Do not expect a narrow-minded person to be open-minded. My most popular post! We can spend an enormous amount of energy trying to explain things to people who neither understand nor care to understand. It often leads to frustration, because no matter how carefully we explain, their world is too limited to take in what we are saying. The frog that lives in the well will never grasp the vastness of the ocean. That doesn’t make it a bad frog or a stupid frog. It simply means it is a well frog. Expecting it to see beyond its walls is unfair to the frog and exhausting for us. In life, some people simply cannot see beyond their own well. Instead of wearing ourselves out trying to make them, we can accept their limits, move forward, and invest our energy in places where it will make a difference. Life is good. Marshall

There is a reason the windshield of your car is enormous and your rearview mirror is tiny. What is happening in front of you is infinitely more important than what is behind you. Yet, so many of us spend our lives staring into that little mirror. We ruminate on past failures. We replay arguments we lost. Or, just as dangerously, we rest on the laurels of past successes, thinking what worked yesterday will work tomorrow. Mary Engelbreit’s quote in this illustration is a reality check: "You're not going that way." To move forward, you have to accept the past entirely - the good, the bad, and the ugly - and then let it go. You cannot drive safely while looking backwards. Catch yourself when you start dwelling on a mistake from last week or last year. Ask yourself: "What is the next positive step I can take?" Keep your eyes on the road ahead. Life is good. Marshall Please visit MarshallGoldsmith.ai and start asking questions. It can now answer in many languages and it is free!

We cannot control other people. We can control ourselves. Become the person you want to be - because YOU want to be that person. The world is not going to become less hectic. Politicians are not suddenly going to make perfect sense. Your relatives are not all going to become kind and reasonable. Managers everywhere are not going to start making completely rational decisions. Make peace with life as it is. When you stop expecting the world to behave according to your preferences, you free yourself to focus on what truly matters. You can still make a positive difference. You can still choose how you show up. You can still bring a little more kindness, clarity, and compassion into your corner of the world. Move forward with an open heart. Make the difference you can make. And enjoy the journey. Life is good. Marshall

To find the most important factor in your employee engagement - just look in the mirror. By far, the most important factor in your engagement is you. The company is very important. The mission is very important. The culture is very important. Your manager is very important. Our surveys clearly show you are the most important factor. It is your life! If you love it where you are, keep doing a great job of motivating yourself every day. If you do not love where you are, and cannot leave, make the best of it. Work on your long-term development. Leave when you can. In either case, do your best. You owe it to yourself. Thank you for reading my reflections! Your support means so much to me. Life is good. Marshall Please visit MarshallGoldsmith.ai. You may get some new ideas for becoming even better.

No one ever gets their act together and stays that way. Life is not a finished performance. It is an ongoing drama. I can tell you exactly when you will “get your act together.” It is the same time I will get mine together - never. Every day, the set changes. The actors change. The story changes. What matters is not perfection. What matters is showing up every day and playing our role as best we can. We can learn from yesterday’s movie. We can reflect on what worked, what did not, and what we want to do differently. Then we step into today’s scene with a little more awareness, a little more intention, and a little more courage. Life is good. Marshall

We do not learn from experience alone. We learn from reflecting on our experience. We learn by pausing to consider what life is trying to teach us each day. Without reflection, twenty years of doing the same work can simply hardwire the same mistakes. Time passes, but learning does not happen. If fact, if we are successful we begin to think that everything we did led to our success, no matter how stupid it may be! Great leaders and professionals build a habit of reflection. They step back, think. The get feedback. They learn. At the end of each day, take a few moments to ask yourself: What did I learn about the world today? What did I learn about myself? How can I apply what I have learned to make tomorrow a little better? Small moments of reflection can create meaningful change over time. Life is good. Marshall Thanks to John Dewey for inspiring this reflection.

If we want to have an impact on the world, we need to not only do great work, we need to be known for doing great work. Many of the coaches, speakers, and HR professionals I know are doing truly meaningful work. They care deeply. They help others grow. Yet too often, their impact is limited, not because of the quality of their work, but because not enough people know about it. We are sometimes taught that our “good work will speak for itself.” I understand the sentiment, but in today’s world, that is not always how it works. If no one hears your message, even your best work cannot make the difference it deserves to make. If you believe in what you are doing, do not be afraid to share it. Promoting your work is not about ego. It is about service. It is about giving your ideas a chance to reach the people who can benefit from them. Your work matters. Do not be ashamed to let it be seen. Life is good. Marshall

