Tag: Growth

So, Which $10 Million Super Bowl Commercial Actually Impacted Your Life?

Last week, there was a lot of talk about the Super Bowl commercials. (Partly because the game itself was not worth talking about.) The advertising industry and businessy people spend a lot of time debating the merits of the top spots. After all, the Super Bowl is also the Super Bowl of advertising. (Accept the advertising executives don’t get a Gatorade shower at the end.) (But they should.)

Playing Monday morning Creative Director is a national pastime. But ultimately, advertising and marketing professionals don’t determine which commercials worked the best. The audience does.

Today, a full week after the Super Bowl, is a great time to determine who really created great Super Bowl commercials.

Here’s How.

If you watched the Super Bowl last Sunday, ask yourself the following questions:

1. Which commercials do I still remember? (Remember, member…)

If you still remember them, they get a B.

2. Of those spots I remember, which commercials made me like the brand, product, or service more?

These brands all get an A.

3. Of those commercials, which brands did I buy or use in the past week?

These all get Gold Stars. Those commercials drove purchase, usage, munchage, guzzleage, or telephonery.

Key Takeaway

Ultimately, great commercials create awareness, interest, and appetite. So while it may be fun to have an intellectual debate about commercials immediately following the game, the real impact takes time to measure. Because what really matters is what you remember and how it positively influences your actions, attitudes and purchases.

*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.

+For more of the best life lessons I have learned check out my book, What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? from Ripples Media. And consider subscribing to Adam’s Good Newsletter.

When you see something good, say something good.

One of the best things you can do for others is to let them know when you see their skills and talents at work. When you see someone perform well, give great effort, or step up to take on responsibility, you’ve got to let them know.

It’s kind of like a sailor high in the crow’s nest, yelling ‘Land Ho!’ (Ho didn’t used to be a derogatory term.) And it can generate the same kind of feeling of success, accomplishment and enthusiasm.

When you call out great effort, ability, or accountability, it creates a valuable reward for the person recognized. It says, ‘I see what you are doing. It is good. It is valuable. Do more of that. ‘ Mark Twain once said, “I can live for two months on a good compliment.” (Which also seems to indicate that he stopped getting compliments at the end of his life.)

Your positive reinforcement can call other people’s attention to the good things you see. Which shines more sunlight on the good and helps it grow and flourish.

Humans grow towards praise. So praise people for their valued actions, and you will see more. Gandhi said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” But you should also praise the change you want to see in the world. When you do, it will multiply.

Key Takeaway

When you see others doing good, call it out. Even if it’s awkward. Even if you don’t know them. (Especially if you don’t know them!) That random reward creates positive reinforcements around valued actions and behaviors. And it encourages others to develop into a greater version of themselves. So when you see something good, say something good, and the world will get more good in return.

*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.

+For more of the best life lessons I have learned, check out my book, What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? from Ripples Media. And consider subscribing to Adam’s Good Newsletter.

26 Rules For A Great 2026

As I start each year, I like to take a moment to remind myself what leads to a great year and ultimately a great life. Here are some of the most important rules I live by, in a particular order. I hope you find some value in them, too. If not, I encourage you to create your own list and share it with me. God knows I can use all the help I can get.

