TO HELP YOU LIVE A BETTER LIFE & BUILD A BETTER BUSINESS

GOOD ADVICEfrom 27 speakers, authors & thought leaders

2013E D I T I O N

Shawn Achor • Ed Brodow • Chris Brogan • Brené Brown • Marcus Buckingham • Jack Canfield • Carol Grace Anderson • Ram Charan • Mimi Donaldson • Chip Eichelberger • Shawn Ellis • Keith Ferrazzi • Joseph Grenny • Vicki Hitzges • Allan Karl • Patrick Lencioni • Doug Lipp • Harry Paul • Neil Rackham • Jeff Salz • Dr. Neil Shulman • Diane Sieg • Dr. Kevin Soden • Robert Thompson • Erik Wahl • Benjamin Zander • Joel Zeff

compiled & edited by Shawn Ellis, Founder of The Speakers Group

“What’s your best advice to live a better life and build a better business?”

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Wouldn’t it be great if you could gather several of today’s top speakers, best-selling authors and thought leaders in one place to ask that question? I thought so, too!

In pursuit of our mission to help people live a better life and build a better business, I asked some of the speakers I’ve had the privilege of working with over the past decade for their best advice to help you create a better 2013, and enclosed is what they shared with me. While reviewing their responses, a “recipe” seemed to emerge:

It starts with you, but you can’t do it alone.Make it fun, pursue exce!ence, be wi!ing to adapt... And take it one moment at a time.

Whether you choose to read this entire book in one sitting, or whether you consume one

“chapter” at a time, I hope you’ll find this collection of wisdom to be enlightening and helpful on your journey to create a better life and better business in the year ahead.

Thanks for reading!

To your success,

Shawn EllisFounder of The Speakers GroupCreator of BetterLifeBetterBusiness.com

P.S. Along with the articles, I’ve also included links to a few of my favorite TED Talks from our speakers!

Let’s Connect...

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Part One: It Starts with You

Part Three: Make It Fun!

Part Two: You Can’t Do It Alone

Part Three: Make It Fun!

Part Four: Pursue Excellence

Part Five: Be Willing to Adapt

Conclusion: Take It One Moment at a Time

Take 100% Responsibility for Your Life by Jack CanfieldMake Your Own Path by Chris Brogan10 Ways to Mind Your Business & Mind Your Life by Diane SiegWho Are You Becoming? by Robert H. ThompsonThe Power of Vulnerability by Brené Brown (Recommended TED Talk)

Find a Way to Help, Find a Way to Care by Keith FerrazziThe Ultimate Competitive Advantage by Patrick LencioniThree Ways Effective Leaders Influence Change by Joseph GrennyThe Need for Mentoring by Dr. Kevin SodenA Legacy of Encouragement (Remembering Zig Ziglar) by Vicki HitzgesTrain Like Disney by Doug LippTen Tips for Negotiating Successfully in 2013 by Ed BrodowThe Most Important Word in Selling by Neil Rackham

Fun Works! by Carol Grace AndersonAn Rx for a Better Life by Dr. Neil Shulman (aka The “Real” Doc Ho!ywood)The Happy Secret to Better Work by Shawn Achor (Recommended TED Talk)

A Better Life Is What You Make of It by Ram CharanStop Doing What You Hate by Marcus BuckinghamWho Kidnapped Excellence? by Harry PaulMake the 3% Choice by Chip Eichelberger

3 Tips to "Make It" in 2013 by Mimi DonaldsonChange How You React to Change by Joel ZeffNon-Attachment - The Key to a Successful Life by Dr. Jeff SalzThree Keys to Better Leadership & Increased Innovation by Allan KarlFocus. Commit. Adapt. by Erik WahlThe Transformative Power of Classical Music by Benjamin Zander (Recommended TED Talk)

This Moment Matters by Shawn Ellis

NOTE: A! articles in this document are provided by their creators and are protected by the authors’ respective copyrights. You may $eely redistribute this document, but you may not modify or se! it.

It starts with you...PART ONE:

Take responsibility.Be yourself.Be mindful.

Make a commitment.Be vulnerable.

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Affectionately known as "America's #1 Success Coach," Jack Canfield has studied and reported on what makes successful people different. He knows what motivates them, what drives them, and what inspires them. He brings this critical insight to countless audiences internationally---sharing his success strategies in the media, with companies, universities and professional associations.

If you want to be successful, you have to take 100% responsibility for everything you experience in your life. This includes the level of your achievements, the results you produce, the quality of your relationships, the state of your health and physical fitness, your income, your debts, your feelings—everything! This is not easy.

In fact, most of us have been conditioned to blame something outside of ourselves for the parts of our life we don’t like. We blame our parents, our bosses, our friends, our co-workers, our clients, our spouse, the weather, the economy, our astrological chart, our lack of money—anyone or anything we can pin the blame on. We never want to look at where the real problem is—ourselves.

If you want to create the life of your dreams, then you are going to have to take 100% responsibility for your life as well. That means giving up all your excuses, all your victim stories, all the reasons why you can’t and why you haven’t up until now, and all your blaming of outside circumstances. You have to give them all up forever.

