Over, Around, and Through
If you can’t fly, then run;if you can’t run, then walk;if you can’t walk, then crawl.But whatever you do,you have to keep moving forward. — Martin Luther King, Jr. I have had the great fortune in my life to both to mentor and be mentored. In all cases I always...
Tunnel Light
“You may think your light is small, but it can make a huge difference in other people’s lives.” — Anonymous Though we are related, I did not grow into a relationship with my cousin or his wife until I started to visit my uncle as a surrogate for my mother who...
Look, Look
“Your path is illuminated by the light, yet darkness lets the stars shine bright.” — J.L.W. Brooks As I interviewed my friend and colleague, Ralph Febbo, I learned that he had run ten marathons and so understood my use of the metaphor immediately. Ralph has been...
Passing Through Limbo
“Give light, and the darkness will disappear of itself.” — Desiderius Erasmus My clients have learned to expect that I come to our conversations with as many questions as I do recommendations. I love how a good question can open up space, awareness, and...
One Day at A Time — Reset
“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear,and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.” — H.P. Lovecraft In late winter we watched a virus migrate around the globe. We saw our lives became more complex but at the same time...
Are We the New Phoenix?
“What matters most is how well you walk through the fire.” — Charles Bukowski I use metaphor to soften the impact of words and make sense of complexity. Words shape worlds. And if I had attached too many negative adjectives to describe what we were...
Breaking Boundaries: Taken Down by a Toe
“We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us. The old skin has to be shed before the new one can come.” — Joseph Campbell Is anyone else tired or feeling overwhelmed? Have you learned to have boundaries...
Living Past the Pain
“Who shall tell the lady’s griefWhen her Cat was past relief?Who shall number the hot tearsShed o’er her, beloved for years?Who shall say the dark dismayWhich her dying caused that day?” — Christina Rossetti Everyone has a different reaction...
Big Lessons Keep Falling in my Lap
“Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood.”― Ralph Waldo Emerson I do know that life is a series of experiences with lessons attached so I have learned to ask myself, “What am I supposed to be learning from this situation?” I have...
Is a Chance Meeting Really Chance?
“Don’t walk in front of me… I may not followDon’t walk behind me… I may not leadWalk beside me… just be my friend”― Albert Camus In a world that feels like we are fracturing into pieces, and conversations that focus more on difference than commonality, I had a...
Passages
“If you realize that all things change, there is nothing you will try to hold on to. — Lao Tzu Recently, my life has been filled with many passages. Now that I think about and reflect upon them, I realize that life is a series of voyages like these. From dependence...
Allowing Travel to Make a Change
are “Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You...
What Have You Noticed?
“It’s a gift to exist, and with existence comes suffering.” — Stephen Colbert If someone said to you, “I will give you six months to work from home, be with your family, discover new ways of working and relating” would you...
Have You Ever Been Hijacked?
When good intention is met with resistance, what do you do? “You have been called to heal wounds, to unite what has fallen apart, and to bring home those who have lost their way.” — St. Francis of Assisi Have you ever been hijacked by a use of force? Even...
We Are Imperfect
“We are not perfect, we are learning. That’s the beauty in our specific journey.”— Alex Elle I asked a friend for feedback on my Secrets blog. I am anxious that what I write is responsible and relevant. As the fog and weight of grief and physical...
An Experience for a Lifetime
“Your family and your love must be cultivated like a garden. Time, effort, and imagination must be summoned constantly to keep any relationship flourishing and growing.” — Jim Rohn While a colleague and I were talking business on the phone, he shared that he...
Let’s Do the Time Warp Again
“The deeper we try to dig into space, time, and the unknown, the closer we get to where we originally started.”― Rajesh, “Random Cosmos” I am showing my age. This reference is to the Rocky Horror Picture Show. Yes, for those of you who are up on...
Which Lens Makes the Most Sense?
“Adulthood is not an age, but a stage of knowledge of self.” — John Fowles From an early age, I knew that numbers and formulas was not my path to success. I knew, however, that I was good at observing, interpreting, and quickly understanding the...
Can You See the Moon?
“My barn having burned down, I can now see the moon.” ― Mizuta Masahide 17th century Japanese poet and Samurai Part of this experience is a mind game. Difficult issues require planning, preparation, practice, and a solid mental mindset. In spite of what are...
My Perspective was Reset
“We sit silently and watch the world around us. This has taken a lifetime to learn. It seems only the old are able to sit next to one another and not say anything and still feel content. The young, brash, and impatient, must always break the silence. It is a waste,...
