It is the rare leader who is capable of sustaining the strength and conviction of the oak while, at the same time, summoning the ability...

It is the rare person who lives a life of action. What is it then that lies beneath the almost universal aversion to action? In one word,...

The problems and opportunities we face require much more than conventional thinking. They demand that we expose ourselves to a wide range...

What if we were more intentional about the questions we ask? What if instead of the standard questions, we asked ones that are designed...

The path to creating a world of love and kindness will likely be paved by the smallest of steps multiplied by the greatest number of...

When we engage in reductionistic thinking, we do violence to the complexity inherent in each of us. Imagine for a moment that our brains...

In its simple yet profound stillness, dignity moves people to action. And it is the return of dignity that leaves me hopeful for the...

The world we all want is only possible if we have first taken complete responsibility for ourselves. What important truth do very few...

How can a world expect peace when each of us has yet to lay down the weapons inside our own minds and hearts? It has been over a week...

Your primary job as a leader – in your family, community, or career – is to lower anxiety. Period. Your primary job as a leader – in your...

Great cultures are ones that are distinctive, meaning they should be right for certain employees and not for others. In a week dominated...

Leaders who live and lead with love and performance are those who have cultivated the capacity to attain states of emotional self-mastery...

Why aren’t there more Federers and Nadellas? Because it’s hard work leading with virtue and character. This past Saturday, three...

If you grew up in the 1970s and 1980s as I did, you likely did so on a steady diet of relatively limited television content. There was no...

In a world that is overwhelmed and exhausted, Dr. King’s lesson is as relevant today as it was over fifty years ago. To inspire ourselves...

The new year represents an opportunity to discover an atelic activity – one with no aim other than the joy of the activity itself. I love...

Over the holidays, my family and I had the chance to see the Tony-winning adaptation of A Christmas Carol in San Francisco's Golden Gate...

The end of the year presents each of us with a fundamental choice. Will you let life happen to you? Or will you lean in to help shape...

It is said that the two most important days of your life are the day you were born and the day you find out why. The saying speaks to the...

At key strategic inflection points, “firing yourself” is essential. It allows you to step outside the constraints of your existing...

A simple word or turn of phrase can transform what’s possible. One of my favorite Thanksgiving traditions is my morning walk with my now...

Regular readers of this weekly blog are undoubtedly familiar with my interest in Stoicism. From time to time, I will explicitly write...

I am in control of the meaning I give to the words someone utters, and my emotional response is the consequence of that meaning I choose,...

If you're looking for what you can do to make a difference, there may be no better act than to be kind. A few weeks ago, Northern...

All great leaders have realized that real change begins, and often is sustained, by taking responsibility for altering the conditions...

What does it mean to live the good life? Living your life consistent with what it is that you want to be remembered for may be the best...

Exceptional cultures are not right for everyone. And they remain exceptional to the degree that its leaders are willing to make difficult...

Today, the world needs courage at a time when it seems to be in short supply. This year's Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to two...

The leadership failures over the last three decades have largely been failures of vision. In every case, leaders missed the opportunity...

Understanding your past gives you access to the programming that runs you. With access, you can rewrite the code of your underlying...

There are moments in time during which one experiences a deep sense of certainty that cannot be logically defended but nonetheless is...

We need both doing and being in our lives. We become fully alive when we are powerfully generative (i.e., doing) and deeply present...

We’re overwhelmed and exhausted. This is the almost universal complaint I hear from the business leaders I work with. There are, of...

Deep friendships have the unmistakable quality of being immutable. At the same time, they demand to be treated as fragile, never to be...

We don’t have to look far for examples of people who have achieved extraordinary things. It is the “ordinary” person, often right in...

Last week was a bit of a dream come true for me. I had a chance to see the first live appearance (since the start of the pandemic) of my...

If nothing else, these Olympics were yet another reminder that records are meant to be broken. That the limits these records seem to...

Life is shaped not so much by the incredible accomplishments you achieve. Nor is it determined by the disappointments and failures you...

Extraordinary leaders regularly ask one very powerful question, “What am I doing or not doing that is inconsistent with the very things...

As I write this, I’m not feeling physically great. I’ve been under the weather for the better part of a week. I considered skipping this...

I’ve come to believe that the ecstatic feeling of mastery is not reserved for the few talented people in the world that receive...

We have unconsciously slipped into the trap of choosing between a love for the exceptional qualities of our country and the...

While there is still much more work to be done, I’m proud of how far this country has come in its views on sexual and gender orientation....

As we continue to fight for our freedom, we must not forget that each of us is also individually imprisoned by a set of psychological...

For the past couple of years, I have been consistently embracing a practice that many of the ancient traditions observed – to treat every...

At its core, leadership is about the ability to leverage paradox. There are five polarities that are critical to effective leadership....

By judging, we deprive others of what is, next to love, perhaps the most universal of human needs – to be seen. It is only by seeing...

Our expectations of others can have a significant impact. But it is self-expectation that makes the biggest difference. So much of your...

Acts of defiance are desperately needed right now. Yet, they seem unfortunately to be in short supply. Nothing ever truly great is...

How can I live such that each day I can say my time remaining will be even richer than the sum total of all that I have already lived?...