Hi, how you doing? How are you faring in the lockdown? Of course it’s not all rosy, but hoping it’s working out at least OK for you. Today I want to be more direct with you on something. Because I think it’s important that I’m clear on where I’m coming from and what advice I’m …
This situation has obviously thrown a spanner into our year. Boom, crash, there go the goals you had for the year. Or worse, many people are scrambling just figuring out how to get by. What it means for our years is still a mess. Yet, we’ve all seen what it’s done to your days. Has …
I don’t feel like writing a dramatic opening. About how this young fit man with big aspirations severed his spinal cord playing football. Laying on the field unable to move his limbs, terrified. Years, decades of tireless struggle just to use his legs again. I don’t want to talk about how it puts our lives …
They push you until they find the point which you break. They can’t break me. I don’t have a breaking point. Says CIA operative Valerie Plame in the movie Fair Game. Harder Than CIA You may remember the story of Valerie Plame. A covert CIA operative in some of the most dangerous theaters in the …
Hmm, is it wrong for me to use that headline after the CEO of McDonald’s just got fired for McLovin? I guess it’s all about context, right? A wise mentor at Goldman once taught me you’ve gotta be careful how much lovin’ you do in the workplace. At least with other employees. But is there …
Raps Kanye in his track, Stronger. Sampling Daft Punk’s, Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger. In my ears they’re both preaching personal development. A craft that is easily confused with a motivational speech. Cool sounding TED talk. Podcast. Inspirational tweet. Is REALLY about getting harder, better, faster, stronger. Isn’t This What We Want? How many of us …
We often talk about living our greatest life. But what does this even mean? When I get here. When I get there. When I get it done. Looking forward. Looking back. It’s all too far in the future. Your greatest life is right here. Right Now Minutes. Hours. Days. Weeks. Months. Years. Are too long. …
A challenge some people face in retiring is what it means. Who are you now? How do you stay relevant? Engaged? Be someone of value in the world? Just A Guy On The Street A Goldman Sachs partner said to me— I saw Hank [Paulson] walking down the street and I felt sorry for him. …
Kids in Africa. India. Half the damn world. They are TRYING to survive. Half The Office Laid Off It was 2001. The Internet bubble had burst. Goldman’s Silicon Valley office I’d relocated to was being slashed. It didn’t make sense to me. Is this as good as it gets? All these people who’ve given their …
We received a bunch of emails on this article, When You Must Smash It, basically asking the same thing— How can I better do this for myself? Great question. Let’s smash it! Perfect Practice It’s often said that practice makes perfect, but this is wrong. Practice makes permanent. Perfect practice makes perfect. Of course in …
At Goldman it’s called the Junior Banker Problem. Specifically, junior bankers lives get destroyed. Banks have tried plenty things to solve it. It’s all pig lipstick… Because the root cause of the Junior Banker Problem is… The Senior Banker Problem Because few senior bankers get their job is selling. They fail to build winning processes …
I like Kamala Harris. She’s a winner. With a track record of serving. And good values. Lots going for her. But her campaign is burned. She Might Be Toast Just take that slogan— Kamala Harris For The People. When I saw it on a t-shirt I thought it was a home-made job. Then I went …
In reading about Wonder Woman I discovered this fascinating truth— Wonder Woman was created by American psychologist and writer William Marston, artist Harry G. Peter, Marston’s wife, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byrne. Hmm, what did they mean by life partner, I thought. Olive Byrne, who partly modeled Wonder Woman, lived with Marston and …
I just want to be clear. This Masterclass is not for picking up women… You can use it to pick up men too 🙂 But ultimately, it’s for… Meeting Your Wonder Woman How many of us would like to meet our most amazing woman? That person in life who is our wonder woman. What about …
What is our sewer society? Well, it’s that much of what our society shovels us, stinks. Career advice. Life advice. Financial advice. Certainly, the crap our society shovels into our minds… And, yes, of course I’m playing around a bit here. 🙂 There are so many amazing things about our modern lives… Yet, I’m Also …
What do you truly want? What is the most amazing life you can imagine? Are you going for it? What holds you back? How Do You Leap Forward? I don’t know why this became my life. But I do know exactly how. I really liked my job at Goldman but I felt there was something …
If you’re serious about developing yourself you already know the hardest part. You’ve gotten clear on what ways you want to transform. You know exactly how you’re doing it. But, damn, it can be hard to get yourself to do it, right? How Do You Actually Do It? A client is focused on being an …
Popeye is a weakling relative to most of us. He has to pop a can of spinach to grow his muscles, but we have our worry muscles pumped ready to go. The best feedback I’ve received this year from anything I’ve written was in response to Winning Like A Loser. Wake up stressed. Fill your …
The next best feedback you can ever give someone is, Keep doing what you’re doing. Even if they’re doing a terrible job, you’ll avoid conflict and also ensure they won’t get so good that they outshine you. Although some people pretend to want honest feedback, you know nobody wants to hear the truth, let alone …