The other day, having just typed an email to a customer, my mouse cursor hovered over the send button. But something didn’t feel quite right. Re-reading the email, I stopped at the following sentence:

“I should be able to get this to you in the next 24 hours”.

This is a fairly standard sentence, but on this particular occasion the word “should” caught my attention. Was this the best word I could use? Did it even matter?

I knew why I had chosen this particular word; I wanted to convey that I expected to have the work done within 24 hours, but there was a possibility I wouldn’t. So there was a rational reason for my choice, but in that moment I also came to see that using the word “should” could have potentially negative and unintentional consequences.

Ted Rogers, the Canadian Communications mogul who recently passed away, once noted: “It’s funny, the difference between success and failure often is very little.” It seems to me that one of these “little things” is the language we use to communicate. Here’s why:

Committing Ourselves

When I typed the word “should”, I effectively gave myself an excuse for not completing the request within 24 hours. Yes, it makes sense to do this in some circumstances. However, by doing this it also meant I would be less likely to complete the request within 24 hours. After all, was I making any commitment? Saying I should have something finished within 24 hours means it could be done in 48, 72 or 1,000 hours and I still would have kept my word.

I would like to note here that it is extremely important not to break your promises, and therefore you should be careful not commit to something you can’t do. But I think it is also extremely important not to give yourself a free ride by never making firm commitments and/ or never setting deadlines to complete work.

Let’s consider an alternative to using the word “should” (note: this is what I actually sent):

“I will get this to you in 24 hours”

The important word here, of course, is “will”. By using this word, I committed myself to getting this request done by a particular deadline. And guess what? I did.

Now, you may not be too interested in whether or not I got something done for a customer . But consider for a moment your own goals. Do ever find yourself saying “I want to get fit”. Or, “I should go to the gym”. Such statements are usually wishful thinking. It is only when you fully commit to something – which starts by saying something like “I will…” or I must…” – that it becomes a priority and receives your focused attention.

Trust from Others

There is a good chance that to get where you want to go in life you will need the help of other people. I mention this because the language you use when communicating with other people influences how they perceive you, and therefore how they treat you.

The word “should” is a hedge because maybe you will get the work done, but maybe you won’t…. This does little to give your clients, co-workers, boss or whoever it is you are dealing with confidence in you.

Strong vs Weak Language

The following are some examples of words that are generally strong and weak:

Once again, there are times when it is appropriate to use the words I have listed above as weak. My suggestion is simply to be conscious of your choice of such words, and then consider using a stronger alternative. By using strong language, you commit yourself to taking action and gain a greater level of trust from people you deal with.

Final Thoughts

There is a common saying that actions speak louder than words. I agree. But I also believe, as Obama once responded to his critics, that words do matter. If you can get your actions and language in alignment then you will be all the more closer to success (whatever “success” means to you).

What do you think? Does the language we use really contribute to success or failure? And if so, do you have any examples of words and phrases to use or avoid?

Peter writes about how to change your life at The Change Blog. He is also the author of Starting a Blog and Audio Book Downloads.

Eric Hamm (Motivate Thyself) and Sean Platt (Writer Dad) have teamed up to launch Blogopolis Blueprint, a blog dedicated to helping bloggers find their online voice and remain one step ahead of the curve.

Eric and Sean have been busy in recent months with guest posts on Zen Habits, ProBlogger and Pick The Brain (here and here). If you have come across these posts, or are familiar with their own personal blogs, you will know both men are great writers and have a lot of insightful knowledge to share.

Eric and Sean tell me Blogopolic Blueprint will highlight a specific blogging theme each week, and in addition to their own articles the blog will feature a rotating cast of guest authors and interviews.

But that’s enough out of me…. go check out Blogopolis Blueprint (or subscribe via RSS and email).

Peter writes about how to change your life at The Change Blog. He is also the author of Starting a Blog and Audio Book Downloads.

If you have read Think and Grow Rich you will know there are numerous mentions of this hidden secret. In fact, Napoleon Hill offers the following teaser in the book’s introduction:

“In every chapter of this book, mention has been made of the money-making secret which has made fortunes for more than five hundred exceedingly wealthy whom I carefully analyzed over a long period of years.”

I was therefore very happy when I recently received a copy of Brian Kim’s e-book The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich. Would my curiosity finally be satisfied? I hoped so, but I must admit I was also worried that the secret Brian would identify would be a big let-down. I believe my thoughts were: “Please don’t be the Law of Attraction!”

