Change

“Don't lower your expectations to meet your performance. Raise your level of performance to meet your expectations. Expect the best of yourself, and then do what is necessary to make it a reality."  ~Ralph Marston

Now that the holidays are behind us and we’re in the depths of Winter, I thought we could use a reminder of some tips on how to lift yourself out of a downward spiral.

Several years ago, I did some post-graduate work on the neuroscience of leadership. While on this journey, I bec…

I thought the end of the year would be a great time to work on a new ‘Mind Map' for the new year. This previously posted blog was written in June and demonstrates my process. Let me know if you try it.

I keep getting reminders that we’re closing in on the middle of the year. Six months have gone and we’re asking ourselves, “Where did all that time go?”  

I usually begin my year with big aspirations and a completely new mind map of me and of what I vision my year to be. I have my mind map close…

‘Tis the season! Yes, it is here and it seems to have arrived ever so quickly.  As I’m pondering what I want to create for my experience of this season, I realize I want to create this season to be one full of gratitude. 

Mirriam-Webster defines gratitude as simply the state of being grateful. The English Language Learners definition of gratitude is a feeling of appreciation or thanks. 

While researching the impacts of gratitude I ran across an article Giving thanks can make you happier by Har…

“It is not only what we do, but also what we do not do, for which we are accountable." - Moliere

“Accountability” seems to be the buzzword lately. This has been coming up a quite bit over the past year, but it seems to be more predominant now than ever before.

I remember working in companies when the question, “Who is accountable for this work?” would bring up fear when the boss asked it. We knew that he was looking for one individual to blame. It was viewed as negative and we were always lo…

Some of our best lessons are learned by just listening to other’s stories.

Alex Borstein who plays the opinionated manager Susie Myerson on Amazon Prime’s "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel", won the Emmy this year for best supporting actress in a comedy series.

She dedicated her award to “the strength of a woman” and paid tribute to several women including her grandmother.

She said “to my grandmother, Nudgy, (they) are immigrants, they are Holocaust survivors. My grandmother turned to a guard. She w…

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’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…

"Pura Vida” (pronounced poo-rah vee-dah) is the phrase that greeted me on the ‘Welcome to Costa Rica' sign at the airport in Liberia, Costa Rica. I arrived there for a week-long retreat at Blue Spirit in Nosara. 

Before I left home, several people who had visited Costa Rica wished me “Pura Vida”. It means “simple life” or “pure life” and is known as a way of life in Costa Rica. Instead of saying “hello” or “good morning”, one says “Pura Vida”.  

I’ve found that Costa Rica has been named one of…

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…