Embrace the Paradox

Embrace the Paradox

Jun 11, 2024

“The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don’t know.” — Albert Einstein Things can be simple and easy if we let them. Also living and learning the lessons that expand our horizons have a touch of complexity as well. Decisions are not always binary: Yes or no....
To Retire or not to Retire

To Retire or not to Retire

Jun 4, 2024

“Empathy begins with understanding life from another person’s perspective. Nobody has an objective experience of reality. It’s all through our own individual prisms.” — Sterling K. Brown   My writing about not retiring and becoming a...
Being Unretired Comes With New Titles

Being Unretired Comes With New Titles

May 28, 2024

“In case you’re worried that you’re too oldto pursue your dreams,Frank Lloyd Wright completed 1/3 of his life’s workbetween the ages of 80 and 92.” — Unknown On Memorial Day this year, the organization that I founded celebrated its 37th...
Still Ruminating

Still Ruminating

May 21, 2024

“When we were small children, we all played dress-up and everybody had a good time. So why stop?” — Iris Apfel The conversations I am having about the concept of being ‘unretired’ are stirring up all sorts of trails of thought to follow. I realized during...
Joining the Ranks of the Unretired

Joining the Ranks of the Unretired

May 7, 2024

“Fight for the things that you care about,but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.” — Ruth Bader Ginsburg I am and am not a joiner of groups. I like to facilitate groups and love being in a community. However, you might find this surprising...
Life Delivers Lessons

Life Delivers Lessons

Apr 30, 2024

“Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood. All is riddle, and the key to a riddle is another riddle.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson One of the constants of life is that there will be many lessons to be learned. And many opportunities to learn them....
The COVID Coverup

The COVID Coverup

Apr 23, 2024

“I learnt lessons at every step of life.COVID-19 pandemic was the examination.And Innovation will be the new normal.” ― Omkar More I don’t have the answers, but I do have many questions and observations. Perhaps we can discover some solutions together. We have changed...
Chasing Eclipses

Chasing Eclipses

Apr 16, 2024

“When the sun and the moon cycles come together, that’s been a really important moment for many civilizations.” — Tok Thompson I was standing on the shore of Lake Erie with friends and neighbors when the moon blocked the sun, and the noise grew quiet. I can still feel...
Releasing the Feelings

Releasing the Feelings

Apr 9, 2024

“His jargon conceals, from him, but not from us, the deep, empty hole in his mind. He uses technological language as a substitute for technique.” — Richard Mitchell,“Less Than Words Can Say” Words and experiences aren’t in your lexicon until you run across them. Many...
Like a Dog with a Bone

Like a Dog with a Bone

Apr 2, 2024

“The difference between people who believe they have books inside of them and those who actually write books is sheer cussed persistence.” — Jennifer Weiner I have a reputation for being persistent. It is an important quality in my life. I think living through...
What Are You Saying Yes to?

What Are You Saying Yes to?

Mar 26, 2024

“The delicate balance of mentoring someone is not creating them in your image, but giving them the opportunity to create themselves.” — Steven Spielberg   A colleague invited me to speak to her class of college juniors and seniors who were practicing...
Are You Pulling Together or Pulling Apart?

Are You Pulling Together or Pulling Apart?

Mar 19, 2024

  “The harder we worked to convince each other that our way was the right way,the further away we got from understanding each other.We were pulling apartinstead of pulling together.” — They Just Don’t Get It,” p 97   I am a practitioner at heart. What do I...
Gardening My Inner Landscape

Gardening My Inner Landscape

Mar 12, 2024

  “I can do anything I set my mind to.Watch me.”   ― Pippi Longstocking • Is there a message from a childhood book that is seared into your brain? While reading a colleague’s post about leadership, what danced into my head was the very memorable phrase from the...
Learning the Benefits of Breaking Away

Learning the Benefits of Breaking Away

Mar 5, 2024

Aging gracefully is an art, Aging disgracefully is an Absolute Blast! — Unknown Here is a statement for your imagination: Can you imagine sixteen, mid-life women, who don’t know each other, traveling from all corners of the United States, living together, and...
No Regrets

No Regrets

Feb 6, 2024

“The inspiration you seek, is already in you.Be silent and listen.” — Rumi I spent most of January battling a virus and then struggling with our healthcare system. For this first month of a new year, the dogs and I were getting sick, being sick, seeking care,...
Once You Know, You Can’t Unknow

