Sahil Bloom stood on the side of the stage. There was a buzz coming from the packed auditorium.  

He was the keynote speaker, and it was moments before he was about to deliver his talk.  

The entire event had been building to this moment.

“Go!” the event organizer said, gently pushing his shoulder.  

On cue, the song Girl on Fire by Alicia Keys blasted out of the speakers.

Huh?

“You’re … continue reading

1: Question: What’s the best way to boost the confidence of young scholars suffering from imposter syndrome?

It’s not what we might think.

When sociologists Jessica Collett and Jade Avelis paired entry-level academic women with experienced, inspirational mentors, they discovered an unwelcome irony: The younger scholars felt “more insecure and inadequate, through negative comparison with their uber-accomplished elders,” Oliver Burkeman writes in Meditations for Mortals. 

One of the … continue reading

1: “In the 1960s futurists all over the world—from sci-fi writers to political theorists—thought that by now we’d all be working way fewer hours,” John Mark Comer writes in The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry: How to Stay Emotionally Healthy and Spiritually Alive in the Chaos of the Modern World.

“One famous Senate subcommittee in 1967 was told that by 1985, the average American would work only twenty-two hours a … continue reading

1: The year was 2007. Nokia controlled an astonishing 49% share of the mobile phone market.

Wowza.

What else happened that year? The iPhone was introduced.

Nokia’s “inability to adapt to swift technological changes ultimately led to their downfall, serving as a cautionary tale for leaders in the AI era,” Geoff Woods writes in The AI-Driven Leader: Harnessing AI to Make Faster, Smarter Decisions.

Nokia was unable to adapt … continue reading

“The secret to success: stop wishing, start doing.” -Steve Jobs… 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

Elon Musk is wicked smart.

“But when he explains technology to consumers he uses language even a sixth-grader can read,” observes Carmine Gallo in his book The Storyteller’s Secret.

“Welcome everyone to the announcement of Tesla Energy.  What I’m going to talk about tonight is a fundamental transformation of how the world works, about how energy is delivered across Earth,” Elon Musk began his remarks about Tesla’s new Powerwall … continue reading

“Follow your passion” is the line most people remember from Steve Jobs famous commencement speech at Stanford University.

The research says Steve got it wrong.

Purpose trumps passion every time, write Chip and Dan Heath in their powerful book The Power of Moments. 

They site a study of high and low performers conducted by University of California, Berkeley professor Morten Hansen who looked at the impact of passion and purpose.… continue reading