Dan Waldschmidt
Greenville
As seen in:
Medium,
Business Insider,
CNBC,
Hubspot Blog,
Entrepreneur,
Thrive Global,
Success Magazine,
ThinkAdvisor,
RealClear Markets
Help clients get unstuck. Run ultra-marathons like a f$%*cking boss. Lead The EDGY Empire. Obsessed with community and resources for people who want more!
Is this you? As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.
Claim your profile
Articles by Dan Waldschmidt
10 Business Resolutions for Salespeople in 2022
New Year's eve isn't the only time you can set resolutions for yourself or your business. When you're noticing a slump in performance, a lack of motivation, or an opportunity to grow in your career, try putting some business resolutions in place to get back on track. In this post, we give you 10 of the most revitalizing business resolutions to work toward this year. Business Resolutions for Salespeople Commit to your why, what, and how. Form an SLA with the marketing team.
12 Ways to Multi-Task Like a Superhero
There’s been a lot of debate over the last few years about the effectiveness of multitasking. Productivity experts make the case that trying to do more than one thing at the same time leads to poor results — and half-finished outcomes. Nothing gets the best use of your attention. Instead of doing more, you actually get less done. And what you get done isn’t game-changing or noteworthy. Maybe multi-tasking isn’t broken. Maybe it’s your focus and planning that need a tune up.
If you want to be lucky
If you want to be lucky, work harder than everyone else around you. If you want to be lucky, practice delivering kindness to those you meet each day. If you want to be lucky, develop new skills before you need them. If you want to be lucky, be a good friend to the ones you already have. If you want to be lucky, be deliberate about following through on the promises you make. If you want to be lucky, say “Please” and “Thank You” more often. If you want to be lucky, stop completing and start competing.
Manage Your Head Game From Your Back Pocket
It’s impossible to be mentally fit when your personal finances are all out of whack. You can’t focus on being successful when you’re stressed out about money and the poor financial choices you have made in the past. Which is why a big part of being mentally fit is making smart financial decisions — being financially fit. Just like getting in shape physically, it takes a long time to get back into shape financially. Some days it looks like nothing you’re doing is actually working.
Why Tough Times Build Tough People.
It’s easy for you to stay positive when things are looking good. You can quickly smile and stay focused when there are no problems. No frustrations in your life. But it’s harder to do what needs to be done when the pressure of problems is weighing you down. When all you can think about is finding a way out. It’s hard to smile when all you think about is finding a way up out of the hole you find yourself in at the moment. When you are beaten down, it’s hard to stay focused and positive and motivated.
You Will Change. How You Do Is Up To You.
The world has changed. Your work has changed. Your life has changed. You are going to change. Have you ever noticed how your rate of change is directly related to your level of urgency and intensity? We often talk about changes as being hard. We often comment that success is difficult. But success isn’t as challenging as we make it. It directly matches your level of intensity. Your degree of urgency. If you need to change bad enough, you will. Almost automatically. Instantaneously. Overnight.
The Courage To Continue When You Feel Cold and Dead Inside.
He was alive. Or at least it was a dream. A good one to have. Beck Weathers peeled his face off the frozen ground. He painfully blinked the ice out of his eyes. He couldn’t feel his hands. They were frozen. He couldn’t feel his feet. They were frozen, too. The only warmth he felt was from the urine filling his snowsuit. And that was only temporary. Soon, it would be frozen too. As he put one foot in front of the other, Beck didn’t know he would lose both hands. He didn’t know he would lose his nose.
39 Choices You Are Making That Prove You Are Already In Control Of Your Life.
It can seem like a lot of life is outside your control. Most of the time — no matter what you do — you can’t force other people to do what you want them to do. You can’t instantaneously impact nature or economic trends. You can’t control the weather or the decisions that are made by other people in authority over you. You can’t force life to give you what you want. And if you think about that for too long, you’ll find yourself perfectly convinced that you don’t control your life. But that’s a lie.
Progress, Pain, And The Pursuit Of Impossible Goals.
Progress is supposed to hurt. That’s why we call them “growing pains” — not “growing pleasures”. When you stretch yourself, you hurt yourself. But you also build your muscles and develop new strength. Pain means the possibility of gain. When was the last time you cried because of the pain you were feeling? This isn’t about you being too soft, it’s about you having the guts to deliberately put yourself in situations where you are likely to get hurt.
