Happy New Year from Mixonian Institute!! Rest assured that 2012 will be remarkable. Here's a brief outline of what I know to be true about goal setting.(True confession: I wrote my first goal list at age 16 and it has framed the life I have lived thus far.) This post is written from the perspective of one who hangs on the belt loops of the giants of human potential research and the mega-successful all over the world.

In a nutshell. Read more »

One quarter of an inch. Yesterday I watched Christina and Clara's tennis class and the coach told Christina she needed to change the angle of her racquet by one quarter of an inch (or a couple of millimeters.) Tiny change, big impact. You usually see difference between success and failure in a myriad of small details. Applying this to your language, you can make small changes in your vocabulary for a much bigger impact. It's still true that how you say something, who says it, how the sayer dresses are all important, but the words themselves are tools. Below I'm sharing a sneaky word that looks almost noble, but it's usually a total energy drain. Read more »

 If you think about it, our education system pretty much runs as this enormous processing factory. It produces, however imperfectly, millions of somewhat educated high school graduates each year; young people who jumped through all the right hoops to get that high school diploma. Our system encourages them to show up at the job, listen to and follow instructions, and learn the material according to the institution's rules, AKA academic norms. It's a fairly successful system that produces an average workforce. Whether this system is preparing young people for a truly global knowledge-based economy is an interesting topic. The thing is, our education system teaches everyone this: follow our rules and everything will be fine. Read more »

"Making money is art and working is art and good business is the best art." Andy Warhol

I love this perspective on art and business. Here's a great way of defining an artist: "Artists are people with a genius for finding a new answer, a new connection, or a new way of getting things done." Seth Godin, Linchpins. Using Godin's definition of an artist, I know you're one. Maybe not 24/7, but sometimes. Like when you close the deal. Or when the boss is excited about your proposal. Or your kids thank you for something. 

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Friday I got to be with a fantastic group of high-achieving women at the FemCity-Charleston luncheon, hosted by the chic Danielle Rice. We had a great time and here is some of the material I shared from my "More Positivity, More Profitability" talk. Have many times have you heard, "Your attitude counts more than your aptitude"? Guess what, decades of research backs this completely. Your level of achievement matches the level that you really think you will achieve. (Note, if you doubt yourself, fortunately you can build your faith/confidence in your abilities  -- it's not something set in stone.)  Read more »

I'm polishing up 2 presentations to give this week and I totally understand why most talks end with a whimper instead of a bang. Unfortunately, a falter at the end causes people to remember you....well, not so much. Here's the deal. The last thing you say is the filter through which your audience remembers (or not) your entire presentation. 

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My son recently read _A Soldier's Story_ by General Omar Bradley and he was so excited about it I got myself a copy from the library. (My son is not too much into extended phone conversations so reading what he's reading helps me stay more connected to him.) The movie "Patton" is based on this book and reading the book makes the movie so much more interesting. What impressed me about Patton is this. Upon taking charge of a large group of American soliders after they had experienced a resounding defeat at the hands of the Germans in North Africa, the first thing he did was to enforce a higher standard of the dress code. Seriously, there is a severe problem with morale and he's making sure the soldiers are wearing ties and helmets (even the cooks and doctors!) Read more »

Irreplaceable, essential, priceless. Or...irresistible, alluring, dynamic. You get to choose who you want to be. But for heaven's sake, decide yourself and go for it. For Seth Godin, it's  "The goal, no matter what you sell, is to be seen as irreplaceable, essential and priceless"  And I'm like, "Okay, buddy, that sounds great, but how do I actually do that?" and he responds, "Of course, the realization of what it takes to create value might break your heart, because it means you have to specialize, take risks, create art, leave a positive impact and adopt generosity in all you do. It means you have to develop extraordinary expertise and that you are almost always hanging way out of the boat, about to fall out." Read more »

It's now pre-holiday: exciting! stressful! fun! scary! Go with the flow and you'll get carried away right now into spending too much, eating too much, doing too much. The best defense is awareness and Mixonian is delivering your own rescue information to keep your head clear when making choices and decisions. You can decide right now how you want to experience this holiday season. Read more »

Got a presentation you need to give and not sure how to put it together? Not sure what to say and what to leave out? You're totally in luck. Here's the EASY Stress-Free Put It Together Basic Presentation Template attached below this text box. Simply click where it says "1 attachment." As you answer the questions on the template, your engaging presentation will begin to emerge. Use it and let us know how it goes!