Business: Prime Business Pyramid
As I discussed in the January, 2008 issue of Prime Business Alert!, Prime Business is defined as “performing at a consistently high level under the most challenging conditions.” Prime Business is a goal toward which everyone in the business world strives, the result of which is maximizing performance, productivity, and profitability. But few individuals or […]
Read MoreParenting: Take the Offensive Against Popular Culture
Popular culture may be the most powerful (and destructive) force in our society today. Whether through the media of television, movies, music, the Internet, radio, or magazines, popular culture is omnipresent, intense, and unrelenting. So who can protect your children from its Sirens’ call? Though schools, houses of worship, and our government can help to […]
Read MoreSports: Introduction to Prime Sport Alert!
When you compete in your sport, you will, in fact, be competing in two competitions. The obvious competition is the one that occurs against your opponent. The more important competition, though, is the mental game that you play inside your head against yourself. Here is a simple reality: If you don’t win the mental game, […]
Read MoreBusiness: Prime Business – A New Perspective on Corporate Performance
What level of performance do you want to attain? Do you want to achieve “peak performance?” For many people in the business world, that is the goal to which they aspire. Peak performance has become part of our language of achievement, first used by coaches and athletes, it has since been adopted by businesspeople, consultants, […]
Read MoreParenting: Raise a Human Being, Not a Human Doing
A harmful aspect of raising children in our high-pressure, “only A’s are good enough,” win-at-all-cost culture is that parents can inadvertently (or intentionally!) convey to their children that they are worthy of their love only if they live up to their parents’ expectations. These messages create children who are “human doings,” in which their self-esteem—how […]
Read MoreParenting: Create a Family-value Culture
Everyone needs and wants to be part of a culture. Belonging to a culture offers people a sense of identity, feelings of connectedness, shared values, and support when faced with the challenges of life. Children will seek out a culture that is most present in their lives and that provides the most rewards. You can […]
Read MoreParenting: The Bad Rap on Family Values
Values have gotten a bad rap. When most people think of values these days, they think of hot-button topics and the divisive battle between so-called “red-state” and “blue-state” values. They think of politicians, media “talking heads,” and other groups using values to push their own agendas. As America’s discussion of values has focused on these […]
Read MoreParenting: The Sad Misuse of Self-esteem
Self-esteem is the most misunderstood and misused developmental factor of the past thirty years. Child-rearing experts in the early 1970s decided that all of the efforts of our society should be devoted to helping children build self-esteem. I couldn’t agree more. Children with high self-esteem have been found to perform better in school and sports, […]
Read MoreParenting: Know Your Children’s Enemy
You probably know that popular culture is a truly destructive force in your children’s lives. In a recent survey, three-fourths of parents believed that materialism and the negative influences from television, movies, and music were a “serious problem” in raising children. Over 85 percent of parents believe that marketing contributes to children being too materialistic, […]
Read MoreParenting: Respect Starts at Home
NFL star Terrell Owens doing his outrageous touchdown dances. American Idol’s Simon Cowell humiliating well-intentioned—if not untalented—singers. Hip-hop artists who demean women in their music. There is no shortage of forces in popular culture that resist your efforts to teach your children the value of respect. It can sometimes feel like you’re being overwhelmed by […]
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