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Mike Robbins

Mike Robbins is an expert in success, teamwork, and the power of appreciation. As a former professional baseball player and Internet advertising sales executive, as well as a life-long student of personal development, Mike brings a varied and impressive background to the clients with whom he works. Through his keynotes, seminars, writing, and consulting, Mike empowers individuals, teams, and organizations to be more productive, appreciative, and successful. He is the author of the audio program, The Power of Appreciation, a contributing author of Chicken Soup for the Single Parent’s Soul, and the author of the new best selling book, Focus on the Good Stuff (Hardcover, Jossey-Bass/Wiley). Mike has been featured in Forbes, on the Oprah and Friends radio network, and on NBC. He is a member of the National Speakers Association (NSA) and is a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), NSA’s highest earned designation. Mike lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife Michelle and their young daughters Samantha and Annarose. Visit http://www.focusonthegoodstuff.com/ for additional information.
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 Articles by this Author

Focus on What Truly Matters

Over the past few months I've been thinking a lot about what truly matters. My mom's diagnosis, illness, and death have caused me to stop, question, and look more deeply at the things and people in my life that are important. Through the pain and challenge of this experience, I've also been grateful for the perspective and awareness it has opened up.

Embracing Change

What if we embraced change more consciously and learned how to not only "manage" it, but thrive through it. Whether you're someone who enjoys change and handles it quite well, or you hate it and get totally stressed out by it, all of us can benefit from embracing change more deliberately and supporting those around us as we all go through the big and small changes of life - especially these days.

The Importance of Live Conversations

In the past few months I've had a couple conflicts with important people in my life get blown way out of proportion, mainly because I engaged in them via email, instead of talking live to those involved. As I look back on these and other similar situations I've experienced in the past, I can see that it was my fear to connect live and my poor judgment in using written communication that contributed to the increased conflict and lack of resolution.

You Have More Than This Requires

In just about every situation and circumstance in life, we really do have more than is required to not only "deal" with what's happening, but to thrive in the face of it. As the saying goes, "if it doesn't kill you, it makes you stronger." And while I don't believe that we have to necessarily suffer and struggle in order to grow and evolve in life, one of the best things we can do when dealing with adversity or challenge is to look for the gifts and find the gold in the situation as much as possible.

A Bad Day for the Ego is a Good Day

A few weeks ago I listened to a radio interview with Michael Beckwith, author of Spiritual Liberation, and he said, "A bad day for the ego is a good day for the soul." When I heard this I laughed out loud. The wisdom of his statement resonated with me deeply.

How to Appreciate Your Challenges

Are you facing challenges in your life or your business right now? These days, there are some real challenges facing many of us - at work, at home, in relationships, with money, with family, with housing situations, and much more. The challenges themselves, even the most difficult ones, aren't usually the real issue; it's our relationship to them that causes us the most difficulty and suffering.

It's Okay to Ask for Help

How do you feel about asking other people for help? I've noticed that many of us, myself included, get a little funny about requesting support. While we're all different and we each have our own unique perspective, reaction, and process as it relates to reaching out to others, it seems that this can be quite a tricky exercise for most of the people I know and work with.

New Year, Be You

With the New Year still in its first few weeks, the annual "new year, new you" phenomenon is all around us - in the worlds of advertising, media, self-help and more. And while this time of year can be a great catalyst for positive change in our lives, what if we made a commitment to live our lives in 2011 focused on who we are, and not so much on what we do, what we accomplish, what we look like, what we're striving for, and more?

Appreciation: The Most Meaningful Gift

Remember what most people want, more than almost anything else, is to know that they are loved, valued, and appreciated. Appreciation truly is the best gift we can give to the people in our lives (for the holidays and at any time of the year).

How to Move Through Your Fear

Fear can and does stop us in life - from being ourselves, speaking our truth, and going for what we really want. But, when we remember with compassion that there's nothing wrong with us for getting scared and when we're willing to lean into our fears with vulnerability and boldness - we can literally transform them into something that catapults our growth and fulfillment in life.

What Baseball Can Teach Us About Life

With all the excitement of the playoffs and the World Series (which, thanks to the success of the San Francisco Giants, we get to experience directly here in the Bay Area), I've been thinking about, watching, and appreciating the great game baseball a lot these past few weeks. As someone who spent eighteen years of my life (from the age of seven until the age of twenty five) playing organized baseball and who has been a huge fan all my life, the game has taught me a great deal.

Let Go of Control

How controlling are you? Would you consider yourself very controlling, moderately controlling, or not controlling at all? While each of us falls somewhere along the continuum of control and for some of us this is a bigger issue than others, for most of the people I know and work with, control is an issue that gets in our way - especially in the most important (and stressful) areas of life.

The Trap of Comparison

How often do you compare yourself to others? If you're anything like me and most of the people I know and work with, probably more than you'd like to admit. And, as you may have noticed (like I have), this comparison process never seems to feel very good or work very well, does it?

Trust is Granted Not Earned

How easily do you grant your trust to other people? What factors play into your ability or inability to trust certain individuals around you? What do people need to do to earn your trust? As I personally reflect on these questions, I'm reminded of both the importance and complexity of trust in our lives, our work, and our relationships.

