Values

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…

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…

Here’s why I will be a good person. Because I listen. I cannot speak, so I listen very well. I never interrupt; I never deflect the course of the conversation with a comment of my own. People, if you pay attention to them, change the direction of one another’s conversations constantly. It’s like having a passenger in your car who suddenly grabs the steering wheel and turns you down a side street.

For instance, if we met at a party and I wanted to tell you a story about the time I needed to get a …

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 …

I have a value of kindness. This value was taught to me by my Mother. We were a lower middle class family living in Chicago. My Dad was a machinist and my Mom was an insurance clerk. Together, they didn’t make much money, I do remember, regardless of our financial situation, my Mom always found the resources to be kind to others, whether that be lending money to someone in need, stopping to talk to someone on the street, or even just taking the time to listen to someone who needed to talk. …