Investor Mike Maples has been responsible for helping to kick start some of the most revolutionary new companies around: Twitter and digg, just to name a couple. His secret? The ability to recognize talent and value in even the most wild sounding ideas and business plans.

"Great value creation is fundamentally a creative act. Part of that is taking the current job you’re in and doing the best you can at it. But the bigger part is taking only jobs that you’re passionate about. If you don’t have a job you’re passionate about, you’re flunking a cosmic IQ test," he imparted.

As Mike says, most of us here in the U.S. have more choice than we think about pursuing the things we're passionate about.

"You have to have an authentic voice for what you do. You can be entrepreneurial at any job," he shared emphatically. "If you think about your product and what you do not as convincing someone to buy something but rather as propoagating the truth because you care about it so much, than you’re more likely to succeed and you’re more likely to create value."

Creating something valuable that people will be attracted to and want to be a part of first comes from your belief in it, so why waste your energy on something you don't think matters? True value comes from the pursuit of your passions.

Watch the video version of my interview with Mike Maples below:

The Leader to Leader Institute today announced the launch of Leadership Dialogues, an online toolbox featuring a growing library of video interviews with inspiring leaders, including Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally, and Tony Hsieh, founder and CEO of Zappos.com.

Generous grants from the American Express Foundation , in support of their focus on developing the next generation of nonprofit leaders, and Executive Power Tools LLC , have enabled the Leader to Leader Institute to provide leadership inspiration—stories, advice, speeches and solutions—from today’s greatest thought leaders in the public and private sectors, to emerging leaders in the social sector.

Leadership Dialogues can also be accessed from www.leadertoleader.org/dialogues. The site is catalogued by topic and provides current and future leaders with essential leadership wisdom in topics such as diversity, accountability, courage, entrepreneurship, and growth that will help build effective social sector organizations.

“We are leading in times of great uncertainty and discontinuity,” said Frances Hesselbein, Leader to Leader President and CEO, “but we believe this is a time for leaders, a time to chart a new path into a bright future. With the support of American Express and of Mark Thompson, we are confident that Leadership Dialogues will be a catalyst that inspires leaders of the future.”

"American Express has a longstanding commitment to the development of future leaders in the nonprofit sector,” said Timothy J. McClimon , President of the American Express Foundation . “Supporting Leadership Dialogues is an important way that we help provide emerging nonprofit leaders with access to insightful and inspiring content about leadership online, anytime.”

“Leadership Dialogues brings commentary and inspiration from today’s great leaders to the next generation. 24/7 web-based access provides free and unlimited training on a wide variety of management and leadership topics,” said bestselling author (Success Built to Last) and business coach Mark Thompson , who collaborated with Leader to Leader Institute to create Leadership Dialogues, and who serves as Chairman and Chief Leadership Officer for the program.

About The Leader to Leader Institute

The Leader to Leader Institute’s mission is to strengthen the leadership of the social sector. Established in 1990 as the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management, the Institute furthers its mission by providing social sector leaders with the essential leadership wisdom, inspiration and resources to lead for innovation and to build vibrant social sector nonprofit organizations. For more information, visit www.leadertoleader.org.

About American Express

American Express is a global services company, providing customers with access to products, insights and experiences that enrich lives and build business success. Learn more at www.americanexpress.com, and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and You Tube.

About Executive Powertools

Executive Powertools provides the growing market for leadership tools access to videos, books, blogs and interviews with the world’s most inspiring thought leaders.

What does happiness have to do with your success in life?

Tony Hsieh, founder of Zappos.com, has been a serial entrepreneur for the entirety for his young career but sold his last company because he didn’t like doing it anymore!

He thought it was a great idea, but lost the desire to go into the office. He went on to found Zappos with a very different vision .

“What I think of as happiness has changed a lot over the years,” Tony admitted. “There’s a lot of talk about happiness coming from within—not from external factors. But most people go throughout life thinking it does come from the outside. I think it’s about being part of something bigger than yourself, something that has meaning.”

Happiness does indeed mean so many different things to so many different people, and our definition changes throughout our lives. But here are four ideas to consider when it comes to creating happiness:

1. Freedom of Choice

We all want to feel a sense of control in making choices in our lives and that we have the freedom to make them.

2. Making Progress

We want to feel we’re in a position of making progress and hitting the milestones and goals we’ve set for ourselves.

3. Deep Relationships

We want to feel connected to others—that we’ve established deep and meaningful relationships with genuine intimacy.

4. Doing what Matters

We have to feel like we’re doing something bigger than ourselves, that we’re pursuing our own passions and participating in something that’s going to have a larger impact on the world.

So, how do you define happiness?

Watch Tony Hsieh discuss happiness below:

My new e-Books from Financial Times are hot off the e-press from Prentice Hall!

They're called Recruiting Your Own Dream Team: Relationships Built to Last lead to Success Built to Last Stubbornly Hold Onto Your Dreams: Meaning Built to Last.

They're based on the World Success Survey research we conducted for Success Built to Last.

Click on the hyperlinked titles or find them here:

http://my.safaribooksonline.com/9780137059522

http://my.safaribooksonline.com/9780137060405

Check them out and pass the word!!

So, who wears the smarty pants in the family?

When President Obama gave his controversial speech entreating children to stay in school and get their degree, it seems women were listening. For the first time in U.S. history, there are more women with a college degree than men. It has long been acknowledged that those with a college degree are more likely to have higher incomes than those without, and that the wage gap between men and women has begun to close (although not completely). Statistics show that earnings for women grew 44% from 1970 to 2007 compared with a 6% increase for men.

But how are these changes in economic and educational background affecting our relationships and our families? In 1970, the number of husbands who had wives earning more than they did was 4%; in 2007, 22% of wives earned more than their husbands. Our recent economic downturn has also hit men harder than women, with men carrying 75% of the unemployment burden. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2009) The outmoded image of the husband bringing home the bacon and the little lady being financially dependent is going nearly extinct in the 21st century, particularly with the Great Recession.

Families who've experienced the greatest gains are those with both husband and wife holding college degrees. Men with a college degree are not only gaining higher economic benefits because of their degree, but most are also marrying someone with equal earning potential. This makes married couples who both have a college degree the heavyweight champions of income.

Americans are overall better educated today than they were four decades ago. Yet interestingly, those with a college degree are less likely than ever to marry those without one. Why else would marriage rates decline as women get smarter?

The lesson is this, guys: get your degree because Princess Charming is earning more than ever before. Otherwise, she won't be coming to rescue you!

(One great social trends study on this timely topic is: "Women, men and the new economics of marriage. by Richard Fry and D'Vera Cohn.")