Once You Know, You Can’t Unknow

Dec 19, 2023

  “Fatigue is the price of leadership.Mediocrity is the price of never getting tired.” — J. Oswald Sanders Many days end with a conversation with a tired leader. I seem to be talking to many tired people these days and I love to support leaders who are...
Going Out into the World Again

Going Out into the World Again

Nov 21, 2023

“Meantime, life outside goes on all around you.” — Bob Dylan   Though I have been traveling during 2023 — and in the months and year before this — I have not been flying on planes or attending big conferences for a long time. 9/11 changed us forever and the...
Brothers

Brothers

Nov 14, 2023

“That girl wasn’t who she wanted to be anymore,but sometimes you don’t get to choose who you are.”― Catherine McKenzie   My family had a secret it kept. I did not learn of this secret until I was a teenager. It was like a ghost in our home. The event and the...
When I . . .

When I . . .

Nov 7, 2023

  “Don’t simply retire from something;have something to retire to.” — Harry Emerson Fosdick Have you ever said….’When I ……’ • Graduate• Marry• Have children• Become an empty-nester• Have this amount of money saved• Sell my...
Choosing the Right Gear

Choosing the Right Gear

Oct 31, 2023

 “ Life is like a ten-speed bicycle.Most of us have gears we never use.” — Charles M. Schulz I was happy to be invited to speak at a monthly safety council meeting in Cleveland. I am always up for a conversation about safety. Though, you might wonder why a consultant...
My Complicated Life

My Complicated Life

Oct 24, 2023

“I’m a problem solver. I love people. The more complicated they are, the more I get into them, and I just want to understand what makes them tick.” — Paul Walker I am a very goal and activity-oriented person. Action is my preferred gear. I need to be...
Where is Home?

Where is Home?

Oct 17, 2023

“Dwelling on the past only blinds you to the future. Missing home is natural, but embrace the present and create a new place that feels just as comforting.” — Dale Carnegie I have just returned from five days committed to being in a different environment with...
Still Crazy After All These Years

Still Crazy After All These Years

Oct 10, 2023

“Now I sit by my window and I watch the cars.I fear I’ll do some damage one fine day.But I would not be convicted by a jury of my peers.Still crazy after all these years.” — Paul Simon This morning I stepped both back and forward in time while using...
Back in the Saddle, Again

Back in the Saddle, Again

Sep 26, 2023

“Worrying is carrying tomorrow’s load with today’s strength— carrying two days at once.It is moving into tomorrow ahead of time.Worrying doesn’t empty tomorrow of its sorrow,it empties today of its strength.” — Corrie ten Boom This past week I found myself picking up...
Are We Safe in a Safe Harbor?

Are We Safe in a Safe Harbor?

Aug 29, 2023

“A ship is safe in the harbor, But that’s not what ships are built for.” — Gael Attal While I was enjoying a well-needed vacation — one that really caused me to let go and disconnect — I still managed to compose a blog. In my last one, I told you I was on an...
The Best Definition of Friendship

The Best Definition of Friendship

Jul 11, 2023

“I learned that a friend may be waitingbehind a stranger’s face.”  Maya Angelou It is a good morning when your day starts with a phone call from someone with whom you share the same values, interests, and intentions. Many of my friendships start with one kind of...
The Risk and Impact of Isolation

The Risk and Impact of Isolation

Jun 13, 2023

“All things are subject to interpretation.Whichever interpretation prevails at a given time is a function of power and not truth.” ― Friedrich Nietzsche   Researchers report: Civility isn’t just in decline, it is disappearing. Because we are losing...
Who Am I?

Who Am I?

May 9, 2023

“Who am I really? What have I done? What is important and meaningful to me? What difference does it make that I have lived? What does it mean to be truly human, and where am I on that scale?” — Morrie Schwartz     The Wisdom of Morrie:Living and Aging Creatively and...
What Simple Fun Teaches

What Simple Fun Teaches

May 2, 2023

Fun itself hasn’t changed — the nature of work has changed and will continue to change.But fun is fun, as much fun now as it was then.Forever.” — Bernard DeKoven, “The Playful Path” A Playful Path is the shortest road to happiness. — the Oaqui   I love stories...
Team Chaos!!!

Team Chaos!!!

Apr 27, 2023

“Chaos was the law of nature;Order was the dream of man.Chaos often breeds life,when order breeds habit.” — Henry Adams   More than one dog is a pack. I have five smaller dogs, 4 French Bulldogs and an English Bulldog. They have been given a nickname...
More Fun with a Partner

More Fun with a Partner

Apr 25, 2023

“It is the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too)those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed.” — Charles Darwin I believe that everyday experiences and formative life experiences are good fodder for building...