“The starting point of all achievement is desire.”
— Napoleon Hill

Motivation is necessary for success, but it’s hard to sustain. Motivation comes from focusing on why you’re doing what you’re doing. If you have big goals and a clear purpose, you can get motivated, but you’ll find that energy fading over time. These are my top tips for staying motivated over the long haul.

1. Figure out your routine. Your routine will help you eliminate any distractions from unimportant things. A routine simplifies your life so that you can focus on what matters. Start with something simple and go from there.
2. Focus on one thing each day. Figure out the one thing, that once accomplished, will make your day a success. Then, anything else you finish in the day is a bonus.
3. Eliminate negativity from your life. Negativity might come from people, environments, or your attitude. That negativity will hold you back and suck the energy out of your life.
4. Stay disciplined. Go through the motions if that’s what it takes. Discipline gets you through the times when you’re not motivated until you get back on track.

“We should always be asking ourselves: ‘Is this something that is, or is not, in my control?’”
— Epictetus, “Enchiridion”

To be clear, I’m not talking about moral, ethical, or legal issues. If your boss crosses one of those lines, then you need to take it up with your boss’s boss, HR/Legal, or the police. I’m only talking about “normal” bad boss issues, e.g. he’s a jerk, he’s a bad leader, he’s making my life hell, etc.

Ultimately, there are only two options: stay or quit? Your boss doesn’t really have any power over you, because you decide if you’re staying or leaving. You really work for yourself. Your boss is just a temporary client. Now, let’s figure out the right choice.

First, you need to know where you stand today. What benefits does this job provide? Or alternatively, why are you working at this job at all? Evaluate your current job situation and then do a hard evaluation of yourself.

Questions about my current job:

• Is the pay good? Does my salary afford me a decent lifestyle?
• Is the commute reasonable?
• Do I have good benefits, like vacation and medical insurance?
• Do I like my coworkers?
• Do I love the work itself? Am I inspired by the job?
• What am I learning in this job? Is it helping me become more valuable?
• Is this a dead-end job or am I growing professionally?

Questions about myself:

• What am I grateful for today, in my current circumstances?
• What do I really want out of life?
• How can I make myself more valuable to my employer, to the marketplace, and to my family?
• What could I become elite at?
• What excites me?
• Am I willing to take risks?
• What am I afraid of?

It’s not an exhaustive list, but these questions are a pretty good start. With any luck, the answers will help you make that important decision: stay or quit?

Now, what if you decide to quit? What if this is just a dead-end job that won’t help you grow and develop. What if you feel stuck doing things you hate? If you decide to quit, you need to get some stuff done so you can make that happen the right way.

How to quit your job:

• Decide to quit.
• Stop stressing out about your bad boss. You’ve already decided to quit, so none of that matters now.
• Determine what you need to prepare before quitting. Can you quit today, or do you need time to get your finances in order? How’s your resume and LinkedIn profile? Will this be a career change, or are you staying in the same field? Will you go the self-employment route, or do you plan to find a new job?
• Pick a date to quit and then work hard towards that event. This doesn’t have to be set in stone, but at least act like it’s real for now. Start saving money like you already quit and have no income. Talk to some recruiters or start searching for potential clients. Start networking. Use this time to your advantage.
• Don’t burn bridges with your current employer. In fact, crush it for the remaining time you have left. Do it with a smile. Don’t let anyone get you down. After all, you’re leaving, so be happy and enjoy yourself.
• Finally, quit. Don’t do it out of spite. Do it because you’re moving forward. Do it because you’re taking on the next challenge in your life.

So, what if you decide to stay? What if you decide to stay for now and see if things improve? What if it’s not prudent to quit anytime in the next few months? Well, if you decide to stay, then you need to deal with that bad boss situation.

