Sam Gembel 
“Success is never owned, it is rented, and the rent is due every day” — Rory Vaden Our General Manager at AO has that Rory Vaden quote on his office door. Every time I walk by it, I can’t help but feel it resonating in my head. Especially this week when I was praying up … Read more
“When a team takes ownership of its problems, the problem gets solved. It is true on the battlefield, it is true in business, and it is true in life” — Jocko Willink If you are not familiar with what taking ownership means, in short it means owning all aspects of your life. Doing what needs to … Read more
“Leaders must be close enough to relate to others, but far enough ahead to motivate them.” John C. Maxwell I absolutely love that quote by John. I would change it up a bit and say “Leaders must be close enough to their people to motivate them, but far enough ahead to inspire them.” In my early … Read more
“The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.” — William Arthur Ward Motivating your people is important. Sometimes we have to turn on the “you can do it” chant! But it’s amazing how much more can be accomplished in the way of growth when you inspire those … Read more
“Pride makes us artificial and humility makes us real” — Thomas Merton When you think of the word pride, does it strike you as a positive thing or a negative thing? There are many positive types of pride. It’s good to “take pride in our work.” We like it when someone tells us, “I sure am proud of you.” … Read more
“Only one who devotes himself to a cause with his whole strength and soul can be a true master. For this reason mastery demands all of a person.” — Albert Einstein Have you ever been to Home Depot on an early Saturday morning? I’m sure you have. If so, you will see the beginning of hundreds … Read more
“Leadership is a journey, not a destination. It is a marathon, not a sprint. It is a process, not an outcome.” — Bill George Me and my family love road trips. For probably the last 15 years or so, we have made the long drive down to Southwest Florida. And the last 11(since we had … Read more
It’s not very often that someone consciously chooses to stop growing. Yet we all know people whose influence on growth has leveled off or gone into decline. Why do hard-working, well-intentioned leaders plateau? How can people keep their levels of influence throughout their life, but then suddenly stop climbing? At my company Atlas Outdoor, we … Read more
We can all agree that our morning routines have been a challenge to say the least over the last month. If you don’t know it by now, I’m a huge ritual fan. And while I know that may be tough during these trying times, even just changing up your mornings, but getting in even a temporary ritual for … Read more
I’m a consistency guy. I actually think that probably most people are. That’s why things are extra stressful for most people right now. I like to set my alarm for the same time everyday, get up, and do the same things for the first few hours of the day. At least on the weekdays. And … Read more