AUDIOPOST-WHAT CAN WE LEARN ABOUT FRUSTRATION FROM THE FAMOUS "MARSHMALLOW EXPERIMENT?" 6:05 mins
Life can be extremely frustrating so we must stay curious and be open to learning. If we want to be the CEO of our lives, we need to be able to manage our frustration. What can we learn from the famous marshmallow experiment? We will explore the experiment and I’ll end this article with a couple of questions for your consideration. Fundamentally, the new argument is that life circumstances have more to do with success then does the natural ability to delay our gratification. If there isn’t going to be any marshmallows tomorrow it might make sense to get what you can immediately. If we have learned not to trust that a reward will be coming for our patience and persistence, we develop a “right now” mentality. Sign up to read or listen to all complete posts.

AUDIOPOST-LANGUISHING IN THE ROCKING CHAIR OF LIFE VS. "OOMPH MINDSET. 5:58 mins When we imagine someone languishing in a rocking chair most of us likely conjure up an image of a senior citizen. However, I have to say that the elders I visit as a pet therapy volunteer often show more “oomph” for life than a lot of us youngins do.. What can we learn from these interesting women and men? I am going to explore some golden age wisdom in this brief article and leave you with two suggestions. Don’t automatically ignore this post just because you are in your 20’s. 30’s or 40’s. Time passes very quickly, and while I am now 53 it often feels like it was only yesterday that I was 25. Let me tell you, there is nothing like spending a little time with people in their 80’s and 90’s to help us gain a little perspective...Sign up to read or listen to all complete posts.

AUDIOPOST-CAN TOONIES HELP US DEVELOP CRITICAL THINKING? 8:25 Mins
Forget a penny for your thoughts, how about filling the mind bank with toonies? In today’s post, we are going to explore critical thinking by using our spare change. I am going to briefly define critical thinking and offer a fun game that will help you evaluate and make changes to your thinking. Why is this important? Because becoming the CEO of our lives means we are in charge of our thinking, feeling and behaving. You will remember from past posts, that our thoughts lead to feelings which then guide our actions. Sign up to read or listen to all complete posts.

AUDIOPOST-15-MINUTE WILLPOWER CHALLENGE 6:36 mins
As I mention in the second workbook willpower is like a muscle that must be conditioned. Some of us are born with greater reserves of willpower then others are, and certainly as we navigate through our days, we use up this resource. If you are struggling with depression, anxiety, anger or addiction issues then your reserves will be low, especially if you are fighting triggers all day. Sign up to read or listen to all complete posts.

AUDIOPOST-ARE YOU STILL LIKE THE 16 YEAR OLD YOU? 9:32 mins
Few people escape childhood and adolescence without some level of trauma so it’s good to know that while some personality tendencies are innate, our personality can continue to develop even as adults. As you read or listen keep this question in mind “if my personality is malleable what role can I play in directing it?” as I will be offering you questions at the end of this post. Sign up to read or listen to all complete posts.

AUDIOPOST-A BETTER EULOGY WITH START, STOP, CONTINUE? 17:21 mins
If you are a personal development aficionado you likely are familiar with the Eulogy Exercise. In this article I am going to marry that exercise with the Start, Stop, Continue exercise. I will briefly explain both of these practices and offer a few examples of how creating a union between them can be helpful. I will end this article with a range of questions and I hope you will take the time to sit down with a paper and pen and do a little reflective writing. Sign up to read or listen to all complete posts.

AUDIOPOST-A SIMPLE BUT PROFOUND EXPERIMENT 6:25 mins
This simple experiment is designed to help you gain a profound understanding of how our primitive minds operates. Why should we be interested in that? Because If we lack this knowledge, we are playing the game of life at a deficit.Sign up to read or listen to all complete posts.

AUDIOPOST-CAN WE BE OUR OWN ROLE MODEL? DIGGING FOR GOLD 10:25 mins
We all have challenges. We each also have plenty of evidence of our ability to powerfully influence ourselves. We each have a history of choosing helpful mindsets, taking the right action, and solving problems well. Unfortunately, this evidence is often gathering dust in the back of our mental filing cabinet. This cabinet is a goldmine that must be sluiced for nuggets. What we focus on stays at the front of the mental filing cabinet. It is often fool’s gold with no value. Sign up to read or listen to all complete posts.

AUDIOPOST-CAN GOOD DECISIONS BE MADE IN ONE SECOND? 10:17 mins
You may recall that I briefly touched on confidence and decision making in the complimentary Self-Discovery Confidence Building Workbook. It may be helpful to review that part before reading this blog article. Today I am going to discuss one-second decisions and add a short but powerful assignment. Why? Because I think we can all find value in developing the habit of quick decisions. Sign up to read or listen to all complete posts.

