Personal Development Blog For Living Your Full Potential

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What’s the most effective way to read a book? Should you stick to paper books you can flip the pages, dog-ear and write notes in the margin? What about Kindle or other eReaders, which let you download new books instantly and cheaply? Is it okay to listen to an audiobook instead, or is that “cheating”? The research on the effectiveness of different forms of reading seems to indicate no significant difference . There’s some research in favor of paper, for instance this study that suggested mind wandering was higher with audiobooks . Other studies have favored paper over digital . However, my overall impression of the research is that the differences are slight, and probably outweighed by personal preference or convenience. In other words, if you prefer paper, ebook or audiobook, you’re probably free to make that choice yourself. My Approach to Reading I use all three formats to read, and I think the benefits of doing all is better than using just one alone. The benefit of audiobo...

As leaders, we have to lead first by vision. If we can’t create a compelling picture of the future, something that’s really desirable, it will be very hard to motivate our team to change or to take on big tasks to fulfill our purpose. That’s why I wrote The Vision-Driven Leader , to help leaders develop a clear, compelling vision of their own.  Having a vision is vital, but that’s really just the beginning of vision-driven leadership. You must also be able to communicate that vision in a way that enlists others to help achieve it.  In over 40 years of business leadership, including a stint as CEO of what was then the largest Christian publishing company in the world, I’ve learned what it takes to communicate vision in a way that makes others eager to follow. It comes down to these four steps.  Make It Inspiring The very first step is you have to make your vision inspiring. Everybody wants to be part of something that’s larger than themselves. No one’s individual lif...

By Leo Babauta The world is in a state of fear and uncertainty right now, and it’s stressful and overwhelming for most of us. This kind of fear, stress, uncertain and overwhelm can have some really strong effects on our lives: Constant fear and stress can cause anxiety problems, worsening sleep and health, depression and anxiety In a place of fear, we can often make bad decisions People can panic, overreact because of fear, and cause widespread confusion and disruptions Our relationships can deteriorate when we’re operating from a place of fear We become less productive, less focused, when we’re stressed It has an obvious impact on our happiness, including the impacts from all of the above These are just some of the strong effects from a constant sense of fear, uncertainty, stress and overwhelm. So how do we cope with this? Obviously, there’s no easy answer. Let’s talk about what I’ve found to work, and what I recommend right now. Dealing with the Uncertainty & Fear ...

Has this ever happened to you? You’re excited about a new project or initiative, and you can’t wait to share it with your team. But when you do, you see nothing but crossed arms and blank stares. They’re not hostile. But they’re not sharing your enthusiasm either. What gives?

Recently, I wrote a piece asking why taking action is hard . Why do we so often struggle to take our ideas and actually do something about them? It’s tempting to just say people are lazy or unmotivated, but I think the question is a lot more complex and interesting than it first appears. Related to this question is what makes something effortful? Why is it “easier” to watch Netflix than solve math problems? Like taking action, this question risks being overlooked because of our familiarity with it. It’s “obvious” to us that television is easier than algebra, so we don’t bother to ask why. However, like action, I think effort is also more mysterious than it first appears. Effort as Energy Expenditure A simple view of effort is that it simply represents an investment of a fixed resource, possibly calories or glucose. Running is more effortful than sitting for this reason. If you run constantly, you use up more calories than sitting, and thus need to eat more to stay alive. Since ...

Vision is a critical component of leadership. Yet, surprisingly, many leaders downplay the need for it. Here’s an example. When George H. W. Bush ran for president in 1987, he knew he needed a way to connect with voters. So he asked a colleague to identify some issues that would resonate. Not so fast, said the friend. According to TIME , instead of providing a litany of winning issues, he “suggested that Bush go alone to Camp David for a few days to figure out where he wanted to take the country.” “Oh,” responded Bush, unimpressed by the idea, “the vision thing.” Bush possessed many positive qualities but saw taking time to craft a vision as either pointless, uninteresting, or too difficult. And that cost him. Bush managed to win the election, but many saw him more as a manager than a leader. That perception ultimately undermined his 1992 reelection bid. In my experience, far too many business leaders also don’t understand “the vision thing.” They’re often dismissive of, confuse...