Happiness at work & in life

How My Experience As a Cashier Has Made Me Happier & More Productive

I know from experience that a lot of people don’t even look you in the eye, let alone talk to you, when you are a cashier. I see it now, when I watch people in the coffee place or at the store, they’re too busy talking to their friend, looking at their phone or just…
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What Routines Help You Find Your Way to Success?

I admit that I am a sucker for a good headline, this one especially appealed to me because I am such a morning person: “5 Things Super Successful People Do Before 8 AM” And then I got even more affirmation because I do 4 out of the 5 things a lot of the time (wish…
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Putting One Foot In Front of the Other

Sometimes I have a client who is really stuck. Stuck in the grief of a transition from a career ending or feeling like it is going nowhere, or a relationship ending or being stuck in the confusion of which way to turn. Sometimes it is perfectly fine to stay there and keep putting one foot…
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Do Your Limits Define You or Do You Define Your Limits?

I love learning about people who have blown away their limits and their life path makes me question my internalGPS®. I discovered Russel Redenbaugh via this article, “True Grit, Blinded and Gifted” in Forbes magazine (linked) and then watched this TED talk to hear his story from the stage. It shook me up. Russel Redenbaugh…
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Thursday Thoughts on Thriving: Do Opinions Help or Hurt Your Thriving?

“Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not a truth.” – Marcus Aurelius I feel grateful and fortunate to have numerous friends and colleagues to bounce ideas off of and that I almost always get a wide range of opinions about what to do. One of my…
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Thursday Thoughts on Thriving: Five Mistakes That Undermine Belonging

One morning at the small gym where I do my exercise “torture” there were a couple new faces on the treadmill next to me. They came in and didn’t say a word. I debated about whether to say anything; maybe they’re happy in their silence? I decided to say good morning. They each smiled and…
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Thursday Thoughts on Thriving: Shifting Cynicism to Awe

“What, this is it?” she said with a look of confusion on her face as she stared at the five small “Thai shrimp” dumplings on her plate. “That is all you get for eleven dollars?” She  was laughing with dismay as she went on to explain, “At home it would have been a big bowl…
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Thursday Thoughts on Thriving: How Do You Know Which Path is Best?

In 2008, a colleague announced that he was taking the voluntary severance and leaving. I was surprised, the volunteer severance was no better than the lay off severance and he was too young to retire. I asked him, “Was it a difficult decision?” I can still see the big smile that lit up his face,…
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Thursday Thoughts on Thriving: Dog Days of Summer

It’s official! Summer is beginning, at least per the calendar. If you live in the Phoenix area then you may agree with me that it has been here for a good month. Take a few seconds to recall one of your favorite summer games or activities from when you were a kid. Can you feel…
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Thursday Thoughts on Thriving: What’s the Need?

In the workshop I give on negotiations, one of the topics I teach about is the power of understanding the other person’s (or other business’s) interests versus their position. What interest is driving them to take the position that they are taking? Many times their interest is driven by a basic human need. Next time…
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