Do you ever feel like an imposter?

Whether you are crushing it in your work or still on your journey up the mountain, it's a common human phenomenon to feel like an imposter. And the more you feel like an imposter, the more hyper-aware you are of the critic.

Many people can spend their lives stuck in the energy-depleting loop of always hiding themselves, so they never get called out by the critic.

And then there is a smaller group that just chooses to get good at dealing with imposter syndrom…

"You can't stop the waves, but you can learn to surf." – Jon Kabat-Zinn

The Great Wave off Kanagawa, also known as The Great Wave, is one of the most famous examples of Japanese art in the world. The artist Hokusai Katsushika (1760-1849) is one of the greatest Japanese woodblock printmakers, painters, and book illustrators, and The Great Wave is one of his best-known works of art. It is both an energetic and imposing picture that drags you into the story and has you wonder how the story turns o…

Inspire Podcast: Make Sure You're Climbing the Right Mountain

In this episode of The Inspire Podcast, Bart speaks with Tony Martignetti, Founder of Inspired Purpose Coaching, about why so many leaders reach a career peak only to realize they may have to come down and climb a different mountain. Drawing on his own life experiences where he walked away from a prestigious executive role to reflect on his own journey, Tony shares wisdom he currently uses to coach leaders in many fields. He explains…

There are a lot of quotes about success. However, there is one quote that I had to revise to make it work for me.

You may have heard the quote, "Success is when preparation meets opportunity." Well, that's undoubtedly true, but I don't think it is sufficient. I like to say that "Success is when preparation and your connections meet opportunity."

Preparation is critical because you can't just start hiking if you want to climb a mountain. You have to have gear, supplies, maps, and an understandi…

The author Daniel Pink is someone I genuinely respect. I have loved his books (When and Drive are some of my favorites). But, when I saw the title of his new book, The Power of Regret: How Looking Backward Moves Us Forward, being promoted, I was completely taken back. The Power of Regret...really? I thought we had been told repeatedly not to live with regrets? I was intrigued, and I had to dig in.

Everybody has regrets. They are a universal and healthy part of being human. And according to Pink…

Have you ever felt stuck in the “originality trap”? It’s when you’re afraid to innovate because you think someone else has already done it or done something similar enough that it would seem like copying.

No one wants to be a copycat or a plagiarizer. But there’s an important distinction here: the difference between “inventive success” and “creative death.”

The writer David Perell talks about how the best way to improve any skill is first to imitate and then innovate. You don’t just start crea…

One of my favorite books of 2021 was April Rinne's Flux: 8 Superpowers for Thriving in Constant Change. I was thrilled to have April on The Virtual Campfire for a deep and energizing conversation (have a listen).

Being adaptable and flexible have always been hallmarks of effective leadership and fulfilling life. But in a world with so much change and an ever-faster pace of change, flexibility and resilience can be stretched to their breaking points. So the quest becomes how to find calm and las…

"If we remain humble and grounded in nature's wisdom, our mind will guide us safely through the confines of unawareness and the blindness of ignorance." – Erik Pevernagie

Have you noticed how the concepts of leadership extend to all aspects of life? I love exploring the world and what I have come to realize is that a great travel experience requires what I call "Grounded Leadership."

There are scheduling complications, language challenges, and cultural customs to navigate. Those who can't adap…

"I have seen such beauty as one man has seldom seen; therefore will I be grateful to die in this little room, surrounded by the forests, and the sound, the sound of green." – Edward James

In the subtropical rainforest in the Sierra Gorda mountains of Mexico is one of the most unusual gardens you can imagine. It is called Las Pozas ("the Pools"), and it is the manifestation of a dream by Edward James, the Surrealist sculptor, art patron, and poet. It includes more than 80 acres of natural waterf…