In this age of information and technology, we have a world of resources at our fingertips. Much of human knowledge has been scanned, transcribed, recited and digitized for immediate Google access. Today there are more teachers, preachers, coaches, consultants, mentors and "experts" at your disposal than ever. But the most overlooked, underutilized and divinely powerful resource of them all is you—your own inner voice, intuition and instinct. I think many people have lost contact with their inner resource. We live in an era in which everyone around us is telling us what we should do—the government, religious authorities, academic leaders, news media, commercial marketers, our bosses, our parents and now hundreds of friends on Facebook and Twitter every day. I believe the deluge of all these available resources, ideas and opinions can overwhelm us, put us into a bit of a stupor and make us lazy. As Albert Einstein once said, "Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking." You cannot simply study the wisdom of others. You have to think through ideas yourself and tap your own inner wisdom. Too often we are consumed by some epic hunt for the Holy Grail. We're looking for someone else's secret, answer, formula or big idea in order to get where we want to go. Over time, and through practice, I have found that the answers to life's most vexing questions don't exist on Ask.com, YouTube or Wikipedia, but reside within us. The Holy Grail, as it were, isn't out there to be found, but lies within us, waiting to be discovered. As you know, I interview people for a living. It's true that incredible insights, inspiration and distinctions can be found by interviewing and studying people who have already been where you wish to go. But when it comes to the big issues—to those vexing questions and momentous decisions of...

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As a society, I think we often misunderstand the word success. Our society celebrates those who obtain fame, wealth, power and celebrity, no matter the means—ethical or not—and we call them successful. Success is often equated to an achieved status, rather than to a measure of value or contribution. We are taught early in life to strive for success, to achieve the status—win the trophy, get the notable degree, land the big position, win the impressive title, acquire the bigger house, bring back the enviable vacation photos and collect the cars, boats, jewels and big bank account. And when we are waving from the mountaintop, having finally achieved these trappings of "success," we often feel a stark emptiness inside. What's wrong? We might have acquired everything we ever wanted, except the one thing that really matters—significance. We want to know that our lives meant something, that we've had a positive impact on the lives of others. And only significance provides that; success by itself cannot. The interesting thing is you can be successful and not significant, but you cannot be significant without being successful. In 2007, when we took over the stewardship of this legendary magazine, we decided not to change the name. Instead we have attempted to change the definition of success. We see success as... CLICK HERE TO READ REST OF POST

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The revelation is this: The way we were… is over. As you know, we are living through an era of unprecedented change. Over the last decade, we began hearing the death rattle of a bygone era. The corporate structure and system has begun to crumble. The global marketplace has been flattened. Innovative, fast-moving and nimble competition has risen from nearly all corners of the planet. Technology has wired us all directly to each other. Now every manufacturer or marketer has immediate and direct access to everyone, everywhere, destroying heavily controlled and highly valued distribution channels. All this deconstruction and loss of control by the few, the behemoths, the entrenched, spells freedom… and opportunity for the rest of us. As entrepreneurs and individual achievers, it is our time to thrive! But you also have to adapt. The traditional yellow brick road to success and financial security has been deconstructed as well. The path to the high-paying job you needed and desired used to involve getting the highest academic degree you could obtain, along with some specific technical job skills. Today, if those jobs still exist, certainly the rules of those jobs have changed and will continue to do so. With the mind-blowing velocity of change and the throng of competition, the skills needed for 21st century success are less about academic or industrial or technical training, and more about what might be called the "soft skills": emotional intelligence, adaptability and resiliency; networking, interpersonal and relationship-development skills; self-motivation, accountability and productivity skills; personal branding, social marketing and persuasive communication skills; along with leadership, recruiting and people-building skills. So, to stay relevant, if not gain the advantage, in today's ever-changing and fast-evolving marketplace, where do you go to gain these critical skills? You won't...

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There are only a few certainties in life: death, taxes… and change. And the rate of change is speeding up—rapidly. Several factors are causing this acceleration: the expansion of technology and knowledge, globalization and the changing demographic majority. Let’s take a look at how these factors are impacting the landscape of leadership. Technology: Ray Kurzweil, in his 2001 essay “The Law of Accelerating Returns,” asserts that technology won’t experience 100 years of progress in the 21st century—it will be more like 20,000 years of progress (at today’s rate). Knowledge: By 1900, it had taken 150 years to double all human knowledge. Today it takes only one or two years, and by 2020, knowledge will double every 72 days, according to estimates. Globalization: The competition for talent, resources and attention doesn’t just come from the other members of your local chamber of commerce; it now comes from every high-rise, second bedroom and basement in the world. Changing Demographic: The millennial generation (those born in the 1980s and 1990s) are the largest to enter the workforce since the baby boomer generation. Nurtured through a different era, this generation has a different value system, and they will play a key role in the changing nature of workplace dynamics. Leadership over the past 50 years has been based on the premise that the organization is purely an economic entity. The priority was to develop structures, set controls and leverage capital as effectively as possible. This was accomplished through pyramids of hierarchies performing rigidly narrow tasks within clear guidelines. Today, the speed of change demands a completely different leader: one who... CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

