Crisis has a way of shaking the ground beneath us. Fear, uncertainty, and doubt spread quickly. When that happens, people look to leaders for stability.
The truth is, a crisis doesn’t just test plans. It tests presence.
The Crisis Manual: 10 Shifts of Focus for Leaders
What's Going Well? A Simple Question That Can Change Everything
We live in a world that seems determined to pull our attention toward what's broken, urgent, and wrong. It's not your imagination. Our brains are wired that way.
The human brain is an ancient survival machine built to scan for threats. While that default negativity mode might have kept our ancestors alive, it often just keeps us stressed, anxious, and reactive in today's world.
The Daily Disciplines of a Bamboo Farmer
Have you ever wondered what truly drives extraordinary growth and success? It's not a secret formula or a stroke of luck—it's the power of daily discipline. Like a bamboo farmer who waters the seed diligently without seeing immediate results, consistent, everyday actions lead to remarkable transformations.
Lighten Up
The global pandemic has taken a toll on our mental health, and many of us are feeling overwhelmed with our efforts. It's important that we find ways to lighten up so that we can take care of ourselves and support each other.
We all have an impact on each other, and when I think about lightening up, I think of it like a candle. When your candle is lit, you have a lightness about you. And best of all, a lit candle can light an unlit candle, and can continue lighting other unlit candles.
Shift Your Perspective
How to Lead a Happier Life
Something most people do is pursue happiness. For many of us, being happy is the ultimate goal of life, and we want to find this in our careers, family, and friends.
But I believe that pursuing happiness is precisely the problem with being happy. We treat happiness like some distant destination we have to reach. So in this post, I’m going to share six tools for you to be happy right now.
Are you asking yourself the right question?
If you ask lousy questions, you will get lousy answers. This is why I wrote my second book, What’s Going Well?.
The benefits of asking yourself, “What’s Going Well?” are too numerous to list here. The question and the practice gets you to focus on the positive things in your life even the things and people that you may be taking for granted.
Transformation Over Transactions
My friends know that I’m a big-time jokester, so I enjoy adding in some light-hearted jokes throughout my day. For example, when I go to Starbucks, I ask for my tea with 3.14159265359 inches of steamed soy. Many times the barista will give me a double-take, confused by my ultra-specific order, and others understand that I’m referring to Pi (Sunday, March 14th was Pi Day, by the way!).
Marcus Harvey, Founder of Portland Gear, on Brand Building, Product, Living with Anxiety, and Relationships
3x Olympic Gold Medalist Shannon Boxx on focusing on one thing, perfectionism, and overcoming adversity
In this episode, you’ll hear how Shannon Boxx went from a good soccer player to great, and how she learned to focus on one thing at a time in order to achieve her goals. During her professional career, Boxx also was dealing with an autoimmune disease called Lupus, and she’ll share how she has overcome that diagnosis and is still battling it.
Spreading What’s Going Well at Starbucks
Where is your spotlight shining?
What we focus on and the questions we ask casts a spotlight. This spotlight sets our mindset and determines how we see the world. Remember when you bought your first car, and then you began to see others like-it—the same make, model, and color everywhere? It’s like they magically appeared. But they didn’t. They were always there; you merely weren’t casting your spotlight in that direction until you had one, and then you began to see them.
7 Habits of a Negaholic
Have you ever met a negaholic and thought to yourself I wish I were more like them?
It’s much easier than you might think.
Here are some surefire ways to jump-start your negaholic journey. World-class negaholics adopt all seven of these habits, but if you can make just one of them a habit, you will be well on your way to being a negaholic.
Now What?!?
Make This the Year of What’s Going Well
The Question That Changes Everything
The What’s Going Well mindset movement needs you. Look around, and you must admit the world needs positivity right now. The What’s Going Well mindset is not one of those movements or ideas where you’ll want to sit on the sidelines. If you do, the “Negaholics” will win—in your communities and workplaces.
Why you should go on a Media Diet
Leaders Must Master the Art of Acknowledgement
In chapter six of my book, What’s Going Well, I teach readers how to apply the What’s Going Well mindset professionally.
In my experience, the workplace is one of the last places people receive genuine appreciation and acknowledgment—and it shouldn’t be. Recognizing people for their accomplishments and acknowledging a job well-done are essential to employee engagement and satisfaction; it also boosts productivity, changes behavior, and impacts the overall workplace culture!
The Battle of the Books: Which One Wins?
This year I have noticed an interesting pattern. When clients request a keynote presentation, I ask which speech they want me to deliver--one focused on Water The Bamboo, Unleashing the Potential of Teams and Individuals or What’s Going Well? The Question that Changes Everything?
It’s been about a 50–50 split.
I developed a keynote and a half day workshop around the What’s Going Well mindset. Below is a short video that gives you a flavor of the new book and keynote.
Watch the What's Going Well Video
And if you are not familiar with the Water The Bamboo keynote and workshop here is a video to help you gain an understanding.