Wisdom in the Moment. Leadership in the Future.
The world, nature, human beings, do not move like machines. The edges are never clear-cut, but always frayed. Nature never draws a line without smudging it. —Winston Churchill In a conversation this week a colleague so eloquently described all of the confluences...
When We Find Our Human Connections
“Coming home is one of the most beautiful things.” — Andre Rieu Life is about shouldering our responsibilities, making our way through the day in a positive way and fielding the problems that are tossed in our direction. Life is a form of boot camp...
In the Middle of the Race
“In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity” — Albert Einstein Physicist & Nobel Laureate Early in the first weeks of the Coronavirus Pandemic I floated the metaphor of Marathon as a way of describing the collective event that we are currently...
The Statement of Saying Nothing
Is this a divine ‘Time Out’ to interrupt our frayingand help us to find our footing? Twelve weeks into my first ever pandemic I am conforming to new expectations, reinventing how I work and relate, and finding ways to be relevant and contributing. For the most part I...
The Tsunami of Transformation
“Don’t squander this. Let it make you more tender. Let it rewrite what matters. Let it bring you closer to all you love, to all you could lose. Let it bring you to your knees.” — Heather Lanier The World is changing around me while I shelter in place. For more than...
Did You Go to Summer Camp?
“You can leave camp but camp never seems to leave you.” I had a thought this morning that there are some lessons from summer camp that can apply to our current situation. I try to draw inspiration from anything I can in an attempt to keep my mindset positive...
Buy a Sandwich for a Hero
“Remember that your fans are your lifeblood. See that you know who they are,and give them a reason to follow you. Be sure to thank them, often,for caring enough to support you.They’re responsible for your success just as much as you are.” ― Simon Zingerman, “We...
Widening Our Circle of Compassion
“A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe,a part limited in time and space.He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelingas something separated from the rest,a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness.This delusion is a kind of prison for...
Edwin’s Restaurant and Leadership Institute
“Community service gives me a valuable opportunity to walk into a different community that is less familiar to me but just as colorful and most importantly, in need.” — Caroline Landry Once I have attended to my home and work responsibilities during this pandemic, I...
The Achievement Centers
“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” — Dr. Seuss As an homage to the book In Search of Excellence, which shifted our focus from the economic malaise of the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, I would like to share...
Out of the Bad, Good
“If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.” ~ Marcus Aurelius Out of bad things good can come. This has been a theme of our human...
Things End, Life Goes On
Things end. People leave. And you know what? Life goes on. — Elizabeth Scott, “Perfect You” This is the last blog in The–Pandemic–as–a–Marathon series and I am circling back to ask myself what I have learned, what I will advance, and what I will be letting go of as I...
A Year of Living and Dying
“Life doesn’t come with a manual. It comes with a Mother.” Facebook has a function that shares the posts of previous years on the day that you posted them. I look forward to seeing what I was doing in the last years. It reminds me of...
When My Mother and I Became Friends
“Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live.” — Norman Cousins During the 2020 COVID 19 crisis, I find myself really missing my mother. I yearn to hear her perspective; I miss having her as my...
Teachable Lessons
“She was unstoppable. Not because she did not have failures or doubts.But because she continued on despite them.” ― Beau Taplin, “Unstoppable.” This pandemic presents a preponderance of opportunities for teachable moments. When we encounter something...
You Know One When You Meet One
“Something very beautiful happens to people when their world has fallen apart: a humility, a nobility, a higher intelligence emerges at just the point when our knees hit the floor.” ― Marianne Williamson I knew immediately that Miguel was a leader. I met Miguel...
Keep Calm Solve Problems
“Maturity is achieved when a person accepts life as full of tension” — Joshua Loth Liebman I could interview someone every day to find out what they are thinking and feeling about our current situation, how they are handling their responsibilities, and how they see...
Chance Favors the Prepared Mind
“You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt After ten days of...
When the End is in the Distance
The way in which a man accepts his fate and all the suffering it entails, the way in which he takes up his cross, gives him ample opportunity – even under the most difficult circumstances to add a deeper meaning to his life. — Victor Frankl Neurologist, psychiatrist,...
I am Lucky to be Running
The metaphor of our situation as a marathon remains with me. “Without having been able to prepare for this marathon, what strategies would you use to be in the race,survive the race, and finish?” ______________________________________________ I am not searching for...
The Opportunity to Live with Uncertainty
The metaphor of our situation as a marathon remains with me. “Without having been able to prepare for this marathon, what strategies would you use to be in the race, survive the race, and finish?” ______________________________________________ Once I started to ask...
