Personal Growth

January was an exciting month for readers of personal growth and self development books! We saw new releases from Donald Miller and Kindra Hall and debut book from entrepreneur Kim Perell. Discover your next inspirational read in our honest review of these latest releases and bestsellers. 1. Hero on a Mission by Donald Miller If you’re a fan of Don Miller, then you’ll love his newest release and Wall Street Journal bestseller! Known for his bestselling business titles such as Building a StoryBrand and Business Made Simple, this book focused on personal growth is a fascinating departure into Don’s life,...

Are you looking to make a change in your life that could lead to a better role, new career, or professional success? Learning how to create new habits is the most natural place to start your journey! As you begin taking a deeper look at your most frequent actions, you may be surprised to notice there is a lot more that goes into building new habits than you realized—especially into building habits that support your leadership goals. First, you have to analyze your current habits and determine which are getting you closer to your goals and which are not. Then,...

One of the best ways to stay on a path towards progress is to adapt the tools that have worked for other successful people to your own life. We’ve been inspired by the goal-setting insights from Kim Perell, an award-winning entrepreneur, bestselling author, tech CEO, and angel investor who has made headlines for her transformative story. She went from getting laid off and being broke at 23 to becoming a multi-millionaire by the time she was 30 and selling her last company for $235 million. But that’s not the part of her story you should focus on… The motivational part...

A powerful milestone in the journey to deal with guilt occurs when you no longer have to focus on “letting go” because you never grabbed hold of guilt in the first place. It is a sign that you’ve untangled guilt’s grip. Guilt might show up at the doorstep of your mind, but there’s no open door for it to come in. Arriving at this milestone signals the point in your journey where the focus of your energy is on what you want rather than what you don’t. A powerful goal can never simply be the absence of something. It must...

The holidays are an exciting time of the year! But it can also be a challenging time if you are at a loss for what to give someone. We’ve put together a fun holiday gift guide with our top business book recommendations based on the personalities, tastes, and interests of your friends, family, and colleagues! Check out our FULL HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE:  SHOP NOW SHOP NOW SHOP NOW For your friend who binge watched Freud…   Get Boundaries for Leaders by Dr. Henry Cloud Your friend’s obsession with psychology began when they watched their first episode of Law and Order....

We’ve never been too far removed from much of the secrets to productivity. In fact, the basis for many productivity principles today date back to the Roman Empire. It was Epictetus, a slave turned philosopher who was banished from Rome, who instructed: “First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do.” If we could get our mindset and behaviors to align, we would all be a lot more productive. Yet, most of us—myself included—find ourselves daydreaming at our desk, seeking out distractions from colleagues or children and pets (shoutout to my remote workers),...

Life has never been particularly scary to me. Between Jo and me, we’ve learned a lot of lessons the hard way. Riding out the turbulence, even living through a few nosedives, has allowed us to see that fear isn’t part of how we’re willing to live our lives. We’ve experienced some of what people deem as the “worst possible scenarios” together, and we’ve come out on the other side. For as long as we’ve been married, Jo and I have made a habit of just trying things out and hoping for the best. Because we’re not afraid to fail, fear...

Aimee Bernstein AIMEE BERNSTEIN, president of Open Mind Adventures, is a change accelerator and coach focused on leadership and personal development. Her clients have included executives from Dolce Gabanna, The Ritz Carlton, Microsoft, NASA, Intel, and others. Editor's Note: The following article is excerpted from Aimee Bernstein's book, Stress Less, Achieve More. *** If you are unaware of your emotions, physical sensations, and intuition, or if your conditioned mind is so invested in your point of view, you either won’t notice your body’s signals or you’ll try to ignore them. Over time you might develop a stress-related disease. However, if...

“Success is your choice.” Easy for John C. Maxwell to say, right? As a New York Times bestselling author of dozens of leadership books, Maxwell has become a mentor to millions who have one goal: to become successful. He says what often holds people back from actually realizing that goal is believing talent is behind every successful person’s achievements. “If talent alone were enough, then why would you and I know highly talented people who are not highly successful?” he asks readers of Success is a Choice. Instead, Maxwell argues that successful people make 14 choices that add value to...

Multiple research studies support this fundamental idea about how to cope with stress: stress that is moderate and intermittent is the path to greater resilience. Too little or too much adversity is not good; we become strongest somewhere in the middle. Resilience, once believed available only to a handful of lucky people, can arise from everyday stress and renewal. Habits of regular stress and renewal, tailored to your gifts and challenges, will strengthen you. That means regularly getting out of your comfort zone, physically, socially, and spiritually. But only you can know the boundaries of your comfort zone; only you...

