How I Annihilated 300 Trial Lawyers with 1 Question

Mental Toughness is the ability to control your emotions, especially under pressure, so when I got booked to speak for one of the bar associations biggest chapters, I thought I was in the right place. After all, Trial Lawyers are known to be tough, logic-based critical thinkers. I knew I had to bring my A game to make an impact, but what I didn’t expect was to see them crumble under the weight of a single question. One innocent, carefully crafted question reduced them to rubble. The lesson I was trying to teach them was to employ logic-based critical thinking in

Truth vs Fact: How Delusional Thinking is Destroying America

In Mental Toughness Training, we make the distinction between Truth and Fact. Truth is subjective, Fact is objective. I’ve been accused of making this a semantical agrument, yet it’s more profound. The United States is in a battle for its very existence due to the lack of understanding in this area, and while it’s easy to blame one political party over the other, the fact is it’s the extremists on both sides of the aisle that pose the dire threat. We’ve been teaching this concept to the world’s largest sales teams for 25 years, and once they understand it, performance soars.

Learning How to Forgive Yourself

Learning to forgive yourself is one of the most difficult mental toughness lessons. We tend to forgive others for their past mistakes and transgressions, yet when it comes to forgiving ourselves, many of us refuse to let go. The problem with storing anger is the space it takes up and the mental energy it consumes. The fastest path to personal development and mental toughness is learning to let go. We’re only human, and we are capable of making both brilliant and stupid decisions. Watch this short video and I’ll look forward to your comments. #mentaltoughness #critcalthinking #personaldevelopment

Critical Thinking on Moderation

Socrates was the original philosopher credited with saying; “all things in moderation”. The Bible has a similar reference. This age-old adage has been passed down through millennia. It’s arguably the most useful piece of advice for happiness ever conceived. Extreme behavior is often the way we mask feelings of inferiority, and it rarely has the effect we’re seeking. The United States is known around the first world as being “success obsessed”, and I think thats a fair criticism. (or compliment?) There’s no denying that our obsession has lead to innovation, invention and prosperity. The evidence supports the claim. But, has this

The Most Brutal Mental Toughest Lesson

If you’re feeling down, this video may not make you feel better. This post deals with the most brutal reality that every successful person must face. It’s not pretty, yet it’s undeniably true. The good news is once you learn to accept it, your life will be forever changed. As the saying goes, the truth will set you free. So if you think you can handle the truth, watch this video. #mentaltoughness #personaldevelopment #publicspeaking #ipdar

Speakers: Get Mentally Tough! STOP Sucking Up to Audiences

Many of the speakers with whom I’ve worked over the past 25 years at national and international conventions are suck-ups. They’re good speakers with bad strategy, which is why many of them struggle. Corporations hire smart people that speak, and they’re looking for unique solutions to pressing problems. What they don’t need is a speaker telling their teams how great they are when most of them are underperforming. To be relevant as a thought leader, you need do your research and tell them the truth. That’s how you stay in companies for years and score million-dollar, multi-year contracts. Watch this video

The Genius of Personal Development…Larry Wilson

He was the protege of Dr. Abraham Maslow, and he’s widely considered one of the most influential figures in the history of personal development. Larry Wilson was a true genius, and I was lucky enough to call him my mentor and close friend for the last 15 years of his life. His company, Wilson Learning has offices in 80 countries around the world. In 2007, I interviewed Larry in front of a packed house of 2,000 people in Mexico City, and it was game changer for so many of us. This is a MUST-SEE interview, which you can access for free

The Most OFFENSIVE Coaching Question EVER

Along the course of facilitating critical thinking sessions with leaders and senior executive teams over the past 25 years, I’ve discovered one question that pierces the ego of even the most senior leaders. Critical thinking questions, by definition, are emotionless and non-judgmental, although they sound like the opposite. I’ve used them with professional sports teams, politicans, Fortune 500 executive teams, and billionaire entrepreneurs. (including one in the White House) The process worked so well for Johnson & Johnson’s leaders in the 1990’s that they paid me to write a book on the subject. The only downside of this process is that

How Rich People Think

When I wrote my book, How Rich People Think, I didn’t know how much controversey it would cause. Rich celebrities like Wynonna Judd, Kathie Lee Gifford and John Tesh LOVED it, while others, such as LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, HATED it. The subject of money is emotional for many people. In this video I discuss the first chapter, which wound a lot of people up. #personaldevelopment #mentaltoughness