One day, a teenage Benjamin Franklin entered the Boston home of the renowned Reverend Cotton Mather. After their lengthy discussion, he walked Franklin through a tight doorway on the way out with a low beam as Mather told him, “Stoop, stoop!”. Not paying attention, Franklin bumped his head on the beam. The older, wiser Mather found a teachable moment:  “You are young and have the world before you. Stoop as you go through it and you will miss many hard thumps”.

All his life, Franklin never forgot Mather’s immortal words.

2019 has produced many good things, and yet, it has been one of my worst years.

Can I be brutally honest, since you are my friends? I have taken quite a lot of shots this year, and am a bit beaten from the beams. Frankly I, like several others I have spoken to, am soooo ready for a new year! Now, this is NOT one of those downer letters that you read and feel sad after reading it.

The good news is yet to...

5 Must-Do’s to Re-Engineer Your Career (or start one) for MORE MONEY!

Have you ever felt you wanted a fresh start or a new beginning in life? (A mulligan, for you golfers!)

 “It’s not too late to become who you want to be. I hope that you live a life that you’re proud of, and if you find that you’re not, I hope you find the strength to start over.” –F. Scott Fitzgerald, writer & author of The Great Gatsby

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”

I know exactly how that feels!

In 2007, I started college for the first time…at the age of 44! (I know what you’re doing. You’re counting the years to see how YOUNG I am, aren’t you?! Lol!)

One of my favorite phrases I created is:  In order to be your best, you must assess!

So let’s dive in to A New You 2.0!

 ...

Do you have "insane courage"? Bold enough to crazily go after what your really want in life?

I am a doctor of personal strengths and teach people how to know where they fit and flow in their unique gifts and strengths; however, so many people do not have direction in their lives.

Frustration, indecision, and regret plague them. 

I recently talked with several individuals that seemed to be waiting, wandering, or wondering in life.

Waiting…for something to happen.

Wandering…around in their lives, not living intentionally and on-purpose.

Wondering…if they will ever discover their true calling and start doing their dreams!

Have you ever felt like that? Does that resound a bit with you now?

Sometimes, we simply need crazy courage to make a decision-that one decision that creates a ripple effect of exponential outcomes in multiple dimensions in our life.

You need the courage of Benjamin Mee!

Matt Damon starred as Ben Mee in the movie, “We Bought a...

How to get the MOST out of yourself and your team (Part 2 of 2)

Last week I began a subject that I will complete today: How to get the MOST out of yourself and your team. This is part 2 of 2. So, if you didn’t read the email on part 1 I sent last week, open it first or read my blog last week on our website at www.thestrengthsacademy.com

You CAN know your strengths, and grow your strengths, whether as a team, business, volunteer service, or individually.

REMEMBER-To be your BEST, you must assess!

This analysis comes in several forms-evaluation, feedback, assessments, introspection, reflection, accountability, and several other identifiers.

No matter the methods, or possibly multiple approaches for that fact, challenge your team in discussion and dialogue moving forward in professional development.

NOTE TO LEADERS AND MANAGERS: Measure what matters.

 Review from previous week:

The SWOT Analysis

(I have attached a LINK HERE to see the expanded version about how to...

Have you ever walked into a business and everyone seemed to be doing his or her own thing? No one appeared to care much about you as a customer but was off in la-la land, concerned only with what they had to accomplish.

Worse yet, it seemed like the whole company functioned that way! Yeah, it’s crazy I know, but it happens in many businesses.

Where were the owners or managers to correct this behavior?

Who knows, maybe so buried in work in their offices that they couldn’t take time to see what was really going on.

SIDE NOTE TO LEADERS AND MANAGERS: People don’t always do what’s expected, but what’s inspected.

Later, I will spend more time dealing with what good customer service truly is, as I used to be a senior manager and corporate trainer of customer service professionals, but I will move on for now; however, great service seems to be rare in some sectors in the marketplace today.

Agree or disagree?

Questions leaders should pose to themselves and...