Steve Jobs, J.K Rowling and Elon Musk. Completely different, yet all creators. The thing about creators is they create. They are, by definition, creative. We find that this is actually the only thread that binds creators together. They don’t hang out together, they don’t enjoy the same food, political views or language. Some are extroverted,...

When Mike Brown started selling coffee, he was average. He had a café, sold a lot of different products, poorly, and basically ran it into the ground. In this time though he’d connect with his particularly “groggy” customers – those who wanted the strongest coffee he had – so he started to listen. He researched...

“Waypoints” are like short little targets. When you’re navigating with charts, you’ll set up the next “waypoint.” This gives direction, or a “heading” for the boat. When you look at a chart, say, of the Pacific Ocean, and maybe you are located in Fiji at the time, there is literally infinite possibility. You can go...

When you start your thing – your work, writing, training, meaningful conversation, how do you do it? Do you have a setup? Is there a relationship with the space or object? Mise en place is a French phrase from the culinary world – “everything in its place,” and refers to the setup, or arrangement of...

Michael Jordan played 1,072 games in 15 seasons. About 41,000 minutes of game time. He was one of the greatest and most skilled players of all time. A change or growth in a business, career (or sport) may be fun, but it’s a serious thing. Firstly we need to acquire the skillset (do the thing...

“Brand” kind of reminds me of “aura.” It’s not tangible, it’s not a logo, it’s not a product or service. It’s really closer to how we (the “collective”) feel about everything that you or your people do. “Personal Brand” is simply the acceptance that as a human, the things that we do create imprints the...

If you pick up the pen that sits in front of you, how well can you describe it to the person sitting next to you? My guess is it’s pretty clear. A big part of this is you have conviction that it exists. You can see it, touch it, pick it up… You can tell...

I always take the stairs in the middle. Most airports have the setup – an escalator on either side, with a steady stream of people standing there… then a wide, empty staircase in the middle that is rarely used. Anyway, I like to spring up the stairs with my “typically-over-the-weight-limit” carry-on, because I figure it’s...