Last week I had the opportunity to facilitate a 'power panel' of female founders at Business Chicks 'Movers and Breakers' conference. It's easy to look at women like Samantha Wills, Emma Isaacs and Lizzy Abegg - three trailblazing Australian entrepreneurs who have...
I’m sure, like me, you’ve made your share of mistakes over the years. Times you’ve made a bad decision or taken too long to make any at all! The word mistake comes from the Latin to “miss-step.” Mistakes are, literally, nothing more or less than a step (or two) in the...
Yesterday I had the pleasure of spending a few hours with former Australian Prime Minister John Howard. We were both keynote speakers at the same conference and ended up having time together between speeches and afterward at a reception. Like every political leader,...
I’ve been doing a lot of rejigging of plans this week. I had big plans for a jam packed trip to the US in a few weeks, including day in Vegas to speak at a leadership conference. Due to some pretty major stuff that’s happened with the client organization, the event...
When I was living in Washington D.C., I landed a regular advice segment on the national cable show RLTV (Retirement Living TV). I knew their market was 'seniors' but I recall shuddering when the producer defined seniors as "50 plus". While I was further from 50 then...
On my 40th birthday my daughter Maddy, 10 at the time, gave me a handcrafted birthday voucher on which she wrote: “This vowcher lets you be my gest at the Oscars when I am nomnated for best actres.” (I figured she stood more chance of that than winning the national...
Do not waste time focusing on the gifts or good luck of others. Focus only on making the most of your own. One of my favorite images from the Olympics was of South African Chad Le Clos in the 200m butterfly final glancing across to his arch rival Michael Phelps in the...
I'm not sure if you're an Olympics fan, but despite not being fanatical about any sport, the Olympics have reeled me in to my TV set over the last couple weeks. From Michael Phelps to Usain Bolt, their stories of persistence and determination are inspiring. Of course...
Get a new job. Not worry about money. Eat mayo. Travel to a foreign country. Ask for help. Try out for the Princeton crew team. Bike over a volcano. Ask for Date #2. Go into a shelter. Quit my job. Tell my secrets. Love myself. These are some of the things people have...
Terrorist attacks. Police shootings. Brexit. Political coups. Refugee crisis. Zika virus. President Trump. Let’s face it, we live in fearful times. There’s no shortage of headlines alerting us potential threats to our safety and future. Which is why, when headlines...
Ever been in a conversation where you felt like the person you were talking to wasn’t listening to a word you said because they were too busy trying to convince you of their opinion? Yep, me too. It’s a common phenomenon. So much so that there’s likely been times...
If you study history, you will find that all stories of great success are also stories of great triumph over adversity. But often we overlook the setbacks and only see the end success. We think the person got lucky: “He/she must have been at the right place at the right time.” Or maybe they were just really smart. Or talented. Or well connected. But that’s all bunk. While it may have been a little bit of each, what ultimately led to their success was their refusal to allow their setbacks and failures to define them.
Last year I was invited to interview Sir Richard Branson on his private Caribbean island. A career highlight for sure! Fortunately for me, "Just call me Richard" is incredibly down to earth person who quickly puts people at ease around him. Phew. During our interview...
When our guide came by our tent shortly after 3 AM to wake us up to begin the climb up Mt Kilimanjaro I’d already been awake for some time. The sleeping bags we’d rented for our week hiking to the rooftop of Africa weren’t quite up to the sub-zero temperatures so...
Life can be painful. This may sound like a pretty negative thing to say but having had numerous painful periods in my life, I believe so much suffering people experience comes from trying to avoid it. Which is why I'm excited to share with you my recent conversation...
Let’s face it, life will never be exactly as you’d like it to be. Or not for long anyway. There will always be things you'd like to be different. To have less on your plate or more certainty about your future. To have fewer bills to pay or more support from your...
"Most people live in a restricted circle of their potential." William James I’ll never forget where I was the day that a mental image change the direction of my life. It was March 2002 and I was laying on a beach south of Cancun, Mexico, doing a visualization exercise...
During my recent trip to Washington D.C. I sat down with Kathy Calvin, President and CEO of the United Nations Foundation whose job it is to steward over $1 billion dollars entrusted to the UNF. Kathy and I discussed an issue we are both passionate about - women,...
"So what would be your ideal way to celebrate your 50th birthday?" I asked my husband Andrew earlier this year. "Go on a safari with my family in Africa," he replied. My fourteen-year-old son Ben piped up from the couch where I'd assumed he was in a Youtube trance....
"It's by embracing change and risking mistakes that you get ahead." ~ Bill Marriott One of the things I most love about my work is the people I get to meet. So it was a huge honor to be invited into Marriott headquarters to interview J.W. "Bill" Marriott, who has...
