Prefer to listen? This is Zazu. He’s one of three new-born green-cheeked conures (small parrots) that we recently adopted. Zazu is only 5 weeks old and has already taught me a ton about how to realize potential. (I’ve never hand fed an animal before and am amazed at how much I learn in the 10 minutes it takes me.) Every day I watch these 2 oz. creatures evolve. Every day they do something they c...

Prefer to listen? An MP3 download and Transcription are available at the end of this post. We are all just one circumstance away from doing anything. Every time I say that a few people vigorously shake their heads in a horizontal dance; “Not me!” they say. I would never steal a car. I would never jeopardize my family. I would never become addicted to drugs. I would never gamble away my life savings. But ...

“What’s right with you?” is one of my favorite Solomonisms. It’s a different kind of question, isn’t it? And, once asked, it never fails to stop a person in their tracks. Why? Because as optimistic and upbeat as we’d like to think we are, we’re used to people finding fault before favor. It’s a cultural tendency and, might I add, a habit that would serve us to break. The question, “What’s right with you?” helps people open...

OR ... Why You Bought $14 B in Self-Help Books Last Year (and, for the most part, it was a waste) ‘Potential’ is a spring-loaded word: It either triggers fear or inspires action. Potent, sitting smack at the beginning of the word potential, means that something or someone has great power, influence or effect. Add three little letters (ial) and, curiously, potential becomes a diluted version of its root: It means possibility, capability, late...

Recently I spoke with a woman who was looking for a coach to help her get promoted. She’d worked in this company for fourteen years and hadn’t been promoted in the last twelve. Ugh! We had a very productive strategy session during which I helped her discover the ways in which she was standing in the way of her own success. We also developed a 3-step action plan for her to turn things around and get to the next level. The connection betw...