26 Rules For How To Have A Great 2026.

  1. Nothing works if you don’t. Success is a result of action.
  2. Your habits are your most important asset. You form your habits and then your habits form you.
  3. Add value before you try to extract value. Never forget the order of operations. Your value is directly related to your contribution.
  4. Your best energy is early in the day. Do the big stuff in the morning. But not the Double Stuf. Save that for dessert.
  5. In the end, the only thing that matters is the impact we have on each other. Put people first, and be a positive force in their lives. This is how you get people to show up at your funeral. (This and the all-you-can-eat ham sandwiches.)
  6. Don’t be a jerk. We have enough of them. People need allies and compassion. Not jerkitude.
  7. Get good sleep. Know your ideal amount of sleep and get it as often as you can. Sleep is nature’s power-up.
  8. This too shall pass. Even the really tough stuff will soon be in the rear-view mirror. Just keep swimming.
  9. Exercise is the best medicine. It’s better than an apple at keeping the doctor away. (But speaking of doctors…)
  10. See your doctor and dentist every year. Your scans, blood tests, ograms, and oscopies help find things when they are small and treatable. This can add years or even decades to your life. Do it for your loved ones.
  11. Do hard things. Nothing is better for building confidence and a repertoire of great stories.
  12. Always do what you know is right. This rule has never failed me. Listen to your inner voice. It knows what to do.
  13. When you are right, don’t act in a way that makes you have to apologize.
  14. Invest as much and as early as you can. Let compound interest work its magic, Johnson.
  15. Don’t put your hands in your pockets as you walk up or down stairs. If you trip, you’re going to need those hands to protect your face from the floor.
  16. Travel as much as you can. It provides knowledge, experience, understanding, stories and ideas that last a lifetime. When you are old and can no longer travel, you can always go back in your mind.
  17. Put a case and a screen protector on your phone. It will save you a lot of money.
  18. Burn more calories every day than you take in. That’s the simple formula to maintain a healthy weight.
  19. Don’t worry about how much milk you spill as long as you don’t lose your cow. There will be unfortunate things that cost you money. It’s ok. Just make sure to hold onto the thing that helps you make more money, honey.
  20. A happy marriage is the best thing in the world. I expect the opposite is also true. Prioritize your spouse. Even above your kids. It sets a great example for them.
  21. Reading books is like weight lifting for your brain. Read as much as you can. If you need to you can always buy a bigger hat.
  22. Don’t stick your tongue out when you are in a moving car. Because if you are in an accident, you will bite your tongue off.
  23. Think long term. Don’t try to make or save money today that will cost you money over the years to come.
  24. Take the red eye home from the West Coast. It’s like stealing time.
  25. Spend time with your people in real life. People are better in person. It’s one of the best things you can do for your happiness and well-being.
  26. Capacity is a state of mind. You will do more when you believe you can do more.
  27. (Bonus) Yesterday is the most important day. What you did yesterday enables everything you can do today.

Key Takeaway

The best way to have a great year is to put your accumulated experiences and resulting wisdom to work for you. You’re wiser than you were a year ago. Take advantage of it. Let’s have a great 2026! I hope we get to see each other in real life!

*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.

+For more of the best life lessons I have learned check out my book, What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? from Ripples Media. And consider subscribing to Adam’s Good Newsletter.

What Is Driving Your Decisions?

One of your greatest responsibilities is making good choices. (Just like your Mom and Dad used to say.)

Your choices are always based on your decision-making criteria, which are based on one of two drivers.

  1. Reaching a goal.
  2. Avoiding a negative.

Ever since I was in high school, I have been making decisions based on my most ambitious goals.

  • Breaking a state record
  • Going to a great college
  • Having a noteworthy career in advertising
  • Being a good husband and father
  • Starting a business
  • Creating a blog
  • Writing a book
  • Keeping my teeth in my mouth.

My goals have informed my decisions about what to eat, where I live, which flight I take home from business trips, what time I get up, how I invest my money and a thousand other things.

To live a great life, to enjoy a great career, and to craft an enviable story, make sure that you are making goal-oriented decisions.

Always choose the options that advance you towards your goals.

Pick things that propel you.

Opt for the path to fulfill your dreams.

It’s valuable to take on risks that take you towards the life, the results and the rewards you want.

Always pick the door that leads to growth and expansion.

Be wary of your decisions to avoid.

Avoiding the work.

Or the pain.

Or the sacrifice.

Or the awkward. (I always find awkward is an awkward word to spell. Wouldn’t ockword be less awkward?)

It’s far better to set your north star of purpose, goal achievement, and nonnegotiables.

Those propel, compel, expand and improve your life. They energize and enhance. They help you make your dreams a reality. And that is the hallmark of a life well lived.