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Whether or not the title on your business card labels you as a “salesperson,” I bet you have had several sales conversations already today. Maybe you sold a friend on seeing the great movie you just saw or trying a new restaurant you recently enjoyed. If you’re a parent, you may have sold your kids on the benefits of eating a healthy breakfast or doing well in school today. Or perhaps you sold your boss on why you need a day off, promotion or raise. The list goes on and on. All day, every day we are selling someone on something. If you aren’t good at sales, life will be more difficult for you. It’s that simple. Selling is not just a business skill; it’s an essential life skill. But selling really isn’t as complicated or mysterious as we make it out to be. Selling is simply about influencing an outcome. If you’re stuck in the mindset that you’re not good at selling, it’s time to shift your perspective. Start by stopping selling. Cross out the word sell and replace it with H-E-L-P. An early mentor of mine helped me gain proper perspective on selling when I was in real estate. I showed him my “hit list” of target prospects. He said, “Hit list! Who wants to be your next hit?! These are real people, real families, who will be going through one of the most emotional transactions of their life involving probably the most valuable asset they own—their home. Until this list is considered the list of those families whom you will help, protect and fight for next, they will not be interested in what you have to say.” What great advice! It wasn’t just a change of word; it was an entirely different philosophy, mindset and emotional approach to every conversation and interaction. Instead of pitching, I was inquiring about their dreams, hopes, fears and worries… and listening. Then I looked for all sorts of ways I could help them, not only with their real estate needs, but in their lives. The byproduct was that I became a valued and trusted partner....

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Whether or not the title on your business card labels you as a “salesperson,” I bet you have had several sales conversations already today. Maybe you sold a friend on seeing the great movie you just saw or trying a new restaurant you recently enjoyed. If you’re a parent, you may have sold your kids on the benefits of eating a healthy breakfast or doing well in school today. Or perhaps you sold your boss on why you need a day off, promotion or raise. The list goes on and on. All day, every day we are selling someone on something. If you aren’t good at sales, life will be more difficult for you. It’s that simple. Selling is not just a business skill; it’s an essential life skill. But selling really isn’t as complicated or mysterious as we make it out to be. Selling is simply about...

Money, Money, Money... We want more of it; we love it and all that it affords. Yet it can be the root of some of life’s most devastating experiences—divorce, bankruptcy, foreclosure and destitution. However, money isn’t the problem. Just like guns don’t kill people, people with guns kill people, the same misplaced blame is applied to money. Money isn't your problem; your relationship with money and what you do (or don’t do) with it is the problem. Hardy: Our Love-Hate Relationship with Money is a post from: SUCCESS magazine Blog

Money, Money, Money... We want more of it; we love it and all that it affords. Yet it can be the root of some of life’s most devastating experiences—divorce, bankruptcy, foreclosure and destitution. However, money isn’t the problem. Just like guns don’t kill people, people with guns kill people, the same misplaced blame is applied to money. Money isn't your problem; your relationship with money and what you do (or don’t do) with it is the problem. Last month I showed you how you can take something that scares you and fear it no more by simply changing your perspective about it. Just in case you don’t recall, the subject was selling, and I had you take the four letter word S-E-L-L, cross it out and replace it with H-E-L-P. Focusing on helping rather than selling not only makes the entire experience far more comfortable and enjoyable, but it’s actually the key to being successful at it. This month, I want to alter your mindset about this all-important force in our lives, now formerly known as M-O-N-E-Y. Take this five letter word money and cross it out. Now replace it with V-A-L-U-E. Stop thinking about money as money, and start understanding it as value. That’s all money is: paper that denotes value. How do you get more money? CLICK HERE TO READ MORE P.S. The best way I know to be of value to you is... to help you achieve the goals, dreams and ambitions you always wanted, but maybe didn't have the courage to believe was possible for you, or didn't quite know how to go about accomplishing the goals. That is why I designed the Living Your Best Year Ever system. It will boost your courage and belief that achieving your goals is possible and will guide you all year long. It's incredibly inexpensive, but priceless in what it can help you produce in your life. Yes, I am pushing you. Why? I know the profound difference it can produce in your life. It is my expectation you will come to thank me later. I offer you this personal...