AUDIOPOST-WHEN CAN SUSPICIOUS THINKING BE A GOOD THING? 7:05 mins
I can’t think of anything more important than mastering our thinking. As you may recall from the workbooks, our thinking generates feelings, which generate actions. And I am sure you know; our actions create the outcomes in our lives. Our lives are either as we’d like them to be or they fall short of our dreams and potential. We are going to briefly explore how a “stinking thinking” mindset gets in the way becoming the confident CEO of our lives. Remember, the term “CEO of our lives” simply refers to being in charge of our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Sign up to read or listen to all complete posts.

AUDIOPOST-CAN PRIMING THE MIND CREATE MORE DISCIPLINED THINKING? 9:37 mins
The mind is a funny thing and often it behaves strangely. Most of our minds could use a little more discipline. We each have countless associations, anchors and triggers and if left to its own devices the mind can behave like a frenetic stubborn toddler. If we allow it, the mind will travel down paths that create and heighten the experience of anxiety, depression, and anger. But, if we discipline it, the mind can create experiences that uplift and energize us. Sign up to read or listen to all complete posts.

AUDIOPOST-ASS, GAS OR GRASS...FAIR RECIPROCITY? 8:52 mins
Let’s talk about how we exchange our precious resources of time and energy with others. If we are to be the confident CEO of our lives, we need to become cognizant of this and you may recall I touch on this in the complimentary workbook. How often do we take time to analyze our interactions and question whether the costs are worth the rewards? I am going to play around a little with two sayings in this article and it will helpful if you pay attention to your automatic reactions as you read or listen. I’ll finish up with a couple of questions for your consideration. Sign up to read or listen to all complete posts.

AUDIOPOST-STRESS-ONE DAY AT A TIME & DIRTY FEET 9:50 mins
Is one day at a time just for addicts? Hell, no, it can be wise words for anyone experiencing stressed states. As I say in the first workbook, life can be messy and change can be hard. When we lack a belief in ourselves and are having difficulty managing life’s challenges, living in the moment with purposeful intention is a healthy choice. For many, asking the question “how can I use the next twenty-four hours to bolster me?” can be stabilizing. A simple decision to live the best we can in one 24-hour compartment can help to decrease the freaked-out state. Sign up to read or listen to all complete posts.

AUDIOPOST-CAN A PERSONAL MANIFESTO SUPPORT A MORE CONFIDENT SELF-IMAGE? 8:26 mins
Before we move on to building a manifesto I am going to briefly touch on several concepts from the workbook/s. 1-We never outperform our self-image (how we see ourselves, what we think we are capable of 2- our current beliefs and stated goals are intimately tied to our self-image 3- our self-image was formed during times of vulnerability before we had the capacity to decide for ourselves 4-much of our identity was created for us before we had the ability to sift and sort incoming data or messaging. Sign up to read or listen to all complete posts.

AUDIOPOST-CHOOSING PROGRESS OVER COMPLACENCY 10:35 mins
I want to share some thoughts with you around the benefits of “negative” thinking and choosing progress over complacency. I’ve ended the article with a few questions for you. I hope that you will set some time aside to consider them. Sign up to read or listen to all complete posts.

AUDIOPOST-EIGHT TOUGH QUESTIONS TO ASK OURSELVES 10:38 mins
No matter how much I love to sing, how much I rehearse, how many vocal lessons I take or how many band members come and go, it is doubtful that I will be the next Pat Benatar. Sometimes we need to have a hard look at our goals, dreams, visions or ideals and make some decisions about whether it is time to give up, revise or let go. So, go ahead and think of something you have wanted to do, be or have. Something you have held close to your heart for a long time and have expended precious time and energy on. Sign up to read or listen to all complete posts.

AUDIOPOST-MENACE OR FAITH? 7:46 MINS.
“If you want to see your colleague alive…….” said by a bad guy in a menacing voice. The nonchalant reply by a team member “she’s an operative, she knows the risk.” Blacklist (Netflix) season 4 episode 9 The operative was on a clandestine mission, out doing her thing. She was putting herself at risk for what she obviously felt was an important cause. Did she really know the risk? I am not sure, but she did make it back in one piece. Despite the danger, she returned to her team at command central, with new information and resolve. All in all, it turned out well. We, us common folk, may not be members of a behind the scenes quasi-legitimate operation working to save the world from bad guys. But hopefully, we do, occasionally put ourselves at risk. Really, how else do we learn, grow and expand? How else do we contribute to the world and the development of our own precious, once in a lifetime existence? Sign up to read or listen to all complete posts.