You have to take the position that you have always had the power to make it different, to get it right, to produce the desired result. For whatever reason—ignorance, lack of awareness, fear, needing to be right, the need to feel safe—you chose not to exercise that power. Who knows why? It doesn’t matter. The past is the past. All that matters now is that from this point forward you choose—that’s right, it’s a choice—you choose to act as if (that’s all that’s required—to act as if) you are 100% responsible for everything that does or doesn’t happen to you.

by Jack Canfield

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Take 100% Responsibility for Your Life

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To live a better life and build a better business, I recommend learning how to untangle from both praise and criticism. Neither are your opinions and both cause you to react. It's great to receive feedback, but you must make your own path. Learn how to thank people for both praise and criticism, and then learn how to discard both and work on untangling. You must play your own role in this story.

Chris Brogan is CEO & President of Human Business Works, an education publishing and media company dedicated to helping professionals work better, do the work they want, and to be brave. He is the New York Times bestselling co-author of The Impact Equation, and a sought-after professional keynote speaker.

by Chris Brogan

Make Your Own Path

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Neuroscientists have proven the practice of mindfulness -- paying attention to the present moment -- creates new neural pathways and rewires the brain, leading to heightened brain function. This is why it is so effective in treating addiction, mental illness, and chronic pain.  Mindfulness is also highly effective in business and life.

Mindfulness is the key to optimum health, wealth, and freedom in every area of your life because it has been found to be closely linked to Emotional Intelligence, the ability to identify, assess and manage your emotions.  This leads to more confident and efficient decision making, improved relationships, and higher productivity.

Because our fast paced and multi-tasking culture keeps us out of the present moment, with multiple distractions and diversions, we have to make intentional choices to practice mindfulness.

Want to bring more mindfulness into your life and work? Here are my top 10 mindfulness practices:

1. Gratitude2. Meditation3. Slowing down (speech, eating, driving, etc.)4. Doing one thing at a time5. Deep Breathing Exercises6. Beginner’s mind7. Journaling8. Setting an intention9. Detachment10.Non-judgment (of yourself and others)

Mind your business and your life with even one of these simple but not always easy practices for five minutes every day for the next 30 days and you will experience a transformation in your business and in your life.    

From the chaos of the emergency room to the calm of her yoga mat, Diane Sieg, RN, CYT, CSP, former emergency room nurse turned speaker, author, life coach and yoga teacher, shows organizations and individuals how to practice mindfulness and energize the performance in every area of their lives.

by Diane Sieg

10 Ways to Mind Your Business & Mind Your Life

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Robert H. Thompson, author of The Offsite: A Leadership Challenge Fable, is a sought-after speaker, executive coach, journalist and thought leader in his field.Robert’s clients have included AT&T, Amgen, Hewlett-Packard, Johnson & Johnson, Lockheed Martin, Nike, Qwest, Sony, Sun Microsystems, SVB Financial, The Gap, and Visa to name a few. Robert also is a senior consultant with the Tom Peters Company/UK.

In my book, The Offsite: A Leadership Cha!enge Fable, one of the characters describes a boyhood experience of watching a butterfly emerge from its cocoon. His less than helpful efforts quickly teach him that in order for the caterpillar to “become” the beautiful butterfly there is a period of silent soft change before the necessary struggle to emerge. Interrupting this organic process may destroy it.

Do you create a consciousness cocoon allowing yourself space for some silent soft change before emerging in a new form?

Most people set and give up on resolutions quickly as December’s fog fades into January’s back-to-the-slog. The commitment just doesn’t last long. Complaints of too much struggle and not enough short-term gain force commitment to the curb.

Building its chrysalis, the caterpillar certainly makes a commitment. And, without commitment, nothing changes. Not you. Not me. Nothing.

But what should we commit to? My one word answer is: Simplicity.

Today, in all of our hustle and bustle, I sense a longing for simple, practical results. Yet, often, many get lost in the maze of complexity -- thinking, of course, more complexity equals more value or more equals better.

So, do you want a better life at work and at home? Here are four simple practices I encourage you to try every day for at least a week:

• Show Up: I am present in a way that ensures others feel important.

• Step Up: I encourage curiosity in myself as well as others.

• Serve Up: I encourage a ‘we,’ not an ‘us vs. them’ mentality.

• Speak Up: I communicate with a clear, consistent voice.

And one more thing: Practice simply being still. A few times a week, give yourself the gift of silent soft change. Perhaps, you too, will grow beautifully colored wings and soar.

by Robert H. Thompson

Who Are You Becoming?

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“Because when we work from a place, I believe, that says, ‘I’m enough,’ then we stop screaming and start listening, we're kinder and gentler to the people around us, and we're kinder and gentler to ourselves.”

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Brené Brown, Ph.D., LMSW is a research professor at the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work. She has spent the past decade studying vulnerability, courage, worthiness, and shame. Brené is a nationally renowned speaker and has won numerous teaching awards, including the College’s Outstanding Faculty Award. Brené is the author of the #1 New York Times Bestseller Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead.

by Brené Brown

The Power of VulnerabilityRECOMMENDED

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...but you can’t do it alone.PART TWO:

Be generous.Create a healthy culture.

