Category Archive: Optimism

The Leader who Smells Dead Mice

I smell dead mice everywhere. It all started with a dead mouse in the wall. I thought I smelled a dead mouse in the grocery store. I bought a hot dog for lunch… Continue reading

Something Stinks – When There’s a Dead Mouse in the Wall

A mouse fell into a wall cavity in our downstairs and died. My wife bought apple pie air fresheners. There’s nothing like the smell of apple pie with a picante of dead mouse.… Continue reading

7 Ways to Help People Pivot from Negative to Positive

To get the ball rolling at the beginning of presentations, I share my cellphone number and ask people to text me fun questions. Serious questions come later. 2 fun questions I recently received:… Continue reading

How Unhappy People Lead

I prefer happiness to sadness. But what if sadness is an asset? Unhappy leaders: Martin Luther King Jr. tried to commit suicide twice before he was 13. (Time) (Winston Churchill’s) creative-depressive personality meant… Continue reading

How to Rise Above Pessimism and Lead Optimistically

If you’re a pessimist, the only thing worse than dying young is living a long miserable life. Pessimistic leaders focus on faults and weaknesses. Success with people requires optimism. You choose: Think of… Continue reading

Partly Cloudy or Partly Sunny – How to Energize Others

You see yourself as sunny. Others think you’re cloudy. The way you occur to others and the way you perceive yourself are two different things. When you look at the sky: According to… Continue reading