Do you want your team to love you? Do you want them to work hard and feel good about what they do? Do you want them to tell their friends how great their work is? Of course you do.

I once helped organize an event that had over 30,000 people attend. It was so big that it took place in an NFL stadium. Although I was overseeing the promotion of this event, it was the team I was working with that made it the success it was.

It might have been easy to take the credit, but the reality was my team did a lot of work and made sacrifices for our success.

Here are 2 little things you can do to support your team towards success:

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When we put the time and work into preparing, we immediately reap the benefit of confidence. When we are prepared, we are confident. Preparation breads confidence.

When we are confident, we can communicate clearly and make better decisions.

When I get the chance to speak on stage, I find myself battling nerves. Nerves are a good thing because they keep you sharp and force you to be prepared.

I know this is true because when I get up to speak and I am well prepared, I feel a lot less nerves. I can get up on stage, shake out the butterflies and Continue Reading…

Last week I was driving down the highway when all of a sudden the car in front of me veered over to the other lane. In that moment all my drivers education training flashed into my mind!

I saw a family of ducks in the middle of a 3 lane high way

I moved over to the next lane, barley missing the family of ducks.

Then I peered into my rearview mirror and noticed Continue Reading…

Over the past few months I have become increasingly interested in the life of Abraham Lincoln. I have done some reading and because of the recent movie I was able to better understand the look and feel of the day and the pressures he faced.

We can all become better leaders by studying Abraham Lincoln.

Along the way I have learned a few things that made Lincoln a great person and leader. I feel these are lessons for each of us.

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Frustration occurs when we get less than what we expected.

When I rent a car, I never get frustrated when they tell me they are all out of economy class and I have to get an upgrade to a sports car. Frustration sets in when I order large fries and I only get a medium!

Frustration is more than unmet expectations. When I receive a free upgrade my expectations are surpassed and I feel the opposite of frustrated. I feel blessed, excited and surprised.

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I love to get work done. I find I am most productive when I can spend focused time on one task and dig in.

I enjoy seeing things get done, knowing progress is being made and that meaningful work is happening.

So when I get interrupted, I can get annoyed. When you are really being productive you don’t want to stop, that would seem like a waste of momentum! What I have had to learn is that these interactions can be opportunities, not just interruptions.

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I often hear of people who fight speeding tickets. They book a court date and try somehow to get the ticket dismissed or the fine lowered.

The reality is, the only time I have ever been pulled over by a cop was when I was driving my friend’s car in Texas.

I was driving down a dark high way late at night when all of a sudden there were cop lights flashing behind me.

The headlight was out. “Yes – Mr. scary Texas trooper- this is my friends car.”

I got off with a warning.

There are many loop holes and tactics you can take. Here is my non-professional legal advice.

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Meetings seem to be an essential part of most people’s lives. No matter what we do in life we have to meet with someone to get something done!

It can be very frustrating to sit through a meeting and wonder why you are there, while thinking of all the things you could be getting done instead.

Nonetheless, meetings are important. They allow us to collaborate, brainstorm and plan. They allow us to cast vision, communicate expectations and receive feedback. All are very important parts of any organization.

As a leader, meetings help you stay connected with your team members, making the time you spend with them more effective.

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When it’s time to start something new, it’s always great to have someone to look up to and walk along side. Life is too short to try to figure everything out on our own.

We each need mentors in our lives. I have many mentors I haven’t met yet. Michael Hyatt is one of them.

Last summer it was time for me to start something I had been wanting to do for a long time…it was time to start my blog.

I was listening to Dave Ramsey’s EntreLeadership podcast and heard an interview with Michael Hyatt. I knew at that moment what my next book would be!

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I have the key to gain more muscle and increase strength. Now, if you have ever seen me, you know I don’t use the key! I’m no weakling, but I am by no means the guy at the gym everyone is intimidated by.

In fact when I go to the gym, I keep my head down and try to remember all the things I learned in my senior year of high school about how to grip the bar and to keep my back straight.

The key to muscle growth is to lift a bit more weight before you plateau.

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