Who Will Care for My Dog?
The metaphor of our situation as a marathon remains with me. “Without having been able to prepare for this marathon, what strategies would you use to be in the race, survive the race, and finish?” ______________________________________________ I am very curious to...
Eat on the Run
The metaphor of our situation as a marathon remains with me. “Without having been able to prepare for this marathon, what strategies would you use to be in the race, survive the race, and finish?” ______________________________________________ I couldn’t write without...
Help Anyone You Can
The metaphor of our situation as a marathon remains with me. “Without having been able to prepare for this marathon, what strategies would you use to be in the race, survive the race, and finish?” ______________________________________________ Greg Schnupp, Owner,...
Be an Introvert
The metaphor of our situation as a marathon remains with me. “Without having been able to prepare for this marathon, what strategies would you use to be in the race, survive the race, and finish?” ______________________________________________ Joanne Lacompski, friend...
Listen to Your Pain
The metaphor of our situation as a marathon remains with me. “Without having been able to prepare for this marathon, what strategies would you use to be in the race, survive the race, and finish?” ______________________________________________ Five Lessons from...
Strategies for Plodding the Course
This is a marathon – have you done the training? Smarter people than me have said:‘”By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.’” ~ Benjamin Franklin Unfortunately, when a crisis arises, the time to plan is minimal. If we didn’t plan when we could,...
Bouncing and Boiling Over
The quest for certainty blocks the search for meaning. Uncertainty is the very condition to impel man to unfold his powers. Erich Fromm As the weeks turn into a month, the initial excitement of being with our spouses, children, pets, and roommates will fade....
The Opportunity to Reflect and Rediscover
“In the night full of pain and darkness be a candle spreading light until the dawn.” ~ Rumi This is a time to go within and develop yourself. We each have gifts that are relevant for this current challenge. Some formative events in your life have contributed to your...
Where Are You, 1 to 10?
“What can you do today to create a world of possibility beyond today’s current reality?”~ Leslie Yerkes What is good for the goose is good for the gander. I like asking questions and learning about others. I especially relish discovering that they already know what...
Wounds that Never Show
“There are wounds that never show on the bodythat are deeper and more hurtful than anything that bleeds.” ― Laurell K. Hamilton, Mistral’s Kiss In the not too distant past, after a very stressful (yet important) time in my life when the demands of the day...
There is a Season
“It’s when you’re acting selflessly that you are at your bravest.” — Veronica Roth I know that it is the season of my life and my age that I am facing a rising level of illness, dying and death in my circle of family, friends, and acquaintances. Each loss...
Facing a Pandemic
When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” — Mister Rogers Each of us needs to decide who we will be when facing a crisis. I tend to stay really...
Are You Good in a Crisis?
What is your first instinct when experiencing difficult, challenging, and even dangerous situations? I don’t spend a lot of time worrying. I tend to take action on the things that concern me or need to be addressed. I know much of this behavior is my...
Leadership, Skiing, and Snowboarding
“Snowboarding is an activity that is very popular with people who do not feel that regular skiing is lethal enough.” ~ Dave Berry As I age, one of my personal goals is to keep myself fit so I can continue to ski. I exercise all year with a special...
Take My Advice?
“Giving advice is like seeing an elephant in someone’s path and suggesting they remove it.Heeding advice requires forcing the elephant to budge. Huge difference.” ― Richelle E. Goodrich This week, I found myself in a unique position. Instead of giving advice I was on...
Sugar is Not My Friend
No sugar tonight in my coffee No sugar tonight in my tea No sugar to stand beside me No sugar to run with me — The Guess Who My colleague Randy and I were talking on New Year’s Eve this year. We shared well wishes, conducted a little work, expressed our gratitude for...
The Coconut Corner
A multi- generational Hawaiian businessthat understands the power of the 4 Ps “You’ll never have a product or price advantage again. They can be too easily duplicated. But a strong customer service culture cannot be copied.” – Jerry Fritz In 2002 a colleague...
Politics in Bed and Writing in the Tub
Politics in Bed and Writing in the Tub “Even in the most peaceful surroundings, the angry heart finds quarrel. Even in the most quarrelsome surroundings, the grateful heart finds peace.” — Zoe Zantanmata Talking about politics in bed might not be the...
We Were Dancing and then We Were Not
About conflict with a colleague “Rejections will redirect you to more exciting roads. When you think your life is falling apart, it’s usually falling together in disguise. Your search will throw you on journeys you never would have dreamt of, in your mind and in the...