Be an influencer.Mentor others.

Be an encourager.Train effectively.

Negotiate so everyone wins.Sell the way they want.

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If you want to transform your life, you need the help of others – powerful relationships with people who give you support and access, and push you to exceed your potential. Keith Ferrazzi can help: He is the world’s foremost expert in professional relationship development, bringing 20 years of research and experience to the art and science of business relationship development.

You can sum up my philosophy for building business relationships with this mantra:“Find a Way to Help, Find a Way to Care.”

People always ask me, “but how?” So I’ve broken relationship currency – forms of generosity that you can use in building business relationships – into three categories.

Universal currency refers to our innate human ability to connect to others. We can all embrace intimacy with another human being by listening, empathizing and caring. We can all become the colleague who blocks off that extra time to fetch a cup of coffee or who connects more deeply with a client, customer, employee or peer. Universal currency also includes encouragement.

Professional Currency: The biggest and most powerful aspect of professional currency is providing useful assistance to help a person’s career. To really break through to people, do research to understand the big bet their company has made — shifting from being almost exclusively brick and mortar to eCommerce, for example. Then help make them smart about that big bet in order to help them within their organization — perhaps by sending them the best book on the subject or by making an introduction to an expert or connector within your network.  

Personal Currency: To discover your personal currency, don’t look inside — that’s too hard for many people. Instead, look outward. Personal currency requires discovering what others need to be happy, then figuring out what you can do to get them there. It could be your professional expertise, your problem-solving ability, your network of relationships, your black belt in judo or simply your unfaltering optimism. The secret is to share enough of yourself with someone so that they’re willing to share their dreams and aspirations with you, along with the issues that are holding them back.

by Keith Ferrazzi

Find a Way to Help, Find a Way to Care

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“In this era of nanosecond technology change and ubiquitous information... it’s almost impossible to maintain an advantage in the areas of marketing and strategy and technology and finance. The one area where we can still maintain an advantage is creating a culture that is so healthy and so whole that it becomes almost impossible for other organizations to compete with us.”

click to watch!Patrick Lencioni is a bestselling author, speaker and consultant with over two decades of experience working with CEOs and their executive teams. He is founder and president of The Table Group, a consulting firm dedicated to building healthy organizations. He is the author of many bestselling books including The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, which continues to be a weekly fixture on national bestseller lists; his books have sold over three million copies.

by Patrick Lencioni

The Ultimate Competitive Advantage

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Joseph Grenny is the four-time New York Times best-selling co-author of Influencer. He is also a dynamic, sought-after speaker and co-founder of VitalSmarts, an innovator in corporate training and organizational performance.

The most important capacity we possess is our ability to exert influence. Not a day passes that we don’t try to change either our own or others’ behavior. And yet, most of us struggle to influence ourselves or others to behave differently.

Over the past 25 years, my co-authors and I sought out and studied powerful influencers—those who had remarkable abilities to influence change—rapidly, profoundly and sustainably. Here are three things these influencers do that accounts, in part, for their remarkable and repeated success:

1. Change the Way You Change Minds. In order for others to adopt new, healthier behaviors they must first believe that they can do it, and second, that it’ll be worth it. To motivate others to believe they can and should change, take field trips to watch the target behaviors in action or create vicarious experiences by telling vibrant and believable stories.

2. Find Vital Behaviors. Key results stem from changing a handful of vital behaviors. Instead of chasing a dozen solutions, powerful influencers go to great pains to locate the few behaviors that matter.

3. Harness the Sources of Influence. Deeply entrenched behavior doesn’t have one cause but a conspiracy of causes. Often, we assume that if we just train people, behavior will change. However, we must be adept at employing the personal, social and structural sources that influence behavior.

By using experience to change people’s minds, identifying vital behaviors, and targeting the sources of influence that drive behavior we can make change virtually inevitable.

by Joseph Grenny

Three Ways Effective Leaders Influence Change

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Dr. Kevin Soden, an Emmy, Telly, and International Freddie Award-winning medical journalist for more than 20 years, can now be seen each day as the host of Healthline, a daily half-hour medical show on the Retirement Living Network. He was a National Medical Reporter for NBC News Channel and has also appeared regularly on NBC's Today Show.

There is an old Chinese proverb that states, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” This is the basic concept behind the “See one, Do one, Teach one” principle in medicine. An experienced mentor transmits their skills or knowledge to a less experienced apprentice who, once skilled, transmits this on to others who come behind him or her.

Mentors (the term “Preceptor” is used in some medical training programs) are generally considered to be role models for their protégés and serve as guides for ethical conduct and communication styles. Because young professionals tend to copy their teachers’ behavior both consciously and unconsciously, it’s imperative that mentors are chosen carefully because their influence can set a course for a lifetime of behavior.

Some characteristics of good mentoring programs are:

• Offer the program to as many people as possible. It should not just be for newbies but for any employee wanting to learn more.