Fast Horses, Bankrupt Living, And What To Do When You're Feeling Paralyzed By Life.
Problems come at you so fast some times that you can feel completely paralyzed. Your brain is overloaded. Overheated. Overwhelmed. Emotions are flying. Fear, frustration, and panic seem to be hiding behind every corner. You’re confused. And not sure what to do. And the truth is quite simple. You are not alone. Every day, horrible problems happen to good people attempting great things. That was the story of Kate and her bankrupt family.
12 Inspiring Videos To Keep You Motivated When It Seems Like Nothing Is Working.
Inspiration is one thing you lose just after you stop looking for it. Here’s the hard truth about achieving big success — you’re not the first person attempting greatness. And you’re certainly not the first person to think about giving up along the way. Doing anything amazing requires massive amounts of focus, effort, and human resolve. Whether you call it inspiration, motivation, or the will to win, you’re going to need lots of it along your journey.
Lessons On Not Quitting From 60-Year-Old Man Who Took On The Nazi Army.
There’s no special skill to not giving up. You aren’t born with any special genomes that automatically make you less likely to quit. The truth is that every day you face tough choices and scary obstacles. On one hand, you have all the things you want for yourself — money, happiness, fitness, friends, and fulfillment.
The Surprising Way To Know You Are Chasing The Wrong Goal.
You’ve got to want it. No matter what your dream is you’ve got to want it. Maybe you want to make more money. Maybe you want to be in a relationship where you feel valued. Maybe you want to be happy. It doesn’t really matter what you want. To get it you have to be consumed with desire. Getting what you want can’t just be an option. It has to be the difference between life and death. Like oxygen or water, it has to be elemental to your reason for living. Let’s be honest. We all have goals.
3 Secrets To Leading Change When Changing is Tough.
Nothing changes in your life until you decide you need to change. It doesn’t matter what incentive is in front of you or what penalty is behind you — you will only change when you decide for yourself that change is necessary. That’s true for you. And it’s true for everyone else around you. That’s important to remember as a leader. Just because you want to change and just because you want your people to change doesn’t mean that the people you are leading will see the need to change.
The Greatest Sports Comeback Story And 3 Secrets To Winning All High-Performers Live By.
High performance. You know it when you see it. It’s one of those stories you can tell a dozen times and still be excited each time. It’s captivating to watch. More of an experience than just an event or an occasion. The comeback story of Tom Brady and the New England Patriots at Superbowl LI is one of the most improbable wins in an American football championship ever. Chances are — you probably watched it.
The Ultimate Guide to Achieving Real Change In Your Life This Year.
Change is hard. But it’s something that you want and know that you need. The beginning of the year spawns this romantic feeling of possibility. Regardless of where you are in your life, the end of a year marks a time of automatic introspection and thoughts about what might come next. That usually starts with you coming up with a few resolutions. New Year’s resolutions. Unfortunately, that doesn’t work out for almost anyone.
You Were Never Promised That It Was Going To Be Easy. Just That You Can Make It.
Thuuuuuuuud. It was the middle of the night. Steve was jolted awake in the middle of a raging storm. In the dark and stormy unknown of the Atlantic Ocean. It had all started as a race. He had planned to race his sleek, 6.5m sloop, the Napoleon Solo, from England to Spain and then back across the Atlantic. But on his way to Spain, he was forced to drop out when the hull of his craft developed a small crack. Beaten but not broken, Steve decided to sail solo across the Atlantic anyways.
The 10 Commandments of Great Managers (And How Facebook Does It Right)
A recent Gallup poll estimated that only about 1 in 10 people naturally possess the talent to manage. What’s even scarier is that organizations name the wrong person as manager about 80% of the time! The study also learned that 50% of employees that quit, do so to get away from a manager. If these numbers don’t make you question the leadership in your company, look again. Managers are crucial in shaping the culture of their teams and workplaces.
8 Ways To Stop Letting Fear Keep You From Being The Person You Were Meant To Be.
Ever since my youngest daughter was born seven years ago I wake up from time to time with a reoccurring dream. Somehow, I’m backing over my little girl with the car that I’m driving. In my dream, I’m not paying attention, while she is doing something cute and not noticing that I’m leaving — and I do the unthinkable. It’s the same dream. The same nightmare. Like a bad movie that you’re forced to sit through.
To Change Who You Are, You Have To Change Where You Are.
