Margie’s Insights & Interviews
Welcome to Margie’s blog where she shares personal stories, interviews, tools and more for living bravely.
A Christmas Reflection: On a week, and year, that’s wrenched at the heart
It's Christmas time again. As my years on earth grow, so too do they seem to pass faster. As a child, it seemed to be an eternity between each birthday or Christmas and yet now, they roll around with a swiftness that makes me realize how quickly life is passing....
Got a “Story” that’s limiting you? 4 steps to rewriting it!
Growing up my dad would often jokingly call me ‘bumble foot.’ By high school I had labeled myself as a bona-fide “non-athlete” and during school athletic carnivals, would only enter the walking race, too intimidated by the ‘real’ athletes to line up against them in...
Gratitude is Powerful. Not just in good times; at all times.
It’s Thanksgiving week, at least for all US readers, so I thought I’d pen a few thoughts on gratitude to mark this special holiday. My dad often says he feels like the richest man in the world. It always makes me smile because, having been a dairy farmer his entire...
Done is better than perfect. Just get on with it!
Nothing stifles our success more than the pressure we put on ourselves to do things perfectly, and to avoid the possibility of falling short in the attempt. I've spent the last few months immersed in words while writing my next book Train the Brave (due out next...
Fear is not less contagious than Ebola
There’s no doubt that the Ebola virus is deadly. It has buried thousands of helpless victims in the western region of Africa and challenged the world’s best health specialists in how best to contain its spread. News of the tragic death of the first US Ebola victim,...
It’s not what you THINK you fear, it’s what you LINK to fear
When I asked my son Ben what he wanted for his 13th birthday in August he pondered the question for about ten seconds before replying, “To go sky diving.” While I was a bit taken aback I knew that given both Andrew and I had both been parachuting I’d be a hypocrite...
Mother Courage: Learning a new ‘Brand of Brave’ as my son spreads his wings
So early this morning I kissed my sixteen-year-old son Lachlan goodbye. He has left our nest; he has spread his wings. Despite steeling myself for months for this moment, it didn’t lessen the wrench on my heart as I waved him goodbye. I am not worried about Lachlan...
Prioritize what matters most… then say no to the rest.
Saying yes is easier (at least in the short term) than saying no. It gives us an immediate hit of people-pleasing gratification. If it were easy to say no when we need to, everyone would be doing it. If it were easy to say no, there wouldn’t be so many busy people so dissatisfied with their lives. But whether in our work, relationships or how we manage our daily lives, sometimes we are called to make a change, to let go the familiar, and say no to something that is “good” to open up the possibility for something better.
World Cup Wisdom: Play To Win vs. To Not Lose
The World Cup holds many lessons on creating a game-winning strategy beyond the soccer field. One of the most important is the difference between playing to win, versus playing to not lose. When you are playing to win your energy is channeled into creating new opportunities, breaking new ground, and going after what you want to happen versus protecting what you don’t want to lose. Playing to lose, on the other hand, is about shoring up what you already have. While it may feel like the safer path, it often leaves people and organisations being left behind in a world marching steadily forward.
Hate your job? Either change WHAT you do or change HOW you do it.
Hate your job? While it’s unrealistic to expect to always love what you do, it’s not unrealistic to genuinely enjoy your work (most days). Given you spend a third of your adult life at work, it would be a shame to spend it doing work you hate, or to simply hate going to work. So if you don’t like your job the solution is simple: Either change WHAT you do or change HOW you do it.
Are you making yourself miserable? What you focus on expands!
What you focus sets off a ripple effect that filters into every corner of your life. It’s not about white-washing those things which need your attention. It’s about not wasting your precious energy focused on things that amplify negative emotions, smother positive ones and fuel your misery.
Beyond Facebook: Why it’s important to share our struggles, not just status updates
Perhaps your Facebook status updates reflect what’s really going on in your life. However if not, then I encourage you to be more courageous in connecting with those around you, dropping your guard, letting go the need to show you’ve got it all together, and sharing how you really are (i.e., the stuff you might never post on Facebook). While our fears drive us to avoid situations that put us at risk of rejection or ridicule or criticism, only when we have the courage to do just that can we forge the rich, and incredibly rewarding relationships that help to buoy us over life’s bigger waves, and retain our sense of humour as we go.
Wish you felt more self-confidence? How to build it & banish the doubt
Over the last two days I’ve had the opportunity to speak at two leadership conferences. After each event I had the chance to speak with attendees who shared their challenges, their aspirations and anxieties. One of the common threads that wove through our conversations was about their self-confidence. One particular person asked me how I’d become such a confident presenter and if I had any tips. As I shared with her…
Don’t wait to know everything before you do something
I don’t know what it is you’d really love to create or achieve or change or pursue. However I do know this – waiting until you have everything figured out before you start out is a recipe for missed opportunity, frustration, resentment and regret.
Stand for something… or fall for anything.
I hope you will also take some time out to think about the message you want your life to share… does it reflect compassion for the suffering of others? Does it honor your talents and dreams and the blessings? Does it leave people better off for having known you? Does it challenge you to learn more, to do more, to grow more and to become more?
Do you care too much about what others think?
We all like to be liked. Nothing wrong with that. But too often we let what OTHERS think matter more than what WE think. Next time you find yourself at a moment of indecision, ask yourself what you would do if you had didn’t need to impress or be liked; if you were being really courageous.
Sheryl Sandberg, Beyonce, We Need To Embrace Bossy, Not Ban Bossy
Like Sandberg, since as young as I can remember I was called bossy. As a big sister of seven, I was forever telling (i.e. assertively coaching) my siblings what they needed to do, and not letting them off the hook until they did it (i.e. managing accountability.) Then as one of only fifteen students in a small rural Australian school, my assertive streak only grew stronger. Those who knew me could count on me to take charge. When they called me bossy, it felt more like a compliment than criticism.
Be Bold & Brave: The Call to Courage on International Women’s Day
To create a more equitable world, a more just world and a more peaceful world, everyone of us has to do our individual part. We can’t rely on policy makers, politicians and corporate power brokers. We have to do our own bit, in our own way, to challenge and change that which we know could be better. And doing that will always call for courage.
Mental Illness: Extend compassion, not judgement
I remember four years ago today trying to call Peter on his 31st birthday. I was at home in Virginia. He was in a psychiatric hospital in Sydney half a world away. I remember when I finally got through to his ward and a fellow inpatient got him to come to the phone saying Happy Birthday Pete. As the words came out of my mouth I knew there was very little happy about it. This wasn’t the first birthday Peter had spent in a psychiatric ward. He woke up on his 21st birthday in a psych hospital ten years earlier.
“Love Is As Love Does”: Spread a little this Valentines!
Real love is a verb. Poetic words of love are nice, but real love is about doing things that make others feel loved – it takes courage, it takes compassion, it requires generosity. So as you go about your day today, I invite you to think about what you could do differently to make those you interact with feel more valued, more appreciated, more acknowledged… more loved in some way, large or small.
