If you sit down to read Victor Hugo's Les Miserables, you might find it excessively wordy for contemporary tastes. It's unlikely you'll burst into song in Chapter 1. As my dad told me, "It's just got too many words!" The novel with that kind of title simply doesn't conjure ideas of musical theatre. 

Fortunately, French lyricist Alain Boublil saw possibility. It's like the saying, "Everything has beauty, not all eyes can see it." He not only saw something, he convinced composer Claude-Michel Schoenberg to write the music and "Les Miserables," the musical, was launched in Paris at the Palais du Sport in 1980.

Three months later....it closed.

Most of the time, a 3-month run is considered failure. Financial and otherwise. Read more »

You're probably the kind of person who takes his job/business quite seriously. That's the typical Mixonian Institute reader: someone focused on results and high achievement. You probably know some people who seem to have more fun than you do, but you're the responsible one who consistently delivers. I've got a great tip to up your game this week. I've seen it work with my private coaching clients over and over and it's the reason my corporate workshops contain a significant element of ... FUN! (Or whimsy, light-heartedness, goofiness, laughing at yourself.)

  Read more »

Only read this if you've ever felt like quitting on a goal that nobody really cared about anyway. This is a true story starring Mixonian Institute's own intrepid headmistress!

I just finished swimming 100 lengths of the community pool and it took me an hour and 5 minutes. To give you some perspective on this, Brent, this young man I sometimes tutor in Spanish, can swim that distance in about 15 minutes. However, it's really much worse than you think. Last year this time I could easily swim that distance in under an hour. I serenely completed the Lowcountry Splash 2.4-mile open water swim last May. This year's event, prominently displayed on my goal list, is 4 weeks from today and I'm not ready and I want to give up and not do it. 

  Read more »

Ever go on a diet and gain weight? Ever promise yourself to cut back spending to the bare minimum and find yourself shopping online? Ever find yourself pining over someone you're not supposed to date? The good news is that it's not because you're a weak person with no willpower, no matter what you say to yourself, it's simply that you haven't learned to manage your will power and intention in a way to help you succeed more easily. There's all kinds research to back me up on this....the idea that what you resist persists! Read more »