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...
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,...
"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...
Communication technology. It's the best of tools when used well. It's the worst of tools when it's not. Last week I received a 'not-very-nice' email from a man who didn’t like my reference to Donald Trump in my recent blog. He wrote, and I quote, “You should be...
“Every risk is worth taking as long as it’s for a good cause and contributes to a good life.” - Sir Richard Branson Maverick. Risk taker. Rebel. Trailblazing tycoon. Billionaire buccaneer. Adventurer. Disruptor. Sir Richard Branson has been called all these and many...
Last week I facilitated a two-day communication communication workshop with a global tech company. I’ve run lots of workshops over the years but when I was approached on this one last December, I was a little tentative. The seventeen people flying in from around the...
Let me begin by saying that I am not an educational specialist, child psychologist, school counsellor, ex-teacher, parenting expert or athletic coach. However as a mother of three teens and one 'teen-wannabee', I often see parents get a little (or lot!) too...
Not long ago a woman in her 40s approached me after a speaking at her company’s annual conference to ask my advice on how to have a ‘courageous conversation’ with a colleague. After our conversation she said, “Before we talked I’d been quite intimidated by you. I...
As one year draws to an end and another one begins, there's often a lot of talk of 'resolutions.' Habits people want to start, or end. New goals. Fresh starts. All good stuff. However I think we often get the cart before the horse. You see, if you keep being the same...
Earlier this week I spent an evening with Oprah. Yes, just me and Oprah... and about 12,000 of her other Australian fans. Having admired Oprah for many years, I'd been mildly nervous that I had my expectations set too high. I needn't have worried. What struck me most...
"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...
"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....
At eighty year of age, my dad's had his share of hard knocks, from losing a son after a long battle with mental illness to supporting another adapt to life in a wheelchair. Yet while I'm clearly biased, I believe he's one of the most loving and loveable men you'd ever...
A few months back a friend shared how she was on the fence about hiring a man for a role as a financial advisor because he was 60 and seemed ‘a bit old’ despite being imminently qualified. I encouraged her not to let his age deter her from taking him on if he was the...
In recent months I’ve spent time with several people going through a tough time and struggling to hold on to hope and stay optimistic. Depression is tapping at the door of a few. I know there have been times over the years I’ve felt that way myself. When my brother...
"When we are no longer able to change a situation - we are challenged to change ourselves." Viktor E. Frankl, Holocaust Survivor "What's the good of hate. It only ruins you," Saba Feniger said to me as she recounted her arrival at Auschwitz and surviving the Nazi...
It's mid January. Far enough in to the new year that some people have already fallen off the band wagon on their new year resolutions. If you're one of them, commiserations. Just know this: you aren't alone. I resolved late last year that I was going to write in a...
Ask many people how they are and they'll quickly give you an answer that's something like this: "Busy. Really busy." I mean, who isn't right? Being being has become synonymous with being of value. The busier you are, the more important you must be. But the reality is...
It seems like every day that something pops up on my news-feed telling me how to 'think myself happy.' It's become a cultural preoccupation. But the illusion that we can live with a permanent smiley face does sadness a big disservice. Because while sadness and grief...
I can’t think of a single parent who doesn’t want their child to grow up to be happy, healthy and whole. But it requires walking a fine line. The line between protecting our kids from pain and teaching them to handle it; between supporting them where they are and...