What’s the Book About?

Brian doesn’t waste any time in his book, identifying what the secret is at the very start of Chapter 1. I’m happy to say it is not the Law of Attraction.

As previously noted, the secret is said to appear in every chapter of Think and Grow Rich. Brian is understandably keen to prove the secret he has identified is what Napoleon Hill had in mind. He devotes the second chapter to going through Think and Grow Rich chapter by chapter, pinpointing exactly where the secret is mentioned. Assuming you have read the book, you should find some satisfaction to going “Aha! That’s where it is!” I think you will also be more than convinced that Brian has indeed correctly identified the hidden secret.  The rest of the book goes into detail about how you can use the secret to obtain whatever it is you desire in life.

One thing I noticed is that there is some repetition in the book. However, I think this was a conscious decision on Brian’s part to make sure the reader fully comes to grip with the message of the book. As he says in the book, one common fault of success books is they ‘pump’ you up and that’s where it ends. The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich is designed to forever change you way you approach a goal or desire.

Why Buy the Book

I highly recommend this e-book to people who have read Think and Grow Rich. If you haven’t read this classic, Brian has included a copy of this book in PDF format free with the purchase of his book.

Now, those of you who have read Think and Grow Rich may be wondering whether or not this book is worth your hard-earned cash. “Can Brian Kim really tell me anything new about success that Napoleon Hill hasn’t?” is what you may be thinking.

Well, the book succeeded in satisfying my curiosity about what Napoleon Hill refers to as the hidden secret, but it also did far more than this. I believe the book’s real value is that it helps everything you have read about self-improvement and personal development come together and click into place.

Think of success as a puzzle. We are all familiar with many of the pieces of this puzzle, principles such as courage, confidence, hard work, persistence, etc….. What is not so clear to many of us is how these pieces fit together to form the puzzle. Brian has done an incredible job in this book of giving the reader both the big picture, as well as a detailed process for making your deepest desires become reality.

The book is a healthy 122 pages, and Brian has also generously included two bonuses: a special report called The Three Biggest Mistakes People Make When Using the Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich and a workbook that accompanies the book bundled up as a special offer for Pick The Brain readers.

Click here to access the special offer for Pick The Brain readers and get The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich by Brian Kim and the bonuses today.

Am I the only one who has trouble focusing on a single task? I doubt it.

It wasn’t always this way. At school and university it seemed relatively easy to apply myself to a single task. But these days it seems as if my mind is wanting me to do a million different things at once.

I call this the “web 2.0 mind”. Why? Because I believe the web 2.0 has changed how I act, both online and offline. When online I’m usually busy doing a number of different things at once. Twitter, Reddit, Digg, Gmail, Flickr, Facebook, Skype, blogs…. these are just a few of the places I might I be at any given moment. Doing multiple things at once has become the norm for me, which is why I say even when I’m offline I can find it difficult to focus on a single task. Of course multi-tasking is nothing new, but never before has it been so easy and enjoyable to be doing so many things at once.

You may be asking yourself: does this web 2.0 mind even need “taming”? Well, let me make one thing clear: the ability to be doing a number of tasks at once – ie multi-tasking – is not only an asset, but a necessity, in this modern economy. And as I previously noted, it is often fun to have a number of things on the go at once. However, there often comes a time when you need to put your head down and get a particular task or project completed. And when this time comes, the last thing you want to have to deal with is a mind that is running wild with thoughts such as “I wonder what is on the Digg front page” or “I’ll just check Twitter quickly to see what my friends are up to”. These sound pretty harmless, but it’s funny how 5 minutes can quickly turn into 30 minutes without you realizing it.

The point of this article, then, is this: when you consciously decide to work on a single task you should be able to maintain your focus on that task. If you can’t, you need to work on your mental discipline. As I said at the start of this article, staying focused on a single task is something I struggle with. However, I am improving and would like to share with you what I’m finding to be the keys to being the master of your mind.

Practice Practice Practice

Mental discipline is like a muscle. The more you build it, the more you can rely on it. If you consider yourself mentally undisciplined, I suggest taking on little challenges, conquering them, and then progressing to bigger ones.

Want to try a small challenge right away? Try time boxing, a productivity tip where you set yourself a certain amount of time to work on a task. When the time is up, you stop. Simple. Now, the key here is that when you find yourself wanting to do something else you do not act on that desire. Rather, you stay focused on the task you have committed yourself to. When the time is up, then you can reward yourself by spending some time doing whatever it is you would rather be doing.

