
My guest today used to live just a few miles away from me in Franklin, Tennessee. She also taught for a time at a well-regarded Nashville university (Belmont). Something I too have done (MTSU). 






Her name is Dr. Cindy McGovern. And her newest book just released in September. It’s called Sell Yourself: How to Create, Live, and Sell a Powerful Personal Brand. 



She says that, no matter what your role or title is at work, selling is an important part of what you do―whether you’re selling a product, an idea, or a new way of doing things. But, before you can sell any of those things you have to sell yourself. 



Creating your own personal brand―and promoting it in all you do―is essential to achieving your professional goals and getting ahead in life.



In the book, you’ll learn about how to apply the most effective selling strategies to your personal brand, and how these strategies can help you create and live a personal brand that will be easy to sell.



Intrigued? Click the play button below to learn more Dr. Cindy and her book.



Join in on our chat below







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In today’s episode, I ask Dr. Cindy to share:




* What to do if you feel stuck between two or more personal brands



* How to plan your brand the right way



* What to do if you’ve mishandled your brand



* And lots more!




Dr. Cindy’s New Book



Order you copy of Sell Yourself: How to Create, Live, and Sell a Powerful Personal Brand right now! 



Consider Ordering My Book! 



Purchase a copy of my new book (written with Jesse Wisnewski) Read to Lead: The Simple Habit That Expands Your Influence and Boosts Your Career. There, you can also download the introduction and first chapter for free!



Join Note-Making Mastery Cohort the self-paced edition now!



Get all the details here (space is limited)!



Dr. Cindy in Action









Books Dr. Cindy Recommends 



How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie 



The Most Powerful You by Kathy Caprino



Check Out These Additional Resources 

451: How to Create, Live, and Sell a Powerful Personal Brand with Dr. Cindy McGovern

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Self-Improvement


My guest today asserts that we all want great ideas, but few of us actually understand how great ideas are born. Innovation, he says, is not an event, a workshop, a sprint, or a hackathon. 






It’s a result of mastering ideaflow, a practice that elevates everything else you do. 



His name is Jeremy Utley, and he is the coauthor, along with Perry Klebahn of IDEAFLOW: The Only Business Metric That Matters.



They advocate a simple core principle: ideas matter. Instead of focusing on output, innovators focus on input. Instead of obsessing over quality, innovators generate quantity. 



They argue that every problem is an idea problem at its core, and changing the way you think about any problem will unleash success. Innovation is a volume game, and the quantity of ideas drives quality. 



Intrigued? Click the play button below to learn more Jeremy and his book.



Join in on our chat below







Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | RSS







In today’s episode, I ask Jeremy to share why he believes:




* There’s no such thing as a creative person; rather it’s a skillset you develop or don’t



* Creativity is important to every organization, not just the “creative” ones



* Some of the misconceptions that keep individuals and teams from innovating more routinely



* And lots more!




Jeremy’s New Book (written with Perry Klebahn)



Order you copy of IDEAFLOW: The Only Business Metric Matters right now! 



Consider Ordering My Book! 



Purchase a copy of my new book (written with Jesse Wisnewski) Read to Lead: The Simple Habit That Expands Your Influence and Boosts Your Career. There, you can also download the introduction and first chapter for free!



Join Note-Making Mastery Cohort 3 Now!



Get all the details here (space is limited)!



Jeremy in Action









Books Jeremy Recommends 



Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman! by Richard P. Feynman



The Idea Factory by Jon Gertner



Shoe Dog by Phil Knight 


528: The Only Business Metric That Matters is Ideaflow with Jeremy Utley (an Encore Presentation of Episode 446)


I love books on the topic of productivity. It’s a topic about which plenty of books have written. Some might argue we don’t need any more books on productivity. 






That is not the case for the latest productivity book I read. It’s now at the top of the list of best all-time productivity books in my view. 



It’s written by author Jordan Raynor and it’s called Redeeming Your Time: 7 Biblical Principles for Being Purposeful, Present & Wildly Productive. 



Jordan is a serial entrepreneur. He also serves as executive chairman of Threshold 360, a venture-backed tech start-up that has built the world’s largest library of 360-degree virtual experiences of hotels, restaurants, and attractions. 



He’s a highly sought-after speaker on the topic of faith and work; he has spoken at Harvard University, SXSW, and many other events around the world. 



I hope you’ll click the play button below to learn more about Jordan and his work. For a summary, just keep scrolling.



Join in on our chat below







Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | RSS







In today’s episode, Jordan and I chat about:




* What he means when he says peace of mind is not the result of what we do, but the source. 



* The importance of using one commitment tracking system and why your email inbox is a terrible tool for this. 



* Practical tips for dealing with all the noise in our daily lives



* And lots more!




Order Jordan’s Book



You can order your copy of Redeeming Your Time: 7 Biblical Principles for Being Purposeful, Present & Wildly Productive right now!



Consider Ordering My New Book Too! 



Purchase a copy of my new book (written with Jesse Wisnewski) Read to Lead: The Simple Habit That Expands Your Influence and Boosts Your Career. There, you can also download the introduction and first chapter for free!



Jordan in Action









Books That Jordan Recommends



Counterfeit Gods by Timothy Keller



Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike by Phil Knight



Check Out These Additional Resources



Grab a copy of Jordan‘s <a href="https://amzn.to/3wbotaK" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noo...

527: 7 Biblical Principles for Being Purposeful, Present, and Wildly Productive with Jordan Raynor (an Encore Presentation of Episode 422)


My friend and former mastermind group member, Steve Sponseller, was kind of enough to introduce me to today’s guest a few months ago and I am thrilled he did. 






