We can be addicted to drugs, alcohol, work, sex, food, spending money we don’t have by shopping. 

We can even become addicted to religion.

For many years Alcoholics Anonymous has been a fabulous resource for many people looking to overcome their addictions.

But the essence of changing a life around is one word.

Choice.

At some point, if we’re really serious about dealing with our problems, we have to make a choice – a decision, a new plan to forge ahead.

And when we’re tempted to go back, we have to constantly remember that life isn’t living us, we are living life – in other words, we are knowingly making a choice.

This concept goes beyond addiction.  It also applies to success and happiness.

We may be downtrodden, but we have a choice to fight back.

We may have gotten the worst break and our lives are off track, but it is up to us if we are going to focus on the one thing that will bring us back – the choice.

When people allow their lives to go bad, they cannot fix it with co-dependent people surrounding them.

They need to face up to the fact that if they don’t make a choice, their lives will never change.

Choice is a freeing thing.

But it is also, an instant confidence builder. 

Finally resolve the issues that you have been wrestling with – choose a path – and just the act of making that choice will palpably make you feel more confident and happy.

You’ve heard of unemployment – actually, it seems like we’ve heard nothing but that for years.

And there is “over-qualified” which is usually said when we don’t get the job we want when we have more than enough skills to do.

But have you ever heard of under-employment?

That’s what Millennials are facing as they come of age in an economy that doesn’t offer the promise that their parents had when they first entered the workforce.

Actually, Millennial parents are facing under-employment as well because business experts say that if a person loses their career after the age of 50, it may be the last career job they ever have.

The cure for under-employment is redeployment.

Adapt to the new world.  Go back to school.  Chase another dream.

Here is what I advise audiences when I speak on this topic:

1.  Make a list of 5 things that you would like to do with your life without regard to your education, experience or current position.

2.  You may not put anything to do with your current field of work on that list – after all, we’re looking to stretch ourselves here.

3.  Resist the temptation to leave something off that list because you are not trained for it or because you think you’re too young or too old.

4.  Take as much time as you need to come up with 5 viable ideas.  If you can throw this list together in one day, throw the list out.  This takes forethought.

What you will find is that if you’re an orthopedic surgeon and tired of practicing medicine, you may want to go into fashion.

That’s exactly what Taryn Rose, M.D. did – she left medicine to design comfortable and fashionable shoes for women and men.  

Are you willing to stretch yourself to find a new beginning?

And it’s never too late – as Colonel Sanders found out when he founded his fast food business well past middle age.

The “secret recipe” to surviving under-employment is to transcend what the marketplace has to offer us at any given time and get to what we have to offer now.


A friend that I respect told me several months ago that I was letting other people live my life.

He had to be a good friend to say that to me, right?

But what he told me has reordered my life and I would like to tell you about it.

We can get advice from others – sometimes good advice, sometimes not so good.

We can get help from those around us.

We can hear reality checks like the man who told a successful entrepreneur I know, “Are you sure you want to take this risk?”  Years later this man marveled at what the entrepreneur accomplished.

But the one thing we must never do is let anyone tell us what we can or cannot accomplish.

You’re never too young to achieve success.

You’re never too scared to take a prudent risk.

We don’t get to outsource our dreams to another person because they are our dreams and no one will ever see them the way we do.


I heard recently Friday of a man who was diagnosed with incurable cancer who was told in no uncertain terms to get his affairs in order.

So, he gave his money away to loved ones and braced himself for the inevitable.

That was 9 years ago!

This man is still alive and now “broke”, as he jokes.

Doctors must be honest but they must never take away hope because without hope men and women cannot face another day.

I have not been able to get this story out of my mind because in so many ways we tend to become despondent about the future when adversity strikes and, wouldn’t you agree, terminal cancer is about as hopeless as it gets?

The reality is that there is always hope.

People overcome all sorts of odds every day.  Even divorce, unemployment, health issues and unrealized dreams can be salvaged.

