I’ve said before many times that the key to job satisfaction is moving away from your Drudgery and Disinterest Zones and toward the Passion and Proficiency of your Desire Zone. Some readers have raised a good question about this shift. “It’s easy to tell what I’m passionate about,” they tell me, “but how do I […]
About Michael Hyatt
How to Get More Cash Cows
It’s one of the toughest questions in business: Who should you be working with? Several years ago, when I was CEO of Thomas Nelson, I had one of those moments of clarity that has broad application for organizations. The “aha!” moment came when I was thinking about our professional relationships with authors and agents. Some […]
How to Fire a Monster Client: The Steps
When I wrote recently about firing monster clients who eat up disproportionate time and resources, one reader replied, “Great idea. Do you have a guide for how exactly we should do that?” It was a good question. A guide like that would have been useful to me earlier in my career. I have had to […]
Why You Don’t Need to Be Involved in Every Social Media Channel
I get asked a lot, “How do you find time to do it all? If I participate in every social media channel, I don’t have time to do anything else!” Exactly. The reality is that I don’t do it all. You can’t be everywhere in social media—and you won’t be effective trying. But the good […]
George Washington Shows Us How Leaders Are Readers
Most Americans think of George Washington as a great leader and the father of our country, but I bet few of us think of overdue library books. When Washington was president, he borrowed two books from a New York library and forgot to return them. According to a humorous but true story the fines for […]
Reach Is Not the Same as Influence
One way you can reach a larger audience quickly is to piggyback on established email lists from bloggers and businesses with similar interests. “Third party email marketing, whether for Business to Business (B2B) or Business to Consumer (B2C) is a great way of finding new customers and can be an awesome resource for new, fresh […]
When Leaders Have to Speak Up
People have way more potential than we often think they do. They can change, but unless we find the courage to speak up, they may not have the opportunity. Here are three truths to remember when you are faced with having a difficult conversation.
What You Learn on the Way to Success
There comes a point in every story when you are ready to quit. It could be a relationship, a project, or your job. Regardless, you’ve had enough, and you are ready to “throw in the towel.”
Where Are You in Building Online Influence?
Most people recognize the value of an online platform. When you have one, you can reach more people with your message, products, or hard-won expertise. You multiply both your influence and your income. Everybody wins. The problem is that building an online following can feel daunting. I talk to people all the time who want […]
How Little Things Can Lead to Big Results
When it comes to winning at work, you have to focus on the big things. Don’t sweat the small stuff, right? Not so fast. The small stuff does matter. In fact, according to Andy Andrews, bestselling author of The Little Things, it might matter more than you could possibly imagine.
How Reading Old Books Gives Us New Perspective
If we must choose between old books and new ones, we should always select an old one. C.S. Lewis provides three reasons why.
How to Get Away From It All
Periodically, you need to reboot your spirit. But how? In a recent vacation I experienced five keys to renewal that I want to replicate in my future outings.
3 Habits of Highly Effective Coaches
If you’ve ever had the benefit of a great coach, you know just how powerful coaching can be. But leaders know it can sometimes be difficult to coach the people on your own team. It’s one of the main reasons people are reluctant to delegate work in their Drudgery and Disinterest Zones. It takes so […]
Using Keyboard Shortcuts to Boost Your Productivity
I am not a big fan of computer mice. Every time I have to take my hand off the keyboard, it costs me a few seconds. This may not sound like much, but it adds up over the course of a day. Instead, I like to keep my hands on the keyboard. With a little memory work and the right tools, you can boost your productivity and run circles around your mouse-dependent colleagues.
Three Reasons You Can’t Afford That High-Maintenance Client
I don’t mean to sound unkind, but there are just some people you are not called to serve. You can spend all your time caught up in the drama of their demands and accusations, or you can move on. The sooner you cut the cord, the more productive—and happy—you’ll be.
How to Harness Sleep to Boost Your Productivity
No sleep.” “I’ll sleep when I’m dead.” “Sleep is for the weak.” I often see motivational statements like these hashtagged on social media. The idea is to spur high-achievers on to work harder for better results. But what if that’s exactly backwards? What if our willingness to shortchange our sleep is actually sabotaging our success?
6 Ways to Energize Your Team
As a leader, you have an effect on people. When you leave the room, people ether feel taller or smaller. This is an almost superhero power, but, unfortunately, leaders are often unconscious of it.
How to Beat Your Brain and Succeed
Millions of people all over the world struggle to get things done at the office. A massive international study commissioned by the office equipment firm Steelcase found 37 percent of employees are disengaged from their work. A similar poll by the Gallup organization found barely one in ten workers worldwide is really engaged on the […]
How Deep Work Can Change Your Life Forever
How many of your work hours are wasted on distractions? Probably more than you think. Financial management service Think Money researched the question, and their findings are eye-opening. According to their 2015 report, distractions annually eat up 759 hours per worker. That’s just one hour shy of twenty complete 40-hour workweeks every year! Now flip […]
The One Thing You Need to Create Wow Experiences
If we are going to create wow experiences, we must become courageous. This is a personal, psychological bridge we need to cross. What we want—that wow experience—is on the other side of the ravine. There’s no other way to get there from here.
How Do You Stand Out in Today’s Crowded Marketplace?
The economist Tyler Cowen says the last few decades have seen the rise of what he calls the complacent class. It may not seem like it, but the numbers show people are sticking with jobs longer, relocating rarely, and innovating less. In the midst of this complacency, there’s tremendous opportunity available for the non-complacent. I […]
Why I Decided to Publish a Paper Planner
A few years ago, I read David Sax’s book, The Revenge of Analog. The premise? After years of being pushed aside by digital solutions, analog applications have been making a surprising comeback. That resonated with my own experience. Most of my audience knows me as a techie. But I was in the book business for […]
Why United’s PR Disaster Didn’t Fly
United Airlines CEO Oscar Muñoz apologized Tuesday afternoon to the doctor who was forcibly removed from an over-packed Chicago-to-Louisville flight on Sunday. Muñoz called it a “truly horrific event.” “No one should ever be mistreated this way,” he said, pledging on behalf of his company, “we take full responsibility and we will work to make […]
Introducing the Full Focus Planner
Tell me if this sounds familiar: You’ve got big goals for the year. Maybe for your career, your health, your family, and the like. But it’s easy to lose visibility in the whirlwind of daily life. You’re productive, no question. Sometimes you’re flying faster than a tornado. But to what end? It’s like there’s no […]