For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, the last week of the year is one of the darkest. New Year's Day follows quickly on the heels of the winter solstice. In fact, the sun sets at about 4:25 here in the Chicago area in the week between Christmas and December 31st. It's easy to want to crawl under the covers and just wait for spring. That's especially true in a year like the one we've just had. Most of us didn't realize that 2021 would be a long, drawn-out extension of 2020. At the same time, though, I'm reminded of the traditional Taoist yin/yang symbol. There's a small dot of white in the largest part of the black side - … [Read more...]
Create Massive Leverage with the Last Week of 2020: 19 Experts Show You How to Master 2021 Now
How do you use the last week of the year to be more productive, when the rest of the year has been anything but normal? This is the 5th-annual installment in a series where I look at how we can more effectively use the last week of the year. In normal times, that last week is a chance to do things a little differently. To take stock and make big plans. But when coming to the end of a year like 2020, how can you put a bow on it and move to the next? There are a lot of adjectives that have been floating around for the times we're in (I've adopted "wack" or "wack-a-doo" as my go-to choices). But no matter what you call it, individually … [Read more...]
Create Massive Leverage with the Last Week of 2019: 17 Experts Show You How to Master 2020 Now
One of the things I love about the internet is that you can answer any random question you have with just a few keystrokes. And this year I wanted to learn what Yule was...as in the Yule log and Yuletide and all of the other references that pop up in Christmas songs. It turns out that it was a 12-day festival that started right after the winter solstice in German and Nordic countries when they were still pagan. A lot of their celebrations morphed into our current holiday traditions. Twelve days of celebrating with some food, music, and liquid cheer makes a lot of sense when it's cold and dark all of the time. (Here in Chicago, the … [Read more...]
Do You Want to Start a Podcast? Here’s What I Learned from my First 11 Episodes
With Season 1 of our podcast, Beer, Beats, & Business wrapping up, I wanted to share some of the lessons that I learned from my first few months into the podcast world. It's been a lot of fun, and I'm proud of what we've created so far. If you are looking to start your own podcast, these concepts will steer you along the right path. They apply to much more than podcasting, though. Whether you are starting a podcast, a book, a blog, or a business, these ideas are totally relevant. 1. Now is Better than Perfect The podcast idea started kicking around my head 6 months before I got around to starting. I knew a little about audio … [Read more...]
Leadership Lessons from The Commitments
When people ask me about my favorite movies, they're usually unprepared for one of my top choices, The Commitments, the tale of a scrappy Dublin soul band struggling to break away from the travails of working class life. Even though many people haven't seen (or have even heard) of it, the exploits of Jimmy Rabbitte and his band have deeply influenced my approaches to music, business, and life. The fact that it's also full of witty Irish repartee and has a solid soul soundtrack helps a little bit. There are some powerful lessons on leadership that can be pulled from the story. Are you putting together a soul band or a new … [Read more...]