Inspiration

"The familiar life horizon has been outgrown; the old concepts, ideals and emotional patterns no longer fit; the time for the passing of a threshold is at hand" ~ Joseph Campbell

A few years ago I participated in a wonderful three and one-half day retreat with an organization called Rites of Passage.

This retreat called Quest for Leadership brought me back in touch with nature. Not only with nature surrounding me, but most importantly, with my own nature. With my innate wisdom.

One of the m…

Have you ever met a person for the first time and knew immediately, even before a ‘hello’ was spoken, you would become friends? I felt that way about Hanna Fitsner whom I met in Lake Como, Italy, where I attended a Bliss Champion retreat.

My last blog, “How to Find Happiness via One Italian’s Advice” was based on a conversation I had with her husband Pietro. Together they own Best Como Real Estate and sell and rent properties around beautiful Lake Como. 

On our first amazingly clear, warm morn…

I recently returned from a week long trip to Lake Como in Italy. Paradiso. I’ve been contemplating the meaning of happiness and went on a Bliss Champions retreat there to dig deeper into what brings me bliss and how I can intentionally create more in my life.  

While there we ate most of our meals at the Villa we were staying at but a few times went out for an amazing Italian meal. Is there any other kind but amazing? 

One evening I was driving to dinner with Pietro, the husband of the woman I…

I’ve been teaching awareness of biases as a part of my leadership programs and coaching. There are more than 150 identified unconscious biases that are common. This number makes the task of acknowledging them and then addressing them a big one. These biases influence decisions that are made at all levels in organizations. 

A few of these unconscious biases that directly impact the workplace include:  

Affinity bias: The tendency to warm up to people like ourselves. It is shown that people hire…

Last year, I studied and was certified in Judith Glaser's Conversational Intelligence (C-IQ) work. In her teachings, she describes the Three Levels of Conversation as follows:

• Level I is transactional. This is when we exchange information. You ask. I tell. Repeat. Reverse. And so goes the dance. This is simply giving instructions or directing someone.

• Level II is positional. It is an exchange of power when we explore what we know. It is persuading, advocating, inquiring and influencing oth…

I’m a confident woman but still, at times, I feel myself step back into thinking I am less worthy, less smart, and less experienced than someone else. And yes, this still happens.

Or when those gremlin, saboteur, and monkey-mind voices start screaming in my head and filling me up with self-doubt that makes me want to back down. When I hear these voices I take a deep breath, stand up and take a Power Pose Position and use these Top Ten Tips to remind myself of the power, talent, skill, and stre…

After writing my blog about leadership lessons I learned from the 2019 U.S.A. Women’s Soccer Team, I kept reflecting on the impact of women sports teams and their coaches which led me down the path of my first athletic team coach. 

I attended a co-ed Catholic grammar school in Chicago where sports were generously offered to the boys from early on: football, basketball, softball, floor hockey. Girls, of course, were offered cheerleading for the boys' teams. 

As one of the male alum said,  “The …

“Eureka! - I have found it!”  - Archimedes

I don’t know about you, but I really love those “Eureka!” moments.  I love the rush and the hit of dopamine I get when I realize I have just brilliantly solved a problem, imagined something very creative or found the answer to a question that I’ve been noodling and loosing sleep over.

It’s these moments of insight that I’ve always wanted to understand and recreate and now I do and I can…at least a little bit. 

Insight is a very different process from…

When people would ask me “Did you see that soccer game?” I would always say, “I have never watched a soccer game in my entire life.”

I can say that no longer. I watched the entire final game of USA vs. The Netherlands. USA won 2:0. I watched because I was told about the strength, teamwork and the talent this team displays. Although I have no idea what the rules of the game are or how the heck soccer players can run constantly for 45 minutes at a time and do it twice, I knew I was witnessing a g…