• Make the program attractive to mentors by rewarding them. By rewarding mentors with praise, promotions or money, you reinforce their behaviors and the importance of the program.

• Clearly outline the program’s objectives and rules. A general framework defining expectations for both mentors and protégés is essential. There needs to be some formality, but allowing some flexibility is best.

• Be careful to pair the right people. Ideally, you want to pair people who get along and will be able to learn from one another.

• Evaluate the total program regularly. Test the effectiveness of the mentoring program, provide a mechanism for feedback and make changes as needed.

by Dr. Kevin Soden

The Need for Mentoring

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(FROM THE NEW BOOK, FROM THE EMERGENCY ROOM TO THE BOARD ROOM)

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Vicki Hitzges helps companies create cultures of encouragement. Having worked in communications all her life, Vicki knows the value of telling stories, using humor, sharing useful content and involving her audience. Her clients appreciate her clear, fun messages that teach them to conquer change, speak in public, think creatively and connect with others.

Recently my mentor, Zig Ziglar, came to the end of life. On the news after the service, a local Dallas reporter said, “Even in death, Zig Ziglar can pack a house!” And he could.  

Several thousand people attended his service. Hundreds more watched his service online. Why? It wasn’t because of Zig’s deep business acumen. It wasn’t merely due to his home-spun wisdom.

Zig had universal appeal because he was a motivator. He encouraged people. He truly believed that anyone who listened to him was “endowed with the seeds of greatness.”  

People who heard Zig speak accepted his verdict of them as true. And hearing Zig’s belief in them changed them! They picked up the phone and made sales calls. They set goals and kept at them. They “planned to work and worked the plan.” Folks around the globe who heard Zig speak or read his books testify that their lives improved due to Zig’s encouragement.

I’m grateful that about six years ago, I called Zig to thank him for the huge impact he had on my life. It’s because of Zig that I became a speaker. He mentored me. Believed in me. Gave me a start.

Let me encourage you to call people who have taught and believed in you. Or, better still, drop them a note. You’ll be appreciated and loved for your kindness. And Zig’s legacy of encouragement will live on.

by Vicki Hitzges

A Legacy of Encouragement (Remembering Zig Ziglar)

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By age 29, Doug Lipp was the head of the training team at the world-famous Disney University at Disney’s corporate headquarters. With more than 30 years combined experience at Disney and in his private practice, Doug teaches organizations and individuals real-life skills to redefine service and leadership excellence, embrace change, and compete in the global marketplace.

“How do they do it? How do they create the nicest and most customer-focused employees in the world?”

Disney University: The very name carries clout. The very name conjures up images of excellence. Mention this highly-regarded institution to any business leader and the inevitable questions begin: “how do they do it?” and “how can they create some of the nicest, most motivated and incredibly customer-focused employees in the world, year after year?”

In large part, due to the success of the Disney University, the word “University” is invariably found in the title of training departments in corporations and organizations around the world. Yet, arguably very few of these training departments and universities have attained the same level of success for so many years. The reason? Most don’t enjoy the following secret ingredients that the Disney University has enjoyed for decades:

1. Leadership support; the organization values employee development and funds it. Rain or shine.2. Clarity of purpose; the desired outcomes of every training event are crystal clear.3. Consistency between what happens on the front lines and what is taught in the classroom.

These sound simple, but too few organizations get the message. Without these secret ingredients, training and development initiatives are bound to fail. This is why so many corporate “Universities” are doomed to become universities-in-name-only.

That doesn’t have to be true for your company, though. Now you know Disney’s secret ingredients!

by Doug Lipp

Train Like Disney

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Ed Brodow is the world's top spokesman on the art of negotiation. SEC Chairman Harvey Pitt dubbed Ed "The King of Negotiators" and Forbes Magazine ranks Ed as one of the nation's leading dealmakers. Ed's practical, no-nonsense approach to an often-misunderstood subject has helped audiences and readers all over the world to overcome their fears and get what they want in business and in their personal lives. He is the bestselling author of Negotiation Boot Camp (Doubleday).

1. Don't be afraid to ask for what you want. Successful negotiators are assertive and challenge everything – they know that everything is negotiable. I call this negotiation consciousness.

2. Shut up and listen. Negotiators ask probing questions and then shut up. The other negotiator will tell you everything you need to know.

3. Do your homework. Gather as much pertinent information prior to your negotiation. What are their needs? Pressures? Options?

4. Always be willing to walk away. In other words, never negotiate without options. When you say to yourself, "I will walk away if I can't conclude a deal that is satisfactory," your inner resolve will encourage them to make concessions.

5. Don't be in a hurry. Whoever is more flexible about time has the advantage. Your patience can be devastating to the other negotiator if they are in a hurry.

6. Aim high and expect the best outcome. If you expect more, you'll get more. Sellers should ask for more than they expect to receive, and buyers should offer less than they are prepared to pay.

7. Focus on the other side's pressure, not yours. Successful negotiators ask, "What is the pressure on the other side in this negotiation?"

8. Show the other person how their needs will be met. Instead of trying to win the negotiation, seek to understand the other negotiator’s perception of the deal and help them to feel satisfied.

