Podcast 593: Embracing Change From the Inside Out with David Winkelman

My good friend David Winkelman has been working on his new book “Embracing Change from the Inside Out” for last year.  It is a pleasure for me to finally be announcing the book’s release.

In my interview with David we speak about about what he refers to as the “Game Changers” as it relates to “Embracing Change“.

Those game changers start with clarity.  This is the lens that you see the world from, your perspective.  You can either be positive or negative, but when is comes to change the more positive you are the easier it will be to embrace change.

The second of the game changers is connection. This is all about your relationships.  How you are supported by the people around to to embrace change can make a significant difference in your ability to change.

The next game changer are the conditions.  As David states this is a broad category.  This can mean the structure or system that is helping to support the change process, without a structure and system your efforts to change become very challenging at best.

The fourth game changer is motivation.  How motivated are you to change, and what truly motivates and drives you to make change?  Sometimes what we think motivates us to change is really not the motivator.  Identifying your motivators are important for if you can fulfill your internal psychological reason for change you have a better opportunity to succeed.  David speak with us about pattern recognition which is the process whereby we can more easily identify the reasons behind our motivations.

The last game changer is action.  What are the meaningful and effective actions that we can take to make the desired change in our lives.

Everyone reading and listening to this podcast has been faced with some type of change.  We uproot and move, we marry, we divorce, we start up and grow businesses and the list just goes on and on.  The key to all of the change we face is to understand the steps that we move through in the change process and learn how to embrace the process.

I hope you enjoy this wonderful interview with my good friend and author David Winkelman.  If you want more information about David please click here to be directed to his website.

 

Podcast 591: Get A Grip with Mike Paton

I recently sat down to conduct an interview with author Mike Paton about his book entitled “Get A Grip” which is the companion to the bestselling book “Traction”  We discuss both books in this interview, because the content  of “Get A Grip compliments the content in “Traction”.

If you are like most entrepreneurs your daily life is filled with new challenges and opportunities.  It is not an easy job to juggle everything and keep your sanity.  I personally know because I am an entrepreneur and I have worked with hundreds of visionaries with similar challenges .  What I appreciate about “Get A Grip” is that the book provides the reader with tools and practices which if followed will make their life simpler and more efficient.

An important point that Mike Paton makes during our interview , is that many visionaries/entrepreneurs don’t have an integrator in their business.  So just what is an integrator?  This is someone who compliments the visionaries role by who’s role is to guide, direct the organization while seizing the opportunities.

The integrators role is to analyze the P&L, remove obstacles, work on legal and compliance issues and overall handle the daily operations of the business.  A visionary can not operate their business without an integrator.   Now while this may sound obvious to many of you reading this, believe me many businesses have not identified who the integrator is, or they don’t have one and this can lead to chaos.  The visionary is not the right person to be playing this kind of role, nor do they usually have the business acumen for the role of a integrator.

Mike spoke about the Six Key Components  and  the philosophy of EOS Worldwide the company behind both books.  Mike stated that “First is that there is a “Vision” shared by all in the organization, Second is that of “People” putting the right people in the right seats. Third, track the “Issues” keep an issues list. Forth, is Traction to keep momentum you need to have meetings that Mike refers to as “Rocks”, Fifth is Process that is the documentation followed by all.   Sixth and lastly is Data, keep a scorecard and measure the progress of the organization in the critical areas.”

If you are really interested in simplifying your business and being provided with great tools and techniques I highly recommend reading “Get A Grip” and “Traction” both great books on business growth and organization.

To learn more about the processes and tools discuss in “Get a Grip” please click here to be directed to the EOS Worldwide website.

I hope you enjoy this great interview with Mike Paton, author and EOS Worldwide Integrator.

 

Podcast 590: Hustle-The Power to Charge Your Life with Money, Meaning and Momentum with Jonas Koffler

This book is for anyone, it is a book for those who are willing to take charge of their destinies, beat the odds and create opportunity to pursue dreams on their own terms.

I recently sat down to conduct this podcast interview with Jonas Koffler one of three authors that makes up the team who wrote “Hustle-The Power to Charge Your Life with Money, Meaning, and Momentum.”  Hustle addresses the political, social and economic issues that plague the American citizen attempting to have more meaning and money in their lives.

Jonas states “The “American Dream” is not longer about advancement or the acquisition of material possessions–secure job, car, home, family or even social mobility–alone. It is about greater freedom and autonomy to choose one’s own path forward.  The American Dream is more of a DIY creative project than is has ever been, and hustle is the way to achieving it, surfacing one’s talents, capturing luck and opportunity, and leveraging skills and technology into a diversified portfolio of upward optionality.”

