Author Archives: David Peterson

On Being Grounded

What’s the first thing you think of when you hear the word “grounded”?  Perhaps you hear a parent saying to a teenager, “You are so grounded, young man!” Or maybe you think of a ship running aground, as in, “The captain of the Costa Concordia grounded the ship on the rocks off Tuscany.”  But grounded […]

Being Fearless

I read a great post from Mike Brown in his blog, Brainzooming, about “hustling” and how it ties directly back into individual leadership. A hustler is defined by Merriam Webster as “an enterprising person determined to succeed; a go getter.” Mike Brown asks the question, “are you a hustler?” My first reaction was negative. We tend to think of […]

Have a great attitude and you won’t get chopped

I love to cook and am addicted to the Food Network show “Chopped.”  Each episode, four contestants get a mystery basket of ingredients and have a short window of time to transform the often-mismatched contents of the basket into a delicacy.  After they make their dishes, they face three judges who sample and comment on their work. […]

Effective Communication Makes All the Difference

I was recently on a Southwest Airlines flight from Minneapolis, MN, to Atlanta, GA. We left the gate and taxied out, but wound up waiting on the tarmac for ten minutes or so. Then the plane’s engines revved up, and we all thought we would be taking off. But instead, we returned to the gate. Uh […]

Holly Holm: The Grounded Fighter

On Saturday, November 13, 2015, “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey got her butt kicked by Holly Holm. Now, if you are not a follower of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), you may be unaware that Ronda Rousey is an international star—one who had been plowing through opponents in the Bantamweight division. Most of her recent fights had failed […]

‘The Martian’ Remains Grounded

I saw the feature film The Martian this evening. Besides being a great and entertaining movie, there was a strong, “Grounded” message that was contained within it. First, it is clear that Matt Damon’s character in the movie is dealing with an unexpected event, which is being left behind on Mars. He immediately starts thinking and working towards how […]

The flight attendant’s training

I boarded a Delta flight from Minneapolis to Nashville and like many flights these days, they announced that the flight would be full. I was sitting in the aisle seat and the middle seat between me and my row mate was empty. It even remained empty through the safety message. I was a bit surprised when […]

The Young Entrepreneurs

Yesterday I met two young entrepreneurs that I am convinced will make a fortune in ten years (maybe sooner)!  I was at a small farmers’ market in northwest Florida with my wife and some friends.  Among the tables selling veggies and plants were two brothers who had a table with homemade birdhouses.  What caught our […]