9. Don't give anything away without getting something in return. Whenever you make a concession, get a concession in return. Always tie a string: "I'll do this if you do that."

10. Don't take the issues or the other person's behavior personally. If someone is rude or difficult to deal with, try to understand their behavior and don't take it personally.

by Ed Brodow

Ten Tips for Negotiating Successfully in 2013Your ability to negotiate successfu!y in 2013 can make the difference

between success and failure. Here are 10 tips:

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Neil Rackham is known throughout the world as a speaker, writer and seminal thinker on sales and marketing issues. Three of his books - including the classic, SPIN Selling - have been on the New York Times best seller list and his works have been translated into over 50 languages. His work in sales training won him the Instructional Systems Association lifetime award for Innovation in Training and Instruction.

The most important word in selling — whether you engage in simple, transactional sales, or complex, consultative sales — is TRUST. All selling depends on trust.

The question, then, is what do buyers look for in a seller they can trust?

In our research — looking specifically at consultative buyers — we found that three qualities rise to the top:

• Concern. Does the salesperson care about what I feel and think? Does s/he listen to me? Does s/he ask questions?

• Candor. Is the salesperson straightforward? Does s/he forgo exaggeration? Is s/he honest about ignorance (or does s/he claim to know everything)?

• Competence. Is the salesperson’s advice professionally sound? Is s/he technically proficient in knowledge of the product or service? Is s/he experienced?

Of the three, do you know which is rated highest by buyers? Concern... yet only 35% of consultative salespeople are rated “adequate” or better for Concern.

Remember, it’s not enough to be concerned; you must show your concern.

While we can always refine our sales skills, sales strategies, and sales psychology, remembering the “3 C’s of Consultative Selling” is a good foundation from which to build.

by Neil Rackham

The Most Important Word in Selling

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Make it fun!PART THREE:

Have fun.Live like a winner.

Laugh... a lot.Be happy.

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Carol Grace Anderson is a motivational expert and author of the popular book, Get Fired Up Without Burning Out! She also has an inspiring story in the million-selling Chicken Soup for the College Soul ®. Just like you, Carol has overcome some big life challenges. From growing up in a tiny trailer, going blind in one eye, and losing her younger sister to breast cancer, she learned how to turn struggle into strength. She can show you how, too!

As a kid, wasn’t the circus a big, magical experience? Life and business could and should be more like that. Here’s why I say that:

For years I lived in a tiny 18’ trailer with my parents and sister in a trailer park. The best part was that most of our neighbors were circus performers! I was in awe every day after school watching them practice their daring tricks and routines. Wow!

Looking back, I realize that the circus was a great metaphor for life — a mix of fun and hard work. The tightrope walkers, jugglers, and acrobats all had to have skill and laser-sharp focus. The flip-side is that they could see the wonder and enchantment in the eyes of the audience both young and old. They were making a difference in their unique way.

To create a better life and better business, we need to be daring and focused, and we must have fun along the way.

I recently went to Aruba with some family members. It was breathtaking and, thankfully, had very limited internet access. We had to unplug and just focus on fun for a week.

The result? We were all more energized, refreshed, productive and fired up when we returned. Fun works!

by Carol Grace Anderson

Fun Works!

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Dr. Neil Shulman is an Associate Professor in the School of Medicine at Emory University, and he is also the author of many books promoting medical literacy for both adults and children, as well as humor and children's books. He is the associate producer of the 1991 film Doc Hollywood, based on one of his books. He is a past president of the Patch Adams nonprofit organization (the Gesundheit Institute), and is also a highly sought-after speaker for Fortune 500 companies.

1. Live like a winner!

I do feel that we all won the lottery. It takes 50 million sperms to fertilize one of five eggs. We are a winning sperm/egg combination. If one other egg or sperm made it, then we would not be here. Soooo.... we should all enjoy the “dash” of our life.

2. Laugh... a lot!

Laughter is great medicine -- no matter what the circumstances. The best way to build a business and have a good life is to be creative, laugh a lot, and humanize. Honesty and caring pay off a lot more than hyping. Making fun of yourself when you goof up is appreciated more than one can imagine.

3. Make connections.

I believe that everyone has a book in them. There are seven billion humans and therefore

seven billion books out there. They are simply brain transplants on paper!

I love connecting with strangers and finding out their “table of contents” -- and then selecting a chapter and hearing them talk about it. I have found strangers who are just as interesting and caring as Michael J. Fox, billionaires or big-time politicians.

I suggest that we all connect, whether while waiting in line at a grocery store or asking if it is okay to sit down and chat with folks in a restaurant.

(By the way, even if you are not a writer, you can connect with a talented writer and make your book happen! Even a student recommended by a high school teacher or college professor might be a better collaborator than a professional writer. Go for it!!)

by Dr. Neil Shulman

An Rx for a Better Life (Doctor’s Orders!)

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“...only 25 percent of job successes are predicted by I.Q. 75 percent of job successes are predicted by your optimism levels, your social support and your ability to see stress as a challenge instead of as a threat.”