One of the best pieces of advice I have ever read on dealing with criticism. If the other person is trying to help, listen with respect and say thank you. If someone is simply being a negative critic, let it go. Even when a critic is biased, there is often a little truth in what they say. That is fine. We are all human. We all have flaws and need to learn to have fun with our own humanity. It takes no great intelligence or courage to put other people down. Life is too short to waste energy on people who do not care about you. In my experience, almost everyone I work with is a well-meaning person doing their best. Focus on the vast majority of people who are trying to do what is right. Let go of the rest. Inspired by Epictetus, one of my favorite Stoic philosophers. Life is good. Marshall

We all need to answer a simple question: “Why am I doing this?” A meaningful life begins with a higher mission. A sense of purpose that gives direction to our actions. Your higher mission is your answer to “why.” Before you speak, pause and ask: “Is it worth it?” If what you are about to say is aligned with your higher mission, the answer is yes. Speak. Your words can help, inspire, and move things forward. If what you are about to say is not aligned, the answer is no. In that moment, silence may serve you, and others, much better. I cannot define your purpose for you. No one else can. That is your decision alone. But once you are clear on your higher mission, slow down. Breathe. Think before you speak. Then choose - carefully and consciously - whether to speak or remain silent. Every time you get promoted in life and move to a higher level of leadership, this message will become more important. Life is good. Marshall DBS Bank Please visit MarshallGoldsmith.ai. It may help you decide whether to speak or remain slient.

The best time to change is when you do not have to. If we wait until we must change, we’ve already waited too long. Be proactive: change before you need to. When the world shifts, you’ll be ready. The same principle applies to leaving any professional role, especially in leadership. Diocletian, the Roman Emperor, retired before he had to. HIs life had a great finish! Julius Caeser, not so much. We too can choose to leave on our own terms. If you leave while people want you to stay, you preserve your legacy. If you wait until they ask you to leave, that moment has passed. We all have things we know we need to change. Get started now. Life is good. Marshall Please visit MarshallGoldsmith.ai. I may be able to help you decide if, and how, to change.

We are often taught to “find” our purpose in life, with the assumption that once we find it, it will never change. Forget that! We live in a world of constant and accelerating change. The leaders and professionals who thrive are not the ones who cling to one purpose, but the ones who keep learning, growing, and adapting as life evolves. In my own life, my purpose has changed several times. I am now 77. Who would have guessed, even a few years ago, that I would be building my own MarshallGoldsmith.ai or that my LinkedIn posts would be viewed more than 27 million times in a year? Certainly not me! My purpose is now to help you, and as many people as I can, have a little better life. Purpose is not something we lock in forever. It is something we revisit. Be willing to review your purpose and be willing to trade it in - if you find a new one that helps you make a greater positive difference in the world. Life is good. Marshall Thanks to my wonderful partners, Pino Audia and John A. Byrne, who inspired this post. We are working together on a new book, 'Organizational Intelligence', aimed at helping early career professionals have great careers and great lives.

You owe it to the organization to do your best. You also owe it to yourself to know when it is time to leave. Every role is not the right fit. Some jobs begin as wonderful opportunities, then circumstances change. At times, the job changes. At times, you change. What once felt meaningful may no longer align with who you are becoming. That is OK! Leaving is not a failure. It is a decision. Never leave just to prove a point or to send a message. Those choices are rarely wise and often lead to regret. Instead, leave with clarity and purpose. Have the courage to try to make it work. Give your best effort. Be fully present. Learn all you can. And then, when the time is right, for you and for your family, have the wisdom to move on. Make your departure as positive as possible. Leaving with integrity, honors both your contribution and your future. Life is good. Marshall

To a degree, we all wear masks - at work, at home and in life. Is some cases, wearing a mask can be a good idea! Not every battle is worth fighting. In many situations, laughing at a child’s joke, a partner’s comment, or even a boss’s weak humor can be wiser than offering an honest, and possible painful, critique. The problem begins when the mask becomes our default. Over time, we can lose touch with who we really are. We start performing instead of living. We adapt so well to what others expect that we forget what we think, what we feel, and what we believe. Then one day, a deeper question emerges. Who am I? If you have been wearing a mask for so long that you no longer notice it, it is time to look in the mirror and begin living your own life. Life is good. Marshall Thanks to my wonderful friend, Erica Dhawan, for this inspiration. I am currently reading her upcoming book, 'Use Your Brain'. I love it!

