In the days of vinyl, the record business used to say this about a song or album:  if it’s in the grooves, it’s a hit.

Yet the same thing is true of other things where substance is more important than anything else.

Good relationships are based on shared values but you don’t have to have the same personality – in fact, we know that opposites often attract.

A great career is not usually the one that pays the most money.

When searching for satisfaction, look first to what’s already there – “in the grooves” – instead of trying to become something different.

1. Self-doubt multiples exponentially.
2. There is never a reason to talk yourself down – even a mistake does not make you incompetent so avoid damaging thoughts when things go wrong.
3. You are your own advocate – it isn’t necessary to accept criticism or criticize yourself to be better.
4. Love yourself before asking someone else to.

With all the things that bombard us, it’s hard to get in the right headspace to do certain important things.

Interesting thing about radio and TV talent – they can snap right into the right headspace no matter what happens in the outside world away from the studio.

I knew a radio newsperson who was fired from their job and was asked to work their entire shift – the one that would be their last.

They did it – professionals have a way of rising to the occasion even under duress.

I think of that example a lot when I am finding it hard to get my mind focused on what’s in front of me through all the distractions.

A positive attitude does not require everything to go your way.

Be concerned about the people who are here, not the ones who have chosen not to be.

So often in our lives we pursue the unavailable to the detriment of those who grace our lives.

Focus attention on those who are available to you in your life rather than waste it on those who are not.

It just sits there until you open it.

You wouldn’t leave a birthday or holiday gift unopened and expect the joy and to experience the excitement of what’s inside and the same is true of every new day.

Those who complain about how bad things are aren’t seeing that special gift of life that is often left opened.

Given the choice of trading your problems for someone else’s, time after time people choose to keep their own problems.

So, every day is a gift if it is opened and enjoyed.

Otherwise it’s a missed opportunity.

Why do we resolve to make changes on New Year’s Eve instead of before the end of the year?

The average person gives up on their New Year’s resolution by February 1 — 68% say sooner than that.

New Year’s resolutions should be made before Thanksgiving so there are at least 30 days to change the habit and achieve the result.

Then at New Year’s you can celebrate accomplishing your goal with 12 full months ahead to enjoy the intended benefits and zero likelihood of giving up on it before January 1^st.

• A small room can be a wide world – embrace it
• Authentic never goes out of style
• People can hear a smile without seeing it
• In life, your mic is always on – act accordingly
• The secret to effective public speaking is to feel like you’re talking to one person at a time
• It’s what’s between the music that counts – in radio and in life

• The secret to staying motivated is to constantly measure progress.
• Nothing succeeds like success because nothing keeps us motivated more than seeing progress.
• Winning or accomplishing is never the result of one thing.
• The Atlanta Braves were the unlikely winners of the World Series but they lost 73 games and won 88 enough to win their division and make the playoffs.
• But it was a feeling team members say they had about winning it all this year not the actual number of games.
• It’s a series of many smaller steps in the right direction.
• Peak motivation comes when success is measured the way doctors take blood pressure readings so you know you are headed in the right direction.

• What’s really odd is that people play the lottery expecting to win – they even bet money on it.
• The odds are always against them.
• Yet we find it difficult to bet on ourselves where we often expect to lose.
• Betting on you is more of a sure-thing than buying lottery tickets.
• The payoff is greater when we expect ourselves to succeed the way we believe we’re going to hit the lottery.
• And it’s cheaper.
• If you can believe your odds-against lottery bet every time you buy a ticket, you can believe in yourself every time you need confidence.

• When I was a professor at USC, I asked my music industry students to listen and compare music from each generation going back to the 1940’s until present and describe what the songs were saying.
• For example, love songs in the 40’s were different than when rock and roll came along or when hip-hop arrived.
• Then I asked them to pull the generations together and describe what each generation’s music had in common – many times they were getting to the same thing but in different and refreshed ways.
• The process of looking for what things have in common helps train us to deal with difficult people.
• We know the differences – what do we have in common. Keep looking until you find something.
• Dealing with difficult people has less to do with over emphasizing areas of disagreement which are likely not to change and more to do with things where you can agree.
• Justice Ginsburg didn’t at all agree with the politics of Justice Scalia and vice versa but that didn’t stop them from being friends where their mutual love of opera paved the way to maintain a warm relationship.