Key Takeaway

A great life is built on great decisions. Once you decide what you want your life to be like, your vision should drive all your decisions. And the only things to avoid will be those things that hinder your progress towards your goals.

*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.

+For more of the best life lessons I have learned, check out my book, What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? from Ripples Media. And consider subscribing to Adam’s Good Newsletter.

There is always more work to do.

When I wrote my first book What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? I quickly recognized that writing a book is like running 3 marathons.

  1. The Writing Marathon
  2. The Publishing Marathon.
  3. The Promotional Marathon.

The writing and publishing marathons are finite. You complete them and move on. (You should also shower and rehydrate.)

But the promotional marathon only ends when you stop. And when you stop promoting your book your book stops selling.

It’s a good reminder that when you have products or services to sell, you should never stop promoting them. Otherwise, they lose awareness and, in turn, lose value. Because they only have value when people see them, think about them, and value them.

Which means that more exposure leads to greater appreciation. Which leads to preference, desire and demand.

This is how you generate value for your organization.

It’s also how you generate more value for your personal brand.

People have to know you to know your value.

They have to desire what you have in order to give you their money, honey.

If you are unknown, you are also uncompensated.

If your offerings are invisible, they are inconsequential.

If potential customers and clients don’t see you, they won’t see value in you. Unless you sell Invisibility Cloaks. In which case, the opposite is true.

This is why advertising is so valuable.

It’s why trade shows are valuable.

And public relations.

And talking about your offering on social media.

And promotions of all sorts. Even the wacky stuff.

We created The Weaponry to help our clients with all of these activities.

Because the more people who know you, the more they help grow you.

Key Takeaway

Create products worthy of promotion. Offer services that people want. Then talk about them as much as you can. There are always more people who should know about you, your products and your services. You will reap the rewards until the talking stops. Which is why advertising is a never-ending discipline.

*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.

+For more of the best life lessons I have learned check out my book, What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? from Ripples Media. And consider subscribing to Adam’s Good Newsletter.

Get Lazy To Get Productive.

On a recent Saturday morning, I was really lazy. Like, pro-level lazy. I was lazy like a boy in an overstuffed recliner.

I got up early, as usual. I made my son Johann breakfast and made sure he had everything he needed to take the ACT’s that morning. Basically number 2 pencils. But hey…

After Johann left, my wife and I had an empty nest. Our daughter Ava was off at college. Johann was testing at school, and then would be off to practice music with his bandmates. And our youngest son, Magnus, was at a water park for the weekend with his friend Phineas and his family. I assume Ferb was there, too.

So Dawn and I were alone. And we sat in our living room and read. We read for a long time. It was great. And lazy. It felt as if we were finally recovering from our very active trip to Arizona. I hadn’t allowed myself to feel that lazy for a long time.

But then something quite predictable happened. I got itchy to do something. I had sat long enough that I was now compelled to work, to do, to be productive.

So I went outside with a rake and trimming equipment. I cleaned up, cut down and spruced up all of the beds in the back of my house. I then took 3 loads worth of yard waste to the dump.

After that, I came in the house and had a light bulb moment, which sent me on a mission to replace every burned-out light bulb I could find in the home.

Before I knew it, I had 5 hours of productive work done on the laziest Saturday in recent memory. Because for me, laziness serves as a springboard to productivity. I saturate with laziness, and then I have to do something. I lounge until I must labor. Then I labor until I must lounge. It’s a strong and satisfying approach that I recommend everyone have in their playbook.

Key Takeaway

Everyone needs a little downtime to recharge. It provides both a physical and mental reset. As soon as your batteries are fully recharged from rest, get right back to it. Then go until you need a good rest. The cycle will leave you feeling both productive and restored. That’s a win-win.

*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.

+For more of the best life lessons I have learned check out my book, What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? from Ripples Media. And consider subscribing to Adam’s Good Newsletter.

Success Is A Percentage Game.

Success is a percentage game.

