The Twenty Percenter
Weekly advice for top business professionals.
What a Writer’s Trick Taught Me About Focus (2 Min Read) | Vol. 204 May 22, 2026 “Ink it when you think it.” – Sam Horn What a Writer’s Trick Taught Me About Focus I got to meet Sam Horn at a recent dinner party. She’s an author, a speaker, and the founder of the …
Einstein’s Priceless Advice (2 Min Read) | Vol. 203 May 15, 2026 “A calm and modest life brings more happiness than the pursuit of success combined with constant restlessness.” – Albert Einstein Einstein’s Priceless Advice In 1921, Albert Einstein won the Nobel Prize. He didn’t go to Stockholm the next year to attend the award …
Eight Things I Learned on My Friendship Walk (4 Min Read) | Vol. 202 May 8, 2026 “You are allowed to step back, disconnect, and disappear for a while. The world will go on without you, but you will come back to yourself.” — Cory Allen Eight Things I Learned on My Friendship Walk In …
The Cost of Comfort (2 Min Read) | Vol. 201 May 1, 2026 “Tension is not conflict, and discomfort is not harm.” – Charlie Gilkey The Cost of Comfort The biggest tax on your business may be the conversations you’re avoiding. Addressing underperformance, chasing a late payment, delivering bad news, renegotiating a deal, or parting …
The Leadership Question Nobody Wants to Ask (6 Min Read) | Vol. 200 April 24, 2026 “Your silence gives consent.” — Plato The Leadership Question Nobody Wants to Ask This is not an opinion piece. This is a coaching conversation. And I believe coaches don’t tell their clients what to think. They teach them how …
Almost There (4 Min Read) | Vol. 199 April 17, 2026 “Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination …
How Billionaires Set Goals (4 Min Read) | Vol. 198 April 10, 2026 “If more information was the answer, then we’d all be billionaires with perfect abs.” – Derek Sivers Ask a room full of entrepreneurs how they track their goals, and you’ll get a dozen answers. Post-it notes. Notes apps. Project management tools with …
Let’s be Friends! (3 Min Read) | Vol. 197 April 3, 2026 “Find a group of people who challenge and inspire you; spend a lot of time with them, and it will change your life.” – Amy Poehler Let’s be Friends! Last year, my publisher asked me a curious question. “Jay, do you know how …
You’re Not as Stupid as You Think (2 Min Read) | Vol. 196 March 27, 2026 “The fundamental cause of the trouble is that in the modern world the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt.” — Bertrand Russell You’re Not as Stupid as You Think In 1995, McArthur Wheeler and Clifton …
Great is the Enemy of Good (2 Min Read) | Vol. 195 March 20, 2026 “You’re only as good as you’re willing to be bad…The fact that you’re not going to be good at something or that you’re going to fail at something—that’s OK. Because you’re never going to get good unless you’re willing to …