2021 PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT READING LIST

By now, most of you have seen or heard of this beautiful word ikigai (EE-kee-guy). In brief, ikigai is a Japanese concept for someone’s direction and purpose in life. It’s their reason for being. The ikigai concept and framework have gotten a lot of attention for their association with happiness and longevity. Indeed, the idea comes from Okinawa, where residents have some of the highest life expectancies in the world. But I’m more interested in its value right here, right now

Who needs a coach? What does coaching look like? How does it work, or does it work at all? This article is for people who might want a coach, people who have coaches, and people just curious about the craft. The coaching industry is booming. Depending on how you categorize the service of coaching, its total market size is anywhere from $2B to $15B. The International Coach Federation estimates that coaching in North America alone grew 35% from 2011 to 2015 (updated study numbe

There’s a difference between okay teams, good teams, and high-performing teams, but most startup leaders have trouble telling them apart. Sometimes, leaders are too close to their own people to really take stock. Sometimes, the nuance is just too unclear. What is clear, though, is that high-performing teams are critical to success. High-performing teams are associated with a stronger culture, higher profitability, and lower risk. In the book Leading Organizations: Ten Timeles

Half of the coaching conversations I have evolve into a discussion about making a big career change. People often feel stuck, and once they have the space to really dig into what matters to them they realize that the day-to-day grind has kept them distracted from answering one truly important question: “Who am I, really?” Because I work with startups a lot, I tend to attract corporate clients who have a secret dream of starting their own company. But what follows isn’t limite

Three years ago I was working 90-odd hours a week and in the process of finalizing my divorce. I was drinking every night and feeling at my lowest ever. I was fundamentally out of balance and really had nobody to blame but myself. I hadn’t tried to sabotage my life, I hadn’t meant to be so oblivious to what I was doing. But I was. It was startling to realize just how little I knew about myself. Balance in life is actually about control. Not control in the “I need to make sure