Why is it that some people seem to be naturals at selling, while others struggle to close every sale or even fail completely in a role that requires them to sell? In 1982, psychologist Martin Seligman, PhD, set out to answer that question for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. Seligman had been studying optimism and pessimism in the laboratory for almost 20 years when Met Life heard about his research. Could Seligman help them learn how to hire more effective salespeople, they asked? Read more

Lately I’ve been struck by how people answer the question of what they really want. When I ask, they give me an answer that sounds more like what they’d be OK with rather than their bigger picture desire. If I probe a little deeper, they usually say something about how they’re just trying to be realistic. Read more

Rewarding yourself for a job well done — do you do it? If you’re like most of my clients, the answer is no. You may think that rewarding yourself is silly, as do a lot of people, and for that reason most everybody seems to skip it. It’s not silly, however; in fact, it’s extremely important! Read more

It seems like I sat down just yesterday to write an article — I had a great idea and everything — then I looked up and more than a month had gone by. What the heck happened, I asked myself? Short answer: LIFE. Read more

I’ve been thinking a lot about comfort zones lately, mostly because I can’t seem to see mine very clearly anymore. Or more accurately stated, I can see it, I just haven’t spent that much time there recently. Read more

“I don’t have enough clients,” one of my students told me. “I’d love to put more effort into marketing, but I’m so busy, I don’t have the time.” This independent professional’s dilemma might seem humorous, but it’s no joke. I’ve heard this complaint repeatedly from professionals and small business owners. Read more

Have you ever stopped to notice what habits you’ve gotten into, especially around work? Habits have been on my mind lately, in particular how to develop good habits. My fascination began when I read The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg, and I recently learned more about habits when a colleague introduced me to the work of B.J. Fogg, a teacher at Stanford and an expert in business innovation and habit formation. Read more

If you’re answering calls, replying to emails and notes, responding to invitations, and receiving referrals and leads, it probably feels like you’re taking a lot of action to market your business. But it may be that a good deal of what you’re engaged in is actually RE-action. Read more

What’s all the fuss about work? You scheme about it, dream about it, suffer through it, suffer for it, lie about it, cry about it, hope for it, act like it’s gonna save you, hide in it, hide from it, blame it for things you don’t want to take responsibility for, wrap your identity up in it, use it for status. Why is it such a big deal? I mean, really, seriously, who cares? A full-time employee spends 2000+ hours a year working; if you’re gonna spend that amount of time and energy on your business, don’t you think you oughta darn well like it? Read more

In my early years as an entrepreneur, a wise mentor taught me about the “just enough” principle. “An entrepreneur’s to-do list is endless,” she said. “If you ever want to be able to work less than 60 hours a week, you need to figure out how much of anything is just enough.” Read more