Entrepreneurial Philanthropy: Making a Difference One By One
Over the past several years, I have visited some of the world’s poorest nations. Often these visits are made on the heels of heartbreaking disasters. When I arrive home, the question from many is very often the same: “How can you handle seeing what you’ve just seen;...
Love & Leadership Go Hand In Hand
As the founder and CEO of the financial literacy nonprofit organization, Operation HOPE, I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to meet many great leaders – powerful men and women such as President Bill Clinton, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and civil rights icons Dorothy...
Living Outside The Box: Choose To Be Audacious
Last week I had dinner with our sales manager and a business growth consultant. The consultant was offering dramatic sales strategies and processes to reenergize, retool, rethink, and train our 16 sales representatives all in an effort to help us realize our vision....
Lessons From The Chocolate Factory
As a kid, I loved the movie Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (who am I kidding, I still love this timeless classic)! I must sheepishly admit that I just watched this movie last night for the hundredth time and every time I watch it I glean another collective...
Breathe Life Into The Soul
“Never aim to [Fit In] because when you [Stand Out] you CAN'T be [Left Out].”- Alfred Blake. Breathe life into the soul by accepting your unique mold. In the life we lead as humans, we will typically fall into one of the following categories; we either fit in, stand...
Youth-Focused “Leadership Training”: Is It Stunting Future Canadian Leaders?
In 2008, I was touring with one of Canada’s foremost youth leadership development organizations when I met Joshua. At the time, Joshua was an elementary school student in Alberta. He was selected by his teachers to attend a workshop designed by the organization that I...
ZAG While Others ZIG
"Two roads diverged in a wood and I - I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference". Robert Frost As an entrepreneur for over 15 years, I recognize that truer words have never been said but, while I attribute much of my entrepreneurial success...
The Leader Who Had No Title: The New Way To Win In Business – And In Life
The old way of leading is dead. Many of our best known organizations have fallen and some of our most revered leaders have lost face. The global economy has now transformed and with all the new media ranging from Twitter to YouTube, everyone can now build a following...
It’s All About Them: How a Focus on Others Can Nurture Your Ability to Motivate and Inspire
30 years ago, I was a young student who had just begun playing the bass guitar. Recently, I completed my musical autobiography in a 4-minute original rock n’ roll song. What motivated the musician in me to keep going after having left my full-time music career two...
Being Adaptable Is Over-Rated
For years I’ve sung the virtues of being adaptable and to be fair adaptability does have real value in certain situations. But I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s just not enough. Being adaptable is over-rated. By definition, leadership is bringing change to the...
Money Talks, Meaning Whispers
In life, there's "True Wealth" and "False Wealth". False Wealth is very seductive but has no real or lasting power. True Wealth is one of the greatest powers on earth when harnessed and employed correctly. The problem is, few people know the difference between True...
The Perpick Principle Works For Prime Restaurants
I’ve never accomplished anything in my life on my own, so everything you read in this article is how other people have made me look good. This article is about the value of ordinary people who are willing to commit to something they believe in and work hard to obtain...
A Journey Along The Road Less Travelled
I’ve often been asked to write articles or columns for various publications, but I’ve never agreed to do it. I tell the person asking that I don’t really have anything to say, but the truth is, it’s because I usually don’t have anything to say within the topic and...
Enlightened Leadership
Leadership is a mysterious and elusive concept. What we read as history is really the creation of myths. From an ordinary person, society creates a Napoleon, or Gandhi, a Martin Luther King or Joan of Arc, someone who acquires mythic status as a shaper of destiny. We...