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.

Did you know we spend almost half of our waking hours at work? 

Here’s the math:

Seven days. Twenty-four hours each day. 168 hours total hours in any given week.… continue reading

1: In his fourth Olympic games, in his final race, Dan Jansen won his first-ever Olympic medal, finishing first with a world-record time. 

Yesterday, we explored Dan’s emotional gold medal-winning race.

“Before the race, [Dan] decided to compete with a completely new mindset,” Dan Sullivan and Benjamin Hardy write in The Gap and The Gain: The High Achiever’s Guide to Happiness, Confidence, and Success.

Rather than think about … continue reading

1: “Dan Jansen is considered by many to be the best speed skater to ever live,” Dan Sullivan and Benjamin Hardy write in The Gap and The Gain: The High Achiever’s Guide to Happiness, Confidence, and Success.

“But he seemed to be jinxed,” the authors note.

Dan competed in his first Olympics in 1984 when he was 16 and finished fourth, one spot off the medal podium.

“Over … continue reading

1: Imagine a sheet of paper. At the top of the page is the word “Ideal.” At the bottom is the word “Start.” 

The word “Achieved” is in the middle of the page. Achieved is where we are now. It’s what we’ve accomplished since we started. 

When we measure our progress backward from where we started, we live in what Strategic Coach founder Dan Sullivan calls “the GAIN.”

Our tendency, … continue reading

1: “Let’s say our starting point is 1 and our goal is 30, but we only get to 22,” Dan Sullivan and Benjamin Hardy write in The Gap and The Gain: The High Achiever’s Guide to Happiness, Confidence, and Success.

If we measure ourselves against our goal of 30, we are 8 short. 

If this is where we choose to focus, we are in the GAP. 

When we measure … continue reading

1: Edward’s suffered from anxiety and worry. His body language made that clear, Chad Willardson thought to himself.

Chad is the founder and president of Pacific Capital, a premier wealth management firm in Southern California. He was meeting Edward for the very first time. The year was 2003.

“Edward mentioned that he was concerned about the stock market and where the economy was headed,” Dan Sullivan and Benjamin Hardy write … continue reading

1: “Thomas Jefferson penned the Declaration of Independence in 1776, and Americans have been unhappy ever since,” is the first sentence of Dan Sullivan and Benjamin Hardy‘s powerful book The Gap and The Gain: The High Achiever’s Guide to Happiness, Confidence, and Success.

“One specific phrase has come to define American culture and psychology: ‘Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,'” Dan and Ben observe.

Thomas Jefferson wrestled … continue reading

1: “The clearest message that we get from this 75-year study is this: Good relationships keep us happier and healthier. Period,” says Dr. Robert Waldinger, director of the longest and most comprehensive study on human happiness.

Period. Hard stop.

Robert tells us: “It’s not the number of friends you have; it’s the quality of your close relationships that matters.”

In his book The Happiness Advantage, Shawn Achor shares … continue reading

This week we are looking at insights from Shawn Achor’s terrific book on positive psychology, The Happiness Advantage. 

Key takeaway: Happiness is not a mood.  Rather, it is something we can work at.  Even get better at.   

As with many things in life, the first step is awareness.  But just being aware of happiness doesn’t make us happier, we have to take action!  Shawn reminds us that information … continue reading

So far this week, we’ve learned a couple of key lessons from Shawn Achor’s The Happiness Advantage. First, happiness is more than a feeling; it is an indispensable ingredient of our success. And second: there are some serious benefits to being happy.    

Shawn then raises the question: “Well, that’s great for the happy people, Shawn, but what about the rest of us??” 

There’s good news here, too.  In recent … continue reading