Margie’s Insights & Interviews

Welcome to Margie’s blog where she shares personal stories, interviews, tools and more for living bravely.

How are your excuses costing you?

How are your excuses costing you?

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...

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Are You Stepping Up to the Leadership Plate?

Are You Stepping Up to the Leadership Plate?

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....

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Do you need to step up your persistence level?

Do you need to step up your persistence level?

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...

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Could you be making bigger, better and BOLDER requests?

Could you be making bigger, better and BOLDER requests?

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...

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Where could you be upping your integrity?

Where could you be upping your integrity?

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...

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NBC Philadelphia: Where could you be saying No?

NBC Philadelphia: Where could you be saying No?

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...

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What life story are you writing?

What life story are you writing?

"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...

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Are you short changing yourself?

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...

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Are you living your life by design or by accident?

Last Friday I flew in on a red eye flight from L.A. to D.C.  I had a meeting that morning and when I mentioned I’d just come in from California (which was on a Swine Flu Emergency Health Alert at the time) the person I was speaking to said, sort of jokingly but not...

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Where’s the common sense in the gun debate?

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not anti-guns. . . I grew up with them!  Going rabbit shooting on my parents’ farm in rural Australia was a regular (and favorite) pastime (sorry rabbit lovers — that was just the way it was growing up in the Aussie bush).  But last week I...

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What would the courageous version of you do?

What would the courageous version of you do?

Earlier this week I was speaking to a woman who had just gone through an acrimonious divorce. She shared how she felt completely bruised and battered by the process of ending her 8 year marriage and that while she knew that the future was her own making, she felt...

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Do you act BIG when others act small?

Do you act BIG when others act small?

Do you ever deal with difficult people who seem to be unnecessarily hostile, petty or offensive? Ever find yourself wanting to dish out your own snide remark or act in a way that you know is childish? Go on, admit it, of course you do! We all find ourselves, on...

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A year ago today and what I’ve learned since

A year ago today and what I’ve learned since

A year ago today I awoke to a phone call telling me that my brother Frank had been in a serious motor bike accident; that, among other injuries, his spine had been very badly damaged and that it was extremely unlikely he would ever walk again. Needless to say the last...

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My Today Show Interview

My Today Show Interview

What an exciting week I've had! If you  missed the interview on the Today Show Tuesday morning (what, you had something more important to do?! 😉 )  then you can watch it here now: It runs about 7 minutes which is a VERY long interview for prime-time TV. Given the...

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The Today Show, TOMORROW!

The Today Show, TOMORROW!

Just this morning a poll on CNN reported that 3 out of every 4 Americans currently feel afraid about the state of the economy and what it means for them. There's no doubt about it, we live in turbulent times which are causing many people to feed afraid.   Which is why...

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Fires devastate my home state in the Sunburnt Country

Living on the other side of the globe in the U.S., my deepest condolences and heart-felt prayers go out to all the many families who have lost their homes, and worse, their loved ones in the devastating bush fires that have swept my home state of Victoria the last few...

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Where’s Your Daring?

A few years back a woman called Sarah Armstrong, who has since become a friend, made the bold decision to try to make a difference for the people living in the poorest nation on earth, Sierra Leone. Sarah got on a plane and traveled around the country and as she went,...

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Is Fear of Stuffing Up Stifling You?

Is Fear of Stuffing Up Stifling You?

Last week whilst talking with someone about the economy, the possibility of them being laid off and how they thought it was a good time to take a change in career direction came up. As we talked about what they needed to do to make it a successful transition in a...

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Oprah…still overcoming her fears!

Oprah…still overcoming her fears!

Love her or loathe her (though why would you but from jealousy!), you have to hand it to Oprah — she’s got courage! I mean after the years and years of yo-yoing up and down the scales, I think we all, including Oprah herself, had thought her battle with the bulge was...

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Inauguration Day…yes, I was there!

Inauguration Day…yes, I was there!

Often the media hype things up but on this occasion I can honestly say that being there, on the frozen ground of the National Mall just by the Washington Monument, freezing my butt off along with another one and a half million others,  watching Obama being sworn into...

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Whether you want to make a change, grow your leadership, or better the world, The Courage Gap is your roadmap to close the gap between who you are and who you’re meant to be. 

If you ever wish you felt braver, this podcast is for you. You’ll gain inspiration from a host of incredible leaders. I also share my own insights on how to be a bit braver in our relationships, leadership, and life.

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