Have you heard of Muhammad Yunis? He was an economics professor in Bangladesh who realized that there were a lot of people just around the corner from his classroom that were living in poverty. He asked a woman who was weaving beautiful baskets (for a dealer) why she did not just purchase the bamboo herself and she explained that she could not afford the $.025 to purchase it. She made just enough to barely feed her family. He found […]
On Oct 15th I went to see my first “Ignite Phoenix” event, it is their 8th production here in the valley. The evening consists of 18 different people presenting their ideas in 5-minute presentations with 20 slides that automatically change every 30 seconds. It was quite entertaining and inspirational. The event is put on by the Phoenix Innovation Foundation, “a non-profit organization that provides educational and community building events in the Phoenix metropolitan area. A small team of volunteers […]
I was just telling a client of mine to be herself for an upcoming interview and then I saw this great post from Chris Brogan (linked here). When something resonates a few times during the week I figure it is worth sharing. Why Not You? It is often alluring to mimic or imitate someone else who appears to be doing well and has “got it going on” when you don’t know what to do or feel a lack of […]
“Let us show, not merely in great crisis, but in every day affairs of life, qualities of practical intelligence, of hardihood and endurance, and above all, the power of devotion to a lofty ideal.” – Theodore Roosevelt This past weekend I was doing some office organizing and came across this quote that I wrote down years ago. One of my hobbies is collecting quotes; please send me your favorites in a comment. It seems we are in the midst […]
After my time in Bali observing their strong communities (see prior post linked here) I realized that I have several very strong communities that show up in different ways. This past week I celebrated a year anniversary with a group that formed from a seminar that we all took last summer. We are all very different and yet the same. We all have a strong desire to keep growing, learning, and living fully. I am not always successful at […]
On my recent adventure to Bali we had a planned bike ride in the mountains. It was a beautiful sunny morning and even a bit cool in the mountain breeze. We put on our helmets and did a little test ride; it has been way too long since I had to shift gears on a bike. As it turns out that was not the problem; the squeezing of the brakes was the challenge. It was nice to go down […]
Researchers have shown that one of the best ways to assure long term happiness on your road to success is to cultivate strong social connections. I was reminded of this multiple times on my recent trip to Bali. The culture there is extremely connected; they all work together as a village to manage their community and orchestrate elaborate ceremonies for their Balinese version of Hinduism. Their daily activities all revolve around their rituals and supporting each other. Each day […]
There are two Balinese healers in this town (Ubud), one is famous due to Elizabeth Gilbert’s best selling book, “Eat, Pray, Love.” Last year the workshop leaders went to him but they all had basically the same diagnosis, “You are strong beautiful woman.” Our young Balinese River Rafting Guide (we met earlier in the day) said that the famous Healer lies in order to quickly move through the long lines of waiting tourists. He recommended we go to the […]
“Whoa!! The plane is moving!!” the small boy exclaimed in the seat behind me as we jostled around in turbulence at 39k feet somewhere over the Pacific between Tokyo and Singapore. It was just “a quick 6 hour 15 minute flight” as the pilot put it. I agreed with him after the 12 hour flight from Salt Lake City to Tokyo. It is all relative! Back to the boy’s quote about the plane moving. It made me smile and […]
In coaching it is great to feel a shift in a client. It may be a small one that is a small step toward their ultimate goal or a big one that appears as an “a ha!” moment and changes everything. The cool thing about a shift is that it requires nothing in the external world to change. The things around you are all the same but you shift how you experience them. This past weekend I connected with […]
