Just when you think the country is hopelessly divided, something bigger than politics shows up and dumps four feet of rain on millions of people.

Nothing unites more than a tragedy.

People automatically rise to the occasion and help each other above everything else including their own precarious situations.

There are two kinds of problems.

Thing problems and people problems.

The damage from a hurricane is largely a thing problem which can be fixed eventually although there is always an underlying psychological component.

People problems are worse.

The death of a loved one, loss of any kind, hurt and pain.

Out of bad comes good as we have seen in tragedies such as the recent Houston and Gulf states flooding.

When at a loss for words to grasp the evil of it all, remember the first responders.

They are the light that never goes out among humans.

Subscribe to these Day Starters for free here.

Share them with friends and family by forwarding this email or posting to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media with my permission.

Read my book Out of Bad Comes Good, The Advantages of Disadvantages here.

Don’t want to get these emails anymore?  Unsubscribe below.

Imagine spending every morning devoted on how you can make other people your focus.

Listen to them.

Be less judgmental.

Try to offer help.

Make it about them and not you.

Then in the afternoon, spend your time introspectively making sure that you are living the life you want to live and not living someone else’s plan for you.

At night, focus on friends and family.

Greet loved ones every night as if you are just returning from a two-week business trip away from them.

Phone off – and put away.

100% attention to the people closest to you that matter most.

It’s impossible to make positive change by repeating the things that discourage it.

Wake up focused on others.

The middle of the day is for making sure you are living the life you want to live.

The night 100% present with family and or friends.

Subscribe to these Day Starters for free here.

Share them with friends and family by forwarding this email or posting to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media with my permission.

Read my book Out of Bad Comes Good, The Advantages of Disadvantages here.

Don’t want to get these emails anymore?  Unsubscribe below.

How can you motivate someone without giving them a goal?

Threats work in the short term then fall on deaf ears.

Failure to clearly define a goal results in spotty results.

Money is perhaps the worst motivator because while everyone wants more, it is too vague to bring out the best effort over the long term.

The best motivator for others or yourself is to clearly see in your mind’s eye the goal before you.

Not more money, what that money will bring you that makes you work harder. 

Not more prestige, see vividly what is on your business card. 

Not a promotion, but what that promotion will mean if you get it. 

Achievers may make a lot of money but in truth they are motivated by a whole lot more.

What if you thought about your number one and number two goals today, can you see vividly what they will do for your life or just what they will get you?

Subscribe to these Day Starters for free here.

Share them with friends and family by forwarding this email or posting to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media with my permission.

Read my book Out of Bad Comes Good, The Advantages of Disadvantages here.

Don’t want to get these emails anymore?  Unsubscribe below.

Do one thing differently today.

Smile at everyone you come in contact with whether you know them or not.

I promise, it works.

Say nothing, just be the first to smile and ask no more – move on.

Smiling is empowering because for the most part, the positive chance happens within us no matter what response we get.

Forget that smiling people are more engaging and come off friendlier.

That often, a smile is returned.

Sometimes you even enter into conversation but that is not the goal to transform yourself into the smiler-in-chief.

It is to feel the power of positivity every time you glance at another human being emerge from your being.

Also, it works in meetings.

How many times have you attended a meeting when the leader walks in with a sour face?

Dread!

Imagine what a smile would do before the first words are spoken.

Subscribe to these Day Starters for free here.

Share them with friends and family by forwarding this email or posting to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media with my permission.

Read my book Out of Bad Comes Good, The Advantages of Disadvantages here.

Don’t want to get these emails anymore?  Unsubscribe below.

It’s odd that we can be lonely in the midst of many people or in a relationship gone wrong.

It’s more ironic that one of the best ways to deal with loneliness is to first become your own best friend.  We spend too little time tending to the business of nurturing ourselves in more meaningful ways.

Lonely people cannot find a pill to cure it, but by offering their humanity to others and asking nothing in return, the pain is incrementally less.  To crave friendship from others makes us needier and lonelier.

Happiness comes from giving your presence and not craving that of another.

Just as psychiatrists have found that focusing on gratitude relieves depression so it is that directing your friendship to others without craving it in return makes you happier.

Subscribe to these Day Starters for free here.

Share them with friends and family by forwarding this email or posting to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media with my permission.

Read my book Out of Bad Comes Good, The Advantages of Disadvantages here.

Don’t want to get these emails anymore?  Unsubscribe below.

Anxiety is reported to be the number one problem among women and men between the ages of 19 and 35.

It’s serious stuff.