Henry Ford once shared this recommendation to humanity: “Don’t find fault. Find a remedy.” We don’t know for sure whether he was offering advice to guide our interactions with others or with ourselves, but we don’t need any evidence outside of anecdotes to confirm that people are more critical of themselves than they are of anyone else. Mark Goulston—psychiatrist, business consultant, and author of Just Listen: Discover the Secret to Getting Through to Absolutely Anyone—says it’s human nature to make goals and then feel immense regret several months later when we realize we haven’t made much progress on them. He...

Don't Freak Out—Rebecca Minkoff's Alternative Approach to Failure by Rebecca Minkoffauthor of Fearless Editor's Note: The following is a message from our limited-time newsletter, Motivation Mondays with Rebecca Minkoff. Sign up FREE here to continue receiving inspirational insights from the female entrepreneur and global fashion brand creator. So I have some bad news for you: If you haven’t noticed, things are going to go wrong. So very, very wrong. It’s good to get used to this idea now. That way you’re not shocked when it happens the first time, or the tenth. Know it’s coming. There will be highs, and...

Purpose Mindset Versus Growth Mindset—One Has More Impact Than the Other by Akhtar Badshahauthor of Purpose Mindset In The Purpose Effect, Dan Pontefract describes the connections between the three crucial areas of purpose: personal, organizational, and workplace. He argues that if there is an interconnection between the three distinct definitions of purpose, then the benefits will accrue to every stakeholder from employees to society. Raj Sisodia, the coauthor of Conscious Capitalism and The Healing Organization, in my interview with him described purpose “as the kind of fuel that brings the next tier of energy and capacity in people.” Purpose, and...

How focused are you right now? Are you reading these words while scanning your smartphone for a text and simultaneously checking for new e-mails? Are you fully present in the moment or wondering what’s for dinner tonight? The average person at work checks his or her e-mail thirty times an hour. While acknowledging that e-mail can be important, can you imagine all of the things that you could accomplish in your day if you stayed consistently focused on other and more important things? On the path toward achieving long-term success professionally, you’ll encounter obstacles and detours. You can’t control all...

Former Yankee and Hall of Fame baseball player Yogi Berra has often been quoted as saying, “Life is like baseball; it’s 95 percent mental, and the other half is physical.” The former catcher and manager’s math may not be perfect, but he does understand the power that thinking has on a person’s ability to succeed. How many jobs do people lose every day because of attitude issues? How many times are others passed over for promotion because of the way they approach their job and other people? How many marriages fall apart? It would be impossible to calculate. No one...

The‌ ‌reason‌ ‌new‌ ‌businesses‌ ‌fail‌ ‌and‌ ‌employees‌ ‌struggle‌ ‌to‌ ‌move‌ ‌upward‌ ‌in‌ ‌their‌ ‌companies‌ ‌is‌ ‌productivity,‌ ‌and‌ ‌more‌ ‌specifically,‌ ‌procrastination‌ ‌and‌ ‌poor‌ ‌time‌ ‌management.‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ One‌ ‌of‌ ‌the‌ ‌best‌ ‌ways‌ ‌to‌ ‌increase‌ ‌your‌ ‌productivity‌ ‌is‌ ‌by‌ ‌choosing‌ ‌to‌ ‌create‌ ‌a‌ ‌Power‌ ‌Office‌ ‌and‌ ‌exploring‌ ‌tried‌ ‌and‌ ‌true‌ ‌home‌ ‌office‌ ‌organization‌ ‌tips.‌ ‌By‌ ‌establishing‌ ‌your‌ ‌home‌ ‌office‌ ‌as‌ ‌a‌ ‌Power‌ ‌Office,‌ ‌you‌ ‌can‌ ‌be‌ ‌more‌ ‌efficient‌ ‌and‌ ‌effective.‌  What is a Power Office? The power office is an environment that sets you up to be efficient so that you can be effective. Before you start creating your power office, it helps to look at...

Most professionals believe their productivity is the result of the amount of tasks they completed over a certain period of time. This belief is reflected in the productivity tips they choose to practice, which are almost always centered on time management and are task-oriented rather than process-oriented. Whether they “eat the frog” and do the longest task first or subscribe to the Ivy Lee Method and do the most important task first, professionals are approaching productivity from a microscopic level when they should be taking a macro view. Here’s what we mean: From reviewing the work of notable productivity experts,...

Every day, you’re choosing to live one of two lives: the Lemon Life or the Lemonade Life. The Lemon Life is about settling for something less than your full potential. The Lemon Life is accepting your life as it is—the status quo as a permanent state. The Lemonade Life is about leading life on your terms, with purpose and possibility. When you lead a life with purpose and possibility, you can proactively overcome any circumstances. Will you choose to make life happen, or will you let life happen to you? Will you choose to change your life? Will you live...

When I consider my life, all the moments that might be loosely labeled “success” were prepared for. They were fought for. They were long-term goals; the product of many days and months, sometimes years, of planning and organization and preparation. These were not creations of happenstance but products of having persevered over the long haul. They required me to do whatever it took to stay the path and stick to the goal by building a habit of discipline. And such is life. Overnight success is not a realistic goal The information age has made this habit increasingly difficult because the...

