I'm one of those people who epically fails at New Year's resolutions. I have the best of intentions on January 1st, but by mid February it's back to business as usual. I don't know if it's good or bad news that I'm not alone in this. Only 8% of people keep their New Year's Resolutions with most people falling off in February.

As the year closes it feels natural to put the year behind you and try to start over. To make the "new" year a better year then the one before. But for me I find...

Public speaking still remains the #1 fear of most people in America. So it's no surprise when I hear other colleagues and entrepreneurs ask me, "How can I be more confident on stage? Or speaking in front of crowd? Or even networking?" Admittedly, even speaking in front of massive groups of people gives me pause most of the time. In fact, when I was a practicing attorney I would throw up before each and every trial.

As a consultant, business owner and author, public speaking is a substantial...

Public speaking is almost an essential for success nowadays—and definitely a major factor in creating a powerful brand. Those who take their courage into their hands and accept or seek speaking engagements tend to outpace their competitors in branding, authority and reach.

There are three things you need to do before you can walk into a public speaking engagement without either dying of fright or feeling like a fraud. First, you need to dip your toe into the shallow end and get...

We're fast approaching the end of the year and it's time for people to start creating their vision boards and goals for the new year. One of the most overlooked ways to help accelerate your vision is to create a personal brand that will support you while aligning who you are with what you want.

I talked about this in depth in a previous blog on aligning your vision and brand.

Today on AMNW I talked in more depth about how to align your vision and personal brand as well as the...

When we grow up we tend to get told that the world is the way that it is and that our life should go as follows...go to school and get good grades, go to college, get a nice job, get married, have kids, save a little money to retire etc... I call BS!

Life doesn't have to be this way. We don't need to stick to the status quo of a universal plan. We can write our on lives, our on path. Instead of going through the motions of being lost and confused about what we want to do in life, let's take...

There was a time when career paths were clearly defined. If lucky, you'd be hired on with a good company and progress to higher levels at the appropriate times. Ultimately, you'd retire having dedicated your prime years to the company.  Those days have long disappeared. It's no longer about company loyalty but about loyalty to self interests. The last two generations of employees have focused more on better compensation and job satisfaction. While employers have focused their attention...

When you think of a traditional business plan, you probably think of pages of text, graphs and confusing stats and numbers. You know, the kind of thing you’d nervously push across the desk to a bank officer in hopes of securing a loan.

Similarly, a career plan that list the results of job searches, contacts, upcoming interviews, and employment possibilities may also make your eyes glaze over.

I know these things are important but neither seem exciting right? And what I know to be true...

I could never do something like that.

Oh, I'm not that talented.

You need years of experience to do that job.

No one would ever hire me to do that.

I'm just not good with money.

Some people are just born to succeed.

I'm too old to wear something like that.

I bowed out because there are much more talented people doing the same thing.

Any of these statements sound familiar?

These are only a few of the comments I've heard my clients say over the years. Before I was trained in cognitive behavior...

It used to be that your identity was wrapped into your job. In fact, I believe people still suffer from that today. When you're identity is tied to your title, job or career you fail to see the possibility of other options. You fail to see the breadth and depth of all you have to offer. You also fail to see the importance of building a brand independent of your job.

In case you're struggling with this concept, repeat after me....."I'm more than my job!"

We live in a binary society that...