Ancient Formations, Modern Teamwork

This weekend, I read Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield. The book tells the story of the Battle of Thermopylae from the perspective of a captive Greek, Xeones. I love stories that glorify heroic battles; two of my favorite movies are 300, about this very battle, and…

8 Best Practices for Building a Collaborative Team

When Eric Wise, founder and Chief Academic Officer of The Software Guild (TSG), and I first started talking about combining The Learning House, Inc. and TSG, we discovered we were aligned on many of the key objectives and values. One of the…

I Achieved My 20X…And So Can You

What Is 20X?

Creating Resiliency: The Backbone of a Good Life

“Of all the virtues we can learn, no trait is more useful, more essential for survival, and more likely to improve the quality of life than the ability to transform adversity into an enjoyable challenge.” — Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (author of…

Finding the Opportunity in Obstacles

“The obstacle in the path becomes the path. Never forget that within every obstacle is an opportunity to improve our condition.” — Zen Parable

When I was a senior in high school, I printed out and put on my wall a sign that said: “Pain…

Developing a Growth Mindset

I just finished Mindset: The New Pyschology, by Carol Dweck, and I want to share some of the findings from…

What Is Your BHAG?

Two weeks ago at an education conference for board of trustee members, I had the great privilege of listening to the renowned author, Jim Collins. I felt like I was drinking from the fire hose listening to his words and passion, so bear with me as I attempt to summarize what he said. For those…

Daring Greatly: Why Accessing Vulnerability Is Critical to Our Success

“It’s not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.

Imagining A Complaint-Free World

“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude. Don’t complain.” -Maya Angelou

Many years ago, I read “The Power of Now,” a book by Eckhart Tolle that in many ways started me on my journey of self-discovery…