An Autobiography in Five Chapters

Chapter 1

I walk down the street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I fall in. I am lost . . . I am hopeless. It isn't my fault. But it takes forever to find a way out.

Chapter 2

I walk down the street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I fall in. I can't believe I am in this same place. It isn't my fault. But it takes a long time to get out.

Chapter 3

I walk down the street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I see it is there. I fall in . . . …

“How desperately difficult it is to be honest with oneself.  It is much easier to be honest with other people.”~Edward F. Benson

To be authentic is defined by dictionary.com to be trustworthy, honest, genuine, real. It is a particular way of dealing with the external world, while being faithful to our internal selves and our ideas rather than external influences and ideas. The word originated in the early 1300’s from the Latin autheniticus meaning “one who does things himself”. Some of my work …

I value words. I think they are important and because of this I am always looking up the meaning of them in the dictionary or looking for the right word to use in the thesaurus and here’s what I found about the word value: noun: value; plural noun: values

1. 
the regard that something is held to deserve; the importance, worth, or usefulness of something. "your support is of great value" synonyms:

worth, usefulness, advantage, benefit, gain, profit, good, help, merit, helpfulness, avail; More i…

Several years ago, I did some postgraduate work in the neuroscience of leadership. While on this journey, I became more and more in awe of our brain and its workings. This mere three-pound organ has over 100 billion nerve cells that each makes thousands of connections.

And as more brain research becomes possible as technology progresses, we're finding that there's much more complexity in how we as humans operate.

Throughout this work, I learned about regulating our emotions and how impactful …

"When you stop putting yourself on the line, and you don't touch your own heart, how do you expect to touch other people?" ~Tori Amos

I've been doing a lot of work with my clients lately on courage and I got very curious about what courage means.  As I turned to the various dictionaries, I found some define courage as lacking fear in a situation that would normally generate it. Others, in contrast, hold that courage requires one to  have  fear and then overcome it.

I thought the Merriam-Webste…

GULP is that big scary exhilarated feeling you get on a roller coaster when you are firmly buckled into the coaster’s seat and slowly, slowly travel to the top of the coaster. You've been on these rides before, so you know what to expect which adds to the anticipation and building up of the excitement.

Slowly. Slowly you climb. You feel your heart racing. You breathe faster.

You feel like you want to scream but know that release will come soon enough.   Finally, there you are at the top of the…

"To be a leader is to enjoy the special privileges of complexity, of ambiguity, of diversity - but especially the opportunity to make a meaningful difference in the lives of those who permit us to lead." ~ Max DePree

I have often wondered if you take someone who is a great leader out of their context or circumstance, would they continue to be a great leader? Well, my question has been answered.

The answer is "Yes."

I had the opportunity to hear Jim Kouzes, co-author with Barry Posner, o…

"A pessimist sees only the dark side of the clouds, and mopes; a philosopher sees both sides, and shrugs; an optimist doesn't see the clouds at all--he's walking on them." ~ Sam Levinson

A few years ago I had the wonderful experience of participating in a nature photography workshop instructed by Eddie Soloway. This workshop took place in Big Sur, right here in Northern California.

For those who have been there you will agree this is one of the most beautiful places on our California coast. Th…

This is my last of three blogs on what Ruby Tuesday (my puppy) has been teaching me. She just turned 6 months old and I believe continues to teach me more than I am teaching her. For me, especially patience! In my previous blogs (part 1 and part 2), I talked about what she is teaching/reminding me about leadership including:

• Reward and acknowledge good behavior
• Be consistent
• Be patient
• Be fully present
• Be clear--do not cause confusion in the instructions you give
• Do not overreact

Here…

In my last blog I introduced you to Ruby Tuesday, my almost six-month-old Bearded Collie puppy. I talked about what she is teaching me about leadership including reward and acknowledge good behavior, be consistent, and be patient. In growing up with this being I continue to be reminded on a daily basis about some of the skills important to being a leader. She is learning tricks now such as shake, sit pretty, settle, and fetch. Here a few more of the leadership skills Ruby Tuesday is reminding me…