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

Don't worry too much if people think you are a little crazy. You cannot be 'just like everyone else' and unique at the same time!

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. As James Clear notes, 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

Leaders, coaches and teachers - the wisdom you share may live far beyond you. Our life, for better or worse, is a lesson to all of those we meet. In some cases the lesson may last on and on. It may be shared again, and again and again. I still share lessons with my children that I learned from my father, that he learned from his father, that he learned from his father. Life is good. Marshall

Much of the world has increased material weath and decreased mental health. One of the biggest reasons is negative social comparison. I love the term 'Peaceforward'. What does this mean? Start where you are now. You cannot begin your journey from anywhere else. At this moment, your life is what it is. Make peace. You cannot change the past. Forgive yourself for being who you were and others for being who they were. Acceptance does not mean approval. Making peace with 'what is' does not mean settling. Keep moving forward! Find joy in your journey. Life is good. Marshall THANK YOU. About 70,000 people are reading what I write every day. Over 1,800 of you are engaging daily with reactions and comments. Thank you so much for all of your continued comments, kindness and support. Your encouragement means so much to me.

We all make mistakes. Take repsonsibility. Apolgize. Take corrective action. Move on! Don't make excuses. Why bother? No one cares about our excuses. They usually do more harm than good. Focus on the future. Get the past behind you. Learn from mistakes. Life is good. Marshall Please visit MarshallGoldsmith.ai and start asking questions!!! Don't just ask tactical questions, ask questions about life.

The next person you see ask yourself, "What can I learn from this person?" Maybe you don't even speak to this person. Look at them. The way they are moving. Their clothes. Their expression. What are you learning? Not only about this person, but about human beings. As Confucius wisely noted - we can learn from everyone! Life is good. Marshall

Learn from the past and 'let it go'. Focus on creating a positive future. Look at NOW as a new beginning. It is. Peaceforward. Life is good. Marshall THANK YOU for reading my reflections on leadership, coaching and life.

I was so happy to see that 26 of the 50 Coaches on the Coaches50 list are members of our 100 Coaches community! Congratulations to all 50 winners!!! Life is good. Marshall Goldsmith

Choose your own path. Dedicate yourself to that path. Let others choose theirs. My wonderful friend and teacher, Harry Kraemer, Jr.., once taught me: “Do what you think is right. Do your best.” That is enough. This is your journey — not someone else’s. People may sometimes say that you “try too hard” or “care too much.” Listen with respect, stay open-minded, and learn what you can. But ultimately, live your own life. I’ve had the honor of coaching some of the highest-achieving people in the world. How many of them were dedicated to what they were doing? All of them! Their dedication was not a weakness - it was the reason they made such a positive impact. Of course, not all, yet many of these same people also live happy lives, filled with purpose and meaning. They often have great relationships with the people they love. It is your life. Live it with dedication, live it with love. And you don't have to apologize. Life is good. Marshall

Welcome to the new world. YOU are the person in charge of your career. Even if you work in a large, successful organization, you are still going to be responsible for your own future The world is changing so rapidly that no company can honestly promise you long-term security. The best promise you can count on is the one you make to yourself. My advice is simple. Map out your own career plan. Commit to continuous learning and development. Stay curious. Study as much as you can - no matter your age or stage in life. A great career is something you create. And make sure your career excites you. Your real source of motivation will not come from a manager, an expert, or your company. It will come from within you. When you take ownership, you’re not just climbing—you’re building. That is the surest way to design a career that is both resilient and deeply meaningful. Life is good. Marshall Please visit MarshallGoldsmith.ai. It may help you in building a great career.

If we hang around negative people, we tend to become negative ourselves. As much as you can, try to have conversations with people that are focused on doing somthing positive - not just tearing down another person or group. For example, about 45 years ago, my wife and I had a dinner with a couple of co-workers. After dinner we both commented on how many times we had put down other people who were not there. Neither of us were proud of our behavior. We finally realized that we were having dinner with a couple who did nothing but put other people down. We decided that it was not our place to judge them. It was our decision not to have dinner with them again. George Bernard Shaw had a point. If you wrestle with a pig, don't be shocked when you start getting dirty! Life is good. Marshall

Self-help books and motivational speeches encouge us to “delay gratification.” At what cost? Exercise more! Eat less! No dessert! Work harder! Delay gratification today to achieve something tomorrow. How many times have you read this book or heard this speech? While there is truth in this, we often forget to ask: what is the cost? When do we stop delaying gratification and start enjoying life? How long do we wait before we declare victory? My suggestion is simple: don’t make your entire life about delay. Balance delay with gratification. Achievements are important, but so is joy. A life of nothing but sacrifice can become a life of nothing but waiting. The happiest people I know combine discipline with celebration. They can say “no” when needed—but they also know when to say “yes.” Don't 'delay to much'! Have some fun on your journey through life! Life is good. Marshall Please visit MarshallGoldsmith.ai. You might get some ideas on how to 'delay' and how to 'enjoy'!

If you really want your team to tell you the truth, get ready to be uncomfortable! Chris Argyris was one of the great management thinkers of my lifetime, and he had a wonderfully wry sense of humor. His reminder still rings true today. For decades, leadership books have been preaching the sermon of “open and honest” communication. But how real is that? The answer depends on you, as a leader. If you are truly willing to hear things you don’t like, if you can live with some discomfort, and if you value “honest” more than “pleasant,” you will do just fine. You’ll grow. Your team will grow. But if you want only reassurance, then skip the sermon. In some cases, the biggest cause of your team's problem will be YOU. Don’t ask your people to tell you the truth if you don’t really want to hear it. Life is good. Marshall Please visit MarshallGoldsmith.ai. You can get some good ideas on how to both give and receive feedback.

