I always find it incredibly ironic and a bit comical when I see a fat fitness instructor, or a financial advisor who drives a Yugo, or a realtor who doesn’t own a house.

Warren Buffet once said, “Wall Street is the only place that people ride to in a Rolls-Royce to get advice from those who take the subway.”

A great piece of wisdom is: don’t listen to what people say; watch what they do and who they are. People display their values and philosophy through their actions and behaviors, not their words.

To that end I am practicing Step 11 of the Workaholics Anonymous program this week. Give that step a review, it’s a good one: http://darrenhardy.success.com/2009/05/wa-step11/

Ciao for now!

Texas is my dog… my other dog.

Lucy was such an inspiration to everyone I thought I would introduce you to the teachings of my other dog, Tex (for short), he is our Jack Russell Terrorist (no, not a misspelling).

I went to buy a cowboy hat before going into the rodeo in the stockyards of Fort Worth, Texas, (when in Rome!). Inside their makeshift booth they were also selling Jack Russell puppies. My wife and I had been looking for a sibling companion for Lucy. We knew nothing about Jack Russell Terriers, but the little spitfire captured our hearts and we fell in love on the spot.

Tex has a Napoleon complex. He is only 14 pounds but portrays himself as if he were a 200-pound pit bull. I’ve had to rescue him from the jaws of a German Shepherd and a Rottweiler. Fights HE picked. Tex has bitten the UPS guy (two of them), a Jehovah’s Witness, the meter reader, my mother in-law and countless friends and neighbors. I know, don’t get all “Cesar Millan” on me. It’s my fault… I haven’t been the “pack leader” good enough. I get it. read more »

Lucy is my dog. I want to be more like Lucy.

My wife’s friend Marilyn stopped by with her friend Gayle. The visit was intended to be brief as they had been at the hospital nearby all day. Gayle’s husband has had a grueling battle with throat cancer for the past 18 months. Gayle had only ever been to our house once before. The pain and stress of her dying husband was visible all over her. Her husband had recently contracted pneumonia and had been moved to full hospice. He was now unable to speak or move. His body was in its final shutting down process. His end was imminent.

Gayle’s 8-year-old twins had said their final goodbyes to their dad just earlier that day. When my wife Georgia asked how she was feeling she said, “My heart is broken into a million little pieces. I am completely lost.” And she started to cry. It was then that my dog Lucy went up to Gayle and put her chin on her thigh. After a few minutes Gayle got on her knees to pet Lucy. Lucy licked her tears, and for the first time in many months, Gayle smiled. Gayle hugged Lucy and really started to let it out. For the next hour Gayle shared the love she has for her husband and the pure anguish she has been going through. All the while Lucy never took her head off her lap. She never stopped comforting her.

Out of all of us there it was only Lucy who was willing to offer her unguarded love and comfort. Lucy showed me how I could be if I were more open to expressing and giving of my love. That day, and really most every day, my dog Lucy taught me how to be a better human.

Dog is God backwards. When I observe my Lucy or other dogs I often think this must be what God is like. Maybe that is why they are here—as our teachers.

If only we could learn to be more like dogs. Dogs are: read more »

We are all creative beings. The outcome of our lives is a product of what we have created. Learning how to tap into our creative power is what will allow us to realize our greatest potential and achieve the life of our hearts’ desire.

Our September issue of SUCCESS (on newsstands now!)  is focused on innovation and creativity. Our goal is to ignite your creative spark so you can innovate—your business and your life.

I define innovation as the never-ending pursuit of something better. This is the defining spirit of the entrepreneur—the desire to improve, refine and streamline the old ways of doing things to improve the quality of our work and our lives.

In business, as well as life, it is innovate or die. If you aren’t improving, you are falling behind. You cannot stand still. In today’s fast-paced, ever-evolving global marketplace, if you aren’t innovating and moving forward, you are effectively moving backward and the world is speeding by you.

If you aren’t improving, you are falling behind.

Innovation isn’t some big-bang happening. It is something you do every day by constantly challenging your status quo: your ideas, systems, processes, policies, behaviors and assumptions. What has become an adage is now true more than ever: “If it ain’t broke, break it.” To avoid extinction, change is not only inevitable, it is a necessity. read more »