In Norman Cousins’ classic bestseller Anatomy of an Illness is Perceived by the Patient, he describes how he overcame a debilitating disease by using, among other things, high doses of laughter. He did that by watching funny movies and television shows to increase the amount that he would laugh because that was shown to have […]
anxiety, comedy, happiness, laughter
If you’re feeling a little extra anxiety these days, that’s completely understandable. Anxiety is, among other things, worry about future events, about which we feel we have no control. And you may notice that accompanying that feeling is a sort of nervous energy, this extra energy we have, that we don’t know what to do […]
activity, anxiety, Stress, stress management
I was watching a show about how swords are made and they showed the bladesmith heating up this piece of steel in fire and then pounding on it with a hammer to get it into the shape of a sword. This process was repeated over and over again. Apparently, putting the steel in fire and […]
hardwork, perserverance, sword
In the classic movie “Cool Hand Luke”, Luke, who’s played by Paul Newman, wins a hand at poker with a valuable pot, without cards or combinations of any value in his hand. When he’s confronted with the fact that he basically won with nothing, he said,” Sometimes nothing is a real cool hand.” In decision-making, […]
decision-making, Decisions, Mindfulness
A friend of mine told me she was trying to get up earlier in the morning so she could get more things done and she decided to set her alarm clock 1 hour earlier than she normally gets up. Not surprisingly, this was really difficult. And the reason is, and I think a lot of […]
goal setting, goals, small steps
One of the ways people are reducing social isolation is by connecting on social media… A very effective way that I have found to reduce that isolation is not high-tech, but it is high-touch, and that’s to write personal notes to people. Sometimes it’s just a note telling them that you are thinking about them […]
notes, Writing
The other night I was ordering takeout from one of my favorite restaurants and when they asked for my telephone number, I confidently said,” David Weiman.” I was a little distracted and when the person said,” What?” I realized I wasn’t paying full attention and maybe you’re feeling a little distracted these days yourself, for […]
Distraction, Focus
Everyone in leadership faces the same problem: How do you handle employees who aren’t performing up to par? It can be a real challenge to identify the problem, bring it to the employee’s attention, mutually agree that it’s an issue and develop a plan to correct it. Some leaders take a hands-off approach, believing that […]
Difficult employees, Employees, Poor Performers
I have created a video series on YouTube called “Rise & Whine”. In the beginning of each episode, I hold up a mug. The mug was a Secret Santa gift that I got back in 2005 and I use it every day. And one of the things that I noticed is it’s sort of a […]
big difference, Small things
There are hundreds and hundreds of books available on effective leadership. And the number of books sold seems to be more of a reflection on the size of the market for management help than the number of key principles of effective management. So who am I to tell you what the 5 great rules are? […]
leadership, Leadership Development, leadership skills