà vu to...

“Speak your truth with compassion and care.  Own your mistakes and weaknesses.  We all have them.  And it is far more honest to accept and face them then ignore or hide them.”

                                                                                                      - Anil Kumar Sinha

Several years ago, during the early stages of my speaking career, I was on the phone with my mom. 

Despite being well into my middle age, my mom is still someone I turn to in times of disappointment, struggle and frustration.  During this particular discussion, I was sharing my frustration with how my new speaking career was not taking off at the trajectory I had intended. 

...

“Service helps not only the receiver, but the server.  Whoever offers service must improve himself in order to do what has to be done, must think about others rather than only himself.  He learns.  He finds value in what he does.  Thus, his self-esteem grows, and he is able to find meaning in his life.”

                                                                                                - Piero Ferrucci – The Power of Kindness

I am truly blessed.  As a professional speaker, I get to travel around the country and share my Mind of a Champion message with numerous groups each year and connect with scores of people I would never encounter if I was not doing this work.

What is so amazing is...

“A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention."

                                                                                                - Herbert Simon

Focused attention.  It is no secret that we live in an age where massive amounts of information are literally at our fingertips.  What used to take hours or even days or weeks to obtain, can now be found simply by tapping into the browser of our smartphones or laptop computers.  However, with this comes another challenge.  With so much information available to us, and importantly, coming at us, it can be extremely difficult for us to focus our attention.  This not only impacts our well-being and productivity; it can also have a dramatic impact...