Repeat after me:

I’m worried, uneasy and nervous which makes me human 

10 deep breaths make me feel better 

My magic mantra is: “I’ve dealt with this before and I will do it again” 

Solving anxiety is not as important as owning it

99% of my fears will never come true so I am going to put them in their place 

Every fear gives me a chance to gain a new confidence – I’m not afraid 

Repeat: “Do the thing you fear to do and the fear will go away from you” 

Subscribe to these Day Starters for free here.

Share them with friends and family by forwarding this email or posting to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media with my permission.

Read my book Out of Bad Comes Good, The Advantages of Disadvantages here.

Don’t want to get these emails anymore? Unsubscribe below.

Dress in a way that expresses your personality.

Wear humility like it is your favorite outfit.

Your quirks are someone else’s fascination. 

Being vulnerable is not a negative.  It makes you human and attractive. 

Different is the new popular. 

Confidence is best achieved by first giving a helping hand or a sympathetic ear to another. 

Your best comes out when it’s all about them and not you.

Print out and memorize.

Subscribe to these Day Starters for free here.

Share them with friends and family by forwarding this email or posting to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media with my permission.

Read my book Out of Bad Comes Good, The Advantages of Disadvantages here.

Don’t want to get these emails anymore?  Unsubscribe below.

Why don’t we take pleasure in putting people together?

Usually the person who keeps his or her friends to themselves is jealous and self-centered.  My friends, not yours.

The best parties are thrown by people who mix and match their acquaintances with each other.

Being left out of a meeting is a common insult at workplaces but inviting others who are not specialists in the area of discussion can be a stroke of genius.  It also promotes good will and camaraderie.

Left out of a friend’s circle can be painful because humans want to be accepted.

When families exclude, they are asking for more drama.

When friends leave other friends out of the various aspects of their life, their lives are not as rich and their friendships not as deep and rewarding.

To combat being left out, double down on including others into your world.  It is in giving that we receive the most satisfaction and help in forgetting the selfishness of others.

Subscribe to these Day Starters for free here.

Share them with friends and family by forwarding this email or posting to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media with my permission.

Read my book Out of Bad Comes Good, The Advantages of Disadvantages here.

Don’t want to get these emails anymore?  Unsubscribe below.

Try to lose 5 pounds a week and it won’t be long before the weight loss slows down and the pounds start piling on in a day.

It’s too much too soon and it never produces a happier, healthier person over the long term.

Hit the office with grand plans to make a big difference today and don’t be surprised if you go home disappointed and demoralized tonight.

There’s so much to do, the magic is in knowing exactly what matters most.

Humans are capable of big plans but subject to too many goals.

And we thought having more goals was the answer to success at least if we read motivational books or follow TED talks.

It’s the other way around.

One goal, one focus and 100% effort is what brings success.

Our skills are best devoted to deciding what that one goal each day, each month, each year and for our one lifetime deserves our full focus.

We have enough motivation.

We have the skills.

We need to work on being more specific about that one thing that we must relentlessly pursue.

Losing one pound a week equals as much as 52 a year, quite considerable and the best chance to be maintainable.

One goal at the office that you can verbalize in a phrase – not a long sentence – is the secret to igniting our latent capabilities that bring success and happiness.

Fewer goals.  More focused goals.

Subscribe to these Day Starters for free here.

Share them with friends and family by forwarding this email or posting to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media with my permission.

Read my book Out of Bad Comes Good, The Advantages of Disadvantages here.

Don’t want to get these emails anymore?  Unsubscribe below.

That’s the average and it’s too much. 

The phone has become our life and not a tool for a better life.

Any excuses for not taking action today will only make it worse.  Distracted parents, unhappy children, a lack of innovation. 

IBM was the leader in working from home and has now reversed its policy requiring employees to show up at the office.  Not because they didn’t work, but because the quality of the absentee interaction was so low. 

It’s not like we can’t make a dent in 150 distractions a day. 

• Stop looking at the phone in the car. 
• And during commercials or in waiting rooms where we could be interacting with others live and in real time. 
• Seriously restrict notifications (The Wall Street Journal may want to tell you the worst and best wines at Costco, which it sent to me, but it can wait). 
• Separate from the phone several times a day.  It doesn’t need to be in your hand all the times.  We can learn to rely on it less. 
• Avoid the black hole of social media.  Facebook, Instagram and others are just begging you to go deeper, spy and chew up your precious time. 
• Put apps that get you information quickly (like weather, news, traffic, etc.) on page one of your phone’s screen.  Put black hole apps in a folder on the last screen.

Anyone who believes that in this digital age we have little control over how distracted we are could start with the above. 

Subscribe to these Day Starters for free here. 

Share them with friends and family by forwarding this email or posting to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media with my permission. 

Read my book Out of Bad Comes Good, The Advantages of Disadvantages here. 

Don’t want to get these emails anymore?  Unsubscribe below.