His name is also Steve. Steve Shwartz to be specific: AI expert, investor, and serial entrepreneur. 



Steve began his AI career working with Roger Schank as a postdoctoral researcher in the Yale University Artificial Intelligence Lab. Steve was a founder or cofounder of several AI companies, one of which created the award-winning Esperant business intelligence product. 



As the AI Winter of the 1990s set in, Steve transitioned into a career as a successful serial software entrepreneur and investor and created several companies that were either acquired or had public offerings. 



His new book has probably my favorite title of the last couple of years. It’s called Evil Robots, Killer Computers, and Other Myths: The Truth About AI and the Future of Humanity. 



I hope you’ll click the play button below to learn more about Steve and his work. For a summary, just keep scrolling.



Join in on our chat below







Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | RSS







In today’s episode, Steve and I chat about:




* His frustrations with how AI has been covered in the media, and in popular culture



* The fears worth having with regard to AI



* AI deception and anthropomorphism….



* And lots more…




Order Steve’s New Book



You can order your copy of Evil Robots, Killer Computers, and Other Myths: The Truth About AI and the Future of Humanity right now! 



Consider Pre-Ordering My New Book Too and get 40% off for a limited time! 



Purchase a copy of my upcoming book Read to Lead: The Simple Habit That Expands Your Influence and Boosts Your Career before August 31, 2021, and you’ll receive $500 in pre-order bonuses! 



Steve in Action









Books Steve Recommends



Scripts, Plans, Goals, and Understanding by Roger C. Schank




526: The Truth About AI and the Future of Humanity with Steve Shwartz (an Encore Presentation of Episode 384)


If there is a topic that has captured my attention more in the last three to four years, I don’t know what it is. I’m talking about the art of note-taking or, as I like to call it, note-making.






It’s a phrase that makes a subtle distinction between notes we capture for learning (note-taking), and notes we write to help us think (note-making). 



Better thinking makes you a better person. 



And few things extend your mind as quickly and powerfully as the humble note. Notes let you fulfill commitments, manage complicated projects, and make your ideas real. 



Digital notes take you even further. 



By using the right tools and a bit of discipline, you can cultivate a “personal knowledge garden” where your thinking will blossom.



With this in mind, I’m excited to introduce to you the new book from Jorge Arango called Duly Noted: Extend Your Mind Through Connected Notes. 



Jorge and I think a lot alike when it comes to this topic. We even use many of the same tools to capture notes, to store notes, and to do our thinking. 



If you’re looking to get out from under the plethora of information coming out you every single day (and isn’t going away any time soon), then you’re in the right place. 



I hope you’ll click the play button below to learn more about Jorge and his work. For a summary, just keep scrolling.



Join in on our chat below







Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | RSS







In today’s episode, I ask Jorge about:




* What’s crucial for us to know in order to take better notes



* How to connect notes to create a network of ideas 



* Why it’s important for us to share our thinking along the way



* And lots more!




Order Jorge’s Book



You can order your copy of Duly Noted: Extend Your Mind Through Connected Notes right now!



Consider Ordering My Book Too! 



Purchase a copy of my new book (written with Jesse Wisnewski) Read to Lead: The Simple Habit That Expands Your Influence and Boosts Your Career. There, you can also download the introduction and first chapter for free!



Note-Making Mastery Cohort AND the Read to Lead Community



Note-Making Mastery Cohort is now available as a self-paced course! Check it out. 



Also, consider giving ReadtoLead+ a t...

525: Extending Your Mind Through Connected Notes with Jorge Arango


What an awesome and incredibly important discussion I have for you today! It’s my long-awaited sit-down with none other than Marcus Buckingham.






I first got the chance to hear Marcus speak fifteen, or maybe, twenty years ago at the annual Global Leadership Summit in Chicago. Marcus was captivating AND inspiring that day. 



His new book is fantastic! And, the good news for you is, it officially releases TODAY! It’s called Love + Work: How to Find What You Love, Love What You Do, and Do It for the Rest of Your Life. 



So, say you’ve long been told to “Do what you love.” Sounds simple, but the real challenge is how to do this in a world not set up to help you. 



Most of us actually don’t know the real truth of what we love—what engages us and makes us thrive—and our workplaces, jobs, schools, even our parents, are focused instead on making us conform. 



Sadly, no person or system is dedicated to discovering the crucial intersection between what you love to do and how you contribute it to others.



But Marcus shows you how to break free from this conformity—how to decode your own loves, turn them into their most powerful expression, and do the same for those you lead and those you love.



I hope you’ll click the play button below to learn more about Marcus and his work. For a summary, just keep scrolling.



Join in on our chat below







Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | RSS







In today’s episode, Marcus and I chat about:




* How the key to finding what you love might be right under your nose



* The “you-ness” that you’re born with, and how it’s not caused by our experiences growing up



* What a healthy career really looks like



* And lots more!




Order Marcus’ Book



You can order your copy of Love + Work: How to Find What You Love, Love What You Do, and Do It for the Rest of Your Life right now!



Consider Ordering My New Book Too! 



Purchase a copy of my new book (written with Jesse Wisnewski) Read to Lead: The Simple Habit That Expands Your Influence and Boosts Your Career. There, you can also download the introduction and first chapter for free!



Marcus in Action (Book Trailer)









Check Out These Additional Resources



Grab a copy of Marcus’ boo...

524: How to Find What You Love, Love What You Do, and Do It for the Rest of Your Life with Marcus Buckingham (an Encore Presentation of Episode 417)

Read to Lead Podcast

451: How to Create, Live, and Sell a Powerful Personal Brand with Dr. Cindy McGovern

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