You can believe in yourself be humble at the same time. Ken Blanchard is a great thinker, teacher and human being. He also believes in himself. The greatest leaders that I have ever met all believed in themselves. They knew they deserved to be where they were. They were also not fixated on themselves. They were focused on serving others. They asked for feedback from their stakeholders. They worked on personal improvement. They believed in themselves enough to know that it was OK to admit to being human. In Ken's terms, they did not think less of themselves - they thought about themselves less! Humility is often misunderstood. Too many people think it means putting yourself down, minimizing your strengths, or pretending you aren’t talented. That’s not humility - that’s insecurity. Humility isn’t weakness. It’s wisdom. And it’s one of the most powerful strengths a leader can develop. Life is good. Marshall

The first step toward meaningful change is having the courage to face the reality of your life as it is today. The great leaders I have coached have taught me this lesson again and again. They don’t hide from reality. They have the courage to face it, even when it is uncomfortable. They also have the humility to admit that they can improve. They don’t waste their energy defending the past or pretending they have all the answers. Finally, they have the discipline to do the work. Insight alone doesn’t create transformation. Good intentions don’t create transformation. Change requires action, repeated over time. What reality in your life do you need to face? What do you need to admit? And what are you willing to do about it? “You can only change what you face.” Thank you, Jordon Zahora, for this wonderful quote. I love your great ideas and philosophy of life! LIfe is good. Marshall

There are countless people who want to become coaches. Although many are very smart and very good people, not all will build a great coaching career. The coaches who do succeed are usually the ones who are willing to pay the price. They commit to ongoing education, continuous professional development, and the discipline of learning skills that many helping professionals overlook - especially marketing. Being a great coach is not just about insight and wisdom. It is also about building credibility, developing relationships, and helping the right clients find you. Coaching has the incredible personal reward of being able to make a difference in people's lives. Like any profession with high potential rewards, it requires persistence, learning, and the willingness to keep improving. My great friends Dorie Clark and Alisa Cohn are working to better understand what we can do to help talented coaches build meaningful and sustainable careers. I deeply admire their commitment to supporting this profession. Please follow them on LinkedIn if you get a chance! I am honored to be working with Dorie and Alisa on this important effort. Life is good. Marshall

What do you love to do? What are you good at doing? What does the world need? The answers to these three questions form the foundation of a great career. Many people stop at the first two—focusing only on what they enjoy or what they are skilled at. While important, love and talent alone are not enough. A truly great career connects both with a third element: the real needs of the world. If you only do what you love, you may find joy but not lasting impact. If you only do what you are good at, you may achieve success but not fulfillment. And if you only focus on the needs of the world, you may end up exhausted or uninspired. The magic happens when all three align. That’s when your career becomes more than a job - it becomes a professional life! Life is good. Marshall Please visit MarshallGoldsmith.ai. It may have some great ideas to help you in your career journey.

A great lesson for all leaders. Before speaking to your team ask yourself, "Will my comment increase their commitment?" If the answer is "No!", ask yourself, "Is it worth it?" One of the great CEOs that I coached, a year after learning this simple lesson, said, "When I had the discipline to ask myself this question, about half of the time, I concluded, 'Am I right? Maybe.' 'Is it worth it?' 'No!'" This does not just apply to leaders. It applies to all of us, at work and at home. In many cases, 'Are we right?' Maybe. 'Is it worth it?' 'No!' Please send comments with your reflections from your own experience in life. Please visit MarshallGoldsmith.ai. I am giving away all that I know (at lots more) to as many people as I can.

We cannot love everything about every job. That is reality. Sometimes we find ourselves stuck in work we truly do not like. We may have financial responsibilities, family obligations, or other constraints that make leaving impossible in the short term. If that is your situation, my coaching is simple: hang in there as long as you must, but do not give up. While you stay, do everything you can to prepare your exit. Learn new skills. Build relationships. Ask for feedback. Explore options. Make your job search a real priority, not a vague intention. Even small steps, taken consistently, move you closer to a better future. Do not allow temporary necessity to turn into permanent resignation. You deserve work that gives you energy, meaning, or at least a sense of growth and dignity. Eight hours a day is a long time to be unhappy. Over years, it adds up to a life that feels smaller than it needs to be. Do whatever it takes to create a better path. You will not regret it later. Life is good. Marshall Please visit MarshallGoldsmith.ai. It may help you do what you love even better! I was just listed by Favikon as the #1 Social Media Creator in Executive and Leadership Coaching in the World. Thank you for all of your wonderful support. I am grateful for the opportunities that you have given to me.

My surveys clearly show that you know your world is changing. You know the work you do today may not exist five years from now. You know new technologies, new competitors, and new ways of working are coming. And you know that preparing for that future will require an investment of your time and energy. But there’s a catch. Many of you are very comfortable and successful right now. You have a good job. You’re respected. You know what you’re doing. The harbor is comfortable. And that makes the decision harder. Because investing in your future may mean giving up some of what is good today to pursue something that could be great tomorrow. So you have a choice: Stay in the comfort of the harbor? Or set sail for the adventure of something greater? What will you choose? Life is good. Marshall Thank you Jacquelyn Lane and Scott Osman!