Mindfulness

Mindfulness involves being present with whatever is occurring to you or within you at any given moment. This, in turn, helps to free you from reactive, habitual patterns of thinking, feeling and acting. I often find that when my mind runs wild, it is a few moments before I “catch” it. This means that before I can tell myself “I’ll finish this task and then check Digg” I will already be on the front page. Damn! You can see why, then, mindfulness is crucial to curbing such behavior.

An easy way to start being mindful is to practice mindful eating. Instead of shoveling down the food on your plate, slow down and let your senses explore, savor and taste. Also, be aware of your hunger and don’t feel you need to finish eating everything in front of you just for the sake of it.

Meditation

The best practice I have found to date to to cultivate mindfulness is meditation. If you have little or no experience with meditation, you may like to check out this article on How to Meditate.

One of the keys to meditation is the ability to concentrate on a single thing at a time. There are a number of things you can concentrate on, but if you are new to meditation I suggest focusing on your breath. Every time your attention moves away from the breath and shifts to another physical sensation, sound, smell or thought, try to gently but firmly bring your attention back to your breath. Each time you do this you are practicing the skill of mindful observation, thereby strengthening your mental discipline. And as I noted earlier, it is all about practice.

Ok, now that I’ve finally finished writing this article I’m off to check out the front page of Digg and see what’s happening on Twitter. Bye!

Peter writes about how to change your life at The Change Blog. He is also the author of Starting a Blog and Audio Book Downloads.

“The Personality Puzzle” is the new e-book from Pick The Brain contributor Hunter Nuttall. Back in August we published Hunter’s first article for this blog: Introverts And Extraverts: Can’t We Just Get Along? If you enjoyed this article (and it seems many of you did – it received 90+ comments and 1119 votes on Digg), this book will be of immense interest to you.

What’s the book about?

“Sometimes I just don’t understand human behavior.”- C-3PO

“The Personality Puzzle” aims to help you understand what “makes people tick” via the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). The MBTI originated from the ideas of revolutionary Swiss psychologist Carl Jung. His work was continued by an American mother and daughter team, Katharine Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers, and resulted in the MBTI being published in 1962. The MBTI did gain some popularity in the 1980s, but according to Hunter the usefulness of it is grossly underestimated.

What’s so good about the book?

One of the best aspects of Hunter’s e-book is the way he combines psychological research and real-world examples. Here are just a few of things you will discover in “The Personality Puzzle”:

• Why Democrats and Republicans tend to disagree on drilling for oil in Alaska
• Why you may be getting paid less than a colleague for doing the same work
• Why a packet of M&Ms can tell you more about yourself than you ever thought possible

The book also introduces a potentially addictive new hobby: typewatching. This hobby simply involves trying to determine someone’s type from their behavior. Hunter shows you how to determine the type of both real people and fictional characters, including Albert Einstein, Forrest Gump, Randy Pausch and Darth Vader. Of course once you have read “The Personality Puzzle” and are armed with a newfound knowledge of the MBTI you will be able to typewatch any person you so choose. But be warned: disagreements are common when trying to determine the type of certain people (eg Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama).

As I hope you can see, Hunter has put a lot of effort into making this book fun. But I should also note that the MBTI has some important practical applications – eg it could help save a marriage or avoid conflict with a co-worker. You may laugh at this, but think about it for moment: if we each better understand the ways we’re similar to and different from others, we will then know how to better get along with each other.

Is it worth buying?

If you are like me you will find the book fascinating. The tests that Hunter links to in the book identified me as an INFP, so I was curious to find out 1) whether this indicator was correct and 2) what this could tell me about myself. As I read through the book I didn’t have any doubts that I was indeed an INFP, and I certainly wasn’t disappointed with the insights this gave me about myself.

The 67 page e-book is normally $27.00, but Hunter is offering Pick The Brain readers 50% off this price for a limited time only. To find out more about the e-book and details of how take advantage of this offer follow this link:

“The Personality Puzzle: Understanding What Makes People Tick”

If you’re still not sure whether or not the book is for you, Hunter has kindly made available a preview copy:

Download Preview Copy of “The Personality Puzzle”

Finally, if you have any questions or comments about the MBTI and/ or “The Personality Puzzle” please share them below.

