The Catalyst Newsletter
Catalyzing high achievers (aka over achievers) to reach their potential and make a difference in the world...without losing their soul.
All it takes is twenty seconds of insane courage...
Thursday, May 11, 2023 Twenty seconds of insane courage can change your life. Last week, I shared about 5 Ways to Use Fear to Your Advantage where I touched briefly on courage. What is courage? Courage is action in the face of fear. In the movie, We Bought a Zoo with Matt Damon, he takes his two children to the restaurant where he met his now deceased wife. Walking by on the street, he suddenly spotted her through the window and stopped dead in his tracks. He thought to himself, All I need is...
Detox from hurry...
Weekly insights and actionable advice for high achievers. Find fulfillment without sacrificing success. Summer is here, and that means changes, at least for me, but I suspect for you, too. More on how to handle the summer slowdown next time. Today, I want to share a personal update and ask for some feedback from you. Take the 2-minute survey to tell me what you want >> As you may know, I ruptured my patella tendon and had surgery three weeks ago. I’m doing well overall, but I also have...
Relationships aren't efficient...and neither is leadership
Weekly insights and actionable advice for high achievers. Find fulfillment without sacrificing success. Read time: 4 minutes We are people, not machines. Efficiency is for machines, technology, systems, and processes. Effectiveness is for leadership, people, and relationships. As Japanese author Kosuke Koyama once wrote: Straightness is not natural. It is technological. Technology is efficient. Straightness is efficient. The straight line is the shortest distance between two points. The...
You don't need a crisis (like I had) to find focus...
Weekly insights and actionable advice for high achievers. Find fulfillment without sacrificing success. Read this on my website >> (2.5 minute read) "Should I end this?" were the last words I said before collapsing to the ground in excruciating pain. The only thing I ended was my basketball career ⛹️! On Sunday, May 18, 2025, I ruptured my patella tendon playing basketball with my boys. We were playing a game of P.I.G., and it was a simple layup but hard to replicate. But when I planted my...
Will you do me a favor?
I don’t ask for favors from my audience very often. That’s because I want to give more than I take, but this is more of a give-give situation. You know I'm passionate about helping people live with more purpose and less burnout. That's why I've created a new Burnout Quiz that measures where someone stands across what I call the Rhythms of R.E.S.T. (Relational, Emotional/Mental, Spiritual, and Tangible health). As part of the Catalyst community, your feedback would be invaluable. Will you do...
Are you thriving—or quietly burning out?
Hey there Reader, Early in my leadership journey, , I would’ve told you I was doing “fine.” From the outside, things looked great. I was leading, producing, showing up. But under the surface? I was barely holding it together. Most nights, I crashed into bed anxious, , emotionally drained, and spiritually disconnected. It wasn’t until I hit a wall—several years later —that I realized something had to change. Those experiences eventually led me to develop a framework I now call Rhythms of...
You're not going to become a monk are you?
A weekly newsletter to help high achievers (a.k.a over-achievers) reach their potential and make a difference. Read this on my website >> (Reading time 2 minutes and 44 seconds) “You’re not going to become a monk, are you?” My wife asked after I excitedly returned from a week-long retreat to a Trappist monastery, noting my growing fascination with monastic rhythms. The obvious answer is no, since I’m neither single nor celibate 😁! It began the previous week when my twelve-year-old son and I...
Am I having a mid-life crisis?
A weekly newsletter to catalyze high achievers (a.k.a over-achievers) to reach their potential and make a difference. The View from 50 (read the full post on my blog) The short answer is no, I'm not having a midlife crisis, but I did recently celebrate my 50th birthday on March 16, 2025, and it was the most meaningful birthday I've ever had. I always thought the big decisions were what shaped my life trajectory, but my 50th birthday celebration revealed something way more interesting—it's...
You are what you do: true or false?
Most people think spiritual dryness means you need to try harder or recommit to old practices, but sometimes, it’s your soul's way of telling you it's time for a change of direction. This week, I'm exploring the SPIRITUAL dimension of burnout. Which ONE of these statements resonates with you the most right now? "I know who I am beyond what I do or produce." "I feel connected to a higher purpose or calling." "I often wonder if my life has any real meaning." "I feel spiritually dry,...
When was the last time you felt truly alive?
Thank you for your response to last week's question about relational health. Your insights are already helping shape what I believe will be a powerful assessment tool. This week, I'm exploring the EMOTIONAL dimension of burnout. Which ONE of these statements resonates with you the most right now? "I can name what I’m feeling and clearly communicate it." "I feel emotionally overwhelmed more often than not." "I regularly make time for things that bring me joy and fun." "I challenge myself...
Your Connections Matter: How They Impact Your Burnout Level
A weekly newsletter to help high achievers (a.k.a over-achievers) reach their potential and make a difference. The most important GPS in life isn't your phone—it's your connections. You know that moment when you're trying to navigate somewhere new, but your phone keeps "searching for a signal"? Before phones, I used a GPS to navigate directions, except it used satellites to navigate. I purchased my first GPS in 2006 after getting completely and utterly lost on my first few trips to Boston...
Catalyzing high achievers (aka over achievers) to reach their potential and make a difference in the world...without losing their soul.