Forgive me if this post is a little raw. Life has been raw for me these last couple weeks. My youngest brother Peter (above, with my kids) died just over two weeks ago and I've been living life at its rawest ever since. Pete, who was 31, suffered from schizophrenia...
I recently read that 60% of Americans lose their temper at least once per week. I’d like to tell you I wasn’t in that number but alas, my kids would tell you otherwise. Of course losing our temper is what happens when we fail to keep our anger in check. Something (or...
Apparently Thomas Jefferson and George Washington experienced a blizzard of similar magnitude to the one we did in Washinton D.C. area last weekend but certainly, it was the biggest recorded dump of snow since official records began. Having come from a place where...
There are currently more Americans who have been unemployed for more than 6 months than any other time in U.S. history (6.1 million according to the latest figures). And while we hear reports that things are looking up for job seekers, we also have leading economists...
Of course it doesn’t take the beginning of a new year to make a decision to start something new, make changes in how we are living our life or turn over a new leaf. We can do that any day of the year. But there is something about January 1st that makes it feel like a...
On the eve of Christmas I just wanted to remind you to take a moment to reflect on what the Christmas holiday represents. It is a time to deepen the connection you share with family (near and far); to experience gratitude for your many blessings; to remember the...
As I try to move down my big, long to-do list this week in preparation for all the merrymaking I will be doing in the weeks ahead, I've found myself feeling a bit overwhelmed. Okay, more than a bit. So I have stopped. Stopped to take a big deep breath, to look out the...
No doubt you haven’t escaped the Tiger Woods headlines this past week. As far as I’m concerned this isn’t a story about money. It isn’t a story about whether he broke the law. It isn’t even a story about badly managed PR. It’s a story about integrity. Or, sadly, the...
The shootings at the military base in Fort Hood last week were tragic. There is no upside. Twelve good men and women now lie dead. Thirty others are still recovering from injuries. Countless more are still weighted down with incredible grief and shock and anger as...
I’m heading to Florida tomorrow for a few days of sunshine. Friends who have a home in Key Largo have invited us down and we figured it would be a fun place to spend Halloween! The last time I was in the Florida Keys was nearly twenty years ago. I was backpacking...
Every day we find ourselves having to work through issues that come up in our relationships. Whether it be a difficult boss who seems to be devoid of management skills or a colleague on a school committee who dominates conversation (getting everyone off track in the...
Yesterday a friend emailed me to say that after years of trying to make it as a freelance writer she's admitted defeat and is now trying to find a paying job. I replied to her that she needed to drop the 'defeated' talk and instead re-frame her situation more...
Ahhh.... my kids are all back in school (sigh) and I'm sitting here at my desk (in a blissfully quiet house) wondering how it got to be September already. As I looked at today's date, September 11th, it struck me how much has changed over the last eight years since...
Today is Women’s Equality Day and in a few hours I'm off to speak to a Federal Department here in DC to celebrate the occasion. The topic: "Leadership is a choice, not a position." I think leadership ties in beautifully with women’s equality, indeed with all equality....
Have you ever wondered why so many adults, who never learn to swim as children, never attempt to learn as adults? Often it is because they do not want to go through the same learning curve that children have to. The fact is, to become masterful at something, whether...
As you read the title of this post perhaps you were thinking "umm... I don't know... could I?". If that was the case for you then I want you to begin by thinking about something in your life that is not how you would like it to be right now: a person who is annoying...
It's what we look for in our leaders. What we hope for in our politicians. What we expect from our spouse and what we struggle with throughout our life. Integrity. What does it mean to you? Have you thought about it? I know when I speak to different people everyone...
Balance is such a hot topic because in our increasingly fast paced lives, finding it and maintaining it (even the imperfect variety I aspire to) is a real challenge. Everywhere I go, people are struggling with balance. I always make sure I preface my programs...
"Live your life with arms wide open, Today is where your book begins... Your life is still unwritten..." These are the lyrics from a song I recently discovered on my 11 year old sons iPod. Titled 'Unwritten', Natasha Bedingfield sings beautifully about what I believe...
Greetings from the wireless zone in Albuquerque airport where I'm planted for a couple of hours waiting for my flight home. I flew over to New Mexico last night to speak at a school principals conference today at the fabulous Hyatt Tamaya Resort. I love doing work...