Executive Summary As the former CEO of one of the world’s leading public relations firms and author of The Power of Reputation, Chris Komisarjevsky understands the necessity for strong character when it comes to business success. If you want your employees to work hard for you, they must first respect you. They need to know that you have both their and the project’s best interest in mind. Passion is contagious. When you put your heart in your work, not only will others want to join in with whatever you’re working on, but your commitment to your work will likely rub...

Executive Summary Former president of distribution at Walt Disney Studios, Dave Hollis, shares how to overcome objections from others' through his story of accepting his vulnerabilities as strengths. Projecting strength and pretending to have it all together doesn’t serve anyone well. Instead of protecting you, it leaves the weak points you’re trying to cover up wide open for attack. When negotiating deals, Hollis found that admitting and owning any potential weakness upfront cut off the other side’s ability to exploit those vulnerabilities or use them against him. Instead of turning a blind eye to potential chinks in your armor, address...

What is your dream? Will you achieve it in your lifetime? I’m certain that you desire to. I’m sure you hope you will. But will you actually do it? What odds would you give yourself? One in five? One in a hundred? One in a million? How can you tell whether your chances are good or whether your dream will always remain exactly that—a dream? And are you willing to put it to the test? Watch the Video: Is it your dream? The Right and Wrong Picture of a Dream  I’ve studied successful people for almost forty years. I’ve known...

The Complete Guide to Self-Discipline by Rob and Kirti Carterauthors of The Morning Mind The best way to master your mornings is with self-discipline, a skill that can transform displeasing aspects of your life into remarkable experiences. Explore the value of self-discipline as a skill and uncover new ways of becoming more self-disciplined than you are now: I. What is self-discipline II. Why we don’t have self-discipline  III. How to create more self-discipline IV. Self-Discipline Technique #1: Be Aware of Your Resistance V. Self-Discipline Technique #2: Prepare to Give Something Up in Order to Gain  VI. Self-Discipline Technique #3: Reward...

Executive Summary Victoria Montgomery Brown is the CEO and co-founder of Big Think, a knowledge company that congregates insights from top leaders. Her book, Digital Goddess, reveals the challenges female entrepreneurs face and how she overcame them while building a company in a world that wasn’t fair, predictable, or politically correct. Success in the workforce starts with a healthy mindset. Familiar with what it feels like to be the only woman in the room, Victoria shares how she built her business by learning how to be confident despite the fear that threatened to derail her. Being “different” from those around...

The starting point of higher productivity is clear goals. Learning how to manage your tasks will help you determine if you're on track for your goals. For a goal to be effective in guiding behavior, it must be specific and measurable. It must be believable and achievable. It must be written out and time bounded. The greater clarity you have with regard to your goals, the more you will get done and the faster you will accomplish what you do. The second key to high productivity is clear, written plans of action. Every minute you spend in planning will save...

How you participate in a meeting is carefully observed by everyone in attendance—your superiors and subordinates alike. You are either a participator or a combination of a leader and participator in a meeting. In either case, you have a specific and important role. As a leader you are in the spotlight, but even as a participant you are still being watched all the time. In observing, conducting, and participating in thousands of meetings over the years, I have witnessed executives who have moved their careers from the slow track to the fast track with the quality of their involvement and...

Unless you’re the first entirely sane person on the planet, you’re carrying around your own suitcase full of crazy. And in order to successfully face down another person’s crazy, you first need to deal with your own irrational behaviors. This isn’t a comfortable thing to contemplate. In fact, right now you may be feeling a strong urge to skip this chapter and get on to other people’s crazy (which is much more fun to think about). However, you can’t get through to another person if you aren’t seeing things clearly yourself. Viewing reality through a distorted filter can lead to...

People pleasing usually comes from a good place, but it rarely has advantages for the people pleaser. In the workplace, especially, people pleasing can lead to burnout, self-censorship, and bullying or manipulation by coworkers and bosses. Scott Mautz successfully ran several businesses under the wing of Procter & Gamble, significantly improving the health of the organization and its employees. He manages his own business where he trains people to work, lead, and live a fulfilled life, while also teaching “the secret to sustaining motivation” as an Adjunct Professor at Indiana University. In his book, Find Your Fire, he discusses the...

Executive Summary Limiting beliefs follow a lack of experience. We’re more inclined to believe we can’t achieve something that we’ve never tried. Former CEO of The Hollis Company and former president of distribution for Walt Disney Studios, Dave Hollis, let a limiting belief keep him from taking up running as a hobby. He realized he was telling himself a lie because he was the only person who could define his potential. Dave shares the steps to distinguishing fact and fiction as it relates to your growth and outlines the ways he overcomes limiting beliefs. Tall people can’t be runners. I...

