Recently I attempted to make a purchase online. I encountered a problem and called the company’s 800 number. Although I was originally agitated, and felt the desire to hang up the phone, I stayed on the line and was surprisingly rewarded for my patience.

No one likes to clean out the barn, it is easier just to throw straw on the manure and cover it up. Regardless, eventually you need to get in there with a pitchfork and get clean it out. It is going to be nasty...

Sometimes we need to clean the manure out of our lives. Bad or destructive habits need to go. People in our lives can be negative influences or positive influences. You need to make an honest...

Change can be a positive if undergone thoughtfully and with a valid reason. This requires intellectual honesty and the ability to apply critical and analytical thought.

When you address the 3-Ring Binder syndrome or the “We’ve always done it that way” crowd, before you suggest changes or improvements, you need to be ready to back you suggestions up with real data or at least a well thought out reason.

What is “New and Improved Tide”? What was wrong with original Tide? Is change always a good thing? Often we see change not for a valid reason, but to make thing seem new, sexy, or interesting.

When his was in Elementary School, Albert Einstein has difficulty and was labeled as “slow” by his teachers. Thomas Edison’s Elementary School teacher said that he was “too stupid to learn”.

Be careful how much weight and validity you give to other people’s opinions about you.

I am constantly amazed at the number of people who cannot seem to get out of their own way when it comes to coaching and accepting help. Pride and/or intellectual laziness are two of the primary culprits.

When you ask someone’s opinion, do you really want their honest answer or do you just want to hear them agree with you. Don’t be an “ask-hole”.

Are you trying to be the next Bruce Lee, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bill Gates, or are you trying to be the first you? It is good to have role models and people who you look up to. Everyone who has ever achieved greatness had mentors and role models. Nevertheless, if your focus is to be the next “blank”, you will lose focus on being the first you.

It is easy to feel as if you are alone in the world, like you are trapped on an island. One of the greatest aspects of taking a weekend training course, away from your hometown, is the opportunity to communicate and spend time with like-minded individuals.

Following on with our discussion of sacrifice and allowing your mind to be in control. The 24 Hour Blackout is one full day without external distractions; no TV, mobile phones, Internet of any kind. Take a full day to free yourself from external distractions and focus on what is important.

What is the purpose of giving something up for the season of Lent? How do we learn from fasting or sacrificing something from our daily lives?