Self Improvement Site
On The Internet! Take the Self Improvement Tour
On The Internet! Take the Self Improvement Tour
Articles from William Cottringer | Selfgrowth.com
- Communicating with Today’s Workforce - by Submitted on Feb 12, 2020 from William CottringerCommunicating with Today’s Workforce By Bill Cottringer “The most important thing in communication is to hear what isn't being said.” ~Peter F. Drucker. In managing a wide variety of workforces for nearly six decades now—private and public settings and large and small organizations ...
Views: 87 - Good People, Bad Ethics - by Submitted on Feb 06, 2020 from William CottringerGood People, Bad Ethics by Bill Cottringer “In my college ethics class, someone stole my textbook and I thought that was rather ironic.” ~The author. In the section on ethics which I teach in criminal justice classes, I define ethical behavior as, “The ideal standard of what is ...
Views: 70 - A Prescription for Resolving Interpersonal Conflicts - by Submitted on Jan 31, 2020 from William CottringerA Prescription for Resolving Interpersonal Conflicts by Bill Cottringer “All conflict can be traced back to someone’s feelings getting hurt, don’t you think?” ~Liane Moriarty, Big Little Lies. We all get stuck in messy emotional interpersonal conflicts with others from ...
Views: 191 - GREEN, YELLOW & RED LIGHTS - by Submitted on Jan 29, 2020 from William CottringerGREEN, YELLOW & RED LIGHTS By Bill Cottringer “Three things cannot be long hidden: The sun, the moon, and the truth.” ~Buddha. The sheer power of the number three, or dividing things into thirds, is probably one of the first governing principles of the universe discovered and ...
Views: 127 - FOUR CRUCIBLES OF SUCCESSFUL LEADERSHIP - by Submitted on Jan 27, 2020 from William CottringerFOUR CRUCIBLES OF SUCCESSFUL LEADERSHIP By Bill Cottringer "A good objective of leadership is to help those who are doing poorly to do well and to help those who are doing well to do even better." ~Jim Rohn. The four crucibles of successful leadership include: Becoming an expert at ...
Views: 104 - Modernize Your Mind - by Submitted on Jan 21, 2020 from William CottringerModernize Your Mind by Bill Cottringer The year 2020 might be a good time to think about modernizing your conventional mind, that is, if life hasn’t already forced you to do this. Here are some low-resistance, practical tips on facilitating mind- modernization: 1. Meta-thinking. ...
Views: 109 - A Belief Worth Questioning - by Submitted on Dec 04, 2019 from William CottringerA Belief Worth Questioning By Bill Cottringer “Tolerance implies no lack of commitment to one's own beliefs. Rather it condemns the oppression or persecution of others.” ~John F. Kennedy. All the world’s dreadful problems and the unwanted miseries they bring, are caused by one ...
Views: 227 - Better Time Management for 2020 and Beyond - by Submitted on Dec 03, 2019 from William CottringerBetter Time Management for 2020 and Beyond by Bill Cottringer “Time is the one resource that is equally distributed, but unequally used.” ~The Author. This combining millennium will likely just continue to overload us with more and more information, where we end up never having ...
Views: 273 - A Few More Thoughts About Happiness - by Submitted on Dec 03, 2019 from William CottringerA Few More Thoughts About Happiness by Bill Cottringer “Breathe in common sense and breathe out nonsense.” ~The Author. Happiness has as many different definitions and ways to get it as there are people on the planet. Here are a few more thoughts about happiness I have had recently, ...
Views: 244 - DO WHAT MATTERS MOST - by Submitted on Nov 20, 2019 from William CottringerDO WHAT MATTERS MOST By Bill Cottringer “There's a mess inside you: You clean the outside.” ~Anonymous, The Dhammapada. Do what matters most. I once wrote a book with that title. It took me more than 600 pages to wade through some extreme complexity to get to the profound ...
Views: 248 - Having Enough Hope in Motion for Success - by Submitted on Oct 01, 2019 from William CottringerHaving Enough Hope in Motion for Success By Bill Cottringer “You may not always have a comfortable life and you will not always be able to solve all of the world's problems at once but don't ever underestimate the importance you can have because history has shown us that courage can be ...
