One of the biggest risks that social entrepreneurs face is selling certainty to their donors, board members and other key stakeholders. 

This is a bigger challenge than ever as the world gets more and more uncertain.  Everyone involved in a social enterprise tends to look to the leader...

How friendly are you with your future self?

One of the best things you can do to build your joy and your impact as you go after your vision for a better world is to become better friends with your future self.  This post shares some ideas for how to get started on this path  through the...

Chances are you know what it’s like to experience “flow”  

...but you might not know how to get into a flow state when it most serves you and your calling to make the world a better place...

Flow is the psychological state when we are at our most creative and...

Trust matters for almost everything that we do, and building trust does not have to take as much time as you might think.    Even though there are  all kinds of structural reasons outside of our control that contribute to a lack of trust in the world and in our own lives, ...

Almost all of us who work as social entrepreneurs have had an experience with funders that doesn't make sense or that leaves us deeply dispirited.   The video for this post seeks to decode some of the key dynamics going on beneath the surface in the conversations that social...

  All of us who have a calling to make the world a better place live in constant tension for two reasons. 

First, we want the world to be different than it is, and we are constantly confronting the tension between what's real and what's ideal--the world we hope we can help make...

What If Excellence at Being In Conflict is the Foundation for Transcending It?

In America and around the world we seem to be getting more and more stuck in entrenched, high stakes conflicts.  In these high stakes conflicts, power dynamics come into play, and people often end up using...

Seeing Past Yourself to the Larger Whole

Your highest and greatest contribution as a change agent rests on being able to transcend yourself.  To see the bigger system around you--to "see the matrix."  And not just to see it for yourself, but also to help others see the larger systems of...

An extraordinary life is a stack of extraordinary moments, built up, one on top of another.  Recognizing those extraordinary moments and rising to meet them takes persistent courage.  That's why Persistent Courage is the 6th Pillar of Personal Development for Change Agents.  

For many of us the single biggest factor in our sense of joy and fulfillment in life has to do with the quality of our relationships and interactions with other people.  Elevating the quality of your own positive presence is the single biggest thing you can to do transform the quality of...

  The more strongly you feel called to serve something larger than yourself, the more strongly you’ll feel out of alignment when you feel unproductive. Getting the right things done is key to living a life of joy and impact. This is why Productivity is Pillar #4 among the 7...

When it comes to your personal energy, metaphors matter! 

Do you treat yourself like a battery, or a powerplant? 

When you think of yourself like a battery, chances are you're just trying to make it through the day before you run your charge down to zero.  But as Brendon...

We all have certain feelings that are fundamental to our joy and our impact as change agents.  And we also have certain feelings that are like kryptonite when it comes to undermining our joy and our impact...  

In Session 12 of this Understanding and Evolving Your Psychology...

Having clear priorities in the actions you take is how you translate your purpose into progress each day—and that feeling of progress is absolutely vital to your sense of well being.

 If having a clear sense of purpose in your life is the first pillar of personal development for change...

If you are looking for true fulfillment in life, stop chasing happiness and start cultivating joy.

Happiness is driven by happenstance--if things go your way, you feel happy, if they don't go your way, you feel unhappy.  Joy is something you cultivate deep inside yourself, that you can carry...

If you want to set yourself up for maximum fulfillment and impact, personally and professionally, you need to start with clarity about your purpose in life.

Here’s why: we achieve fulfillment and impact in life by consistently acting in alignment with our highest selves. Without having...

 A life of extraordinary impact is really a set of extraordinarily impactful moments, stacked one on top of another.  And these moments aren't just the product of happenstance--the common thread that connects them all is your mindset.  

In the first 8 sessions of this...

What level of energy are you bringing to your mission? 

When it comes to understanding and evolving your psychology as a change agent, it's all about figuring out how you can bring your best self to bear more consistently and more powerfully in service of your vision of a better world. In...