Animal Leadership
Mapping the Wilderness
By: Rad Watkins As you hike in a wilderness area you wind around this bend and that. You zigzag up switch backs, and maybe even traverse talus slopes. The real decisive point in your whole journey comes when you hit the split in the trail and the signs point to two different destinations. How do…
Read MoreTwo Important Principles Learned from Horses
By Rad Watkins This month I have been focusing on lessons learned from horses. This is a big part of my life these days and I am actually working on a new book that will explore leadership lessons learned from horses. There are two lessons from horsemanship that have proven to be very helpful to…
Read MoreJohn Lyons, America’s Most Trusted Horseman Talks ANIMAL LEADERSHIP
By Rad Watkins Recently I was lucky enough to interview John Lyons, America’s Most Trusted Horseman. John has been a hero of mine since I discovered horses. He is very gentle, and develops willing partners in his horses. He follows the horseman’s rule and always puts the horse first. I have lots of his videos…
Read MoreUse Service to Increase Your Horsepower
By Rad Watkins Horses so powerful yet so graceful, and non-threatening that almost anyone can hardly help but admire them. Although capable of inflicting great damage, usually a horse is gentle and supportive. Horses allow themselves to be put into a service role, and in fact, have served humans more than any other species in…
Read MoreThe Question is Not How Did Prince Die, but How Did Prince Live?
This past week, Prince died and it has been all the talk. I have to admit that I have not been the biggest Prince fan over the last 30 years. I listened to a lot of bands like the Rolling Stones, Grateful Dead, Greg Brown, or old Waylon Jennings. But before that, I was a…
Read MoreMeet Stacy Westfall – A True Leader
Leadership is such a strange concept. There are so many ways that one can be a leader. You can be a leader by being outstanding in your field and being the type of person others are trying to catch up to. You can be a leader by helping others succeed. You can be a…
Read MoreSqueeze the Life out of Every Day
I had a recent talk in Chicago; I was the keynote speaker for the Illinois Credit Union League. Being a Chicago keynote speaker is something I really enjoy because Chicago is actually my home town. I am not much of a city boy anymore, having left over 25 years ago, but I still have fun…
Read MoreLife on Your Terms
Years ago someone asked me why with a master’s degree in ecology, I was interested in personal development? It didn’t take me long to reply “Because I need it.” There is a saying that we teach what we need most. That may or may not be true. I think we often teach what we are…
Read MoreSpringing Out
Spring is a time of budding energy. It’s a time of both biological and cultural significance. Throughout the world and across cultures we see the acknowledgement of rebirth. We see the blossoming of flowers, new babies on the ground, and the awakening of hibernating creatures. Meanwhile in Northern Wisconsin Here in the Northwoods of Wisconsin,…
Read MoreHorsing Around
I have been addicted to horse play lately. I have a desire to be with my horses almost all the time, even if it is just working in the barn as they are nearby. It has actually become a distraction from much of my life; my family, work projects, and even leadership studies… but then…
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