The more options you create, the more success you will find.

Comedians know this.

The more jokes you come up with, the more likely you are to have really funny jokes.

To be a raging success, you write lots of jokes. Perform those jokes in front of small crowds. Keep only the ones that work. Toss the rest. Repeat.

If you want more innovation, explore more what-ifs. While it may only take 3 licks to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop, it took Thomas Edison 10,000 attempts to create a light bulb. (And it took Natalie Merchant 10,000 Maniacs to create a hit song.)

The more people you know, the more likely you are to know a person who can help you open the next door, overcome a challenge, or offer you a kidney.

To find your prince or princess, you must kiss a lot of frogs. Or frogettes.

To catch one muskie, studies show you have to cast an average of 3,000 times.

To create a bag of tricks, you need many tricks. (And a bag.)

At The Weaponry, the advertising and ideas agency I lead, one of our hallmarks is that we explore a lot of options.

We explore a wide variety of strategies.

We explore as many creative options as the time and budget allow.

Great advertising doesn’t come from crafting one great headline. And designing one look.

There are often hundreds of headlines explored when creating a single ad. And dozens, if not hundreds, of looks.

It creates a large population of options to choose from. And large populations increase the potential for greatness.

So consider many strategic options.

Consider many, many creative options.

Consider many candidates.

And life partners.

Write a lot of jokes.

Pick only the very best ones.

That’s how you do smart things that set you apart.

Key Takeaway

To be successful, you first have to be productive. Create lots of options. You will both become better and create better by doing more. So drill more holes. That’s how you find the gusher.

*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.

+For more of the best life lessons I have learned, check out my book, What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? from Ripples Media. And consider subscribing to Adam’s Good Newsletter.

Act As If.

Go through life as if all of your dreams have come true.

Or are coming true.

Act as if you are the you that you imagined you would be.*

Do the things that the person you want to be would do.

Make the decisions your ideal you would make.

Act as if you have the role you want. And maybe the roll you want. (Kaiser, Lobster, Tootsie)

Act as if you are the person who does what you want to do.

Talk the talk.

Walk the walk.

Think the way you want to be.

And you will become the person you think you are.

If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.

+For more of the best life lessons I have learned check out my book, What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? from Ripples Media. And consider subscribing to Adam’s Good Newsletter.

*The quadruple-you sentence. The Triple Lindy of sentences.

Gamify your life for more daily wins.

Like many avid self-improvers, I’m trying to grow into the best version of myself. This means adherence to healthy and productive habits. Which is hard. Because there are a lot of fun things on this planet that are unhealthy and counterproductive. Like sweet tea and turtle sundaes.

But I have found that if you gamify your life, your life becomes more fun and you get better results. This doesn’t simply mean playing more games. It means turning everything into a game. Like Milton Bradley. Or compulsive gamblers.

My life games start when my alarm first goes off in the morning. And they don’t stop until I am in bed again at night. These games help me feel like I am scoring points and winning all day long. It’s an easy way to make the actions that I know I should take each day more enjoyable and rewarding.

Fill Your Day With Games

Your work is packed with opportunities to win every day. But so is your home life, your social life, your health, your wealth, and your general self-improvement activities.

Consider the following ideas to get started.

You can gamify your sleep. Get to bed by a certain time, and you win. Wake up at a pre-set time and you win. Get a set number of hours of total sleep and you win. Don’t get kicked out of bed for snoring, and you win.

You can make weight loss a competition. Or make weight maintenance a game. I track my weight every day with the Happy Scale app, which gives me the opportunity for daily, weekly, monthly, yearly and even lifetime wins. Plus, you get bonus wins when you look in the mirror. And every time you can button your pants.

You can make your good habits a game.  Stacking days in a row of consistently completing your good habits at work or at home is a win. There are so many good habits worth developing and maintaining that there are hundreds of ways to win every day. Like Lotto games say. (But don’t play Lotto. Bet on yourself.)