Want What You Have

By putting more of our attention on wanting what we already have, and less attention on fixing things or wanting what we don't yet have, we can create a deep sense of peace and joy in our lives, our work, and our relationships, which, more than most specific outcomes or material possessions, is what most of us truly want anyway.

Appreciate the Simple Things

We always have a choice as to what we pay attention to, what we focus on, and what we appreciate (or don't). Make a commitment to yourself to appreciate the simple things in your life in a genuine and ongoing way, and see what happens!

Keep Your Head in the Clouds and Your Feet On the Ground

A few weeks ago while I was on a run, the saying "keep your head in the clouds and your feet on the ground" popped into my head. I'm not sure why I thought of this, but once I did I couldn't get it out of my mind. And while I've heard this saying many times (and actually have always thought it was pretty corny and cheesy), I started to think about it more deeply and realized the true wisdom of this idea.

Be Flexible

As I look throughout my life I realize that the situations, relationships, and experiences that cause me the greatest stress and frustration, are almost always the places where I'm not being flexible. And, on the flip side, the more flexible I am - the more peace, ease, and fulfillment become available.

The Power of Desire Without Attachment

While I know that desire is an essential piece of the manifestation process, I also know that focusing a lot of my attention and energy on what I want has caused a great deal of fear, pain, and disappointment in my life. Overemphasizing my desire has also gotten in my way of appreciating all that I already have and who I really am at the deepest level. Can you relate?

Act As If

I first heard the phrase "act as if" about fifteen or twenty years ago. I remember learning that if we "act as if" we already have something we want, "act as if" something is already occurring in our lives (even if it's not), or "act as if" we know how to do something (even if we don't) - we create the conditions for it to manifest in our life with greater easy and probability.

The Power of No

Saying "no" is one of the most important aspects of living a life filled with balance, integrity, and authenticity. Our ability and capacity to say "no" with confidence is one of the most important aspects of creating peace and power in our lives.

The Art of Allowing

A few months ago I got some specific feedback that it would serve me, my work, and my growth to start practicing the art of allowing in a more conscious and deliberate way. While I was familiar with the concept of allowing, I realized I had very little awareness or experience of it in actual practice.

The Magic of the Olympics

The Winter Olympics in Vancouver have captured the attention of the world. Having been a live spectator at both the Atlanta and Sydney Summer Games, I've experienced first-hand the true spirit of the Olympics - which has been on display these past two weeks in Vancouver in a beautiful way.

It's Not the Circumstances, It's Us

The circumstances of our lives, especially when they seem stressful or intense (as is the case for many people I know and work with these days) do have an impact on us, for sure. However, all too often we give away our power to these circumstances and situations.

The Triangle of Truth

I have a love-hate relationship to conflict. I love it when things “work out,” but hate it when they don't. My fear of things not working out, of people's feelings getting hurt, or of me losing something important are usually high on my list of justifications for not saying certain things, not engaging in the conflict at all, or selling out on my deepest truth even in the midst of it.

Creating the New Year with Intention

As we embark on another new year of life, I find myself experiencing a mixture of emotions about 2010. I'm excited about the possibilities of this New Year and inspired by the energy of creation that exists at this special time. Similar to last week, there is a magical quality to this first week of the New Year that I always appreciate.

The Power of Gratitude

I've been speaking and writing about gratitude for almost ten years now – and I'm still amazed at how challenging it can be for me to focus on what I'm grateful for at times (especially when I'm feeling sorry for myself or complaining). I'm also blown away by how powerful and transformative gratitude is when we choose to pay attention to it, experience it, and express it.

The Best Gift of All

During one of her shows a few years back, Oprah Winfrey made a profound and beautiful statement that I appreciated very much. She said, “We do shows about lots of ‘stuff' and my ‘favorite things,' but what people want more than anything else is to know that they're appreciated...that's the best gift of all.”

Love Your Body, Love Your Life

As you think about and talk about your honest relationship to your body and your appearance, be kind to yourself. Many of us have a lifetime filled with negative thoughts, feelings, and beliefs about ourselves physically. And, as we're able to forgive ourselves, accept ourselves, and get real about this, we give ourselves access to transforming our relationship to our body and our life in a profound and positive way!

Go Deep

For quite some time I’ve had a self righteous judgment that most people in our culture are way too shallow. I find myself regularly annoyed at what I consider to be a lack of depth around me – in the media, in politics, in business, in my industry, and even in my family and many of my personal relationships. As is often the case with most of our self righteous opinions, however, this judgment (as has become crystal clear to me recently) is really all about me and my own lack of depth, not about everyone else.

Be, Do, Have

Most of us think we need to "have" a certain thing or set of things (more money, love, time, experience, etc.), so that we can finally "do" something important (pursue our passion, start a business, go on vacation, create a relationship, buy a home, etc.), which will then allow us to "be" what we truly want in life (peaceful, fulfilled, inspired, generous, in love, etc.). In actuality, it works the other way around.

It's Okay to Do It Wrong

I got an email a few months back from a woman on my ezine list who shared a great saying that she loves – “If it's worth doing, it's even worth doing wrong.” I laughed out loud when I got it and have been thinking about it ever since. What a great message.

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