Life is the Teacher
Life is the Teacher “Be a reflection of what you’d like to see in others. If you want love, give love. If you want honesty, give honesty. If you want respect, give respect. You get in return, what you give.” ― Author Unknown My day started with a strong...
Bathing in the Pool of Shared Knowledge
Bathing in the Pool of Shared Knowledge “Your brain takes its shape gradually from what you routinely rest your mind upon.” ~ Rick Hanson, Just One Thing I find myself sitting in a workshop as a participant and not a facilitator. The content...
Where do you take your inspiration?
Where do you take your inspiration? “In order to understand the world, one has to turn away from it on occasion.” ― Albert Camus, The Minotaur When I find I am alone with just myself, I seize that time to think about my values, my decisions, the people...
Walk on the Wild Side
The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.” ― Joseph Campbell Have you ever taken an intentional trip to a place that would require you to let go of your cell phone and connectivity? A place so different from you own that it resulted in your slowly...
Of Clutter and Woundedness
“Clutter is not just physical stuff. It’s old ideas, toxic relationships, and bad habits. Clutter is anything that does not support your better self.” Recently, friends and I attended a transition celebration for the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland, the original, and...
Showing is Stronger Than Telling
“If your actions inspire other to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader.” ~ John Quincy Adams In sports, a coach is someone with applicable experiences who mentors a novice to improve by sharing past learning, observing...
When the Answer is the Question
When the Answer is the Question In the middle of facilitating a day-long design for a community of families, patients, researchers, and physicians in the field of pediatric epilepsy who had gathered together to discuss the impact of surgery, I learned a lot...
Information is Power
I have an empowered, ‘smarty-pants’ watch A stranger is just a friend I haven’t met yet.” ~ Will Rogers I love to laugh at myself and with others. I love the unplanned, serendipitous, funny moments that happen. And I love to retell the...
Holding Big Questions
“A valid answer comes when the question is lived.” ― Elizabeth Vongsaravanh I just recently purchased a new home. It is bigger than the little cottage where I lived with my two very large dogs. It has a basement and attic which is a first for me. (I never wanted to...
The Lessons of my Father
When the fog of grief from my mother’s death cleared, and I made my way back from exhaustion and imbalance, I was rewarded with fresh clarity. Since then, many of the challenges of my personal life have started to make sense. I don’t know if it is part of the...
Leadership Transitions
Cultivating leadership is my passion. “Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change.” —Jim RohnI have come to learn that leadership is one of the most essential elements to organizational health and success — but not the only one. However, without...
Build a Community
I write to process my feelings. I post to share universal lessons that I think other’s will appreciate. I chronicle to remember what I was feeling, thinking, and doing in extraordinary moments. I journal to find my self-awareness and to clarify my feelings and...
Put Fun into Action
Step Twelve: Put Fun into Action“People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing.” — Dale CarnegieStart today, give yourself permission, try something new, and connect with someone who inspires you to have fun. Infusing fun into work doesn’t...
Become known as “Fun Loving”
Step Eleven: Become Known as “Fun Loving”“Just play. Have fun. Enjoy the Game.”Michael JordanYou can decide who you want to bring to work each day. It is the attitude that you choose that will support you and create the reputation you have with your co-workers and...
Smile and Laugh a Lot
Step Ten: Smile and Laugh a Lot“The human race has only one effective weapon – and that is laughter.” Mark Twain“Laughter is the best medicine.” “He who laughs last, lasts.” Science tells us that smiling and laughter release endorphins in our bodies which combat...
Make Fun Inclusive
“A business has to be involving, it has to be fun, and it has to exercise your creative instincts.” Richard Branson, Virgin Airways Step Nine: Make Fun Inclusive Fun, joy, and happiness are universal concepts. An act of joy, fun, or playfulness extended to another...
We don’t need no stinkin’ fun!
Step Eight: We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Fun “The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.”— ee.e.cummings My father frequently said, ‘Work hard and when you are done and if you are deserving—then and only then you can have your fun.’ That might have...
Not All Fun Has to Be Jokes
Step Six: Look for the Humor in the Situation“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” —ProverbInstead of rules, restrictions and limitations, we need to inspire others by giving them permission to bring the best of their whole selves to work each and every day....
Try to see the Humorous Side of Life
“As long as you’re having fun, that’s the key. The moment it becomes a grind, it’s over.” — Barry GibbSilly isn’t stupid. In fact, humor requires intelligence. Humor used to defuse a tense situation is a highly evolved skill. Individuals who can take their job...
