“Happiness is what you get right before you want more happiness.” – Don Draper, Mad Men As humans, we are not very good at predicting how future events will impact our life. We tend to overestimate the degree to which misfortune (divorce, loss of a job, death of a loved one) will set us back. However, when you talk with someone who has lived through such experiences, you’ll find they came through the ordeal intact. Humans have a tremendous capacity for adaptation. It’s a survival mechanism...
Leadership & Solitude: Scheduling Time to Think
On August 11, 1984, the USA Men’s Olympic Volleyball Team faced off against Brazil for a gold medal at the Los Angeles Olympics. The coach of the U.S. Team, Doug Beal, arrived at the arena hours before the match. Joining him was his assistant coach and best friend, Bill Neville. The players would arrive later, closer to game time. They walked into a mostly empty arena. In a few hours it would be a madhouse, but at the moment it was quiet. The two men sat in the empty stands. They reflected on...
Deep, Long-Lasting, Meaningful Work
How do some athletes and artists stay dedicated to their craft over many years, even decades? And throughout that time, how do they continue to improve, and turn in game-changing performances and create break-through works of art? In their book, Peak Performance, Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness explore how some individuals are able to find another gear, and develop the focus and dedication to achieve mastery. What is their secret? Well, it’s not really a secret because almost everyone who...
John Wooden on Success
As a young high school English teacher in South Bend, Indiana in the 1930s, John Wooden, the legendary former coach of the UCLA men’s basketball team, was not satisfied with the prevailing definition of success. The conventional wisdom was (and still is) that success is the accumulation of possessions and power. This definition was unsatisfactory to John, so he came up with his own definition of success: Peace of mind attained only through self-satisfaction in knowing that you made the...
How Effective Leaders Deal with Information Overload
Information overload is not only a productivity killer; it can also lead to low morale, anxiety and mistakes. The U.S. Military has identified “information overload” as the underlying cause of several major mistakes in the war in Afghanistan, and is taking steps to address the issue. A recent article in the New York Times explains that modern warfare generates unprecedented amounts of data to help soldiers make better decisions, but: Research shows that the kind of intense multitasking...
What Cancer Patients Can Teach Us About Leadership
Almost everyone is familiar with Lance Armstrong’s journey from cancer survivor to seven time Tour de France champion. In his autobiography, It’s Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life, he credits much of his success to the mental transformation he went through while enduring a gruelling treatment regimen and narrowly escaping death. Throughout this phase in his life, Armstrong maintained his commitment to return to professional cycling, something he cared deeply and passionately about...