Shawn Achor is the author of the international bestseller, The Happiness Advantage. Shawn is regarded as one of the world’s leading experts on the connection between happiness and success. In 2012, Shawn’s research on happiness made the cover of Harvard Business Review, and his TED talk has became one of the most popular of all time with over 3 million views.

by Shawn Achor

The Happy Secret to Better Work

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Pursue excellence.PART FOUR:

Hone your talent.Focus on your strengths.

Beware of average.Live well.

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Successful people who are also happy are those who are able to work where their desire and natural talent fit. Energy comes from success. Success comes from continually honing that talent through disciplined practice with constant rhythm.

A career ladder of today is obsolete tomorrow. New jobs will come. Think about what you can be good at and find a work slot where you can apply your particular talent. Master it, and the world will chase you. There is a shortage of real talent in many fields of human endeavor. Find these fields and compete for your space.

Lastly, remember that talk is cheap. Doing it and getting it done is what differentiates successful people.

Good luck. Luck favors the prepared.

Ram Charan is a highly sought after business advisor and speaker famous among senior executives for his uncanny ability to solve their toughest business problems. For more than thirty-five years, Dr. Charan has worked behind the scenes with top executives at some of the world's most successful companies, including GE, Verizon, Novartis, Dupont, Thomson Corporation, Honeywell, KLM, Bank of America, and MeadWestvaco.

by Ram Charan

A Better Life Is What You Make of It

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Around this time of year, a lot of us are doggedly trying to keep up with a resolution to do more— exercise more, eat more healthy foods, read more. All worthy goals. But my advice is to do less: give yourself permission to stop doing what you hate to do.

Does that strike you as a fantasy, or a cop-out? Who on earth gets to live a life filled only with exactly the things he wants to do? Okay, I’ll admit it: nobody does. But you can get a lot closer to that life by admitting what you hate and figuring out strategies to stop doing it, or at least minimize the impact it has on your life.

Some people will tell you that you need difficulty in your life, a little grit, as an oyster takes an irritant and builds a polished pearl around it. Be skeptical about this advice. When it comes to your career and business, grit will grind you down. Every minute you invest in an activity that grates on you is a poorly invested minute. In those minutes, those hours, those days, you will learn little and feel weaker and less resilient.

Instead, if you can find a way to cut out or minimize the things you hate — by teaming up with someone, or delegating, or focusing for an hour a week instead of procrastinating — you’ll have more time and energy to spend on those areas in which you excel. And the areas in which you already excel are precisely those in which more time and effort will yield the greatest results.

Marcus Buckingham first conquered the bestseller lists in 1999 with First, Break All the Rules. Following up on his highly successful debut book, Marcus continued to drive the message that people's unique personal strengths are the key to unlocking their potential. His latest project, StandOut, is a book and strengths assessment combination that uses a new research methodology to reveal your top two "strength Roles" — your areas of comparative advantage.

by Marcus Buckingham

Stop Doing What You Hate

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We all strive for excellence. I believe no one wakes up in the morning and looks into the mirror and says to themselves, “I’m going to be average today.” We all strive to be our best.

Then why are we so willing to accept average? We accept it everyday! Where we work, when we go to the store, eat at a restaurant or call a company on the telephone.  

You have to bring Passion, Flexibility, Communication, Competency and Ownership into any organization or individual to get back, attain, and sustain excellence. You do this by paying attention to:

Passion: Inspires everyone with energy, enthusiasm, and caring.

Competency: Ensures everyone has all the skills needed to do their best.

Flexibility: Helps us respond to unique situations whenever they occur.

Communication: Clearly communicates roles and expectations.

Ownership: Ensures everyone takes 100% responsibility.

Pay attention to the above and good things start to happen and you prevent your own Excellence from being kidnapped. Take on the important challenge of excellence in an unprecedented way to help any organization or person achieve and maintain excellence in every aspect of their lives.  

As the author of six world-renowned books, and Co-author of the global phenomenon and best selling business book Fish! A Proven Way to Boost Results and Improve Morale, Harry Paul  travels the globe infusing fun-and performance-into the workplace. His next book is titled Who Kidnapped Excellence?

by Harry Paul

Who Kidnapped Excellence?

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(FROM THE FORTHCOMING BOOK BY THE SAME TITLE)

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The leading cause of death in America is not heart disease, cancer, stroke or diabetes. It is the unhealthy lifestyle that most Americans are addicted to which is the true cause. A study by Mathew Reeves, a Michigan State University epidemiologist, finds that only 3% of Americans maintain a healthy lifestyle. It is a situation that is causing dire consequences for millions of Americans. You cannot perform at your best if you are stressed and lacking in energy. It impacts EVERY area of your life.

“I was really quite surprised at how low that number was,” said Reeves. The research published in the journal, Archives of Internal Medicine, found that only 3 percent undertook four basic steps that define a healthy lifestyle:

not smoking

healthy weight

eating right including a minimum of 5 fruits/vegetables a day

exercising at least 5 times a week for 30 minutes.

Those are not exactly Olympic-caliber qualifications. That is the good news. These four criteria are something you can easily choose to do. All you need to do is put on the hat of responsibility and own this choice.

