Lift the Fog!

Have you ever been in a fog so thick you could barely see beyond your windshield? It is not a great feeling to be stuck until the fog lifts.

How much water do you think it takes to create a fog so dense that you can’t move forward?  Hundreds of gallons? Thousands?  

Did you know that setbacks can accelerate your success? Those failures help you discover that continuing to blame someone or something else for your imperfections prevents you from becoming the person you want to be.

According to Dr. Google, a dense fog covering seven city blocks, one hundred feet deep, is composed of about one glass of water. One glass! The dense fog is a temporary state created by a very small amount of an ordinary substance. 

Often we create our own fog. The most common self-created fog generator is worry … which makes fog so thick you can’t see how to move forward.

How can you lift your fog?

Earl Nightingale, one of the first personal development gurus, studied the effects of worry. He concluded that forty percent of the time, people worry about things that will never happen. Thirty percent of worries are in the past and cannot be changed, and twelve percent are worries about criticism from others that is mostly untrue. We worry about our health ten percent of the time, which usually only makes our health worse. Only eight percent of our worries are real problems we’ll have to face—and out of those, only half of them are under our control.

Those numbers are almost unbelievable. What if his numbers are off by double, triple, or quadruple? Regardless, worrying is a bad investment in how you spend your time. Worry will paralyze you. That is why when someone tells you they are worried sick or worried to death, they are probably right.

Being stuck in worry is like having your wind knocked out. It creates fear, drains your energy, and prevents you from being your best.

Regardless of your situation, something can be done, and there is something you can do. Begin lifting your fog by ordering Quit Drifting, Lift the Fog, and Get Lucky today from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, CornerStoneLeadership, or through your local bookstore.

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Time for a Kick in the Teeth!

Walt Disney once said, “You might not realize it when it happens and I would not recommend it, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.” 

Well, that may not be the most inspirational thing I have written. After all, doesn’t everyone want to hear about positive, sensational comeback stories? Sure, we do. Unfortunately, there are no comebacks without at least one and, more often, many setbacks that help you discover your unique road to becoming who you want to be. 

Did you know that setbacks can accelerate your success? Those failures help you discover that continuing to blame someone or something else for your imperfections prevents you from becoming the person you want to be.

Walt Disney’s kick in the teeth comment was teaching us to salute the truth, quit believing something is true when it is not, and quit kicking reality under the rug while trying to ignore it. That doesn’t do you any good.

Once you understand reality, you can make corrections and improvements. Then, your road to success will be a little straighter, the challenges will seem less overwhelming, goals become easier to reach, and you will have fewer surprises along the way.

The kick in the teeth may do you good!

Learn how you can salute the truth. Order Quit Drifting, Lift the Fog, and Get Lucky from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, CornerStoneLeadership, or through your local bookstore.

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Give Yourself a Break!

Have you ever been hounded by someone who was a constant critic of almost everything you do? Regardless of what you do, it is wrong in their eyes. Their criticism is persistent, ruthless and harsh.

That persistent critic reminds me of a story:

Once there was a farmer who advertised his ‘frog farm’ for sale. The farm, he claimed, had a pond filled to the brim with fine bullfrogs.

When a prospective buyer appeared, the farmer asked him to return that evening so he might hear the frogs in full voice. When the buyer returned, he was favorably impressed by the symphony of enchanting melodies springing from the pond. He bought the farm on the spot.

A few weeks later, the new owner decided to drain the pond so that he could catch and market the plentiful supply of frogs. To his amazement, when the water was drained from the pond, he found that one loudmouth bullfrog had made all the noise.

That story may reflect the person who relentlessly criticizes you. Don’t allow the critical noise of one, or even a few, ‘bullfrogs’ keep you from doing what you need to do.

Maybe it’s time to gig that frog and move on. However, before you grab your multi-pronged spear and start gigging, consider exactly where the noise of that one old bullfrog is coming from. Many times, we are our own “loudmouth bullfrog” and we’re obstinate in our own self-criticism. 

Aren’t we the most critical of ourselves? If you want to close the gap between who you are and who you want to become, you must learn to forgive yourself for your own gaffes. Find peace within yourself so you can enjoy living and become the person you want to be.

Give yourself a break! That is just one tip from Quit Drifting, Lift the Fog, and Get Lucky. Order your copy today on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, CornerStoneLeadership, or through your local bookstore, to read more about what you can do to become the person you want to be.

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Steve Jobs was just lucky!

I don’t think so.

Steve Jobs created his own luck and pursued it vigilantly. After only six months at Reed College, Jobs quit attending classes. After dropping out, he hung around the school and noticed that posters and labels displayed on campus were beautifully hand-calligraphed. He decided to ‘drop in’ on a calligraphy class, where he learned about typefaces, leading and kerning (the space between different letter combinations), and other tips that make great typography.  

If he had followed the path of most dropouts in those days, he would have been a barefoot wanderer meandering around the school, moping about how life wasn’t fair. Instead, he ‘dropped in’ on a class that provided him information to begin thinking like an artist. His new knowledge would ultimately change the course of his life and our lives as well.

Think about what he did. He visited where luck was and then got lucky when he learned to ‘think different’ by increasing his knowledge, taking a risk, and seizing his opportunity.

You, too, can visit where luck is. Find out how by ordering Quit Drifting, Lift the Fog, and Get Lucky today on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, CornerStoneLeadership, or through your local bookstore.

Special price – $15.95 (Reg. $22.00)

Escape Someday Isle!