How to deal with a bad boss:

• Start building a good relationship with your boss. This is going to be hard. Do it anyway. Make it a game. Find a winning strategy. Figure out which tactics work and which don’t. Have fun with it. Prove that you’re good enough to work with everybody, not just the people you like.
• Overcome your own ego. Don’t worry about getting the credit for everything. In fact, give your boss the credit.
• Find ways to make your boss look good to the team and to his superiors. Work with him, not against him, even when it doesn’t seem like he’s working with you.
• Ask your boss for advice about some area that you know you need to improve. And don’t just ask — listen, learn, and adjust based on that advice. Say something like, “Hey, boss. I know I’m a bit weak in this area. Do you have any quick tips to help me get on track?” See what happens.
• Lead the team, humbly and quietly, whenever the team needs you. Don’t step on your boss’s toes, but always be ready to step up and lead.

No matter what approach you take, remember that you are in control of your own career. Don’t blame anybody else if things aren’t going well. There will always be people who don’t get along with you, who annoy you, or who are simply mean to you. You can’t control those people, but you can always become a better teammate, a better leader, and a better human being. If you constantly improve yourself and outperform the haters, you will win.

“I never knew a man come to greatness or eminence who lay abed late in the morning.”
— Johnathan Swift

Will you get out of bed or hit the snooze button? If you get out of bed, then you pass the first test of the day. That’s it. That’s the test. It’s simple, but it might not be easy.

Don’t let lame excuses keep you in bed. If you stayed up too late last night, then you’ll get to bed early tonight. If it’s the weekend and you don’t have anything scheduled this morning, that’s great. You can use the extra time to knock out one of the important tasks you’ve been avoiding.

Ultimately, you need to decide to get up and then do it. Fight off that few seconds of pain. Fight off that urge to stay comfortable and warm under the blankets. Fight off that little voice in your head that says it doesn’t matter. If you fail this first test, you’re setting yourself up for more failure throughout the day.

So… No excuses. Get out of bed and take on the day as a winner!

“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.”
— George Bernard Shaw

There are hundreds or maybe thousands of tips and tricks for sending good and effective emails, but I believe these three may be the most important.

1. Write the body of your email first. It’s tempting to go through the steps from top to bottom, but I highly recommend doing them in reverse order. The body of your email is the inner sanctum of this communication, so get it right first. Make sure your thoughts are written clearly and concisely. Check your spelling and grammar. If it’s a really important message, have someone else read it ahead of time and give you feedback, or at least read it out loud to yourself.

2. Make your subject line match the body of your email. The subject line is this email’s chance at a first impression. Make it a good one. Make it useful for the people who see it.

3. Send your email to recipients who should actually receive the email. You’re asking every person who receives this email to give you some of their precious time. Is this email worth that high price to them?

“Winners are not afraid of losing. But losers are. Failure is part of the process of success. People who avoid failure also avoid success.”
— Robert T. Kiyosaki, “Rich Dad, Poor Dad”

Way too many people settle into mediocrity because they’re afraid of failing. Maybe they can’t handle criticism. Maybe they don’t want to let their family down. Maybe they’re comfortable and don’t want to lose that comfort. Whatever it is, people don’t want to take risks.

I think that most of the time when we avoid risk, it’s because we’re listening to an inner voice that tells us we’re a fraud. The voice tells us that if we fail, the whole world will know just what a complete fake we are.

Don’t listen to that voice. That voice is just giving you an excuse to avoid executing, and executing is what you need to be doing. If you want to succeed, you need to risk some failure along the way. It’s OK to fail as long as you keep learning and adjusting.

So get up and get moving. Figure out the most important thing you need to do today and do it. Keep learning. Don’t worry about failure. When you get knocked down, get back up and move forward again and again.

“The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things.”
— Ronald Reagan

You can’t actually manage people. You can manage systems, processes, and outcomes but people need to be led. Management is about using your power and control to accomplish a goal. It’s a useful skill, but you can’t control people.

To be a leader, you need to know where you’re going. Then you need to communicate that destination to the people on your team. You need to make that story compelling for them. Your people need to find a real sense of purpose in following you.

This means that as a leader you need to understand both what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. You need to ensure that every member of your team knows what they’re doing and how it fits into the bigger picture. You need to show your people how to be successful.

As a leader, you must take ownership and get the job done, but you do it by putting yourself last. Take care of the people on your team. Help them succeed. Always give them 100% of the credit when the team is successful, and always take 100% of the blame when the team fails.

