As they waited to be called into the courtroom, two men were discussing their jury duty assignments. Both were teachers. Juror #1 relayed how glad he was that he was able to get a substitute and didn’t have to ask the assistant principal to stand in. Juror #2 complained, “The assistant principal at my school couldn’t run my class if she wanted to. She doesn’t even have her teaching credentials!”

Juror #1 sensed that he was about to get an earful so he quickly asked, “Do you by any chance work at Lakeview High School?” Juror #2 said that he did. Juror #1 replied, “You must be talking about Elaine. She’s my wife.”

Talk about an awkward situation! Like Juror #2, too few people realize that what they say and do can offend people and will likely have a ripple effect on their lives. It may be for a week, or it may be for a lifetime…read more

Each of us has our own rulebook. Our rulebooks contain the rules from which we each live our lives and see the world. It includes everything from how we want the toilet paper to unfold on the roller to the things we do when no one is watching. It is the book that governs how we make decisions and influences every part of our lives.

Taking the Rules Test

The truth about all of our rulebooks is they contain things that break the law, go against our religions and violate others trust.  Now before you get all excited thinking “You’re wrong, Todd. I’m not guilty.” Consider these questions…read more

Beginning in the days of World War II and for decades, famed radio broadcaster Paul Harvey shared The Rest of the Story with millions of Americans. After presenting news stories on a variety of factual subjects, he surprised listeners each time with a true ‘twist’ at the very end and concluded with his signature sign off, “And now you know… the rest of the story.”

Although Paul Harvey died in 2009, I can’t help but think of his influence on today’s lesson. There are always two sides to every story, and it benefits us to make sure we know and understand both sides before making a judgment or rendering an opinion.

Whether it’s your best friend complaining about his or her spouse, a co-worker complaining about another employee, or a newspaper columnist writing a political story, just remember, there are always two sides to every story…read more

Today’s post is one of the foundational pillars for Little Things Matter.  Of the more than a thousand comments left below my Web posts—on both this blog and on Facebook, it is clear that most people know the simple, easy little things they need to do, they just don’t do them with consistency.  As my mentor Jim Rohn* said, “What is easy to do is easy not to do.”

Know it—Do it

We know we should listen without interrupting, but we still find ourselves interrupting.  We know we need to finish our projects on time, yet we find ourselves missing deadlines.  We know we should remember someone’s name, but yet we don’t pay attention and forget. We know we should answer that email or return that phone call, yet we keep putting it off….read more

I have heard many powerful quotes during my life, however, there is one that I continue to replay in my mind over and over again. Jim Rohn, my mentor, said, “Success comes from a series of good decisions made over time while failure comes from a series of bad decisions made over time.” The reason I continue to replay that quote is because of its significance.

If you want to live a successful life both personally and professionally, you absolutely must take pride in your decisions. These decisions include everything from the little decisions you make throughout each day as described in Our Lives Are a Mirror Image of the Little Decisions We Make to the big decisions outlined in How to Make a Critical Decision, which includes how Bill Clinton used a mastermind team…read more

According to Wikipedia, creativity is described as a “mental process involving the discovery of new ideas or concepts, or new associations of the existing ideas or concepts, fueled by the process of either conscious or unconscious insight.”  Said in simple terms, it’s thinking outside the box.

In this lesson I am going to share with you my best technique for being creative.  Implementing this strategy throughout my career and personal life has forced me to be innovative when it would have been easier to choose a more standard approach… read more