Have you ever been stuck on an important project? You have a big idea, you know it’ll be great for your business or personal life, but you can’t get moving? Yeah, happens to me all the time, too. Missing our goals isn’t a great feeling. As we approach the end of the year, it’s natural […]

Culture is a growth strategy, but it’s among the most underutilized. Here are 4 reasons it’s essential to intentionally develop culture.

As we celebrate the Full Focus Planner’s 5-year anniversary, we reflect on the journey and offer 3 key insights about successful innovation.

Constraints liberate and empower us to achieve more. Here are 3 ways constraints actually work in our favor.

The cult of overwork suggests we should always be busy. But that means we miss the creative benefits of stepping away.

When you invest time in a hobby, you gain a greater level of clarity, creativity, and various health benefits—and ultimately improve the quality of your work.

Here are 3 key benefits of prioritizing self-care that will drive your success at work as well. 

I have worked with authors for more than three decades. Based on my observations, here are 7 characteristics that separate the highly successful ones from the others.

Creativity is not some remote and solitary island. Each day, from the studios of legendary visual effects outfit Industrial Light & Magic to the conference rooms of ad agencies to the mission control rooms of NASA, teams of people come together to conceptualize, develop, and realize innovations in everything from movies to public policy. Yet […]

At this point in my career, I’ve sold a lot of books. But I was hardly an overnight success. First came work in publishing and agenting. I learned how book sales worked—and didn’t work—well before I published a word of my own. I want to use my experience here to puncture a thought bubble I […]

The economist Tyler Cowen says the last few decades have seen the rise of what he calls the complacent class. It may not seem like it, but the numbers show people are sticking with jobs longer, relocating rarely, and innovating less. In the midst of this complacency, there’s tremendous opportunity available for the non-complacent. I […]

Leadership and entrepreneurial breakthroughs depend on creativity. But we don’t always feel very creative, do we? Thankfully, research suggests we all have access to the kind of creativity we need to get the results we want—even if you don’t feel especially creative. Last week I went fly fishing on Hesse Creek in East Tennessee. Nothing […]

A year after the New York Times published a brutal exposé on Amazon’s 24/7, on-the-job culture, the retail giant announced it was experimenting with a thirty hour workweek for some of its employees. As far as I’m concerned, this is great news. When I talk with entrepreneurs, executives, and other leaders, I regularly hear they’re […]

The weekend gives most of us the chance to downshift and recharge. But how often do we seize on it to catch up or get ahead on our work instead? If researchers are right, more than ever before. Not only are we working more hours on the weekend, we’re cramming the time with more chores, […]

Is there anything more frustrating than trying to accomplish a big goal with someone who’s negative, unimaginative, and defensive? Thankfully, it’s been a while since I’ve tried. But I’ve had my share in the past, and I can tell you that nothing will kill an organization’s productivity and vision like a can’t-do person. But if […]

Everyone knows the old line from the real estate business, “Location, location, location!” But did you know it can have a direct impact on your professional success and satisfaction? I’ve lived just outside Nashville for almost thirty years. It’s been a major center for the music business for decades, but Nashville is now a major […]

If you want to find more creativity, satisfaction, and happiness, the single best solution I know is adding more art to your life. Music has been a big part of my life since I was a young boy, though my tastes have broadened a lot since I was first learning chords on my guitar. I […]

The best decisions often don’t come out of two choices, but out of a better, third one. In this guest post, Jeremy Statton explains how to find it.

A South African friend asked, “Do you know what the most valuable land in the world is? It’s the graveyard, because with all of those people are buried unfulfilled dreams, unwritten novels, masterpieces not created, businesses not started, relationships not reconciled. THAT is the most valuable land in the world.”

According to author Jason Fried, work rarely happens at work. Instead, it typically happens outside the office. How can we take advantage of this fact?

Where do the great ideas come from in your organization? The short answer is anywhere. They can come from at least four sources. More important, there are specific things you can do to ensure your organization nurtures and harvest’s the best ideas.

The bigger and more successful you become, the easier it is to rest on your creative laurels. This is one of the things I have really admired about Apple. They keep pushing the envelope. I don’t think this happens by accident. Someone there is doing a lot of thinking about how to encourage and reward creative thinking.

Most of us don’t spend enough time thinking. We are so busy doing that we have, I fear, almost forgotten how to think. Yet it is our thinking, more than any other single activity, that influences our outcomes.