Where you are, determines what you do. It doesn’t matter how cold-hearted or foolish you might be, you’re going to change your behavior when you’re in a church or around someone you feel is especially religious. The same is true for how you act on vacation away from the office. It’s different — and so you act differently. That’s because your environment has a lot to do with your actions. What you do isn’t entirely a result of willpower.
"You're Basically Crushing It" And Other Reasons For Gratitude.
No matter how bad things are right now for you, they are better than they could be. That alone should fuel your sense of gratitude. And when you think about it further, you realize how very good you have it. No matter how desperate your situation might feel, you still have the opportunity for change going forward. Looking back you can see how far you have already come. You haven’t figured it all out. You’re not exactly where you want to be. Things aren’t even close to being perfect.
Taping Your Feet Back On So You Can Try One More Time.
You might not realize it right now, but the truth about you is that you are impossibly powerful when you refuse to quit. You are tougher than you think you are. You are mighter than you might ever have imagined. And the key to all of that is your willingness to simply keep trying. You can work harder than you think you can. You can learn faster than you think you can. You can keep giving longer than you think you can. You can dreams bigger than you think you can.
You Don't Need To Pretend Anything. You Just Need To Keep Working On It.
Don’t waste your time trying to be something that you’re not. Don’t waste a moment pretending to be someone that you think other people want you to be. The truth is that you get to choose what you do and who you are. You get to decide everything about your future. All of it. The money you make. The job you have. The people you love and the friends you surround yourself with. None of that is forced upon you. It’s already completely within your control to own each of those decisions.
To Achieve Something Outrageously Extraordinary Requires Extreme Effort
We aren’t doing enough. Sometimes not even the bare minimum. But it’s worse than that. This lack of effort is poor, lazy behavior. In every sense of the words. I’m not even sure how we got to this point, but here is what I do know: We talk ourselves out of action before we even get started. We spend time, mental energy and emotion trying to look good rather than getting results. We debate the plan rather than working on it. We make excuses for our mediocrity.
You Are What You Do.
In 1936, Berlin, Germany held the world’s attention. Athletes from around the world traveled to the center of German power, led by Adolf Hitler, to display their athletic prowess in the XI Olympiad. It was the year American Jesse Owens captured four track and field medals — the first American to do so, cementing his place in Olympic history. But off in Wannsee, southwest of Berlin, Germans, Scandinavians, and other global powers were battling it out for something different — shooting medals.
How To Know When It's Time To Give Up.
We all have a breaking point. No matter how smart or strong or insightful you think you are, you are going to have a moment with it’s time to stop doing what you are doing and move on to something else. You’ve asked yourself: “When should I quit? When is it time to be reasonable?” To be honest, it happens to everyone. At some time, you are going to face failure, disappointment, and insurmountable odds. And not the stuff that comes and goes in a quick day or week or month.
Why Winners "Won't". | Dan Waldschmidt
Stop saying “I can’t”. Enough already with the “should I” or “I don’t know how” self-chatter. If you are being honest with yourself and the rest of the world most of what you “can’t do” really ought to be an honest discussion about what you “won’t do”. It’s easy to reply to a hard challenge with the observation that “you can’t do that”. You “can’t” or you “won’t”? You can’t lose weight or you won’t stick to a diet? You can’t make more money or you won’t work hard enough to earn more?
25 Truths To Guide You Through Tough Times From That Time Rocky Sold His Best Friend.
Life comes at you fast. It doesn’t matter whether you are an entrepreneur, an actor, business leader, or just trying to get ahead — you’re going to have to make it through tough times It’s easy to get an idea stuck in your head about the direction your future should be going. About how much money you should have by now. About how much status and popularity and success you should have already achieved. Especially when you believe in your heart that you are destined for more.
26 Mistakes That Will Stop You From Achieving What You Want In Life.
It was a little after 4 AM when I got to the starting line. It was freezing cold — barely 20 degrees outside. I was wearing Nike running tights, a compression shirt, and a light running jacket. It was my last race of the year — a 50 miler through horse trails in beautiful North Carolina. It was early and cold, and I was nervous — which makes everything a little more frustrating than it needs to be. At that moment, I needed a bit of help.
The Magic Of Knowing That You'll Make It Out Alive.
There is nothing more powerful than believing that you are going to make it. Not just believing. Knowing. Knowing that no matter how bad you feel right now that you are tough enough to make it through to the other side. To survive. And thrive. If you are struggling right now, you know the sense of dread that accompanies problems. You know the panic that creeps up the bottom of your throat. The hopelessness and fear. You aren’t sure if this is the struggle that finally breaks you.
