We're also fairly stubborn, I think, fairly independent. We have our share of difficulties with our federal government, although I've tried to as I am here encourage a better way of discussing those problems.

You must develop a sense of what you can contribute that goes beyond 1 company or organization. A career path today will likely involve moving from organization to organization, creating a picture of rising circles, rather than a vertical ladder. In fact, a vertical rise within one organization will very likely move you away from your strongest areas of competence.

Find ways to embrace the things that make you unique, and you'll unlock the ways you can make a difference in the world.

The difference between the successful and the troubled is not error-free living; it is that by discovering and implementing a life calling, the successful stand on their pile of trash while the troubled sit under theirs.

If we have no identity apart from our jobs, we are truly vulnerable.

To look for a job before looking deeply inward is likely to short-circuit the process of finding your calling.

How sad that we often diminish our best gifts by struggling valiantly to develop in someone else's area of ability. It is better to focus on your uniqueness and do that with excellence than to end up with mediocrity in several areas.