So, two things this morning:

1.  Give yourself hope that you can overcome all odds because it is amazing what hope can do.

2.  Give the gift of hope to someone else – a child, a friend, a person down and out in the face of adversity.

Hope is the fuel that keeps us going.

If you want to be popular, find ways to say yes as much as possible.

Want to sell more things?  Get to yes and avoid no.

One important caveat:  never promise what you cannot deliver or it will be the shortest popularity contest you ever won.

But what about no?

There is a time to stop saying yes.

• When your boundaries are breached.  Anyone that pushes you to a place where you are uncomfortable or abuses you gets an immediate, firm and non-retractable “no”.  Period.
• “I Don’t” works better than “I Can’t”.   “I don’t” is a sign of affirmation, an affirmation of willpower.  I can’t is restricting and really isn’t a choice so it tends to undermine our power.  
• Say “No” to something instead of somebody.  If possible, direct the no to the deed and not the person unless the message is not getting through.

Often we look for complex things to help us in our relationships with others.

But sometimes we are empowered when we use “yes” as much as possible when we want to help someone and “no” when we need to protect ourselves and our boundaries.

There you have it – something I think is worth sharing with the people you care about most.

If there is a topic you’d like me to address tell me about it here.

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Sleep more.

Easy to say, not always easy to do.

Negative thoughts get processed by one part of the brain (the amygdala, to be precise) and positive thoughts are processed by a separate part of the brain (hippocampus).  But when we become sleep deprived, the hippocampus takes the brunt and we focus on negative thoughts instead of happy ones.

In one experiment outlined in the book Nature Shock sleep deprived college students tested could remember 81% of words with negative connotations (like “cancer”) but only 31% of words that were positive or neutral.

Other studies show we overreact to negative emotions and fear when we need more sleep.

Sleep is one tough project, but here are some things that I would like to share that have helped me tremendously. 

• Sleep with an app.  My wife discovered that the new Philadelphia Eagles coach Chip Kelly told his players to download an app called Lark and buy the watchband that they would wear to clock their sleep every night.  It communicates by Bluetooth and reports on the quality of sleep, duration, disturbances and gives hints on how to improve it.
• Sleep 7-8 Hours nightly.  I refused.  Said I couldn’t do it until I had to face that app every morning and slowly but surely started averaging sleep in the healthy range.  There is no getting around it, we humans all need 7-8 hours of sleep a night no matter how we say we can get by without it.
• Wake up no more than 10 times a night.  As Lark teaches, if you awaken more than 10 times nightly – even without being aware of it – you may need to see a doctor about sleep apnea, a major disruptor of good healthy sleeping.

I have no financial interest in Lark and there are certainly lots of other alternatives out there, but one thing is for sure.  If we take a methodical, positive approach to improving our sleep, it can be the best happiness pill in the world.

If you decide to focus on sleep, I’d love to know your experiences.  Good luck – Jerry

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Dale Carnegie said it best when he said, “When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but creatures of emotion”.

If we all could just be more logical life would be easier.

But we are creatures of emotion and that requires a different approach.

• Compare beliefs and attitudes plus personal quirks with others.  This is the best way to see how your style conflicts with others.
• React objectively and without emotion.  Difficult people are easier to handle in situations where we are not stirring up emotions needlessly.
• Bring conflict into the open.  When conflict exists but is suppressed, it is more monumental to deal with than when the facts are laid out in the open.
• Negotiate differences with others.  Deals aren’t the only things that can be negotiated.  If you’re willing to compromise, even difficult people cannot resist a good deal.
• Adjust your behavior.  When we find ourselves frequently in conflict due to difficult personalities of others, we must also have the courage to look to ourselves and where we can alter behavior.

This advice from Roberta Cava says it all:  “You can’t control other people’s behavior, but you can control your responses to it” and we’ll never run out of opportunities to practice — Jerry

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It’s natural to want to keep doing that which works for us.

Caution:  playing it safe is hazardous to our ability to innovate and create.