Views: 200 - Train Your Brain in Mindfulness - by Submitted on Sep 05, 2019 from William CottringerTrain Your Brain in Mindfulness by Bill Cottringer “Mindfulness is a way of befriending ourselves and our experience.” ~ Jon Kabat-Zinn. Why train your brain in “mindfulness?” Because mindfulness is what facilitates the other major components of emotional intelligence—self, ...
Views: 324 - Our Common Denominator - by Submitted on Aug 01, 2019 from William CottringerOur Common Denominator By Bill Cottringer “Men go to far greater lengths to avoid what they fear than to obtain what they desire.” ~Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code. One of the more important common denominators people have is: (a) being unique and different on the one hand with personal ...
Views: 196 - Ten Tips for Successful Presentations - by Submitted on Jun 12, 2019 from William CottringerTen Tips for Successful Presentations By Bill Cottringer Successful selling is often preempted by the requirement of giving a formal presentation to convince the customer to go with your product or service. These presentations require some sensible prep work to result in successful ...
Views: 364 - Some Uncommon Sense Needed today - by Submitted on Jun 10, 2019 from William CottringerSome Uncommon Sense Needed today By Bill Cottringer “You can see a lot by observing and hear a lot by listening.” ~Yogi Berra Originally back in the day, common sense was the useful knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA’s) people needed to use to survive the challenges of living day ...
Views: 372(1 vote) - Ten Easy Ways to Increase Your Common Sense - by Submitted on Jun 07, 2019 from William CottringerTen Easy Ways to Increase Your Common Sense By Bill Cottringer “Commonsense is the most widely shared commodity in the world, for every man is convinced that he is well supplied with it.” ~Rene Descartes. If this quote were true, we wouldn’t have any of the challenges, problems, ...
Views: 192 - Exercise Your Thinking Muscles - by Submitted on May 30, 2019 from William CottringerExercise Your Thinking Muscles “Sometimes you must give up the good to get to the great. The key is knowing what to keep and what to discard from your mind.” ~The author. Success today requires proper diet and exercise in both the physical and mental realms. Here are some healthy ...
Views: 242 - The Baker’s Dirty Dozen Gaps Between What’s - by Submitted on Apr 20, 2019 from William CottringerThe Baker’s Dirty Dozen Gaps Between What’s By Bill Cottringer “The main challenge in life is to close the gap between where you are now and where you really want to be.” ~The Author. We all have much work to do to close the above gap. Here are a Baker’s Dirty Dozen Gaps we need to ...
Views: 253 - Successful Thinking Tipping Points - by Submitted on Mar 21, 2019 from William CottringerSuccessful Thinking Tipping Points By Bill Cottringer “Successful people are just those with more successful habits than others.” ~Brian Tracy. Success today requires more than just raw IQ points in pure brain power. To achieve success today, you must develop and practice ...
Views: 328 - Re-Braining for 2020 - by Submitted on Mar 19, 2019 from William CottringerRe-Braining for 2020 By Bill Cottringer “The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.” ~Albert Einstein. 2020 brings a new decade of Information Age challenges, requiring some major transformational re-braining to navigate the mine fields ahead hidden away in the ...
Views: 439 - Taming Our Terrible Twin Within - by Submitted on Feb 21, 2019 from William CottringerTaming Our Terrible Twin Within By Bill Cottringer “I have noticed that even people who claim that everything is predetermined and that we can do nothing to change it, look before they cross the road.” ~Stephen Hawking. We are all on a mission to become our best selves and to help ...
Views: 242 - Ten Team-Building Essentials for Leaders - by Submitted on Feb 19, 2019 from William CottringerTen Team-Building Essentials for Leaders By Bill Cottringer “Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean.” ~Ryunosuke Satoro. There is a sure prescription for effective team-building for leaders to be successful in their efforts. Here are the ten essential ingredients ...
Views: 324 - The Compromise Imperative - by Submitted on Jan 09, 2019 from William CottringerThe Compromise Imperative By Bill Cottringer “I shall argue that strong men, conversely, know when to compromise and that all principles can be compromised to serve a greater principle. ~Andrew Carnegie. Our main thinking paradigm today is still stuck somewhere between a ...
Views: 395 - The Main Challenge for Leaders Today - by Submitted on Nov 07, 2018 from William CottringerThe Main Challenge for Leaders Today By Bill Cottringer “Diversity: The art of thinking independently together.” ~Malcolm Forbes. There are two sound reasons for diversity: (a) It is the right thing to do from a human-kind perspective, and (b) the differences brought by diversity ...