Fun at Work is not a Nice to Have
“To succeed in life, you need three things: a wishbone, a backbone and a funny bone.” Reba McEntire Fun is a natural, life giving force which each of us can access whenever we want. The greatest obstacle to our embracing our natural sense of fun is often our own...
The Benefits of More Fun
“Never, ever underestimate the importance of having fun.” — Randy PauschWhat gets recognized is repeated. When you celebrate the good things that happen, when fun and work collide, you reinforce the message that everything gets better when you remember to lighten up....
Create a Fun Environment
Step Three: Create an Environment that Encourages Fun“There is work that is work and there is play that is play; there is play that is work and work that is play. And in only one of these lies happiness.”— Gelett BurgessDon’t be afraid to let everyone find and share...
I’m Having a Bad Day
Step One: Start with Yourself “We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” — George Bernard Shaw If you want to have fun you need to be fun-loving. It is inside each of us. Let it show in all that you do. Share it will others...
Becoming Masters of the Art of Living
“If a man insisted always on being serious, and never allowed himself a bit of fun and relaxation, he would go mad or become unstable without knowing it.”— Herodotus INTRODUCTION TO FUN @ WORKThe dominant cultural theory about fun is that it should be earned – that it...
The Fun/Work Balance
“A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between his work and his play; his labor and his leisure; his mind and his body; his education and his recreation. He hardly knows which is which, he simply pursues his vision of excellence through...
Conflict is Good
I find myself surrounded by people who fear conflict and who lack the confidence and tools to engage the normal, day-to-day bumps and bruises with ease. For most of my life I would have included myself in this group. No one in my family was a role model for setting...
Good Coaching
Everyone can be a good coach. Everyone can benefit from a good coach. “If it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you.” — Fred Devito A person close to me is in transition and at loose ends. They have entered that period of life known as...
The Most Difficult Vision
“”Be brave enough to live the life of your dreams according to your vision and purpose instead of the expectations and opinions of others.”—- Roy T. Bennett “The Light in the Heart” I have always understood and believed in the power of...
The Impact of Gratitude
“I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought,and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.” —Gilbert K. Chesterton Several years ago, a client and dear friend (thank you, Nancy Silverman) gave me The Five-Minute Journal. It was simple,...
Plan, Prepare, Be Present
“Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations.” I accept and often repeat adages like:• Life isn’t always easy or even fair.• It isn’t living unless there are ups and downs, and highs and lows.That’s me being real while also being the eternal optimist. I...
Signs and Secrets
“The most successful detectives owe their success to noticing small signs. Scouts are natural detectives and never let the smallest detail escape them. These small things are called by Scouts Signs.” — Robert...
Everything in Life is a Transition
“Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It’s the transition that’s troublesome.” – Isaac Asimov I love helping facilitate individuals, groups and organizations through transitions. In recent years I had the great privilege of participating...
Some of My Best Teachers
“If what you want lies buried dig until you find it. When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by, and nuzzle them gently.” — UnknownThe dog days of summer have passed. Is October and I recognize this month as very special. My constant...
Lighthouse Leadership
“Sometimes, amidst of all the wars,
All you need to become is
The lighthouse not the sword.”
— Akshay Vasuor
Lessons Learned from Knitting
Before bedtime, I sat with my mother watching TV and finished my first-ever knitted scarf. Last year a friend and I took knitting lesson.I love the wool and the colors and the aspiration of a final product. But I was humbled by the task. Learning to knit is a great metaphor for learning anything.
Moving Forward
We are moving. Moving forward. Moving ahead. Moving. Because the only constant in life is change. My career as a consultant consists of facilitation, navigation, and change. I’ve gone so far as to make change fun. But as I advanced toward my 30th year of...
Betsi | The Final Chapter is Written
What a privilege it has been to be at the side of the person who guided me into this world. And who is now making her way out of our world into another. What a privilege it has been to be her champion and advocate, to have fiercely guarded and guided her and...
Don’t Let Taking Sides Take You Over
The internet, like no other force before, can bring like-minded people together while it drives other-minded people apart. With it, we have the ability to seek out those who agree with us, who think like we do. That reinforces our position but at the same time reinforces sides.
Marshmallow Motivation
Enjoy what you do and do what you enjoy. Write down as many times as you can when you have enjoyed your way to success. How could you have modified those times when joyless effort did not produce the results you wanted?
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