You can turn meeting new people into a game. Gamifying people-meeting incentivizes you to expand your circle of friends and grow your network. Give yourself points for every new person you know by name. Having more friends expands your opportunities, supports your mental health, and gives you more phone-a-friend options if you are ever a contestant on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.

Grow-Your-Net Worth is a game that pays you a cash prize. And increases your peace of mind. Definitely track and stack your assets. And if they hate, then let them hate and watch the money pile up.

I play the Drink-A-Glass-Of-Water-First-Thing-Every-Morning Game. And I am crushing it at this game. Proper hydration is key to great health and human performance. So play this drinking game every morning.

I gamify annual adventures with friends. Gamifying it makes scheduling our time together a priority.

I just gamified a bench pressing competition with myself. You can read about that here.

I play the Start-Each-Day-With-A-Smile game. And I’m happier as a result.

I try to be the first one to apologize when I get into a quarrel with a friend or loved one. I also compete to keep the word quarrel in use, since it has been decreasing in popularity for like 500 years.

I track my time on my phone each week and try to keep it below a winning standard.

I try to get to church every Sunday during Advent and Lent to win the Advent and Lent games.

By turning the positive behaviors you want to see from yourself into a game, they become fun to-dos. You can quantify your positive actions. Through small actions, you can put points on the board every day. Which means you can always count the good things you did, even on bad days.  

Key Takeaway

You win at life in small ways, every day. By gamifying the actions, habits and behaviors you value, you are giving yourself a fun and easy way to track them, and stack them. It’s a great way to make yourself feel like a winner every day. It’s builds confidence and positive self talk.  And it creates a clear and easy guide that you can use to measure your life. So start gamifying your life today. You can play every day. And like the state lottery commission, you can add new games every day to keep your interest up and to encourage the behaviors you value most.

*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.

+For more of the best life lessons I have learned check out my book, What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? from Ripples Media. And consider subscribing to Adam’s Good Newsletter.

Why you should bring your freakin idea to life and share it with the world.

A couple of weeks ago, I saw the band Bombargo. They were playing a free concert in a park 2 miles from my house. The band is a bundle of energy and entertainment from the off-off Broadway, town of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Which is also one of the cartooniest place names ever invented. The band was on their Disco Surf Rodeo Tour, because any one of those things on its own is just not enough.

For a flavor of their fun music, check out Let It Grow or Oxygen. (Songs I assume were inspired by The Lorax.)

An hour into their set, the band told an interesting story as they introduced one of their signature songs.

During the winter months, Saskatoon is often among the coldest places on the planet. And during one of those cold spells, the lead singer stopped by his brother-bandmate’s igloo home. His brother-bandmate was playing a new song idea on the piano. The lead singer really liked what he was playing and decided that they should write a song to it.

So they wrote the full song that day.

The next day, they recorded the song, shot a video for it, and shared it online.

Then something swiftdiculous happened. Taylor Swift, the most influential musician on the planet, heard the song, loved it, and added it to her Spotify playlist.

The song immediately blew up thanks to Swift’s endorsement.

The band shared that it was rare for them to work so fast and not tweak a song to death. But it was exactly this speed of creating and sharing that led to the success of the song Mr. No Good.

Reminder

Each of the ideas you bring to life is like a lottery ticket. It has the potential to pay off in a big way. So create it, share it and move on. Don’t analyze it to death. Great work doesn’t have to take a long time. Focus on creating work that you love. If you love it, there is a great chance that others will love it too.

Key Takeaway

Create things you love and share them quickly. It’s the key to being a successful artist, innovator, or entrepreneur. The world benefits from your ideas. And your ideas benefit from real-world exposure. Successful ideas are a percentage game. The more ideas you bring to life, the more likely you are to produce hits. And when you love your creations, there is a great chance others will too. So don’t die with your song in your head, your art in your heart or your startup in your soul.

*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.

+For more of the best life lessons I have learned check out my book, What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? from Ripples Media.And consider subscribing to Adam’s Good Newsletter.