1: Remember the classic 1946 Frank Capra film It’s a Wonderful Life?
George Bailey is about to jump off a bridge and end his life.
An angel named Clarence appears. He “takes George through a spiritual tour of the world as it would have been had George never been born,” Dan Sullivan and Benjamin Hardy write in The Gap and The Gain: The High Achiever’s Guide to Happiness, Confidence, … continue reading
I’ve been thinking about my friend, mentor, and coach, Dr. Danny Friedland, who passed away 18 months ago after a year-long battle with brain cancer. Following Danny’s death, there was a moving memorial service for him in his backyard. Here are eight brief reflections.
1: “Live a loving life” was Danny’s invitation to all who knew him. His purpose was to “scale” the giving of love. He encouraged … continue reading
1: Getting better at getting better is what RiseWithDrew is all about.
Monday through Thursday, we explore ideas from authors, thought leaders, and exemplary organizations. On Friday, I share something about myself or what we are working on at PCI.
Over the past several Fridays, we’ve created our “Life’s Board of Directors,” considered the specific impact these people have had on our lives, and last week, we reached out… continue reading
1: Steve Jobs‘ father prided himself on being a craftsman. He would finish the back of the cabinets he built even though they would be hidden against the wall.
Steve learned early in life to: “Respect the craft and make something beautiful,” writes Ryan Holiday in The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph.
Steve adopted this philosophy as the founder and wildly … continue reading
Openings matter.
1: Case-in-point: The first day of Professor Sugata Roychowdhury’s accounting class at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Sugata doesn’t lower his head and take attendance by reading off the names of the students. Instead, he walks “around the room, holding eye contact with the seventy or so new students in the lecture hall, and, one by one, points at each student and states their (sometimes … continue reading
Holding an action-packed, upbeat, informative quarterly “All-Hands” meeting is a key driver of building an inspired and engaging workplace culture.
The quarterly rhythm is key. At PCI, we believe it’s important to gather all of our associates together regularly to build cohesiveness and connection and to keep everyone informed on how we are doing as an organization.
At PCI, we call the quarterly get-together the “Not The Typical Quarterly Business … continue reading
1: As a kid growing up, what were the best toys?
Someone else’s toys!
2: Who’s happier? Lottery winners or paraplegics?
Trick question. The answer is neither, according to the research of Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert. In his popular TED talk, Dan tells us that if it happened over three months ago, major life traumas have little impact on our happiness.
The answers to both of these questions are examples of what social … continue reading
The balance sheet is a key component of any business.
We also have a personal balance sheet. Yes, this includes our cash in the bank and investments. But these financial assets aren’t our only assets. We also have our strengths, our passions, our personality, our skills, our experiences, and our memories.
This week we are exploring the power of gratitude to increase our happiness and success. Yesterday we examined the … continue reading
I love this story…
It’s the early 1900’s and two shoe salesmen are sent to an undeveloped country to assess the opportunity. One sends a telegraph back home: “Situation hopeless. They don’t wear shoes.”
The other wires: “Glorious Opportunity. They don’t wear shoes!”
In The Happiness Advantage, Shawn Achor labels these patterns of thinking “The Tetris Effect” after the 1980s video game. The research shows (yes, someone studied this…), that if we play Tetris … continue reading