Executive Summary Could you be responsible for your anxiety at work? The answer might be in your biology and about your physiology. Business psychologist Dr. Sharon Melnick conducted a decade of research at Harvard Medical School and discovered that most people haven’t developed adequate stress resilience techniques. Acupressure is a viable and free option for managing our response to anxiety at work. By pressing certain points of our hands with our fingers, we can balance our bodies and brains through our nervous system. Our bodies release cortisol when we’re stressed. To cope with the daze that puts us in, we...

Executive Summary Standing just 4-feet tall, former president of the Caterpillar Foundation, Michele Sullivan, has always been at the mercy of another person for many daily tasks associated with living. Her small stature has taught her big life lessons, however, including the reality that asking for help is a sign of strength. Admitting you need help is an action that isn’t usually appreciated in the corporate setting. But, Sullivan found that the philosophy of sharing and giving help opened many doors for the Caterpillar Foundation under her leadership. Although independence is celebrated in Western culture, Sullivan urges individuals and corporations...

Executive Summary We all wish we had more time, but a barrage of hurdles get in our way. HarperCollins Leadership Essentials conducted a survey of 500 leaders across the country and found that time is the monkey on everyone's backs. Throughout history, time has been a construct of humanity's imagination and its practice has evolved alongside commercial and technological advancements. Because our society has largely adopted the 9-to-5 structure, we have to work within our constraints. We've pulled together our top articles for time management for every concern ranging from the psychology behind it to personal and professional strategies for...

Executive Summary Outside of meetings, business travel consumes a large portion of a manager’s time. If you don’t use travel time wisely, you could be falling behind in your business. Michael Dobson recalls a scenario when a CEO suggested that a consultant save a trip and invite his client to visit him in America instead of cannibalizing more time in business travel. Sometimes, what we perceive as “must” trips are actually “maybe” trips that can be reimagined to work well for all parties involved. If you determine that a trip is necessary, follow a strict list of dos and don’ts...

Executive Summary Productivity planners have been around for ages. Now, Instagram influencers and time management experts alike are creating notebooks for different purposes and personality types. Bethlehem Steel President Charles Schwab paid a consultant $25,000 for the concept of a written to-do list. Despite their creator, format, or cost, the best productivity planners share four unique characteristics. An effective approach to time management is similar to balancing your checkbook each month or aligning your checking and savings accounts. The concept of a productivity planner as a business tool gained momentum early in the twentieth century when Charles Schwab, Bethlehem Steel...

Executive Summary Turns out our grade school teachers were right; knowledge is power. With 2.5 quintillion bytes of data entering the digital sphere each day, we’re paralyzed by information. It's no wonder the Wall Street Journal created a tool to help us assess how fast we can read through it all. Leadership expert Brian Tracy has published more than 60 books. But he still believes it’s time to stop apologizing for being selective about what we read. He provides a strategy for quickly deciphering the value a book or article might provide to your life so you can choose whether...

Executive Summary As the proverb goes, “life is a marathon, not a sprint.” That is easier said than believed. We’re all playing several roles and juggling a variety of responsibilities, each with their own list of tasks associated with them. To manage our schedules without losing our sanity, management consultants, Rosemary Tator and Alesia Laton, recommend separating effectiveness from productivity.   We shouldn’t want to be effective merely to accomplish more things. If the things we are accomplishing don’t align with our values, we won’t be satisfied. When we are clear on what is important to us, we will not...

Executive Summary Most of us look back fondly on the carefree days of our youth. As we grew older, the responsibilities kept mounting, and now, we often feel as if others hold the reins on our time and life. Time management is a psychology that centers on the Law of Control, a principle that explains how people feel better if they feel in control of their lives. Your beliefs about yourself determine whether or not you will succeed at managing your time. To become a more productive person, management consultant, Brian Tracy, says you must dismantle the circuit board in...

Executive Summary Figuring out how to accomplish your dreams doesn’t have to stay a mystery. Through focus and planning, you can engage in goal setting to bring your ideas to reality. As a naturally goal-oriented person, Rachel Hollis was shocked to find out that many people don’t understand that it’s OK not only to dream but to take the time that’s needed to focus on personal growth. You may not consider yourself to be a goal-oriented person, but if you want to succeed in life, you must become one. To be who you want to be, you’ve got to take...

Executive Summary Having spent her career telling women she believes in them and their dreams, Rachel Hollis points out that it’s ultimately not what she believes that matters—it’s whether or not they believe in themselves. Insecurity and fear can easily fool even the most talented person into thinking that who they think they were made to be is little more than a pipe dream. You can’t rely on other people to believe in you if you want to fulfill your purpose, you have to unapologetically believe in yourself! Refusing to quit on your dreams no matter how many times you...