1: You’ve got it all wrong.

You’ve been taught that stress is bad for you.

This belief is harmful, Kelly McGonigal argues in The Upside of Stress.

“The best way to manage stress isn’t to reduce or avoid it, but rather to rethink and even embrace it.”

The fight-or-flight survival instinct is part of your stress response.  When something major happens, your sympathetic nervous system mobilizes your entire body.… continue reading

1: What we’ve taught about stress is wrong, Kelly McGonigal argues in her terrific book The Upside of Stress.

Despite what we’ve been taught and told, the latest science shows that stress, by itself, is not harmful. However, believing stress is harmful to your health is toxic.

So, how do you transform your view of stress? Are there actions you can take when you feel overwhelmed to direct your … continue reading

1: “Shelley was speechless,” says Mike Oppedahl, the managing partner at GiANT Worldwide.

He had just introduced the 5 Gears tool, which we’ve been exploring this week in RiseWithDrew.

“Shelley is a rock star,” he says in Jeremie Kubicek and Steve Cockram’s book The 5 Gears: How to Be Present and Productive When There is Never Enough Time.

She’s “like a cruise missile as it pertains to … continue reading

1: On July 2nd, 1776, the Second Continental Congress voted unanimously to declare independence from Britain.

“That these United Colonies are, and of a right ought to be, free and independent states, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved,” so read the motion.

But “there was … continue reading

1: “Monday, July 1st, 1776, began hot and steamy in Philadelphia, and before the morning was ended a full-scale summer storm would break,” David McCullough writes in his book John Adams.

John Adams, then one of Massachusetts’s delegates to the Second Continental Congress, was up before sunrise.

Early that morning, he wrote a long letter to Archibald Bulloch, the new president of Georgia: “This morning is assigned … continue reading

1: Author Joseph Grenny had been married for just a few years when his travel schedule became hectic.
He and his wife, Celia, had two young toddlers, and she served as the sole parent when Joseph was on the road.
One evening, he arrived home from a long trip, Joseph and his co-authors write in their classic book Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High.
“Celia was … continue reading

1: You are stuck.

“If only your prospects knew as much about your company and its solutions as you do, they would buy from you, right?” Erik Peterson and Tim Riesterer write in their powerful book Conversations That Win the Complex Sale.

Not so fast, the authors suggest.

Erik and Tim emphasize the importance of finding your unique story and point of view as a salesperson. This is essential … continue reading

1: “Every Saturday, a siren goes off in Tim’s quiet suburban community, signaling that it is noontime. No one gives it much attention around town,” Erik Peterson and Tim Riesterer write in their terrific book Conversations That Win the Complex Sale.

It’s just the “noon whistle,” people say.

But the same siren is also used to signal a severe weather emergency.

“As a result,” the authors note, “the same … continue reading

1: “If you’re like most sales professionals, you think a successful client relationship is one in which everyone is always smiling,” Erik Peterson and Tim Riesterer write in their powerful book Conversations That Win the Complex Sale.

You intuitively believe your job is to keep clients happy, as if being well-liked is the goal.

You send birthday wishes. You inquire about their kids. You do whatever it takes to … continue reading

1: Turns out anxiety and excitement are the exact same emotion.

Physiologically, that is. Which just means how your body operates.

“Whether you are anxious about something or excited about it, your body responds in a nearly identical ‘high arousal’ state,” Jane McGonigal writes in her book SuperBetter: The Power of Living Gamefully.

How does your body react?

“You have excess energy, you may feel butterflies in your stomach, … continue reading