Blog | Extrabold

The real reason we lose passion

Things not to ask your dad: Do you think I have what it takes to make it in life?

And of course, on one very vulnerable day, I asked just that.

I think he relished the opportunity to finally share some of his wisdom.

He stared at the floor pensively, lips pursed. After a long, pregnant pause, he took a sip of his tea and looked up at me. “You can succeed at anything you put your mind to.”

Phew. Very diplomatic, but, OK. I can live with that.

He took another sip of his tea. “But I’m not sure if you really will…you don’t stick with things.”

Thanks Dad.

But I knew he was right. I was born … Read more >

High Octane Growth

When I was a little kid, I LOVED Razzles. I mean, come on. It starts as a candy and ends as a gum. How do you not like that?

So, when I came across a pack for the first time in I-don’t-even-know-how-long at gas station down the street, I couldn’t resist. Never mind that fact that it was coated with dust and looked like it hadn’t been touched since 1992.

They were Razzles!

Excitedly, I tore open the pack and popped about five into my mouth at once. You know. Because gluttony.

And as I chewed and chewed, waiting for my childhood memories to wash over me, I realized that Razzles feel an awful lot like sweet chalk that turns … Read more >

My uncensored opinion about success

She sat alone in the locker room after the fight, thoughts of suicide on her mind and one question in her head:

“What am I anymore, if I’m not this?”

Imagine what it would mean to be the absolute best at what you did.

Would you be happy?

Would you be satisfied?

Would you find the peace you’ve been looking for?

Or is it all just a lie we tell ourselves?

UFC champion Ronda Rousey was the most successful fighter in UFC history. She accomplished something at a level few ever will in their respective fields. But her loss to Holly Holm—her only professional loss ever—was enough to make her consider ending it all.

How much weight does success … Read more >

Beware of the Weaksauce Mindset

From my really, really limited understanding of ballet, first position is…well, the first position you learn. I guess that didn’t need explanation.

But in your business, first position has to be understanding this one thing:

You are not a sad sack of a product wrapped in plastic, hanging on a store shelf.

There is no price tag over your head.

In every transaction, no matter what you sell, you are one of two people in a negotiation to find a way to reach an outcome you both desire. You don’t need to “sell” yourself, but you must advocate. This right is yours, because you care and take care, and you commit yourself to creating the very best possible outcome.… Read more >

The End of Marketing

Let’s travel back in time.

It’s 2008. I was taking a photography workshop with a top-tier photographer named Chris Anderson, and I was up for review. The silence was hushed. My prints were strewn across the table. One of them teetered on the edge, almost ready to fall.

I must have been a ghostly white, standing there, wringing my hands, waiting. “Say something,” I thought…anything…

For most people, it was beautiful spring day in Toronto. For me, it was terror unspooling.

The teacher reached for my print and ran his fingers over the surface…

“There’s something there. There’s something in this scene. You see something. But it’s not there. You haven’t found it yet.”

For years, I wondered what I … Read more >