motivation Archives - Adam McLane

Powerless

Breathing heavy and full of adrenaline I stood up from the knee deep waves among the kids and did a 180. With a massive smile I began the long push through the surf back to my fellow bobbing boogie boarders. It was a Sunday afternoon at Torrey Pines. One of my favorite beaches doing one of my…… Continue reading Powerless

Who will rise?

That’s just the way it is. I don’t have the power in my organization to do anything about it. We make changes incrementally, it takes time. We aren’t ready for that. That’s on the agenda to do, just not something we can address right now. These are the excuses of people who value the status…… Continue reading Who will rise?

Behind the Veil of Calling

I’m not a psychologist. Nor am I a sociologist. But I know my profession pretty well. And I know a ton of people in my profession. Why do we do what we do? It’s an important question. In many ways it is the only question that our students want to know the answer to. My…… Continue reading Behind the Veil of Calling

Kicking Fat Adam to the Curb

5:30 AM comes early on a Friday. I look at the time on my phone, “You’re kidding me, right?” Tired, groggy, and not feeling it I roll out of bed. It’s time for my run. Three days per week for the last 6 weeks. Meh, this isn’t fun anymore. Stoney is the only one stoked…… Continue reading Kicking Fat Adam to the Curb

Run Your Moobs Off

Moobs – Unsightly man boobies. Forget all of that Biggest Looser emotional stuff about being fat. “I don’t want my kids to know their dad is fat. I want to live longer. I need a new strart.” Yada. Yada. Yada. That’s all just TV psychobabble to me. If it works for you, awesome. But that show…… Continue reading Run Your Moobs Off

Why do I do this?

A few months back we had some meetings at work. And by “some meetings” I mean we were in meetings from Monday – Thursday more than 8 hours per day. All throughout the week, one member of our team asked us, “Why do we do what we do?” I wasn’t sure what this person meant…… Continue reading Why do I do this?

5 Ways to Build Intrinsic Motivation in Students

“Fear is a short term motivator.” That was the first lesson in my first class on managing people. As a 21 year old manager of a staff at a health insurance company in Chicago, this was a valuable lesson for me. Most of my subordinates had either been with the company 25+ years or were…… Continue reading 5 Ways to Build Intrinsic Motivation in Students

5 Ways to Influence Influencers

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the…… Continue reading 5 Ways to Influence Influencers

Fear Makes You Stupid

Yesterday morning I woke up to the news of a massive earthquake in Chile. The world seemed to hold its breath and wonder how bad the damage would be. “If a 7.0 earthquake killed 200,000+ people and flattened Port-au-Prince, Haiti– what would an earthquake 500 times stronger do?” Those fears and concerns were legitimate. Fortunately,…… Continue reading Fear Makes You Stupid