The first idea in The Little Book of Productivity, the new e-book written by Scott Young, is to understand the reasons for wanting to get more done in less time. Many of you will be familiar with Scott’s work from his regular contributions to Pick The Brain over the past year and his own self-titled blog, Scott H Young.

Of course everyone will have their own individual reasons for wanting to be productive. Personally, productivity is a subject I have taken an interest in due to the pressures of working two jobs and being the father of two boys under the age of two. I need to be able to get things done quickly and efficiently. As Scott points out, by becoming aware of these reasons you will be naturally motivated to stay productive instead of slipping into lazy habits.

There are many more excellent ideas in this book, including timeboxing, sprinting theory, Hofstadter’s Rule and operant conditioning. And that is exactly what The Little Book of Productivity is: a book of ideas. Scott’s book looks at 99 ideas related to productivity, with each idea taking up one page.

The book is very well organized (as you would hope a productivity book would be) and covers the following topics:

• Beating Procrastination
• Becoming Organized
• Staying Energized
• Getting Things Finished
• Automate Your Routine
• Productivity Hacks
• Doing the Right Work

Returning to my first point in this review – the backlash against productivity – I would like to point out that a book such as this doesn’t pretend to be answering life’s big questions. But there are plenty of other books for that. The Little Book of Productivity does, however, hope to improve your life. And as I’m sure you will agree, sometimes it only takes one idea to do this.

If you are interested in The Little Book of Productivity you can purchase a copy for $9.95 USD by clicking the following button:

If you would like to know more about this e-book, Scott has made the first chapter available to read for free here.

Discipline is freedom. You may disagree with this statement, and if you do you are certainly not alone. For many people discipline is a dirty word that is equated with the absence of freedom. In fact the opposite is true. As Stephen R. Covey once wrote, “the undisciplined are slaves to moods, appetites and passions”. And in the longer term, the undisciplined lack the freedom that comes with possessing particular skills and abilities – e.g. to play a musical instrument or speak a foreign language.

Self-discipline involves acting according to what you think instead of how you feel in the moment. Often it involves sacrificing the pleasure and thrill of the moment for what matters most in life. Therefore it is self-discipline that drives you to:

• Work on an idea or project after the initial rush of enthusiasm has faded away
• Go to the gym when all you want to do is lie on the couch and watch TV
• Wake early to work on yourself
• Say “no” when tempted to break your diet
• Only check your email a few of times per day at particular times

In the past self-discipline has been a weakness of mine, and as a result today I find myself lacking the ability to do a number of things which I would like – e.g. to play the guitar. But I have improved, and I can say that it is self-discipline that got me out of bed this morning at 5am to run and then write this article. Believe me, I would love to be curled up in bed right now, but this desire is subordinated by my inner sense of purpose.

If you struggle with self-discipline, the good news is that it can be developed. For example, it is only in the past two years that I have trained myself to wake early. The following are what I have found to be the five traits of self-discipline:

1. Self-Knowledge

Discipline means behaving according to what you have decided is best, regardless of how you feel in the moment. Therefore the first trait of discipline is self-knowledge. You need to decide what behavior best reflects your goals and values. This process requires introspection and self-analysis, and is most effective when tied to written expression. I highly recommend taking the time to write out your goals, dreams and ambitions. Even better, write out a personal mission statement. I found that writing such a statement gave me a greater understanding of who I am, what I am about and what I value. Dr. Covey has an excellent Mission Statement Builder on his site.

2. Conscious Awareness

Self-discipline depends upon conscious awareness as to both what you are doing and what you are not doing. Think about it. If you aren’t aware your behavior is undisciplined, how will you know to act otherwise?

As you begin to build self-discipline, you may catch yourself being in the act of being undisciplined – e.g. biting your nails, avoiding the gym, eating a piece of cake or checking your email constantly. Developing self-discipline takes time, and the key here is you are aware of your undisciplined behavior. With time this awareness will come earlier, meaning rather than catching yourself in the act of being undisciplined you will have awareness before you act in this way. This gives you the opportunity to make a decision that is in better alignment with your goals and values.

3. Commitment to Self-Discipline

It is not enough to simply write out your goals and values. You must make an internal commitment to them. Otherwise when your alarm clock goes off at 5am you will see no harm in hitting the snooze button for “just another 5 minutes….” Or, when initial rush of enthusiasm has faded away from a project you will struggle to see it through to completion.

