The truth about desperation? Desperation and urgency kill manifestation. Here’s why: Like attracts in this universe of ours. If you are urgent, you are putting off an attraction that says, I am scared there will not be enough for me. And if you are desperate, you are...

“Never fall in love, Mom!” Years ago, I had found the PERFECT house, and had asked my mergers and acquisition attorney daughter, “How do I negotiate a good price?” She cautioned me, “If you walk in wanting one house that badly, the price will be as high as your...

In today’s business culture, there are five moves to make before asking for a raise. One of the most important things is to consider who you will be asking. We can be intimidated by the fact that the person in charge is “over” us in the organizational structure of the...

Emotions are the glue that connect people who follow us and ourselves. The most important question you can ask yourself every morning as a leader: What do I feel? The first question I ask senior leadership when determining their coachability is: How do you tend to...

Ever wonder if how you feel might make you sick? Some of the common expressions we use in society indicate we already know that our emotions are related to our health. We say:  I have a gut feeling about something. My heart feels heavy or joyful.  That person gives me...

Last night Dave and I were planning on cooking a big family holiday dinner entertaining my daughter and her two children, Poppy and Nola. But when Dave picks them up from school, they persuaded their Grampa (he is an easy mark for them) into ordering pizza. I put...

In the 2022 NCAA men’s basketball final four play-off, the University of Kansas went into halftime 15 points down and still won the national championship over North Carolina. Don’t you wish you knew what Head Coach Bill Self said to inspire his team to that comeback?...

Keys open doors. A key can be used metaphorically to symbolize power and authority. My goal with coaching anyone through my Gardner Method is for them to become free of any triggers that upset them or pull them off their game. I wish them to finish the process with a...

As the New Year approaches, we look forward to our next year of life, and there is no better time to let ourselves dare to formulate a dream. I don’t know about you – but if I don’t have a dream, I am miserable. Dreams drive us. Dreams motivate us. Dreams make life...

When Joel Patterson asked me to create a culture with fewer people problems at his company The Vested Group, I knew the ultimate goal was to instill accountability into his top leaders. In a retreat last spring, we set up a 4-stage process to achieve Patterson’s goal...