Around age six, Tommy Caldwell’s father determined to make his son tough. So he started him rock climbing. Sure enough, Tommy became one of the best climbers in the world. But at age 22, while in Kyrgyzstan for an expedition, he was held hostage by rebels — and he ultimately had to kill his captor
This winter my son and one of his friends entered the school Imagination Fair. It’s an annual opportunity for students to display their STEM creativity. My son picked a committed partner with strong technical skills, and they had a compelling idea: create a machine that dispenses gumballs if you choose the correct track to roll
A good friend of mine recently offered an interesting perspective from the top of the organization he leads. He remarked that leaders (of any organization, team, community, or family) should expect to continuously have to make complex and ambiguous decisions. After all, if they weren’t complex or ambiguous, they would have been decided at lower
Recently in a coaching conversation, I asked a client what he wanted in life right now. Initially, the response was somewhat obvious: happy family, health, work success… Then he paused to reflect more deeply. “I want to know I’m doing a good job,” he said. “Actually, you know what I really want?… I just don’t
There I was in a hotel on a business trip. My mind was racing. The trip packed my agenda with meetings and dinners. Always on, constantly prepping for the next thing. Meanwhile, my to-do list was growing with other work and personal needs. On top of it all, I had been fitting in podcasts and
What’s something you need in order to feel OK? What keeps you balanced? Is it approval from others? Your health? Productivity? Being organized? Being right? Winning? Financial security? All of these can be good things. But because you need that thing to stay balanced, you’ll run into a problem when someone starts to pull it
Last week I was one of several presenters at a client’s annual conference. From the novices to the experienced, we’d all worked hard before the conference to make the keynotes and breakouts impactful. Collectively, we implemented seven key ideas for making keynotes, breakouts, and just about any type of presentation, more powerful. As a result
I recently participated in a virtual meeting that engaged everyone and wasted no one’s time. People joining from their home or office felt heard and seen. No one seemed to multi-task. And the goals of the meeting were accomplished. Can you believe it? In fact, I haven’t just experienced it once. I’m starting to see
I got in the Lyft at 2:52 pm near Providence, Rhode Island. My immediate thought was Can I trust this guy? The driver, Joe, was a strong, heavy guy with sleeves rolled up exposing his fully tattooed arms. He wore a beanie style winter hat and was playing Motley Crue loud in his old, worn
Imagine working with your closest friends. Think about how it would feel to always love your work. Consider how energized you’d be if you could be your authentic self all the time — at work, home, or in the community. All of that describes my good friend Paul Batz. He doesn’t believe in work-life balance.
Matt Norman is president of Norman & Associates, which offers Dale Carnegie Training in the North Central US. Dale Carnegie Training is a global organization ...READ MORE