1 Epic Victory And 10 Lessons Learned About The Power Of Words From The Greatest King Who Ever Lived.
It’s not good enough to be right. Or to do what you think is right. The hard truth about leadership is that to be effective you have to master the power of words. You have to master delivering those words in the right tone. A good example of this comes from perhaps the greatest ruler who ever lived. In early 335 B.C., Alexander the Great began his quest for world domination. No other ruler had a passion for conquest like Alexander.
Finding Your Greatness, Abandoning Glory, And The Grit You'll Need To Do Both.
You can choose greatness or glory. You can’t have both at the same time. That’s the hard truth of doing something that matters. Getting started, it feels like you need glory to propel you towards greatness. If you just have enough attention. If more people just knew about what you are doing. If you had more time, money and notoriety, you would be so much more ahead in your conquest for getting to that next level. Greatness comes without glory.
3 Rules High Performers Live By That Are Hard To Achieve But Surprisingly Simple.
Success is frustrating. The advice you get from people trying to help you is often conflicting and seemingly impossible. Your own pathway is confusing. At times it’s hard to make sense of the feedback you’re getting from your actions. Failure one day can often look like success the next. What used to work doesn’t work anymore — and the changes you’ll need to make to fully appreciate that are often the most frustrating part of your journey to success.
The Hard Truth No One Told You About Doing Whatever It Takes.
I can’t help but look down at my running watch. My heart feels like it is about to explode out of my chest. The pain in my lungs is now in my neck. Pounding through my cheekbones. I am literally moments away from a heart attack. It all started with a simple phone call from one of my long-time ultra running buddies: “Let’s go to Pisgah and attack some mountains. It will be fun” I should have known from the drive that this run was about to be a lot different than any of us expected.
It's On You To Get What You Want From Life.
You are responsible for your actions. Completely responsible. This is never a time when you are not responsible for what you do, what you think, and the results that you achieve. It doesn’t matter what other people are doing to you. It doesn’t matter what other people are getting away with. Your life, your priorities, and your perspective are all completely your responsibility. It is easy to be distracted by what is going on around you.
Do Won Chang: 3 Jobs, 19 Hour Days, 1 Next Step, And A $5 Billion Empire
Do Won Chang sat in a crowded airport in Korea waiting on a plane to take him, his parents, and his new bride to America. Do Won had been dreaming about this move since he was a child. His parents were desperately poor and Do Won had been working since he was old enough to ride a bike. He did whatever he could to make money for the family. His most recent endeavor had been delivering coffee to nearby villages. And Do Won was good at it.
You're Listening To Bad Advice. Here's What To Do About It.
I’ve stopped giving other people advice. Well, not exactly. I still have as many opinions as I have always had, I’ve just realized that giving good advice is really hard to do. It’s almost automatic that I’ll give you bad advice. Not horrible, malicious advice — just insight and perspective that are completely unhelpful. And almost always horribly inadequate. Today, everyone has an opinion. Actually, that’s always been the case.
The Secret To Lasting Longer And Helping More People In A World Where You Keep Falling Apart.
Have you ever watched a tugboat in action? It’s truly a remarkable vessel. The purpose of the tugboat is to help larger sea vehicles maneuver out of port or safely connect back to a pier when trying to dock. You’ll see a huge cruise ship or cargo ship coming into port with a tugboat attached to both corners — connected at both ends with an iron chain as thick as a car tire.
15 Rules Champions Live By To Get Things Done Each Day.
You can’t control if you get lucky. You can’t even control if you get a fair chance. Despite the best education, smart planning, and friends in high places, you can be blindsided by the worst of unfair conditions. Your good ideas can be spoiled by petty people. Your honorable intentions can be undone by passive-aggressive peers. Your intelligence and insight can be copied and stolen and spoiled. But no one can take from you your effort. No one can force you to not get things done.
Frederic Tudor: How To Turn Your Ice-Cold, Crazy Ideas Into Epic Success.
It was at a dinner shortly after the wedding that the idea came up. One of Frederic’s younger sister had just married the most eligible bachelor in town. Chilled drinks were flowing. And so were the ideas. As Frederic’s rich older brother William joked with friends, out tumbled one of those ideas: ice for everyone. Why not harvest the plentiful New England ice, currently only affordable to the rich and famous and sell it to the masses in the steamy Caribbean? It was clearly a joke.
