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I love the Oscars. The dresses. The interviews. The songs. The reactions. The heartfelt thank-yous.  

I also wait for the blunders. 

I learn some of my greatest lessons from blunders and Jennifer Lawrence taught me one of my biggest lessons. She taught me how to recover from anything.  

In 2013 at the Oscar ceremony, some of you may remember Jennifer Lawrence was announced as the Best Actress winner for “Silver Linings Playbook”. As she walked to the stage, she gracefully hugged her co-star, …

How many times have we asked someone “How are you?” hoping that we don’t get more than a one-word response such as “Fine” or “Good”? How often do we just continue to walk on and not stop to acknowledge the person answering—or perhaps asking—the question, just so we’ll be able to continue with whatever we were doing with minimal disruption.  

For me, there is a depth of validation for each other as human beings that is missing in our current world. 

I have often wondered how other…

It has been a challenge in today’s world to remain open to others opinions and to try to understand their perspective. When I hit a wall in being able to “seek first to understand, THEN to be understood,” I read this poem by Rumi and it gives me a different perspective on others views and the way they perceive things.  

Elephant in the Dark by Rumi

Some Hindus have an elephant to show.
No one here has ever seen an elephant.  
They bring it at night to a dark room.

One by one, we go …

Most of our assumptions have outlived their uselessness.

- Marshall McLuhan

There is the old saying “Don’t assume, it makes an ass out of u and me.”  I don’t know the origin of it, but I can tell you I have experienced that feeling of being an ass so many times I stopped counting. Just recently, I was reminded again of the problem with my making assumptions. Here is just one of my experiences in this area.   

I had a dental appointment and drove into a spot in the parking lot and park…

Listen carefully to yourself for the next 24 hours. Pay attention to how many times during this period you say out loud “I don’t know”.  You might be surprised. I know I was when I tried this.  

• Where do you want to eat?  
• What movie do you want to see?  
• What do you want?  
• What’s next for you in your career?  
• What do you want to achieve over the next X amount of time?  
• What do you want out of your life? 

Your response to the above questions and many others when anyone gives you …

“The word ‘listen’ contains the same letters as the word ‘silent’’.   - Alfred Brendel 

A friend of mine recently reminded me of the importance of active listening. Often in the business of daily activities, I neglect to proactively listen to those who I am in conversation with. I can drift off into thinking of the brilliant response or retort I will deliver or thinking of what I need to do next or where I need to go to next when we're done conversing.

I realized I need to focus …

Last year I made the decision to take a sabbatical.  For many years I thought sabbaticals were only for academics to be able to have a school year free from teaching to allow them to devote time to rest, research, travel, and write. This sounded like an ideal life to me and it was one of the reasons I wanted to become a professor.   

The word sabbatical  is related to  sabbath, which refers to the Biblical day of rest, or the seventh day.  

The concept of paid sabbaticals, separate from va…

Last year, I merrily dumped New Year’s Resolutions. Because I believe what you mutter matters, last year I looked up the synonyms for  resolution and found some I adopted for 2018. 

Last year, I made bold heartfelt declarations that set my intentions to be full of moxie, spirit and sincerity. I carried them out with courage, boldness, tenacity and gutsiness.  

How’d that turn out?  

Pretty good actually. My top 2018 declarations continue to help me be a better human being:  

In my work with leaders, we discuss the concept of servant leadership. This concept was first articulated by Robert K. Greenleaf 

“A servant-leader focuses primarily on the growth and well-being of people and the communities to which they belong. While traditional leadership generally involves the accumulation and exercise of power by one at the “top of the pyramid,” servant leadership is different. The servant-leader shares power, puts the needs of others first and helps people develop and p…

"In the course of my life, I have often had to eat my words, and I must confess I have always found it a wholesome diet." ~Winston Churchill

Have you been involved in any of these conversations or ones like these lately?

• Talking to a colleague about a sensitive issue;
• Giving your boss some feedback about her behavior;
• Ending a relationship;
• Talking with a rebellious teenager;
• Confronting a loved one about an issue;
• Asking a friend to stop a certain behavior.

Many years ago I was …