Remember MySpace?  It became a mere shadow of itself when it was purchased by a traditional media company that was more interested in monetizing it than growing it.  That had the effect of stifling creativity and innovation.

The same might be said of Facebook these days as research shows teens, the early adopters, see it as less important to their lives.

This rule applies to individuals as well.

When we imitate our success, we eventually see it peak and slip away.

So how do we overcome the normal feeling to want to keep doing the things that bring us the most success?

Innovate at the top of your game.

When you are most popular, successful or prosperous.

That is the time to risk change.

The sure way to failure is to treat success as if it will never be diminished.

What makes most people successful is the pursuit of excellence.  Unfortunately, achieving that excellence is often our undoing.

Cultivate a sense of adventure built on the confidence that comes from achieving your goals.  You’ll know the feeling because that is what got you to where you are today. 

Thanks for spreading the word about what we do here.  You’re the best — Jerry

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Ironically, productive people aren’t focused on doing more.  They find ways to do less.

Less of everything so they can pay more attention to the things that really matter.

It relieves the stress that comes from daily life but also provides “feel good” moments of accomplishment.

1.  Do not do 80% of what’s on your agenda. 

It’s about choices.  Simply force yourself to decide which 20% of your tasks are worth completing today – worth your time, creativity, energy and excellence.  Identify the 20% that matters and don’t do the others in any given day and you will become more productive immediately.  (Hint: you can throw the other 80% that you didn’t do today onto tomorrow’s agenda to see if they make the next cut.  Don’t be surprised if they never make it to the top 20%).

2.  Deal with your biggest tasks when you are most productive.

If it’s mornings, the most challenging work should be done then. 

3.  Divide large projects into smaller pieces.

One reason less significant and quicker things get done sooner is because large tasks often require more time than we have available at one time.  Productive people take a knife to these projects and make them several mini-projects that earn your attention.

4.  No to multi-tasking.

I know you can.  We all can.  But we shouldn’t.  It doesn’t make us more productive.  Multitasking often makes us more stressed out and less efficient.  Refer back to #1 – do less overall and only focus on the 20% of your work that you believe is most important today.

I love the sentiment expressed by Francine Jay:  “My goal is no longer to get more done, but rather to have less to do” – Now go do less and have a great day!  Jerry

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Often it takes very little to add real meaning to a family event and Thanksgiving is the time when families come together.

The person who toiled preparing the traditional Thanksgiving turkey or the one responsible for the get together is often overlooked and under appreciated. 

But we can change that.

Thanksgiving also turns into a drama when some family members come together and they don’t really get along the rest of the year.  I know people who dread this holiday for that reason and that is sad.

So, try a different path this year.

• Toast the chef.   Before the meal begins be the one to raise your glass and in front of everyone gathered to express public appreciation for the work they did to make the meal possible.  Something like, “I’d like to recognize and thank mom for working so hard to make this feast as delectable as it is.  Thank you, mom”.  Be prepared for teary eyes of gratitude in return.
• Avoid drama.  Even if you’ve got drama kings and queens at the Thanksgiving celebration, vow to bite your tongue before letting anyone lure you into an argument, debate or hard feelings over any unresolved family matters.  It is neither the time nor the place.  Save discussing these issues for private time.  People looking for a fight often burn out when they realize they can’t light your fire in front of other people and that’s a good thing.
• Be a good listener.  Dale Carnegie always said if you want people to like you, ask them about themselves.  In a world where we all tend to compete for attention, Thanksgiving is one day when you can shine by asking questions rather than talking about yourself.  You will be loved and appreciated in ways that are not possible when the focus is predominantly on you.

Thanksgiving is a wonderful opportunity to practice gratitude.  Some folks like to invite a guest who is alone or not as fortunate to the family celebration.  Others like to bring leftovers to those who may be unable to attend so that they don’t feel forgotten.

In giving we receive the benefits that come from food, family, parades and football games when we do things to add real meaning to the holiday.  Happy Thanksgiving – I appreciate the thousands of you who start your day with me right here — Jerry

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