If you struggle with commitment, start by making a conscious decision to follow through on what you say you’re going to do – both when you said you would do it and how you said you would do it. Then, I highly recommend putting in place a system to track these commitments. As the saying goes, “What gets measured gets improved”.

4. Courage

Did you notice the sweat dripping from the man in the picture at the start of this article? Make no mistake, self-discipline is often extremely difficult. Moods, appetites and passions can be powerful forces to go against. Therefore self-discipline is highly dependent on courage. Don’t pretend something is easy for you to do when it is in fact very difficult and/ or painful. Instead, find the courage to face this pain and difficulty. As you begin to accumulate small private victories, your self-confidence will grow and the courage that underpins self-discipline will come more naturally.

5. Internal Coaching

Self-talk is often harmful, but it can also be extremely beneficial if you have control of it. When you find yourself being tested, I suggest you talk to yourself, encourage yourself and reassure yourself. After all, it is self-talk that has the ability to remind you of your goals, call up courage, reinforce your commitment and keep you conscious of the task at hand. When I find my discipline being tested, I always recall the following quote: “The price of discipline is always less than the pain of regret”. Burn this quote into your memory, and recall in whenever you find yourself being tested. It may change your life.

Peter writes about how to change your life at The Change Blog. He is also the author of Starting a Blog and Audio Book Downloads.

This e-book includes my best articles from my first year of blogging both on Pick The Brain and my own personal blog, The Change Blog. During this year I married, became a first-time father and relocated from Australia to Canada. Perhaps more importantly, during this time I underwent a personal transformation that changed both how I see my life and the world in which we live.

To grab yourself a copy of this free e-book, you simply need to sign up to my monthly newsletter, The Change Blog Newsletter.

I pack this newsletter full of inspiring and useful personal growth material. And I guarantee your information will be kept private and not shared.

Peter writes about how to change your life at The Change Blog. He is also the author of Starting a Blog and Audio Book Downloads.

The way you think has the ability to turn your deepest desires into reality or, alternatively, keep you chained to mediocrity. This article looks at eight patterns of limited thinking – as identified by Dr. S McKay, Davis, and Fanning in their book, Thoughts and Feelings: Taking Control of Your Moods and Life – and how they can be resolved. Breaking these patterns of limited, habitual thought will free you to realize your full potential in life.

1. Overgeneralization

This pattern is characterized by broad, general conclusions based on a single incident or piece of evidence. Overgeneralization often takes the form of absolute statements and uses words such as all, every, none, never, always, everybody and nobody. For example, if you read too many personal development articles you may believe all television is a waste of time.

You can stop thinking in absolutes by using words such as may, sometimes, most and often. Saying some, or even most, television is a waste of time is far easier to take seriously than simply saying all of it is.

2. Polarized Thinking

This is black-and-white thinking, with no room for shades of gray. People and things become either good or bad, smart or stupid, brave or cowardly. President Bush’s declaration in the aftermath of 9/11, “You’re either with us, or against us” is a famous example of such thinking. And we all know know what has happened since….

Fight the urge to make black-and-white judgements by accepting people and things are too complex to be reduced to “either/ or” judgements. This is especially important in regards to judging yourself. Allow yourself some room to make mistakes without automatically labeling yourself a failure.

3. Filtering

Filtering can be thought of as a type of tunnel vision – focusing on one element of a situation to the exclusion of everything else. For example, you may write an article that hits the front page of Digg. But rather than focusing on this success, your thoughts are distracted by a handful of negative comments.

To break this pattern, make a conscious effort to shift your focus to the opposite mental theme. In this case, focus on the positive feedback and enjoy the moment as it is not every day your blog hits the front page of Digg (unless you are Arianna Huffington).

4. Mind Reading

This pattern occurs when you make snap judgements about others. You may, for example, assume a girl who is not paying attention to you is thinking, “He is not up to my standards”. This may be based on intuition, past experiences or a process called projection, whereby you imagine people feel the same way you do and react to things the same way you do. And while your assumptions may be true, often they will turn out to be completely wrong. Perhaps she is very interested in you but is simply shy?

One way to tackle this pattern is to treat assumptions about people as hypotheses to be tested and checked. Gather evidence before making inferences about people. And if you do decide to follow your intuition, be aware your assumptions may reflect yourself rather than the reality of someone else.