The authors definition of “hustle’ has been redefined to mean “Decisive movement toward a goal, however indirect, by which the motion itself manufactures luck, surfaces hidden opportunities, and charges our live with more money, meaning and momentum. “

If you want to change the trajectory of you life I highly recommend reading “Hustle” and listening to this interview.  You can also join the “Hustle’ generation by joining the authors on their quest.

Just click this link to take you to their book landing page.  I hope you enjoy my interview with Jonas Koffler one of the authors of “Hustle“.

 

Podcast 589: Scrappy-A Little Book about Choosing to Play Big with Terri Sjodin

Terri Sjodin is not only a great author, but is scrappy. I recently interviewed her for her new book entitled “Scrappy-A Little Book About Choosing to Play Big“. I am sure that most of you know what scrappy means, but just in case: scrappy is someone who is full of fighting spirit-synonymous with having moxie, being feisty, enthusiastic. So how many of you choose to play big when is comes to trying to meet someone new you really want to meet? Someone that might make a difference if you met them both personally and professionally? Terri’s book is loaded with amazingly courageous people with great stories about how they went the extra mile to meet that someone special, or did something out of the ordinary to capture the attention of their customers or investors.

Terri has three pillars of scrappiness: 1) Attitude 2) Strategy 3) Execution. I know it sounds simple, and it really is–it just takes lots of courage to act on the things in life that can make a significant difference. What is holding you back? Fear and Uncertainty? If so I encourage you to listen to my interview with Terri Sjodin and get yourself a copy of “Scrappy” you will be glad that you did, you just might break a cycle of belief that is holding you back. If you want to learn more about Terri and the book Scrappy just click here. Thanks for listening.

Podcast 587: Creativity Unzipped with Jan Phillips & Ruth Westreich

My good friend Jan Phillips and her co-author Ruth Westreich joined me for this podcast interview about their new book entitled “Creativity Unzipped-Why Your Thoughts Matter“. In my interview with both Jan and Ruth we discuss we discussed how creative blocks are the biggest challenge that any artists, entrepreneur , author or creative person faces.

Jan states “we are hardwired to find creative solutions to complex problems, but there’s a problem with our software–inherited beliefs and cultural conditioning”.  How we develop our beliefs and hold on to them does more to stifle our creativity that almost anything.

This book is different, the message is that you already know everything you need to know to be fully expressed, creative agent.   Jan quotes Meister Eckhart, the German mystic, and he says that the process of enlightenment is one of subtraction, not addition.  To become luminous, we must let go of the darkness, let go of our negative beliefs–luminous is a natural state.

As we proceed in the act of creation, the litmus test is always about authenticity. It is about your voice, your soul, your story coming through this peace. The idea or seed your cultivating has surfaced for a purpose and awaits the originality only you can bring to it.

If you are attempting to tap into your creativity, then I recommend that you read “Creativity Unzipped“.  Jan & Ruth take the reader on a journey that explores the reason for your creative blocks, and provides you with way to tap back into the creative genius that lurks within.

If you want more information about Jan Phillips & Ruth Westreich I recommend that you visit the book website by clicking here.

 

Podcast 586: Simplicity Survival Handbook with Bill Jensen

Bill Jensen is a returning guest to Inside Personal Growth.  This time he joins me to discuss a book he published sometime ago called The Simplicity Survival Handbook.  Simplicity is something that we all need a bit more of in our lives. We have become more inundated with complexity in our world as a result of the speed of transmission of information, and the devices that keep us tethered every minute.   We are spending more time on email, distracted by social media not to mention that the devices are “always on” which leads to us being so distracted that we are not paying attention to our most important relationship–our family.

Simplicity is the power to do less (of what does not matter), simplicity is the power to do more (of what does matter), states Jensen. Bill guides the reader on how to reduce email clutter, write shorter emails, go to fewer meetings, how to quickly communicate with anyone more effectively, how to leave shorter voicemails and much more.

If you are like most technology workers your day is filled with emails, voicemails, texts, meetings and attempting to put out fires and solve problems.  Now this is what you are probably paid to do, but what if you could shift some of those activities to more productive and creative endeavors?  Imagine the value you would bring to your organization, and how much better you would feel everyday.

I encourage you to listen to and implement some of the thirty-two techniques that Bill Jensen writes about in his book “The Simplicity Survival Handbook“.  You can learn more about Bill Jensen by clicking here to be directed to his website.  You can also watch a presentation on the Future of Work Bill did in 2015 by clicking here.

 

Podcast 584: The Selfish Path to Romance with Dr. Edwin Locke

I recently completed an interview with Dr. Edwin Locke the author of a new book entitled “The Selfish Path to Romance“.  In our interview together we explore the objectivist viewpoint of romance.

