(First posted on Sept. 28, 2010)

When I started my financial advising career in 1997 I dreamed of great success.  Early on I was introduced to reality, though.  This is a tough business.  Incredibly competitive and pressurized.

I set out to build a fee based business which I felt better served my clients.  It also would be a more stable business that would give me freedom after getting it established.

The veterans in our office, who were all transaction brokers, told me, “It’ll never work.  You can’t build a fee based business.  You’ll starve before you succeed.”

In the first couple of years they were right.  If we hadn’t had savings to get us through we would have been a lot thinner.

But I knew the kind of business I wanted.  I wanted to do strategic things with my life, including writing, and yet not give up my business.  Once built it would be a great platform to expand from. Read More→

I’ve hit lots of impasses in starting several businesses, pastoring a church, speaking weekly, writing a blog.  Places I just can’t seem to get past.  Unsolvable problems.

When I was younger my solution was to double my efforts.  Bulldoze the barrier.  Often, though, all I accomplished was exhaustion, frustration and a headache.  And most of the time got no closer to accomplishment.

Through the years, though, I’ve learned techniques for unlocking my intuition.   Hearing God’s inner voice.

Maybe you’re at one of those places right now in your career, business, marriage, health.  You’ve hit an impasse you simply can’t solve.  You’ve worked harder than ever but still no progress. Read More→

“If you look at the biggest successes in the world, whether Apple CEO Steve Jobs, comedian Chris Rock, or award-winning architect Frank Gehry, what do they have in common?  Answer: the bigger they are, the more small bets they make.  Becoming the best of the best is less about betting the farm (a common misconception) and more about constant tinkering.” Tim Ferris

If you set out to make a difference, change your world, choose to be extraordinary, you will at some point hit the wall. Guaranteed. Read More→