We can all help a little more and judge a little less. Think about the people closest to you. How would your wife, husband, or partner feel if you helped a little more - and judged a little less? How would your friends feel? Your colleagues? This is not just a lesson for the CEOs I have coached over the years. It applies to all of us. Including me! It is easy to say. It is harder to practice. “Help more. Judge less.” Small words. Big impact. In our busy lives, we often forget how much a small act of support, or a moment of restraint, can mean to someone else. A little more patience. A little more understanding. A little less criticism. We are not going to be perfect at this one. We can all get a little better. I hope this reminder helps you. Life is good. Marshall

Some of the wisest people I have met have very little formal education. I have also known people with impressive degrees who speak endlessly about topics where they know very little. (Including myself on too many occasions.) One of my favorite movies is The Wizard of Oz. I have always identified with the Scarecrow. He began his journey believing he did not have a brain. Yet throughout the movie, he consistently makes thoughtful and wise observations. In the end, the Wizard points out something important. The Scarecrow already had a brain. What he lacked was what others believed made someone “wise” - a degree. So the Wizard gave him a “Doctor of Thinkology,” degree! Suddenly, the Scarecrow believed that he was smart. The lesson is simple and powerful. Not having a degree does not mean you cannot be wise. Having a degree does not mean you cannot be foolish. True wisdom is not something that can be seen in a diploma on a wall. It is something you be observed in our daily behavior. Life is good. Marshall

One of the most dangerous delusions for a successful leader is the belief that they see reality perfectly. When you are successful, people hesitate to tell you the hard truths. They applaud your achievements while ignoring the paper on your shoe. The pain of hearing critical feedback is nothing compared to the danger of walking around in ignorance. The person who tells you the truth isn't your enemy. They are the only one brave enough to save you from embarrassment. Life is good. Marshall

Being kind to others is a wonderful quality. Apply it to yourself. My surveys show that members of this community are hard-working, high-integrity people with strong values. You care. You try. You do your best. You are also very self-critical. In many cases, far too self-critical. The same compassion you so freely give to others is often the one thing you deny yourself. You do not have to be perfect to be worthy of kindness. You do not have to earn the right to treat yourself with respect. Be good to yourself. Life is short. The way you talk to yourself matters. The way you treat yourself matters. In the long run, you will not regret being a little more understanding, a little more forgiving, and a little more kind - to yourself. Life is good. Marshall

Three key factors are required for long-term positive change: courage, humility, and discipline. We do not achieve lasting change by reading a post, an article, or even a book. Not by watching a video, listening to a podcast, hiring a coach, or following a guru. These can help us begin. They are only the starting point. At the end of the day, we have to do the work. And once we get better, we have to keep working to stay better. Think about something you have been “planning to change” for the past 20 years. Do you really believe it will magically change next week? What is the one change that would make the biggest positive difference in your life? Are you willing to do the work required to make it happen? If yes, go for it. If no, that is OK. Pick something easier. The key to improvement is simple: do something. Then stick with it. Life is good. Marshall Please visit MarshallGoldsmith.ai. I may be able to help you on your journey!

I have asked thousands of leaders a few simple questions. Do you believe in encouraging honest feedback? They all say yes. Do you get angry or defensive when people tell you the truth? They all say no. Would you ever yell at someone you loved who was trying to save the lives of you and your family? They all say no - but now they begin to look a little uneasy. Then I ask one more question. Think about the last time your husband, wife, or partner corrected your driving. Did you say, “Thank you,” or did you get annoyed and make a snide comment. At that point, they almost all smile - and admit they were guilty. It is very easy to talk about wanting honest feedback. It is much harder to accept it in the moment. Especially if we are under pressure. The next time someone corrects your driving, try something different. Just smile and say, “Thank you!” Life is good. Marshall

We all get stuck at times. Life can feel routine, predictable, even dull. That feeling is not the problem. It is often a signal. It is telling us that it may be time to explore something new. I am not naïve. Sometimes we need the paycheck. Sometimes we must stay in situations that are far from ideal. Even then, we still have a choice. We can begin moving. If you are bored and you can leave, start looking. If opportunities are limited, invest in learning. If change is not immediately possible, find ways to bring meaning, growth, or service into what you are doing today. Do something. Being in a rut is not the problem. Choosing to remain in the rut is. Life is good. Marshall Please visit MarshallGoldsmith.ai. I may help you if you feel stuck!

The truth is simple. You cannot read your own label. You are too close to the problem. Most leaders spend a lot of time guessing how they are perceived. They analyze, reflect, and try to figure it out on their own. Unfortunately, this is one problem you cannot solve by yourself. If you want to know what is written on your jar, you have to do the one thing that many leaders avoid doing: Ask. Ask the people around you. Ask your team. Ask your colleagues. Ask the people who see you when you are not looking at yourself. Do not guess. Do not assume. Ask and listen. This is the foundation of real growth. It is also the heart of great leadership. If you are willing to hear the truth, you can improve. If you are not, you will stay exactly where you are. You can also visit MarshallGoldsmith.ai. It can help you start asking better questions, in many languages, and it is free. Life is good. Marshall