Blue Monday, the day of the year we realize a lot of our New Year's resolutions already flew out the window. The day we come to the conclusion we are smoking like chimneys again, eating comfort food or decided getting picked on everyday by our awful boss isn't as bad as making a career change.

When we are co-writing or optimizing speeches for team leaders and CEO's, one of the things we focus on is making sure the parts of gratitude actually hit their mark. It's a no brainer that you as a leader show gratitude and appreciation. Acknowledge the hard work and dedication of your team members, but just saying you are thankful or know they work hard, is often not enough.

Since the launch of the Stand Up to Stand Out book, expressing yourself in the most powerful way, the two most frequently asked questions we get are: Where can I buy the book? & How do you start writing a book, because I'm also thinking about it. The answer to the first question is here :) and to the second...

On the 3rd of October and the 19th of November we hosted our last open storytelling and communication bootcamps in Hasselt and Antwerp. One full day of training at an awesome location to work on your communication skills. These open bootcamps are there to allow people to experience our in-house trainings without having to mobilize their entire organization.

Motivation is great, but once the motivating factor is gone, people return to known routines. The key is to know how to inspire yourself everyday and from that power and energy see opportunity and the way to inspire others to follow you.

During this leading others 2 day retreat these future leaders got to know themselves, each other and what defines a great leader and how they can grow in their careers to one day rock a leadership position. We were again honored to facilitate and train one day, talking about personal branding, communication and inspiring yourself to bring the best version of you.

What we do, why we wrote the Stand Up to Stand Out book and why a big healthy company like Carglass believed in us from the start, is explained in this recent interview. A TV appearance that shines some light on who Stand Up Company is and what drives Natalie and Marnick to do what they do.

A great idea, talent, continued education, lack of procrastination, sweat, tears, a shabby office, 80 hours a week and a 25.000 euro loan from your distant uncle on your mothers' side, was what it took to give yourself a chance to become a successful entrepreneur. Thank god those days are over. Now all you need is a laptop, a beach and a free online seminar.

You're young, you have a degree, big hopes, ambitious dreams, lots of time, a liver the size of a football and if you happen to live in the US a student loan bigger than Jeff Bezos' net worth. But today that all doesn't matter, because you're done, you're out. You did your time.

When Belron’s European Distribution Center (Carglass) asked us to write the storyline for their new process video, Natalie and I were honored and very pleased to hear that the briefing went as follows: Show what we do here in Bilzen, but don’t make it just another process video. Make it an actual story that triggers emotion. No actors can be used. Our people are the stars of our company, so they will be the stars in this video.