You may know that I’m a life coach and I use various personality assessments in my work. If you’re around me enough (or maybe just a little), you’ll hear me talk about CliftonStrengths or RightPath or my current fascination—the Enneagram—which I love and hate at the same time.

Some people think personality assessments are chiefly self-centered activities, driving us to sit around all day pondering ourselves, “Here’s what I think about me, what do you...

Jesus said, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled" (Matthew 5:6).

What does it mean to be filled by God? It begins with hunger.

I've been praying before, and suddenly, everything disappeared. All that mattered was what he said, what he promised. All that mattered was what he did, what he was doing. All that mattered was God.

I was at once like the dark, barren world before it was made, still formless and empty and void. Then slowly and surely...

Someone once asked me what difference Jesus Christ makes. It’s a good question. We should be able to see Christ in his followers. Unfortunately sometimes we don’t. Sometimes Christians act far from the person of Jesus we see in the Bible. And they repel others from the magnificent, passionate, and revolutionary Jesus. I’m sure I have at times.

But let’s not forget that it’s a process. We don’t grow into Jesus and become a new creation fused of Christ and us...

At a recent “Strengths Bag Lunch,” employees of EnergyCAP, Inc. (ECI) discussed how to get better at “Responsibility.” The entire company has taken the CliftonStrengths assessment, which measures 34 areas of talent. The idea is to help people to develop their top areas of talent into strengths, and then utilize their strengths to achieve their outcomes.

This simple approach yields great results. Studies show that when folks are able to do what they do best every day,...

I read the story of a man who was accused of a crime he didn’t commit, and because he didn’t have fancy lawyers, he went to prison.

He spent 19 years there, and although he didn’t do what they say he did, he decided to make the most of it. He learned to speak Spanish and play seven instruments and earned a college degree.

He came up for parole four times, and even though he learned to do these civilized things and behaved well, they weren’t good enough reasons for the...

If you want to build a strengths-based culture in your organization, it won’t happen overnight. Sure, you may want your coworkers to take hold of strengths instantly to receive the tremendous benefits of focusing on strengths like: increased productivity, retention, job satisfaction, positive interactions with coworkers, and so forth.

But remember, Rome wasn’t built overnight. A strengths culture isn’t built overnight either. If it takes you more time to get momentum and...

Note: A few months ago, a college ministry approached me for help. It wanted to inspire its people to pray more. This post is based on the advice I gave.

Let’s say you’re the director of prayer for a college ministry.

One of your goals is to motivate your people to pray more. But this isn’t easy. Everyone seems to be as busy as ever. They have endless choices for spending their time. And “praying more” doesn’t seem to be a pressing concern. To be...

A few months ago, I had a speaking engagement. For whatever reason, I felt anxious and unqualified, so I clung to my manuscript. The result was a tense, robotic delivery. I didn’t even want to be there, and I was the one speaking!

Contrast that with another talk a few weeks ago. I felt free and comfortable, and brought only a business card with notes. The result was an inspiring, energizing delivery that motivated the audience (and me).

How were they different? The second time I engaged...

I've suggested that a sweeping strengths movement larger than we've ever seen could be coming. I defined strengths as, “your best means of contribution and contentment,” and wrote that few of us have really tapped into the talents, traits, skills, knowledge, values, and more that are within us. And I commended us to seek humility as we seek our strengths.

With this as the backdrop, I want to share seven drivers of a contagious worldwide strengths movement. This would be a...

Recently I earned my coach accreditation from the International Coach Federation (ICF), which is recognized as the leading global organization for coaching. ICF estimates that worldwide there are 53,000 coaches who coach as a profession. With that many coaches (and more every day) let me ask you a question: If you could have a coach, would you get one?

Two big obstacles that keep people from coaching are the cost of coaching and the lack of access to coaches. People are saying, "I can't find...