#1 Goal Setting Mistake, and How to Fix It
A few years ago I spent New Year’s Eve like many revelers, eating and drinking to excess. We had gathered in South Florida at my friend Joel Marion’s home to celebrate. The buffet spread was incredible. The cheese and nut plates were everywhere. The bar, well stocked with all the…
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Change is a Matter of Choice
At a certain age, you find yourself staying up for the midnight ball-dropping. So, it is time for millions to make utterly empty New Year’s resolutions. But the truth is, most are empty of resolve all year long. I doubt most even know the meaning of the word “resolution.” Actually, thetwo meanings. It’s instructive. Even…
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How to Make Resolutions That Actually Work
The secret to making resolutions that actually work is also the secret to making a hit movie. So let me teach you how to make a hit movie. At the start, our hero lives their ordinary life. We wouldn’t care to watch that for long, but fortunately all good stories…
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The Biggest Lie You Tell Yourself
Mike Whitfield weighed 300 pounds at just twenty-eight years old. Each night, after arriving home from his corporate job and while deciding what he was going to have for dinner, he’d eat a large bag of potato chips. After sitting on the couch and playing video games, he’d then make…
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Take The Path of Experience
During my time in Central America — on the trip that would become my book Vagabond Dreams — I pondered one important question: how to turn living into something more than just existing. Time is our worst enemy. Youth seldom considers time; it seems so endless. But youth is characterized by hopes…
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How One Simple Christmas Gift Helped Harper Lee Write One of the Most Profitable Books of All Time
Merry Christmas. Hopefully you didn’t ask for the standard iPad, PlayStation, Beats by Dre, smartphone etc. and instead you decided to think a little bigger this year. And I don’t mean “bigger” in terms of size or price. I mean bigger in terms of potential to change your life. What am I…
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The Art of the Finish: How to Go From Busy to Accomplished
Last August, I published an essay on my blog, Study Hacks, that was titled: Productivity is Overrated. The basic idea: productivity systems, like Getting Things Done (GTD), reduce stress and help you keep track of your obligations, they do not, however, make you accomplished. In fact, I would go so far as to…
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Do This to Get Everything You Want in Life
I spent the weekend listening to the silky smooth Rat Pack Christmas Album over and over. It is the perfect soundtrack for the most wonderful time of the year. I love the feeling of anticipation in the air and the magic in the eyes of children on the Night Before Christmas. I love that there are…
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The One Simple Question That Leads To Success
When you encounter a problem or frustrating situation, what questions do you ask yourself? I used to ask the following: Why am I so unlucky? Who can I blame? Why am I so stupid? How do I make sure I don’t look bad? Why is life so unfair? I now…
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The 3rd Annual Denver Marines Toys for Tots Drive with Early to Rise
Even President Obama is getting into the Christmas spirit, joining in a Marines Toys for Tots drive. The President and his wife, Michelle, distributed toys in Washington, D.C., and praised the event. “Since the 1940’s,” President Obama said, “the Marines have given out over 260 million toys to children across America through the…
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When Your Plate is Too Full
Do you sometimes (or always) feel like you have too much to do and too little time to do it? Consider an email I got from a student the other day: “… as the semester goes by, the harder it is to keep up with school. The thing is, I…
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#1 Missing Link in Your Day
Differences between ze French and ze Germans are nothing new. They’ve been at war, literally and philosophically, for centuries, long before the Great War or even the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. Julius Caeser noted the rivalry between the Gauls and the Germanic tribes in 49 BC. So distinct are the two…
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