Want to live the high life? We’ve got the easy solution. The magic bullet of quick fixes. What’s the secret?

Move.

Now.

Develop an Action-Orientated Lifestyle

This is perhaps one of the most simple, yet overlooked lessons in our path to improvement.

Maybe you have begun to read blogs more consistently. Or been attempting to read a book now and then. Read more →

I was a dirt-filled, scrawny, sometimes-shy-but-always-adventurous midwestern farm kid.  Building forts in the deep dark woods, riding my bike into town to play summer ball with friends, and braving the rapids of nearby Flood Creek as it wove through the flat farmland of northern Iowa.

Now as a parent, nearly two decades removed from that glorious and rambunctious period of my life, I have a whole new admiration for my parents. My admiration is as vast as the Iowa sky is big, but one thought in particular stuck out today. I am thoroughly impressed that my mom was ever able to get me to do anything productive around the house! Why would I have? There were battles to be won out on the straw bales and sleeping dragons to sneak past in the hog pens.

So what was my mom’s secret?  Knowingly or not (I’ll ask her this weekend and get back to you), she employed the three secrets to successfully motivating her child.  Of course I didn’t realize this at the time, but now as I teach management at Central College, I understand I have been preaching this to my students all along.

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Spring is a time for change, and if you are struggling with a co-worker, spouse, student or child who is resisting any attempts you’ve made at correcting particular behaviors, this is written for you.

If you’ve been following our leadership series, you know that modeling is the foundation for change. Without it a change effort can be severely hindered. However, what is the next step after we show everyone that we are going to make the change with them? We have a strategy that effectively helps people change time and time again. But first, which of the two statements would you be more likely to respond positively to?

1. You should really stop being so lazy
2. What would you think about increasing you activity level?

Number one clearly comes out like an attack and is most likely going to be followed by the other party defending themselves and getting emotional. Dale Carnegie says that “Let’s realize that the person we are going to correct and condemn will probably Read more →

While there are many reasons why kids don’t practice, laziness usually IS NOT one of them, although that’s what we typically assume.

What is happening is your child likely has a lack of intrinsic motivation, due to one of three reasons:

1) A low self-efficacy… not believing they are good enough.

2) Not believing that practice actually leads to higher performance.

3) No association between the eventual improvements with a reward that they value.

So what can you do about this? First of all, don’t loose your temper. That will only make reason #1 worse. Second, look for bright spots. In what activities do they excel and work to improve without external ‘encouragement’. Use this activity as a way to build their self-confidence, which will transfer to other activities.  Read more →

In our last post we mentioned how a leader needs to “Walk the Talk”. If we expect the best of others, we ourselves need to be our best. By modifying our beliefs, we can start taking steps to improving ourselves and be a leap closer to asking it from others. One of the greatest limiting beliefs most people have is what they attribute to success. Think for a moment, what talents, characteristics or traits allow you to be successful? Is it hard work? Mastery? Circumstance? Luck? Whatever your belief it is most likely displayed to the ones you lead whether you are aware of it or not. Brian Tracy in his “Reinvention” seminar states that 64% of Americans believe they will get rich, only if they win the lottery (which is just as likely as getting struck by lightning twice in two years)!

This is an example of a very common belief (agreement) that the external environment is in charge of our success, not ourselves. If we hold this thought over time, our behaviors will begin to follow and soon enough we will not take action because our dominant thought is “What is the point?” or “Luck is not on my side”. Legendary motivational speaker, author, and entrepreneur Jim Rohn explained this dilemma very well. Read more →

We’ve all grown up under the assumption (right or wrong) that sports build character. How else could so many in our society justify spending a great deal of time and money towards that pursuit?

Playing sports increases our physical wellness, some sports more than others.

During our adolescent years being involved with sports was considered a safe outlet for rampant and random teenage energy.

This past week, through a very challenging and sobering situation, I realized one aspect of sport that I’ve always taken for granted.

I cannot wait to go to bed on Thursday evenings. It’s like Christmas Eve each week of the year! Every Friday morning at 5:30 a group of about twenty guys gather at one of our local high schools to hoop it up. While getting up before 5 AM is a challenge for most anyone, this is an event where no one wants to stagger in late, else you will be the 11^th man shuffled back and forth between teams.  Our Friday morning basketball league has been a sacred time for me the past four years since my wife and I moved to town. Why? Because I love the game of basketball. Or so I thought. Read more →

Once you start to focus on and appreciate the tree as something other than a tree, you have, in fact, cleared your mind.[/quote] Whether as is a result of the recent heat wave that has been gracing the Midwest or the pending snow storm this weekend, I’ve been able to take some great walks recently.  More than usual, but not as many as I need. While the exercise is nice, let’s be honest, the calories burned from a short stroll aren’t going to compensate for much. No. The real benefit is a little higher than the waistline, and much more beneficial to your overall wellbeing. Read more →

For many, our humble nature is a handicap for ourselves as well as our community and family. We tend to not tout our accomplishments and can be more reserved in our passions. We call it humility, yet not realizing that by not standing up and standing out, we deprive our children and neighbors of a role model. I’m sharing this video for inspiration and especially to Read more →

“And then teach our sons to be a man. 

This was the ending to a blog post I read recently. When you have time, check out the link to read the entire piece posted on Tony Dungy’s “All Pro Dad” website. The article hits on one of the most important issues our society faces today. The regression of man.

There are many different indicators of this issue. You can read about one of the more popular pieces by Kay Himowitz here. What I am more concerned with is how we Man Up and reverse this trend. Simply being aware of the problem may be the first step, but it is not the solution.

In fact, as I teach my students in my management class, our individual value system Read more →

You have been living a sheltered life if you have not heard the cliche “Sports build character”. Throughout my childhood and even into my young adult life, I took this to be fact. I played sports. My character morphed and solidified the more I played. The seemed like a direct correlation. Well, as my colleagues remind me, correlation isn’t causation.

It is probably not a stretch to venture that most people who believe that sports build character are similar to me and have had positive experiences with sports in which they can draw life lessons from. On the flip side, those who disagree with the statement that participation in athletics is a ‘personality enhancer’ likely did not have a positive experience and may even see sports as being detrimental to one’s character development.  Read more →