The comic strip, Peanuts, has some excellent examples of the obstacles we all encounter. One of my favorite examples involves Lucy and her little brother, Linus, who is constantly hanging onto his security blanket. In this particular cartoon, Linus is in the kitchen, eating a jelly sandwich. As he finishes the sandwich, for the first…
DetailsHere’s a question from a reader – an engineer. (We’ll call him Bill) I’m at a job that I hate mainly because I feel like every day I’m set up to fail. There’s no job satisfaction. I go to work and try my best but the bosses and organization demand excellence in everything that we…
DetailsRecently a 36 yr old MBA in exec position in an exciting industry shared this concern in her coaching profile: “I have a vague sense that my life is too small.” Living large does not necessarily mean a bigger salary, house, cars or retirement fund. It has nothing to do with fancy vacations or the latest…
DetailsSometimes “success” is right under our nose. I love this story that I’ve told many times over the years: An American businessman was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellow fin tuna. The American complimented…
DetailsHere’s a recent 48 Days Radio Show listener question: “Dan, I’ve read some of your topics in 48 Days to the Work You Love and I have a couple of interview questions that I have no idea how to respond to. The first one is ‘What did you accomplish in your last position?’ This question…
DetailsThere’s an old Texas saying that goes: “It doesn’t matter how much milk you spill as long as you don’t lose your cow.” In other words, what we see as “failure” may not really have diminished our ability to contribute, produce or earn an income. If you lost your job, is your cow gone? If…
DetailsLast week we had our annual sold-out INNOVATE event here at the Sanctuary. These were people who were willing to fire up their imagination and dream about what is possible. The diversity in the room was awesome. As I read through their registration responses I saw those who were a deputy sheriff, car salesman, concert promoter, carpenter,…
DetailsThis week I was eating lunch with one of my granddaughters at Taco Bell (yes, it’s easy for vegetarian grandkids). Sitting nearby were two overweight workers, with names and company represented clearly on their shirts. Another guy walked in, recognized them and asked, “Hey, how’s it going?” To which Lee responded: “I’m working just enough…
DetailsLosing a job can lead to anger, resentment, guilt and depression. Just recently I was working with a gentleman who having lost his job, tried to reposition himself and do a job search, only to become discouraged after just a few days with no success. He was hiding out from his wife, pretending to be…
DetailsWe’ve all heard the old saying, “Give a man a fish and he eats for a day, teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime.” How do you best help someone who is struggling? If third-world natives are living in poverty, should we send them money? Or could we teach them how…
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