CLN Blog

• Exhausted
• Overworked
• Overwhelmed
• Over-scheduled
• Anxious
• Dissatisfied

It’s an issue that applies to everyone it seems. No matter if you run a successful business, non-profit, corporation or church... These words might sneak up on you. No matter if you are young or old, rich or poor, professionals or parents, women or men, Republicans or Democrats, it doesn't matter. This is an issue that doesn't discriminate. It's clearly a global issue.

• If you are feeling exhausted, it might be because you haven’t allowed yourself enough time to rest. 
• If you are feeling anxious, it might be because you want something to change and happen that is outside of your control.
• If you are feeling overwhelmed, it might...

I’ll be honest, I haven’t always got this one right. It took me a few years to structure my life in a way that would help me…

1. Love God more
2. Love my wife better
3. Lead my kids intentionally
4. Take care of my body and mind better
5. Grow and scale my businesses faster
6. Serve my community with greater impact
7. Give my time and money more consistently
8. Just simply lead an all around better life.

Through years of trial and error, trying to balance so many aspects of life and making mistakes along the way, I realized that it is possible to achieve both balance and impact.

There were 3 key realizations I had that helped me make significant strides towards this (although at times I still fail).

Realization #1

The more I tried to please others, the more I said “yes” to things that truly didn’t align with what I needed to do and who I needed to be. Therefore, saying “yes” to those things practically derailed any type of progress I could...

I had a typical goal last year. I wanted to read more... a lot more! I wanted 2017 to be a huge boost in my self development journey, so I did what many people do and headed to Barnes and Nobles Bookstore to look at some books that I could read throughout the year. I pulled out my iPhone, made a new note in my Evernote app entitled "Books to Read in 2017" and started making a list of the books that peaked my interest. My goal was to choose 12 books in the bookstore so that I could read one book per month. I gazed through the many book titles by highly acclaimed authors, I couldn't help but continue to build my list.

My list kept getting bigger, and bigger, and bigger. Finally, I stepped away and found a table nearby and started to go through my long list of books. I was shocked to find that my book tally was well over one hundred! I reminded myself that I could only choose 12 books from the list, and then did that math and figured that at this rate it would take almost 10 years to...

Does this sound like you?

• I am experiencing signs of burnout.
• I have too many irons in the fire.
• I feel like I’m spread too thin.
• I’m running on a hamster wheel.
• I feel like throwing spaghetti on the wall!
• Do you feel like you are majoring in minor activities?
• Do you feel like you are busy but not productive?
• Do you feel over-worked and underutilized?

If you answered yes to any of these, the way out is to concentrate on your life essentials! 

One of the biggest problems that exists in our work culture today is that we have the tendency to value those who are full of projects and tasks. We place value on those who are at every single meeting and are always there whenever they are needed. Although this may seem like a great quality, this type of tendency will lead to the consequences listed above. These people will feel overwhelmed, burnt out and spread too thin. Let’s talk about something that is much more effective, the way of the essentialist.
By...

One of the biggest psychological barriers that plagues hundreds of millions of people around the world is known as doubt. Doubt keeps many people easily contained in their own small box. It paralyzes innovation, destroys opportunities, and demolishes would-be entrepreneurs. Learning how to overcome doubt may be the single biggest difference that one can make in their lives. Mastering this one issue can open a new horizon of opportunities for you because of the effect that it has on so many areas of life. Doubt creeps into our lives even when we don't realize it. We may be a naturally-confident person, but as you evaluate yourself and your level of accomplishment, you may see areas where you have held back. Whether it's starting your own business, pitching the CEO, or talking to that attractive woman/man, doubt sometimes manifests itself in a form that many of us may not even realize. You may not feel the doubt because you go through the same series of thought...

I recently wrote a blog on How To Turn Your Resolutions Into SMARTER Goals to show the clear distinction between making a counterproductive resolutions, setting generic goals, and setting SMARTER goals. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with resolutions or goal setting, but I do have a problem with goal setting that has an extreme lack of details, planning, and accountability. A New Year's resolution, to me, is a baby step in the right direction of goal setting, but they aren't equal. Even goal setting is decent on it's own, but there is something that is much more effective! If everyone did this, it would be an absolute KILLER for New Year's Resolutions. People would have much more clarity in their lives, they would live every single day with more intention, and they would absolutely crush their goals. More dreams would be achieved, more small businesses would thrive, and six-pack abs would be more common among top-performing professionals (that's not a...

Saving 10 hours a week is gaining 10 hours a week. If you enjoy spending more time on projects and getting less accomplished, this post isn't for you. This is for those who wish there were more hours in the day and can really use an extra 260 hours (or 10.83 days) per year. These productivity hacks are something that I use on a daily basis, and it has proven to help me use my time more effectively.

1. 5 Minute Daily Checklist

Every night, I make a checklist of things that I need to accomplish the next day. It really helps me focus on the things that are high priority objectives. You can use a pen and pad, or an app that allows you to view and edit your daily objectives. If you are consistent and list them all then you will be surprised how quickly you can move from one thing to the next. How many things do you think you can accomplish when absolute focus is applied to your life? Focusing on your daily objectives will lead to a huge boost in productivity.

2. Plan Your...

Think of your favorite athlete. Now think about your favorite musician. How about your favorite businessman, entrepreneur, speaker, writer? Many successful people may have several things in common such as determination, persistence and a hard-work ethic. These traits are good to have but there is one quality that sets these successful people apart from the rest.  I discovered something that is arguably more important. The lazy answer is to say developing successful habits because habits sustain you over a long period of time. Simply stating that it is important to develop successful habits doesn't really mean anything to me. I'm the type of person that asks way too many annoying questions like...