You Shouldn't Have To Pee Blood Before You Ask for Help.
Looking back, it was the stupidest move I could have made that day. Especially since I was about to run the longest race of my life. Stepping foot into the Landsford Canal 24-Hour Race I had big plans for what I wanted to accomplish. For the last few weeks, I had been raising money for To Write Love On Her Arms, a non-profit that helps teenagers who are having thoughts about suicide.
You Shouldn't Have To Pee Blood Before You Ask for Help.
Looking back, it was the stupidest move I could have made that day. Especially since I was about to run the longest race of my life. Stepping foot into the Landsford Canal 24-Hour Race I had big plans for what I wanted to accomplish. For the last few weeks, I had been raising money for To Write Love On Her Arms, a non-profit that helps teenagers who are having thoughts about suicide.
Why You Don't Get Better Even Though You Really Want To.
Nothing changes until you change. Until you get started. It’s easy to get caught up in the passion of dreaming. And certainly, there’s power in visualizing a better future. But dreams without action quickly become delusion. And the irony of being in that predicament is that the difference between success and failure is merely you taking the first step. I know. Because I’ve screwed it up for years. I’ve been dreaming dreams my entire life. I have dreamed about making more money.
Just Because You Don't Feel Like It Doesn't Mean You Shouldn't.
Success demands courage. If you are going to get to where you want to be, you are going to have to be courageous when you least feel prepared to find it inside yourself. The chaos of the battle faded briefly from his mind. Replaced with raw panic and fear. William D. Hawkins bowed his head to pray from the edge of the boat he was standing on.
1 Lie. 2 Secret Skills. And The Path To Getting Everything You Want From Life.
Everything you’ve ever wanted to achieve could be within your grasp. It might not be at your fingertips right now, but it could be soon. As long as you’re willing to keep growing. And going. Here’s the truth about being successful — it hurts like hell along the way. I’m not sure when we started romanticizing “the struggle”, but let’s be honest. The struggle sucks. You already know that. But you might have bought into the crazy notion that you should enjoy what you’re doing.
30 Qualities That All Successful Leaders Share.
There are a lot of things that make certain leaders great — excellent timing, a mind for numbers, ruthless efficiency, awesome sales skills, and much more. Great leaders become great because they are intentional about doing things that feel uncomfortable and seem silly and insignificant at the time but lead to greatness. Here’s the cool thing — despite all the individual strengths that make these leaders bring to the game, all great leaders share a few of the same qualities.
It's Going To Take You Longer Than You Think It Will. And What To Do About It.
Achieving success is going to take you longer than you think it is. Despite what you’ve heard from experts that want you to believe that if you follow a series of proven steps success is an easy outcome — nothing can be further from the truth. And that’s absolutely not because you’re not dedicated or driven. It’s not because you’re lacking something or don’t care about achieving success. Even if you are doing your best, the time it takes to do big things has nothing to do with you.
If You Can Tough It Out You Will Figure It Out.
You’re tougher than you think you are. You can work longer than you think you can work. You can keep trying a few more times before you’re all out of ideas. You can think harder than you’re thinking right now. You can figure out a way to fix your financial problems no matter how troubling they are. You can lose weight this time even though you have struggled to do it all those other times in the past. You can learn more about what you’re already an expert in. Don’t let the battle beat you down.
74 Miles, 12 Lessons, 3 Broken Toes And 1 Finish Line.
I weighed 168 pounds. With all my gear on. The only reason why I know that is because I was required to step on a scale and be measured. It was the Arkansas Traveller 100 — and my first 100-mile ultra-marathon. The reason for being weighed sounds absurd at first. But if you lose too much weight during the event, the race officials automatically force you to quit, as that is usually a sign of rapid dehydration. And then death.
The Opposite of Success Isn't Losing. It's Not Caring In The First Place.
The opposite of success isn’t losing. It’s not failure. Or loss. The opposite of success is apathy. Not caring. But it hurts to care. It’s painful to want to be successful and end up in a different place. It’s hard to believe that you’re meant for a bigger purpose, but not be able to achieve the results you envision. Just know that losing isn’t the worst position to be in. The worst position in which to find yourself is when you have stopped caring. When you stop trying.
Show More
loading
Actions
Is this you?
As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.Get in touch with Dan
Contact Dan, search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.
Learn more about Muck Rack