Views: 457 - The Two Main Goals of Personal Development - by Submitted on Sep 05, 2018 from William CottringerThe Two Main Goals of Personal Development By Bill Cottringer “Small daily improvements are the key to staggering long-term results.” ~Anonymous. Our personal development efforts in learning, growing and improving are aimed at increasing two very important capacities: (a) our ...
Views: 417 - Three Key Success Factors in Effective Management - by Submitted on Sep 04, 2018 from William CottringerThree Key Success Factors in Effective Management By Bill Cottringer “The effective management of others always starts with effective self-management.” ~The author. There are libraries of books on how to manage effectively, but since there is already too much information and too ...
Views: 486 - Gap-Closing - by Submitted on Aug 09, 2018 from William CottringerGAP-CLOSING By Bill Cottringer The most serious problem we have today is the growing divide/gap between this and that group of people and the ineffective gap-closing activities we waste valuable time engaging in. The gaps and divide just keeps getting wider and wider, creating more ...
Views: 567 - A Disturbing Reality - by Submitted on Jun 28, 2018 from William CottringerA Disturbing Reality By Bill Cottringer “Logic will never change emotion or perception.” ~ Edward de Bono. After studying things like success, happiness, failure, frustration and anger for several decades now, I have come to the conclusion there may be a very disturbing reality too ...
Views: 687 - Furiously Frustrated - by Submitted on Jun 25, 2018 from William CottringerFuriously Frustrated By Bill Cottringer In my previous article, “Seeds of Anger,” I think I overlooked the main problem with which we should have more empathy for ourselves and others. The real problem of our day is the frustration that leads either a quiet life of desperation or ...
Views: 772 - Seeds of Anger - by Submitted on Jun 20, 2018 from William CottringerSeeds of Anger By Bill Cottringer I think most people would agree that the main problems of our day are: (a) the artificially dualistic, unfair sharp divide between those who have abundance, power and all the other desirable things in life, and those who don’t have enough of these ...
Views: 901 - WHY PRISONS DON”T WORK (AS WELL AS THEY COULD) - by Submitted on Mar 20, 2018 from William CottringerWHY PRISONS DON'T WORK (AS WELL AS THEY COULD) By William Cottringer “Men simply copied the realities of their hearts when they built prisons.” ~ Richard Wright. I do not want to offend all the good people who have devoted their entire careers to positive prison reform, but the very ...
Views: 802 - Life's Hardest Lesson - by Submitted on Feb 07, 2018 from William CottringerLIFE”S HARDEST LESSON By Bill Cottringer. “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking of yourself less.” ~Rick Warren. A doctor and her patient were having a defining-moment discussion about life’s hardest lesson. “So tell me what it is, said the impatient patient to ...
Views: 1110 - The Only Unwinnable Conflict Worth Trying to Win - by Submitted on Jan 04, 2018 from William CottringerThe Only Unwinnable Conflict Worth Trying to Win By Bill Cottringer “There is one conflict that will never go away until we either figure out how to communicate past it or die trying. This conflict involves arguing for the beliefs and truths we are most certain about.” ~The Author. ...
Views: 817 - Three Beatitudes for Better Communication - by Submitted on Nov 01, 2017 from William CottringerThree Beatitudes for Better Communication By Bill Cottringer “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” ~George Bernard Shaw. I first heard this simple but profound prescription for better communication below, used as a beginning and ...
Views: 1017 - Are You Smart Enough? - by Submitted on Oct 30, 2017 from William CottringerAre You Smart Enough? By Bill Cottringer “Half of being smart is in knowing what you are dumb about.” ~Solomon Short. I have been an avid researcher of the connection between intelligence and success for several decades now, and am finally ready to release my short list for ...
Views: 1123 - Managing vs. Coaching - by Submitted on Oct 26, 2017 from William CottringerManaging vs. Coaching by Bill Cottringer “You must always be the apprentice, even when you become the master.” ~ Christopher Cumby. A common problem with new managers is starting out with the wrong perspective, or as Stephen Covey would say, “getting to the top ...
Views: 780 - Game Plan For All Seasons - by Submitted on Sep 27, 2017 from William CottringerGame Plan For All Seasons By Bill Cottringer Psychology has one principle that can be applied to any interpersonal interaction to get the best results. This is the very fundamental principle of human behavior which recognizes that both our commonalities and our differences have to be ...
