One of the best ways to consistently make great decisions is to follow what your internal instincts tell you. I call this “going with your gut.” It’s a voice inside of you that says, “Go for it!” or “Be careful.” or “No way should you do that.” This method of making good choices is so effective that I can’t recall the last time I made a bad decision when I went with my gut was telling me.

Here’s the key point to understand. What your gut tells you is limited to your experience and knowledge on a given subject. The more you know about something, the more accurate your gut will be when looking to it for your final decision…read more

If you’re not a business owner, don’t let the title keep you from reading this post. Remember, we are all entrepreneurs marketing our services to the market place. This lesson has application to all of us who communicate online.

While I have been involved in the social media world for only a short time, picking up on its culture has not been hard to do. In my opinion, social media has brought transparency to every person and business.

The people and businesses that really care about their friends and customers are standing out like a lighthouse at night. At the same time those who are solely focused on themselves and promote their own agenda are stinking like three-day-old fish…read more

One of life’s greatest lessons came to me fairly early in my career. I would often get feedback about the things I said or did that caused offense or people found objectionable. My first reaction was, “If you don’t like it, tough.” But then I thought to myself, “what kind of attitude is that?”

It was then that I learned I should play the odds. In other words, make the decisions that give you the greatest possibility of success…read more

While having lunch with a friend last week, he told me how impressed he was with one of the speakers at a conference he recently attended. Sabriye Tenberken became gradually visually impaired and eventually completely blind by the age of thirteen.

Ms. Tenberken overcame her handicap and went on to achieve great success. During her speech, she said, “If you are going to be successful, your goal must be bigger than your greatest obstacle.” Wow, how true! Think about it…..read more

The #1 reason for my success as an entrepreneur is, I have consistently strived for excellence at the little things that matter in both my personal and professional life. As I have continued to get better day after day, month after month and year after year, the compounding effect of this pursuit of excellence has rewarded me beyond what I could have imagined.

Whether you want to be the best mom in the world, the top sales person in your company or the most successful CEO, it is critical to understand that the level of success you achieve will be determined by how hard you push yourself to grow and improve DAILY…..read more

I have made it a priority throughout my 29-year career to seek feedback from people who can help me improve on a personal and professional level. By being open to constructive criticism and people’s suggestions, I have learned a great deal.

My Experience as a Realtor

I recall a particularly helpful although humbling experience when I was a realtor in the Chicago area. After an elderly couple chose another realtor to sell their home, I called them to ask for their reason. I did this as a matter of course when people declined my services. Their feedback enlightened me. They said, “Todd, you were very professional. You had an impressive presentation and offered lots of unique services, but you did not take the time to listen to us or to show that you cared about us.”….read more

Early in my career I found myself being involved in countless situations that resulted in misunderstandings. My natural reaction was to blame others, rather than accept responsibility. I used to think it was the other person’s fault if he or she did not understand something or explain something properly. After all, how could it be possible that I was at fault?

Then the day came when I made the decision that I would accept 100% responsibility for all misunderstandings in which I am involved. While there have been some painful, costly and frustrating lessons, I have learned something from every misunderstanding and it has made me a better communicator….read more

As the son of a clergyman, I am familiar with the Bible phrase, “The love of money is the root of all evil.” The phrase has been widely quoted by authors, speakers and religious leaders to warn us about what can happen when we place too much emphasis on money.

Yes, I believe the love of money can be the root to evil for some people, but let’s face it; there is a lot of evil that has nothing to do with money.

I certainly realize you can have all the money in the world and not be happy and I’m aware that success is not measured by money alone. But prosperity is an admirable goal. The real issues are people’s reasons for acquiring money and what they do with it, not whether having it is right or wrong…..read more