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Hopefully, by now you’ve figured out that the economy… is what it is. Your employer (if you still have one) doesn’t owe you anything. And the government isn’t going to solve your problems. No one else is going to give you an income or provide for your retirement. For that matter, no one else can keep you healthy, ensure your marriage thrives or see to it that you are happy and fulfilled. Only you can make your life better. And because you read this blog and SUCCESS magazine, I’m betting that you’ve also figured out that wanting, wishing, hoping, praying or simply envisioning your life better doesn’t make it so. Contrary to movie lore, you cannot just sit on your couch imagining checks coming into your mailbox. No, you have to get off that couch, walk out your front door and take action. As one of my predecessors, a previous publisher of SUCCESS, W. Clement Stone, put it, “I think there is something more important than believing: action! The world is full of dreamers; there aren’t enough who will move ahead and begin to take concrete steps to actualize their vision.” If you want to improve your life, you have to take action. Doing must follow wanting, believing, hoping, praying and planning. What do you want to do? What do you want to achieve? What is success to you? When I interviewed Maria Shriver—a woman who is extremely successful by any standard—she explained that she found herself chasing the wrong definition of success until she stopped to ask herself this important question: “What is the definition of success to me?” The answer changed her life. It changed the focus of her... CLICK HERE TO READ MORE Also, as promised... My Journal Notes with Maria Shriver Free Core Values Assessment

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What is the most important thing in your life? If you and I were face to face right now and I asked you that question, you’d probably promptly reply with “my family” or “my children” or “my spouse.” But are you actually living that way? We say our family and relationships are most important, but our values are demonstrated not by our words, but by our deeds—not by what we say, but what we do. I have found if you want to know what someone really values most, simply look at their calendar and their checkbook. How a person spends their time and money reveals what they really value most. Well, no more lip service. It’s time to make the main thing in your life, actually the main thing.When I interviewed Zig Ziglar (SUCCESS, October 2008) and asked him what the greatest secret to his success was, he responded... CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

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Whenever I am asked what I believe the goal and purpose of life is, my answer is the same, and it’s the theme of this issue. Of all the great pursuits in life, to me this is the most important. Every virtue, treasure and reward in life is obtained only through this quest. What is it? It is living your potential. Robert Louis Stevenson said it more than a hundred years ago: “To become what we are capable of becoming is the only end in life.” But what is potential? Webster’s dictionary defines potential as possible (as opposed to what's currently actual) capable of being or becoming or a latent excellence or ability that may or may not be developed. So potential then is what you can become. It is the best possible version of yourself. The first challenge, I believe, to living our potential—is realizing the greatness that is dormant inside of each of us. Thomas Edison said, “If we did all the things we are capable of, we would literally astound ourselves.” Dale Carnegie also taught, “We all have possibilities we don’t know about. We can do things we don’t even dream we can do.” Why don’t we then? I think what stops most of us from tapping our inner genius; the hero or heroine inside each of us is fear. We are actually afraid of our greater potential. 19th century philosopher Soren Kierkegaard said it this way, “There is nothing of which every man is so afraid as getting to know how enormously much he is capable of doing and becoming.” I know I am constantly challenged by the philosophy espoused by Marianne Williamson when she says, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t...

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Feeling stuck? Or fired? Or inspired? Today’s "best of times, worst of times” economy offers the perfect opportunity to take stock of your life and your business. One thing is certain… maintaining the status quo is not an option. You may be one of the millions who were forced out of a comfortable (but perhaps, unfulfilling) career. If so, your best option and only real choice may be to reinvent yourself. Or it could be you feel compelled to reinvent yourself or your business in order to seize an unexpected opportunity. Either way, the August issue of SUCCESS will prove invaluable to you. Reinvention has resulted in some of the world’s greatest business success stories. Companies that launch with the intention to do one thing often end up finding their grand opportunity lies in a completely different direction. Taking advantage of the opportunity requires a reinvention of thought and strategy—and the effort pays off. For instance, as a startup, Flickr was an online game project and chat room. When its founders realized how much CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

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Innovate or die? I know that sounds dramatic. And while you might not physically die, your greater hopes and dreams and your chances to accomplish your big goals will. Innovation has always separated leaders from followers, those who succeed and those who just get by. Innovation is what creates progress, and progress is what advances companies and people beyond the competitive herd of the masses, average and the status quo. There was a time when innovation seemed to come from the minds of a select few and "special” people, like Franklin, Einstein, Edison, Gutenberg, the Wright brothers. Today, with the speed of progress and the competitive global marketplace, just to keep up, every single person in every position needs to be an innovator, or risk being permanently sidelined. So what is innovation? Innovation is not a task, project or something you only do at an off-site meeting. Innovation is CLICK HERE TO READ REST OF POST

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