‘Someday I will’ and ‘Someday I’m going to’ are the rallying cries of the residents of Someday Isle. However, never in history has a situation improved on its own while people sat basking in the sun, doing nothing. If you are stuck on Someday Isle, you can escape!

Calvin Coolidge stated, “We cannot do everything at once, but we can do something at once!” You, too, can do something at once – beginning right now. 

Are ready to escape Someday Isle? There is no good reason to sit around contemplating what your next move should be.  It could be to read 208 pages of Quit Drifting, Lift the Fog, and Get Lucky and learn how you can close the gap between where you are and where you want to be.

Order Quit Drifting, Lift the Fog, and Get Lucky today on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, CornerStoneLeadership, or through your local bookstore.

Special price – $15.95 (Reg. $22.00)

What makes a great mentor?

In addition to knowledge and experience, here are seven common traits of the mentors in Quit Drifting, Lift the Fog, and Get Lucky… How to Become the Person You Want to Be:

1. They had each been on a unique journey of their own and were willing to share their knowledge without asking for anything in return. And they weren’t afraid to give away any of their success “secrets.”
2. They understood the power of their choices and learned to look into the future to see the consequences of the choices they were making.
3. They worked hard.  Winning may have seemed easy, but winning only came after hard work.
4. They loved their work yet maintained balance in their lives. They chose to invest their careers in something that engaged their hearts as well as their minds.
5. They had a healthy blend of humility and confidence. They were grateful and readily gave credit to those who had helped them along the way.
6. They projected a positive image, and their appearance reflected their success.
7. They enjoyed life because they lived with purpose and understood the difference between existing and living.

Learn how to close the gap between where you are and where you want to be. Order Quit Drifting, Lift the Fog, and Get Lucky from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, CornerStoneLeadership, or through your local bookstore.

Special price – $15.95 (Reg. $22.00)

FREE! Quit Drifting, Lift the Fog, and Get Lucky Book Study Participant and Facilitator Guides!

You can lead your discussion group at work, home, school, or church through Quit Drifting, Lift the Fog, and Get Lucky with our free, five-session, small-group guide and reproducible handouts. 

You don’t have to be an expert in facilitation to lead your group. The FREE small-group guide provides everything you need.  

A professional PowerPoint presentation is also available for purchase. 

Visit CornerStoneLeadership.com to download your free guides.

Wisdom from a Mentor

Here are seven samples of the mentor’s advice in Quit Drifting, Lift the Fog, and Get Lucky… How to Become the Person You Want to Be:

“The challenges you face are not there to destroy you; they are there to redirect you to the path that’s right for you.” 

“Regardless of what is going on, something can be done, and the next move is yours.” 

“Everyone is one blood test, stress test, x-ray, or serious accident away from a life-changing moment. There’s no good reason to put off becoming the person you want to be.” 

“When you don’t know the facts, the tendency is to imagine the worst—things you fear will happen—and then you make assumptions based on your imagination. Those assumptions are almost always wrong. Quit imagining and reacting to what you don’t know.” 

“You can’t just want, hope, or wish for luck to show up. You must actively throw yourself in luck’s path.” 

“’Someday I will, or someday I’m going to’ are the cries of the residents of Someday Isle. Never in history has a situation improved on its own while people sat basking in the sun, doing nothing on Someday Isle.” 

“Don’t be so busy making a living that you forget how to live.” 

Those are just a few of the lessons you will learn from in Quit Drifting, Lift the Fog, and Get Lucky . Learn how to close the gap of where you are and where you want to be. 

Order it today on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, CornerStoneLeadership, or through your local bookstore.

Special price – $15.95 (Reg. $22.00)

Hang On! No, Let Go!

Should I hang on or should I let go?  That is a tough question that everyone must answer at some point in time.  Making the wrong choice could be disastrous.

For instance, if you are rappelling a mountain, you must hang on to the rope with all your strength to make progress. Letting go would be catastrophic. However, if you are waterskiing and you lose your balance, if you don’t let go of the rope, the water will beat you to death. 

How do you know when to hang on or when to let go of your personal or professional dream? Your answer should contain equal doses of faith and reason. You first must have faith you are pursuing the right thing. Then, it must pass the reasonable test.  

To accurately decide whether to hang on or let go, you need at least one trusted advisor to help you think it through.  Your advisors can make or break you. Many people ask friends for advice, but close friends typically are not great advisors. The best advisors are people with more experience than you who will tell you the truth from their perspective, even if it hurts your feelings. Without bias, they will either confirm your faith to hang on or provide a practical reason for you to let go.

Understanding whether to hang on or let go is a valuable lesson you will learn in Quit Drifting, Lift the Fog, and Get Lucky. This book provides you the opportunity to eavesdrop on a mentor’s advice about how to discern between hanging on and letting go so that you can become the person you want to be. 

Order it today on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, CornerStoneLeadership, or through your local bookstore.

Special price – $15.95 (Reg. $22.00)

Quit Drifting!

Do you know someone frustrated by the gap between where they are and where they intended to be?  If so, my latest book: Quit Drifting, Lift the Fog, and Get Lucky … How to Become the Person You Want to Be, could be one of the most generous gifts you can give.  

Quit Drifting is an engaging story based on a lifetime of experiences and observations. Marshall Goldsmith describes it as “A wonderful fable that teaches how to achieve success and how to share your wisdom with others.”

Order it today on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, CornerStoneLeadership, or through your local bookstore.  There is also a FREE book study facilitator guide and participant guide available to download from CornerStoneLeadership.com.

Special price – $15.95 (Reg. $22.00)