Again and again I therefore admonish my students in Europe and America: Dont aim at success the more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side effect of ones personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of ones surrender to a person other than oneself. Happiness must happen, and the same holds for success: you have to let it happen by not caring about it. I want you to... Read More

Love takes off the masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within. I use the word love here not merely in a personal sense but as a state of being, or a state of grace not in the infantile American sense of being made happy but in the tough and universal sense of quest and daring and growth. James Baldwin Let us not love in word or speech but in deed and in truth John 3:18 Im back! 28 hours of travel to get home yesterday and it was worth the pain. Great training experience in... Read More

Some aspects of success are less obvious than others and often show up in seemingly minor attitudes, habits and behaviors. My books, speeches, recorded programs and executive coaching work all stress the importance of building extraordinary relationships in order to live an extraordinary life. Heres the context: Relationships are built on trust and trust is built on a number of Ill trust you if you _________ sentence completions. One of those fill in the blanks is Ill trust you if you keep your agreements. Heres the personally... Read More

Let us be grateful to people who make us happy. They are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom. Marcel Proust A lot of my work is focused around encouraging people to live and make their choices irrespective of the events and environments of their lives. This doesnt change a reality of being human: we are social animals and the people with whom we surround ourselves really matter. So the lesson here is obvious surround yourself personally and professionally with people that make you happy and acknowledge them... Read More

John F. Kennedy was quoted as saying "There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long range risks of comfortable inaction. It is only by being in action that we can create the results we want in life, including the creation of an extraordinary life experience and results. What keeps you from taking action? Generally it's because you try to be reasonable. You think it through. You stick your toe in the water. You check out how others react. All very reasonable steps to take and I'm certainly not advocating... Read More

We must dare to think 'unthinkable' thoughts. We must learn to explore all the options and possibilities that confront us in a complex and rapidly changing world. We must learn to welcome and not to fear the voices of dissent. We must dare to think about 'unthinkable things' because when things become unthinkable, thinking stops and action becomes mindless. J. William Fulbright Wow! My awareness of the late Senator Fulbright has always been narrowed to the scholarship program named after him. Clearly, speaking of awareness, he can... Read More

A quick review: Many leaders have a gap between their current realities personally and professionally and the results they want to produce for themselves, their families, organizations and communities. My approach to closing the gap involves a deeper understanding and practice of three key qualities awareness, responsibility and communication. In Part One we explored the gaps; in Part Two we looked deeply into developing an enhanced state of noticing, greater awareness. Once Ive gained new insights through greater awareness, taking... Read More

The movie Forrest Gump begins and ends with Forrest, a man of limited measurable intelligence and unlimited wisdom, wondering aloud about whether our lives turn out they way they do through our choices or is it fate? His conclusion, of course is a little of both as famously captured in his Mothers oft repeated life is just a box of chocolates. Author Simone Weil says that Liberty, taking the word in its concrete sense, consists in the ability to choose. Does freedom of choice really exist? Are we really the authors of our own lives? Or... Read More

"Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much because they live in the grey twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat." Theodore Roosevelt Take Risks is one of my Eight Principles for Success and Teddy Roosevelt captures the spirit of risk taking in this quote and in the way he lived his incredible life story. Being risk averse is hard wired into us. Thousands of... Read More

I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious." - Albert Einstein The above quote headlined one of my recent Extraordinary Minute offerings and generated a fascinating response from graduate and friend Michael Cushman. I asked for and received his permission to publish it I think you youll enjoy his thoughts on curiosity. -Robert White I think curiosity is underrated. A while back, I interviewed a man who led an amazing life. I asked about his accomplishments and adventures,... Read More