Tag: Impact

Leadership Books

The Last Lecture
The Last Lecture

I get it. There is only so much a person can read. We can’t do it all. Right there with you. And, many of us received new books as gifts recently.

What books changed your life last year?

There were a few for me.  Two had significant impact.

Up first, The Last Lecture, by Randy Pausch.  Randy was a Carnegie Mellon computer science professor, in his mid-40’s.  He had a wife and three children under the age of six.

Then he got pancreatic cancer.

To paraphrase what I heard Randy say:

This isn’t a book about dying. It’s a book about living.

It isn’t a book for you and me. It is a book for Randy Pausch’s children.

How did this book change my life?

It is in living in the moment that makes us great leaders. Doing things – things that matter – with a heightened sense of urgency has changed my life.  I’ll tell you why tomorrow.

Better and Happier

It's Your Choice
It's Your Choice

“Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier.” — unknown

That’s all there is to say today.

Not really. But I’m gonna zip it and hopefully the quote will plant a seed of greatness in your soul and your work this coming year – it’s only two days away.

Number One Reason

Last weekend, my son (9) and I were relaxing in our pool at sunset.  I asked him, “You know why I’m working so hard on the business, right”?

“In case you lose your job”?, he said, questioning.

“Well sort of, but not really because of that.  I would like to have more control over the impact one can make on our world.  Being a business owner doesn’t guarantee that, but it sure does increase the odds”.

Reminded him of the power of hard work and how it’s harder at the beginning, in virtually everything, because there’s so much to learn.

Funny thing, for a nine-year old, he gets it.  And it’s easy to see why.

When his Dad became a parent, he worked really hard at the beginning, because there was so much to learn.

PS.  What I didn’t tell him is the “business” is my attempt to help raise enough money to find a cure for his disease.