If you are not familiar with objectivism, it was developed by the famous author Ayn Rand the author of “Atlas Shrugged” and “The Fountainhead“.  The premise behind objectivism is that reality exist independent of consciousness, that individuals have direct contact with reality through sense perception, that one can attain objective knowledge from perception through the process of concept formation and inductive logic, that the proper moral purpose of one’s life is the pursuit of one’s own happiness.

Dr. Locke quotes sex therapist David Schnarch “Expecting your partner to sacrifice for you in the name of love kills marriage, sex, intimacy and love.”  The Selfish Path to Romance” guides the reader through understanding romance in the pursuit of your happiness as is the tenet of objectivism.

Emotions are not the enemy of rationality states Locke.  Honesty is the refusal to fake reality, it is essential to a romantic relationship. Integrity means being loyal to your rational convictions in action. A breach of integrity means acting against your own convictions. Independence is your commitment to think for yourself and to earn your own keep.  Use you own rational judgment when it comes to romance.

These are just a few of the sensible solutions to having a romantic relationship from the viewpoint of an objectivist. I encourage you to listen to this fascinating and enlightening interview with Dr. Edwin Locke.

You can learn more about the book by clicking here to be directed to a Youtube Video by Ellen Kenner the co-author of “The Selfish Path to Romance.”

 

Podcast 583: A New Psychology of Human Well-Being by Richard Barrett

I first met Richard Barrett about 15 years ago at a workshop that he was conducting in San Francisco.  I was intrigued to attend the workshop, for the topic was about “Liberating the Corporate Soul“.  Richard and I have maintained our friendship since our first meeting, and I have followed his evolution and the numerous books he has written over the years since our meeting.

In our interview for this podcast we are focusing on his newly released book entitled ” A New Psychology of Human Wellbeing–An Exploration of the Influences of Ego-Soul Dynamics on Mental and Physical Health.”  Richard did a tremendous amount of research to write this book, but the content is well presented and is very useful in understanding the dynamics of our soul and ego.

Richard references the four dimensions of our souls energetic awareness.  They are body, mind, science and psychology. “Your soul is a field of conscious awareness that identifies with your energy field.  Is is who you are.  You don’t have a soul, you are a soul.  Your soul and the soul of every other human being is an individuated aspect of the universal energy field from which everything in our physical world arises, states Richard”.   Richard was inspired to write this book as a result of reading “Toward a Psychology of Being” by Abraham Maslow.

I hope you enjoy this wonderful interview with author Richard Barrett who is filled with depth, insight and a wonderful grasp about how our ego and soul compete for our desire to become the aware, conscious and alive individuals we are entitled to become.

If you want to learn more about Richard Barrett you can click here to be directed to his website, or click here to be directed to his Facebook page.

 

Podcast 582: The Self Motivation Handbook by Jim Cathcart

What a great new book my good friend Jim Cathcart has written.  I am speaking about the “Self-Motivation” Handbook.

I recently had the opportunity to speak with Jim and discuss some of the highlights of “The Self-Motivation Handbook“, and some of the most revealing themes revolve around 268 one minute lessons in self motivation.

We discussed several of the one minute lessons for this podcast,  here are just a few of the lessons:

#56 “What Makes You Feel Better than Anything?” — As Jim describes it in this lesson it is helping another person, giving of ourselves to others in need.  This is one of the biggest contributions we can make as well as the great feeling we personally get from serving.

#70 Lighten-Up — Stop stressing over the things that only matter to you emotionally.  When life is unfair get over it quickly.  This is a great bit of advice, it does not serve us to spend time being upset and wallowing in the negative energy.  The advice to get over it quickly, and move on it a wonderful way to remove the stress from your life.

#72 The Eight T of Motivation — Here are eight words that begin with T that you can use to motivate yourself and others: 1. Target: Make sure you are clear as to what you are doing and why. 2. Tools: Without the information or equipment to do your job well, you will proceed slowly. 3. Training: Have you accessed the learning that can make you even better at what you do? 4. Time: Has there been enough time for the training to sink in through trial and error? 5. Tracking: As you proceed, be sure that you track your progress and show everyone where they stand. 6. Truth: Get the big picture, and see how everything fits into the overall plan. 7. Touch: Allow for the human factors. Make sure that everyone gets the encouragement and support they need. 8. Trust: Assure that each person is trusted just a bit more than they currently deserve. Allow room for growth, but not so much trust that you put everyone at risk.

What actions will you take on this idea?

I hope you enjoy this interview with Jim Cathcart the author of “The Self-Motivation Handbook“.  If you want more information you can go to Jim’s website by clicking here, or his Facebook Page by clicking here.  He also offers video modules through the Thrive 15 website at www.thrive15.com.