There are aspects of leadership where you are leading, practically, because you are the loudest voice in a group and everyone else has either decided to (or are forced to) listen to you.   People will listen to the loudest voice in a room but they tend to follow the most confident voice. B eing louder and more confident will set you apart from most people.   A defining trait of a leader is literally being in where you should be   - another way to say this is "showing up."  Showing up looks like...being early/on-time and being "present" in conversations. This is a fundamental part of leadership. A leader is present physically and emotionally...and taking it one step more,  they make decisions.  If there is a group of 5 people and only one person speaks up about what they think is the best plan of attack – they are by default showing leadership characteristics.  It may not be the best plan, but it is currently the only plan. Leaders call o...

There is a certain audacity to hope, faith, and belief. They look at reality - the hard, cold facts - and say, "I don't believe you." Not enough money to make it happen? / "We'll figure it out when we get there." Why did you even apply for this job? You don't have the job history. / "I have similar experience and I know I can do this!" No one is going to invest in that idea - it's never going to work. When you've been sized up, as I have been hundreds of times, and been told your idea is not going to work, you're not good enough, smart enough, or successful enough to do [fill in the blank] - it can be devastating. For me, there have been moments where something rises up inside that says (silently) "I don't believe you." I've looked the cold hard facts of "no" in the eye many times and then turned around and found another way. I did the "impossible" - but really, I just figured out how to ...

Hey, wake up. *Smack, smack*. Come on - open your eyes!  Some mornings do you ever feel like you got hit by a bus? It could be the stress, a lack of hours in bed, or maybe you had a little too much fun and now you're feeling it. Sometimes waking up just sucks. It's moving you from the comfort of blankets, warmth, and the fluffy clouds of a dream...to the feeling of cold hard bathroom floor under your feet. Suddenly "opening your eyes" is a full-on event. Once your eyes are open you "see" the daily tasks that need done, or the needs of your family, which bring life back into focus - and then dang it, it's time to go to work! Moving from sleep to productivity can be jarring. Are you still asleep (but wide awake)? Maybe you've been lulled into an apathetic existence via disappointments or monotony...or knocked into a state of surrender by kids/spouse/job...or you're just tired of it all and want to be left alone. That type of sleep is eve...