If you ever wanted to learn more about me, it’s all right here in this post. You might already know this, but this past Saturday (November 2nd) was my 45th birthday! For the past five years on November 2nd–and, in what’s become a bit of a tradition on my birthday, I wanted to share with you 45 random things about me that you probably don’t know about me. Don’t get confused though, even though this post might seem like it’s about me–as always, this is about us. Specifically, it’s about creating an even deeper connection with you by sharing how much we have in common–and I’m willing to ..read more

Three days ago, I posted an article titled, Why I’ll Never Walk Alone, and I have been blown away by the incredibly kind and heartwarming responses that I have received. This has been a rough week (for, hopefully obvious reasons), but many of your words have strengthened my faith in the goodness of humanity. I cannot thank you enough for that ..read more

Twice a day, I walk my dog Ace around my neighborhood with one, or both, of my girls. I know that doesn’t seem noteworthy, but here’s something that I must admit:  I would be scared to death to take these walks without my girls and/or my dog. In fact, in the four years living in my house, I have never taken a walk around my neighborhood alone (and probably never will ..read more

Sometimes, it’s best to walk away. Have you ever dealt with an incredibly difficult person before? I know, I know. Ridiculous question, right? Of course you have. I bet that it was a miserable experience, wasn’t it? I believe that one of the hardest things that we have to endure in our lives is dealing with difficult people. In fact, it’s so tough that I even wrote a free guide to help you navigate through the challenges of it (if interested, you can get it instantly by subscribing to The Positivity Solution.) In this post, I’m going to take it a step further. Specifically, I’m going to talk a ..read more

Do you feel his pain? I do. I absolutely LOVE Thanksgiving. Food, family, friends, football, fun (did I get all of the “F’s”?), make this the one holiday that I look forward to the most every year. In addition to all of the F’s, what I also love about this time of year is that we get to mindfully reflect on what is really important in our lives, and simply be in gratitude, at least for a day. I urge you to consistently remember what it is that you’re thankful for, not just on Thanksgiving, but every day of your lives. But that’s not what this article is about. Let’s be real–chances a ..read more

To the haters out there: Shhh… “I could never do what you do.” We were sitting in a coffee shop next door to my office when my friend said those words to me. My friend is brilliant, funny, and an exceptional writer, but when I asked him what is stopping him from launching his own blog (something that he has talked about doing for months), that was his response. He had more to say too: “People are so cruel and judgmental. I don’t think that I have what it takes to put my writing out there for the world to rip apart and judge. There are so many haters out there.” Sadly, he’s absolutely right. Th ..read more

Is the glass half full or half empty? I’ll let you answer this one. Last week, I struck up a conversation with a woman while we waited in the checkout line in the grocery store. And as usual on the weekend, I was rocking one of my smiley face shirts. After chatting for a minute or so, she looked down at my shirt and then asked me flatly, “wow, you do like to smile a lot, don’t you?” Admittedly, I was a little taken aback by the question, but I replied by saying, “Yeah, I do. I’m a happy guy and I view the world optimistically–it’s just who I am.” She looked at me suspiciously and the ..read more

Stop complaining. If you’re anything like me, there are probably certain traits that you see in other people that drive you crazy. For example, here are a few less-than-pleasant traits that most well-adjusted people can’t stand: rudeness, selfishness, thoughtlessness, laziness, arrogance, intolerance, dishonesty, and apathy, just to name a few. But there’s one more trait that’s not on the list above that truly drives me insane. I think that the reason why it annoys the hell out of me so much is because I used to be the living, breathing poster child for this miserable trait on a daily basis. I ..read more

Please like me, please like me… I know a four-word sentence that has the power to get a negative response out of almost anyone who hears it. Are you ready for it? Brace yourself, because it might sting a little: “I don’t like you.” Ouch. See? It hurts, doesn’t it? For years and years, I did anything humanly possible to avoid having those four words directed at me. Believe me, I’m still a work in progress, but I’ve come a long way from being the guy who desperately needed to be liked in order to be happy. If you’re currently someone who has a desperate need to be liked by others, get comfortabl ..read more

This is NOT the guy who you want to spend 40 hours a week with. Shola’s Note: October is National Bullying Awareness month, and I am ready to shine as bright of a light as I can on this hideous epidemic this month, and beyond. Workplace bullying is destroying lives, and it’s time for us to put a stop to it. If you don’t think that Workplace Bullying is “a thing,” just read the comments below for a serious wake-up call. And because of this, I’m taking the next step to bringing attention to (and ideally, ending) this soul-destroying issue, with my debut book, Making Work Work.&nbs ..read more