You have likely made some bad choices in the past -- take responsibility now. You need to step up and make some new choices, maybe extremely different choices right now!

A peak performance strategist and motivational dynamo, Chip Eichelberger is positively great at making your next convention unforgettable. Former Tony Robbins international point man, Chip has been speaking about health, vitality and success for 19 years. Clients include Ernst & Young, Tommy Hilfiger, ADP and Bank of America.

by Chip Eichelberger

Make the 3% Choice!

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Be willing to adapt.PART FIVE:

Be grateful for what you have.Control what you can control.

Be open to possibilities.Stay curious.

Embrace innovation.

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“Take time to consider what is positive in your life. Every morning I do my grateful list before my feet it the floor. In fact, I define that as the only way I know to ‘hit the ground running!’”

click to watch!

For over twenty years, Mimi Donaldson has captivated audiences from the Fortune 100 to the just plain fortunate. She’s won acclaim for her rousing keynote speeches, compelling workshops, and in-house training programs. She has shared the keynote platform with Colin Powell, Katie Couric and Maya Angelou.

by Mimi Donaldson

Three Tips to ‘Make It’ in 2013

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My client conference calls always start the same. Everyone awkwardly says hello and then we wait in silence for the last person to jump on the call. The same conversation starts minutes later. “We are dealing with a lot of change,” someone says. “Change is very difficult for everyone right now,” another very important manager adds.

I really don’t have to take notes. “There is constant change.” “Change is difficult.” “Our employees don’t like change.” Yep, I got it. Let me write all of that down.

Was there ever a time when the CEO brought everyone into a room and said, “Good news. We are all done changing. We finished everything up on Friday.”

Even when the economy improves, there will be change. There will always be change. In the future, when we all wear the same monochromatic clothes and live in peace and harmony and have our food provided by replicators, there will be change. It is time to

accept constant change. We have to change how we react to change. Specifically, be able to control your reaction to change.

Most change is out of our control. We cannot control the economy, stock market, customer mood swings or anything else. Something will break. Something will happen that you were not expecting. I promise. You do have one very important power. You control how you react to change. You control your attitude.

Too many times, we allow change to decide our attitude. Change will always choose frustration, impatience and stress. If you get to decide, choose a more patient, positive, energized attitude.

This doesn’t mean you won’t have stress, challenges and difficult situations. It means you are dealing with change on your terms. If you are energized and passionate, you will have the right attitude to deal with any situation.

Joel Zeff is a national workplace expert, speaker and humorist. His spontaneous humor and vital messages have thrilled audiences for years. Corporations and organizations nationwide seek him out to motivate and energize their employees on such topics as work/life balance, passion at work, creativity, communication, teamwork, and leadership. His first book, “Make the Right Choice: Creating a Positive, Innovative and Productive Work Life” was published by John Wiley & Sons.

by Joel Zeff

Change How You React to Change

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Non-attachment is the key to all happiness in life and work.

Not detachment.

Let me explain the crucial distinction.

Detachment is giving up. Non-attachment is giving up... the struggle.

Recently a friend and colleague expressed her fear about the current economic realities. Hers, in particular. In a matter of two years she had been reduced from speaking to different audiences every week in large auditoriums to addressing the same audience every day... around her small family dining table.

Her worry was evident in her taut visage and tight posture. Her attachment to her specific vision of 'success' was ruining the very vitality, humor and optimism upon which she had built a career. Her attachment to a specific outcome was giving her blinders when what she needed was the floodlit, Panavision perspective of limitless possibility.

My suggestion? To let go of her expectations… and see what might be the unexpected gift in uninvited circumstances.

Maybe she needed to reinvent herself or even stop speaking completely. She would only find success once she opened and embraced whatever was next, unattached from her pre-

conceived destination... but never, ever detached.

Why?

Detachment is the very opposite of non-attachment.  Detachment is dispassion, disinterest. Detachment leads to cynicism, heartlessness, diminution of life force. Non-attachment asks us to stop clinging, to let go of our fears and trust our interests and passions. Non-attachment is playful. Relaxed. Non-attachment says: Hey, let's see what happens next.

A spirit of adventure will get us up the mountain every time. An attitude of non-attachment is the joyful heart of the adventurous spirit.

Dr. Jeff Salz is a leading Keynote Speaker, Anthropologist, Thought Leader, Explorer and Guide. For more than 20 years, he has been delighting audiences with his uplifting and mesmerizing accounts of global trips, travels and treks. His keynote addresses on the subject of adventure receive standing ovations and audience members say that "I will never forget what I learned from Dr. Jeff!"

by Dr. Jeff Salz

Non-Attachment: The Key to a Successful Life (One Adventurer's Opinion)

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When it comes to leading a successful life -- personally and professionally -- there is nothing that creates more value and brings more possibilities than a strong leader and innovative ideas. Too often, however, leaders fall into the rut of the day-to-day or their comfort zone, often unwilling to change or try anything new.

The better path to successful leadership is through increased innovation. Here are three keys to that success:

Foster a culture of curiosity — Stay curious. Don’t stymie idea generation or create a culture of fear. Encourage teams to ask why, try new things and challenge the status quo.