Views: 781 - 7 SURE BUILDING-BLOCKS OF SUCCESS - by Submitted on Sep 09, 2017 from William Cottringer7 SURE BUILDING-BLOCKS OF SUCCESS By Bill Cottringer “Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose.” ~ Bill Gates. Having both attempted and researched the phenomenon we call “success” now for nearly 7 decades, I have reached the conclusion that ...
Views: 695 - Choosing the Right Side - by Submitted on Aug 30, 2017 from William CottringerChoosing the Right Side By Bill Cottringer An elderly Episcopal priest once gave a simple sermon with a single message that makes too much sense to disregard, even for non-religious people. The message was this: There is one main choice in life and that is which side are you on—the ...
Views: 623 - WORDS ARE WICKED - by Submitted on Jun 19, 2017 from William CottringerWORDS ARE WICKED By Bill Cottringer “In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends,” ~Martin Luther King, Jr. For over 50-years now, I have worked in criminal justice as a law enforcement officer, prison warden and a security manager, and ...
Views: 739 - The Power of Awareness - by Submitted on Jun 09, 2017 from William CottringerThe Power of Awareness By Bill Cottringer “What is necessary to change a person is to change his awareness of himself.” ~Abraham Maslow. Focusing on one thing in life being more important than any other is a common mistake we often make. This usually results in over-embracing a ...
Views: 841 - DO OR DIE - by Submitted on Apr 19, 2017 from William CottringerDO OR DIE By Bill Cottringer “Conflicts give rise to villains, heroes, victims and bystanders. Which are you willing to be, in doing or dying for? ~The Author. We are all chasing after things we think we want because of how they make us feel—happiness, success, peace of mind, ...
Views: 961 - An Epiphany About Intentionality - by Submitted on Apr 14, 2017 from William CottringerAn Epiphany About Intentionality By Bill Cottringer “All things considered, the concept of willfulness loses sight of too many of them.” ~The Author. I am proposing that our entire justice system is built upon a highly questionable basic assumption—that all wrongdoers are ...
Views: 719 - Work Success - by Submitted on Apr 01, 2017 from William CottringerWORK SUCCESS By Bill Cottringer “The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand.” ~Vince Lombardi. Success in today’s work place involves a commitment to ...
Views: 721 - The Paucity Paradigm - by Submitted on Mar 28, 2017 from William CottringerThe Paucity Paradigm By Bill Cottringer “Usually the first problems you solve with the new paradigm are the ones that were unsolvable with the old paradigm.” ~Joel A. Barker. Way back in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve did something that contaminated our thinking and the language ...
Views: 775 - AN ATTITUDE FOR ALL SEASONS - by Submitted on Feb 01, 2017 from William CottringerAN ATTITUDE FOR ALL SEASONS by Bill Cottringer “The amount of success you have or don’t have, is more related to how you define success, than all you talents, efforts, motivation, timing and luck combined together.”~ The Author. I have been an avid student of human behavior and ...
Views: 969 - What Employers Need - by Submitted on Jan 30, 2017 from William CottringerWhat Employers Need By Bill Cottringer “The employer generally gets the employees he deserves.” ~J. Paul Getty. Knowing what employer’s need—not necessarily what they think they want (or what they deserve?)—can greatly improve job success in the organization for both employers and ...
Views: 686 - How to Get a Job in Today’s Marketplace - by Submitted on Jan 04, 2017 from William CottringerHow to Get a Job in Today’s Marketplace By Bill Cottringer “People will try to tell you that all the great opportunities have been snapped up. In reality, the world changes every second, blowing new opportunities in all directions, including yours.” ~Ken Hakuta. From all my ...
Views: 666 - Too Much Familiarity Can Breed Contempt - by Submitted on Dec 26, 2016 from William CottringerToo Much Familiarity Can Breed Contempt By Bill Cottringer “Familiarity breeds contempt, for others at first, but then inwardly, contempt towards ourselves.” ~Oli Anderson, Synchronesia: A Depressing Existential Novel. Most relationship experts agree that contempt can creep into a ...
Views: 3019 - What To Focus On? - by Submitted on Dec 20, 2016 from William CottringerWhat To Focus On? By Bill Cottringer “Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun's rays do not burn until brought to a focus.” ~Alexander Graham Bell. Regarding the title question, the answer in a word is—NOW. One very popular view of life is that we are all pawns ...
Views: 717