Our culture is full of “mind over matter” messages that lead you to believe that you can think and rationalize and use brute force or will power to make things happen. Contrary to this belief, there is a lot of interesting research supporting that you need the emotional side of your motivation even more than the logical side and that your level of willpower or energy is limited. So if you do use sheer will power then you can only […]
“Don’t be a spectator on this trip. There’s no death worse than just waiting around. Set your heart on the hero’s gold … And, go.” – Rumi (5th century Persian Poet) What is my purpose or what is gold for me? I have had clients struggle with this question and I have had my own struggle with it since I know that having a clear destination is an important part of thriving with my internalGPS. The struggle comes from […]
“Little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortunes; but great minds rise above them.” – Washington Irving The headlines are full of misfortunes, some bigger than others. The tragedy in Colorado is hard to comprehend when you hear the friends and family’s’ stories of coping after their losses. It will take time to heal from this horrible pain. It is hard to believe that it has been over ten years since the terror in New York city on 9/11. Thriving […]
“Excellence is not an act, its a habit.” – Aristotle The summer Olympic games are in full swing and it is inspiring to see the athletes give their best. It makes me think about the day after day discipline and training they put in to qualify for these elite games. They have the same amount of time in a day as the rest of us and they have made choices in their daily habits that have resulted in a […]
I met Sean Stephenson at a National Speaker’s Association workshop that I attended a few months ago. The workshop was focused on how to increase your sales so I was really focused on this aspect of my business during those few days. Sean was a participant in the workshop (not a leader or speaker) but I started paying close attention to his statements whenever he shared because his examples and learning from his business were so impactful. One of […]
“You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.” – Plato In the Team Advantage coaching process that I use with teams and have seen transform teams in just the short 2-day kick off meeting (that is only the start), we set it up for play from the moment they walk in the room. There are brightly colored toys on the tables, fun music is playing, and there are only […]
One of the best ways to thrive in your work and life is to cultivate your sense of childlike wonder. One of the best ways to cultivate your childlike wonder is to take a fun vacation or at least plan some time for fun, laughing and play in your schedule. Riding every “high thrill” roller coaster in a Six Flags amusement park may not be your idea of fun, but for me it ranks at the top. Last week, […]
Thriving is all about connections; the more you cultivate connecting with the people around you the more you will thrive. I am writing this in Buffalo, NY, where I am reconnecting with people that I have not seen in years. Last night my sister and I had dinner with two women who we used to call step-sisters. We all had a great time living together each summer in a small town, Perry, here in western NY. We share fun […]
We can learn a lot from Kindergartners, I found this out a when I facilitated a fun team building game called “The Marshmallow Challenge.” (TED talk linked about this game) Teams of recent Kindergartner graduates are some of the best performers, they are only second to teams of Engineers/Architects when it comes to building the highest free-standing towers made out of 20 sticks of dry spaghetti, 1 yard of string, 1 yard of tape, and a jumbo marshmallow that must […]
“Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change….Vulnerability is not weakness. And that myth is profoundly dangerous.” – Brene Brown Think about a time when you made a significant shift. You created something new or did something courageous that took you down a different path or failed horribly at it. You never felt the same again. Take a minute and see that time clearly before you read any further. It was probably one of the most difficult times […]