5. Catastrophizing

Catastrophizing occurs when your imagination focuses on the potential for tragedy and disaster. Just as Chicken Little worried the sky was falling after an apple fell on her head, you may fear swimming in the ocean after reading a news report of a shark attack on the other side of the world. Catastrophic thoughts often start with the words “What if?” What if I injure myself playing sport? What if this plane crashes? What if I lose my job? Such catastrophizing creates anxiety and can result in you missing out on some of life’s greatest pleasures.

The most effective way to deal with this pattern is to evaluate a situation in terms of odds or percent of probability. Are the chances of disaster one in 1,000,000 (0.00001 per cent)? Or, are they closer one in a thousand (0.1 per cent)? When it comes to sharks, there were 71 unprovoked attacks worldwide in 2007. Perhaps you should be more concerned about the car ride to the beach than swimming in the ocean….

6. Magnifying

This involves emphasizing things out of proportion to their actual importance. Minor suggestions become scathing criticism. Small mistakes become tragic events. Slight obstacles become overwhelming barriers.

To overcome this pattern, pay attention to the language you use. Stop using words such as disgusting, awful and terrible. Also, toss out phrases such as “It’s unbearable”. Guess what? It is bearable. History has shown time and time again that human beings can cope with almost any psychological blow and can endure incredible physical pain.

7. Personalization

Personalization can take two forms. First, you can directly compare yourself to other people, eg “He writes far more eloquently than I do”. Such comparisons may actually be favorable to you, eg “I am better looking”. Either way, there is an underlying assumption here that your worth is questionable. Consequently, you seek out ways to test your value and measure yourself against others. Personalization can also take the form of relating everything back to yourself. If you’re partner tells you she is bored or depressed, you may automatically think you are the cause of this feeling.

This pattern of limited thinking can be broken by recognizing most comparisons are meaningless. Each of us has our strong and weak points. Matching your strong points to other people’s weak points usually has little purpose except to feed your ego.

8. Shoulds

In this final pattern, you live according to a set of inflexible rules about how you and other people should act. You have a fixed view of what is right, and those who deviate from your particular values or standards are bad. And you are just as hard on yourself. Some common and unreasonable “shoulds” include:

• “I should never be tired or get sick”
• “I should always be totally self-reliant”
• “I should never make mistakes”
• “I should always be happy”

To overcome this pattern, try to have greater flexibility in the rules or expectations you feel compelled to live by. And when it comes to other people, it is important to accept their individuality and uniqueness. You should accept that other people won’t necessarily live according to your values. After all, your personal values are just that – personal.

If you enjoyed this article, you may wish to read Peter’s free e-book A Year of Change.

Peter writes about how to change your life at The Change Blog. He is also the author of Starting a Blog and Audio Book Downloads.

• “Yes!!Yes!!! I love what I am doing!!! I get up everyday and say I love this day!!”
• “I’m currently doing what I like, and working towards doing what I love.”
• “I took a risk and it paid off. I’m doing what I’ve always wanted to do.”

If you would like to read more of the responses (there were over 48), here is the post: Ask the Reader: Are You Doing What You Love?

Also, we have a number of copies of Sway: The Irrestistible Pull of Irrational Behavior by Ori Brafman and Rom Brafman to give away for our favorite responses. The recipients of the book are:

• Alex Fayle
• Mr. Smith
• Alice
• Victor Stachura
• Lee
• Sam Smith
• Jen
• Stephanie
• Simon Hill
• Ned
• Jamie

Link Karma

Mary Jaksch, who wrote the article 7 Steps Towards Love (and Away from Fear) for this blog back in May, has just released an e-Book called From Tragedy to Triumph which explains her five steps to healing. It’s a great read, and well worth the purchase if you are currently in a dark place.

Jonathan rethinks the common piece of advice “think big, act small” in his article Think Small, Act Big. I’ll never think of learning a musical instrument the same way again….

Is it possible to work less and still impress your boss, wife, husband and friends? According to Marc the answer is “yes”. He shares his suggestions for doing so in How To Work Less and Still Impress.

Todd Goldfarb returns from a short blogging break with a personal and insightful article, How to Cope When You Lose An ‘Anchor’.

“Dear Senator McCain and Senator Obama: You are running for a position that we lost faith in.” Al looks at what makes a great leader in his article, Eight Rules of Leadership from George Washington.

Lastly, Marelisa looks at how to create health and harmony in your life in her article, Find Balance Through the Four Elements: Fire, Water, Earth, and Air.