Embrace & encourage change — Make change the norm and be less impacted when it catches you by surprise. Move furniture around, take a different way to work and ask your teams what they want changed.

Take chances and accept risk — Failure is an option and is often the best teacher. Approach every challenge with fresh eyes and be willing to try something new. When you take chances you will realize more possibilities. Innovate rather than stagnate.

We live in an era where the only way to compete for jobs and customers is to differentiate and stand out from the competition. The key to this lies in our ability to lead and innovate. When we include curiosity, change and risk-taking in strategic initiatives, we are positioned well above the competition and therefore are able to master the art of differentiation and succeed as an innovative leader.

Entrepreneur, photographer, adventurer and marketing pro, Allan Karl founded a top-50 digital marketing agency. Then he traveled the world—alone on his motorcycle. “Stay curious,” he says, inspiring audiences to embrace change, face fear and step outside the comfort zone. Through captivating stories and inspiring photography, Allan motivates and moves audiences into action.

by Allan Karl

Three Keys to Better Leadership & Increased Innovation

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A friend of mine does the psychological profiling for the elite armed forces. In this case his work focuses on the US Navy Seals. He tests and scores them in both physiological and psychological challenges to determine how they continually achieve levels of superior performance:

• How do they remain unflinchingly calm in the face of the most harrowing situations?

• How do they sustain levels of peak performance amidst a rapidly changing and often chaotic environment?

After tremendous research, what he has boiler plated it down to are three core elements. That is the ability to focus. The ability to commit. And ultimately the ability to adapt.

What he has found is that most professionals have been heavily trained to focus and to commit. However, what differentiates the average from the elite is our ability to adapt.

Those who are able to embrace innovation and improvisation as a core competency are better equipped to succeed in the future.

What steps can you take to expand your skills to proactively adjust your landscape and adapt to remain one step ahead of the competition?

As an internationally recognized graffiti artist, author and entrepreneur, Erik Wahl redefines the term “keynote speaker.” Pulling from his history as both a businessman and an artist, he has grown to become one of the most sought-after corporate speakers available today. Erik’s on-stage painting seamlessly becomes a visual metaphor to the core of his message, encouraging organizations toward profitability through innovations and superior levels of performance.

by Erik Wahl

Focus. Commit. Adapt.

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“It’s one of the characteristics of a leader that he not doubt for one moment the capacity of the people he’s leading to realize whatever he’s dreaming. Imagine if Martin Luther King had said, ‘I have a dream. Of course, I’m not sure they’ll be up to it.’”

Benjamin Zander is the conductor of The Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and a guest conductor around the world. Mr. Zander is also one of the most sought after speakers in the world. His partner Rosamund Zander and he have collaborated on a best-selling book, “The Art of Possibility” which has been translated into fifteen languages.

by Benjamin Zander

The Transformative Power of Classical MusicRECOMMENDED

TEDTALK

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Want more ‘good advice’ to help you live a better life & build a better business?

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Take it one moment at a time.IN CONCLUSION:

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I hope you’ve enjoyed the contributions from the great speakers, authors and thought leaders within this compilation. More importantly, I hope you’ll put some of this ‘good advice’ into action in your life and business.

After all, the best advice in the world is meaningless if not acted upon.

So in conclusion, let’s address that: How do we take action on what we’ve learned within the pages of this e-book?

I think we all want to do the right thing. We want to follow best practices... But it’s not so easy when facing all the curveballs life throws our way—layoffs, a great recession, chronic illness, government regulations, and on and on.

It’s not so easy when you’re burned out and overwhelmed from being always in and always on, forced to do more with less, with distractions coming at you from every direction.

We live in a world that constantly tells us to “do more, faster!” Yet doing more, faster, doesn’t allow us to be our best. It’s actually the opposite. Slowing down is the way to be our best—the way to be your best. And that brings

me to my contribution to this compilation of ‘good advice:’

This Moment Matters.

This moment matters because everything happens in this moment. This moment matters because we’re always in this moment... yet how many moments do we miss, either because we’re moving so fast, or because we’re replaying events of the past, or because we’re worrying about what’s coming the future?

So try this: Be here now, and you can be somewhere else later.

You may have a grand vision you’re working toward. You may have a to-do list a mile long. You may see lots of opportunities for improvement after reading this book...

But you can’t do everything at once.

What is the right thing to do right now?

As often as possible, do that.

When you do, pat yourself on the back. When you don’t, well, a new moment starts right... now!

Shawn Ellis has been studying, writing and speaking about the topics of motivation, productivity and performance for over 15 years. As founder and president of The Speakers Group, he has partnered with many of today’s leading authorities to bring empowering messages to individuals and organizations through live events. With his “This Moment Matters” message, he’s on a mission to help today’s busy professionals be more present for more of the moments in their lives and businesses.

by Shawn Ellis

This Moment Matters

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LIVE A BETTER LIFE &BUILD A BETTER BUSINESS.

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Thank you for reading and sharing. Thanks to the speakers and authors for contributing.

We wish you great success on your journey to...

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