When things go poorly for your team, help them see the opportunity through the chaos. When things go well, keep them focused and show them how to get even better.

Leaders set high expectations and push the team to achieve their potential. They give clear, honest assessments. Leaders don’t solve every problem for the team, but they make sure the team has the training and tools to solve any problem.

If your team sees you listen, communicate fully, admit your mistakes, evolve and adapt, and put the team and the mission first, then they’ll trust you. If they know you want them to succeed, they’ll always have your back. If your people believe in you, they’ll follow you.

“He’s not really dead. As long as we remember him.”
— Doctor McCoy, Star Trek: The Wrath of Kahn

What one line will be written on your tombstone? Let’s pretend it could be anything, but it has to be the thing you were most known for during your life.

Will it say you were a loving mother or father? Perhaps you’ll be remembered as a community leader or a successful business owner. Were you fun-loving or serious? Maybe you were a consummate learner or an inspirational teacher? Are you the person who refused to quit, defied the odds, and overcame every obstacle?

On the other hand, what if you’re remembered as the guy who never finished what they started? Or just as bad, maybe you’ll be known as the person who never started anything. Were you a failure? Were you lazy? Were you afraid? Did you merely follow along or hang out with the wrong crowd?

Everything you do adds to or subtracts from your legacy. Decide how you want to be remembered and go make that happen.

“Well play right, Shawn. Or don’t play at all.”
— Henry Spencer, Psych, “Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Piece”

I tell my kids that they don’t have to be the best player, but I expect them to play harder than anyone else on the field. I expect them to give 100% effort in every game and on every play. I expect them to practice so hard that the real games seem easy.

Some amazing things happen when you have this attitude. You get better and better. The challenges get easier and easier. You earn the respect of coaches, teammates, opponents, and fans. You have more fun.

The alternative is that you don’t give your best effort. What happens then? Don’t complain about the results if you don’t put in the work.

Now apply this to the rest of your life. No, you don’t need your heart rate at 200 BPM all day long. Even intense practices and workouts have introductory stretching, water breaks, and cooldown periods. You need the equivalent in your daily work. You need to get quality sleep. You need to take some breaks. You need to read books, hang out with friends, and meditate.

But, are you practicing? Are you studying? Are you developing your skills? Are you trying to be a little bit better each day? Or are you just going through the motions?

Remember: Passion follows effort.

“Better a little which is well done, than a great deal imperfectly.”
— Plato

Actually you can sell a bad product. Walmart and Amazon do it all the time. Good salespeople do it all the time. We’ve all purchased bad products, and we probably kept most of them.

The hard thing is repeat sales of a bad product. If your product stinks, nobody’s coming back for more. You’ll have a hard time convincing a customer to order more of something that didn’t make them happy the first time around.

On the other hand, you don’t need a perfect product to keep people coming back for more. If your product has one or two features that are done really well, you’ll get some repeat customers.

There’s a difference, of course, between limited and broken. A calculator that doesn’t add is broken. A calculator without a memory function is limited. You need to know the difference. If you have any repeat customers, your product probably isn’t broken. Ask those customers why they came back.

Figure out what makes your product special and double down on that.

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.”
— Romeo and Juliet, Act II, Scene II

It turns out that how you present something is sometimes more important than what you present. You can even trick yourself into better performance, a better attitude, and better success.

You see, our brains are really good at grouping things together. We like to categorize. For instance, when I first studied Morse code, I found myself automatically recognizing common word patterns. If I heard the phrase “bread and” my mind immediately jumped to “butter.” If I heard “take it or” of course I instantly heard “leave it.” Even when I was struggling to keep up with the dits and dahs of code, I could instantly catch up when I recognized a pattern.

Now here’s the trick. You need to create positive patterns for yourself. If you hate getting out of bed in the morning, that’s going to drag you down all day. You need to find a way to replace your negative feelings with a positive association. Maybe you can reward yourself with a nice, hot breakfast. Maybe it’s an energizing run or some relaxing meditation. If you keep repeating the pattern day after day, it’s going to get easier and easier.

Every time you replace a negative pattern with a positive one, you level up in life.