Welcome to Margie's Insights and Interviews

Jun 28, 2024
Be the captain of your life, not captive of your circumstances
“We can't all have the textbook life we once imagined at 18, 21, or 30. Life is what it is. Your future depends on the decisions you make from here on.” I’ll never forget the day my brother Frank was told he’d never walk again.
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May 12, 2024
When to Lean in to Uncertainty and Trust Yourself
Many years ago, my younger sister Anne volunteered with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), a French medical humanitarian organization – also known as Doctors Without Borders. Anne was not long out of medical school but wanted to heed a long-held desire to help people in places
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Jan 31, 2024
You think failure is hard? Not near as hard as learning from it
Failing is hard. But not near as hard as learning from it. Thomas J. Watson, former CEO of IBM, once said, “If you want to increase your success rate, double your failure rate.” It sounds good. Yet it’s not wholly true. Sure, risking failure is
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Jan 05, 2024
What's your 'growth edge' for 2024?
"Every blade of grass has an Angel that bends over it and whispers, 'Grow! Grow!'" I love this verse from the Talmud for its imagery as much as its encouragement. It aligns with a valuable lesson from growing up on my parent's dairy farm which I shared
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Nov 16, 2023
The greatest source of risk to us... is us
In the 2000’s, the US Armed Forces introduced bulletproof body armor to protect American soldiers in deadly combat zones such as Iraq and Afghanistan. Yet the armor was so heavy that it weighed soldiers down and slowed their speed. General Stanley McChrystal, commander of the
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Sep 02, 2023
Without psychological safety, fear stifles truth and courage
NASA Challenger disaster. BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Volkswagen emissions scandal. What went wrong? Investigations produced multi-layered findings. Yet beneath the complexity lay a common element. Fear. People were afraid to speak the truth. And so, they didn’t. Concerns weren’t shared, mistruths were rewarded, and
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Jun 30, 2023
Let the love you share be the legacy you leave
It’s been over three weeks since my precious mum left this world and over two weeks today since her funeral. And oh, what a beautiful funeral it was! Yes, it was sad. Yes, we cried. Yes, our hearts hurt. My siblings and I have lost
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May 09, 2023
Get comfortable being uncomfortable
After graduating from university I moved back to my parents' farm and worked two jobs for six months until I’d saved up enough to buy an around-the-world airfare. Then off I set. No cell phone. No credit card. Just a handful of traveler’s checks (remember
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Apr 18, 2023
Put your 'to be' list ahead of your 'to do' list.
I felt awash with a swirling mix of anxiety and overwhelm in late March 2020. I was living in Singapore. My husband had just been hospitalized with Covid-19. I was put into a strict quarantine with one of my children, Singapore's health department video-calling three
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Oct 08, 2022
Embracing Tears
Tears. I’ve shed a few lately. While I’ve lived a long way from my parents for many years, the miles have never tugged so hard on my heartstrings than in the last few years as the thickening fog of dementia has rolled in over my
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Aug 06, 2022
Take Courage! Beware the hidden tax on timidity.
“All right, I'll go in there for Dorothy," announced the Cowardly Lion. "Wicked Witch or no Wicked Witch, guards or no guards, I'll tear 'em apart. I may not come out alive, but I'm going in. There's just one thing I want you fellows to
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Jun 01, 2022
How might you be wrong? Chances are, in more ways than you'd like to think
Which do you value more: the truth or your own beliefs? Because they are not synonymous. It’s pretty safe to assume that people reading this will have different opinions about many topics. Fiscal policy. Abortion. Parenting. Education. Climate change. Racism. Religion. Gun control. The leadership
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May 23, 2022
Shame Keeps Us Stuck
Dr Brené Brown has shared many insights that resonate with me. Yet one stands apart: "When we don’t work on our shame, we work it out on others.” Sometimes we conflate and confuse guilt and shame. Guilt is an adaptive emotion we feel when we
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Feb 25, 2022
Beyond The Middle Octave: Embracing All Of Life's Notes
It's hard to wrap words around reuniting with my parents in Australia after two years of travel restrictions. Mum has developed dementia since we last hugged. As she dried my tears she said, "Margaret Mary, is it really you? I feel like I am looking at myself,
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Dec 17, 2021
Choose Courage Over Comfort
A swirling mix of nerves and excitement coursed through me as I waved my family goodbye and the sliding doors closed behind me at Melbourne airport. I was 21 and, armed with little more than a backpack and some travelers' checks (remember those?), I was
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Nov 22, 2021
Practice Gratitude. What You Appreciate, Appreciates
We all know that it’s good to be grateful. Yet let’s face it, the gravitational pull to dwell on what we don't like or perceive as lacking is strong. Unless we consciously choose otherwise, our attention tends to get pulled toward what’s wrong and whom
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