“It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.” – Theodore Roosevelt Someone I’ve been fortunate to work with over the past 5 years asked me last week asked me how I define “success”, or “being successful”. She mentioned that she’d read & heard & used that word in … Read more
“The best years of your life are the ones in which you decide your problems are your own. You do not blame them on your mother, the ecology, or the president. You realize that you control your own destiny.” – Albert Ellis It’s interesting to watch leader behavior across different organizations. Each one has their … Read more
“…Leadership is about taking responsibility, not making excuses.” – Mitt Romney This blog might sound like a repeat (of this, or this, or maybe even this) but it just keeps coming up time and time again. Whether it’s a reflection of our society as a whole or just a coincidence, there is an epidemic of … Read more
“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.” – Neale Donald Walsch Being a human being presents a number of challenges and interesting situations. One of those is the reality that most people spend their entire lives trying to ‘live comfortably’ and hoping to remove conflict and challenges from their lives, when really the … Read more
“It’s a bad plan that admits of no modification.” – Publilius Syrus One of the parts of my career I enjoy the most is helping organizations plan for their future. One of the parts that’s less enjoyable is listening to people complain about planning for their future. Leaders ask if we can help them with … Read more
“Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.” – C.G. Jung If I asked you to list capabilities that are critical for leaders to have here in the 21st century, what would you come up with? You might have something about technology, or continuous learning, or … Read more
“Let me not pray to be sheltered from dangers, but to be fearless in facing them.” – Rabindranath Tagore More and more it seems to me that a vast number of people have a common goal in life. I don’t know that it’s a new thing, but I’ve not really been conscious of it until … Read more
“An optimist is someone who goes after Moby Dick in a rowboat and takes the tartar sauce with him.” – Zig Ziglar I’m a huge believer that the things we believe about ourselves and our situation drive our behavior, and that those behaviors result in outcomes that prove our beliefs to be correct. In other … Read more
“Indiscriminate action is a form of laziness.” – Tim Ferriss Last week in this space we talked about the importance of doing what matters, how you need to know WHERE you’re going so you know what to focus on, how you need to get those non-critical things off your plate. I heard from a few … Read more
“You will never reach your destination if you stop and throw stones at every dog that barks.” – Winston Churchill It goes without saying that leaders today are faced with sometimes overwhelming amounts of change. The things our customers value have changed and continue to evolve. The way those customers want to buy is markedly … Read more
Get to know our proven, forward-thinking accounting, planning and business consulting experts.
1008 Third Avenue Sheldon, Iowa 51201 • (712) 324-4614 & 5130 E. 57th Street, Sioux Falls, SD 57108 • (605) 610-4611
© 2025 Cain Ellsworth & Company, LLP
Sheldon:
1008 Third Avenue Sheldon, Iowa 51201 • (712) 324-4614
Sioux Falls:
5130 E. 57th Street, Sioux Falls, SD 57108 • (605) 610-4611
© 2017 Cain Ellsworth & Company, LLP
