When I was a child, there was nothing I liked more than to wade into the cold creek and look for crawdads and frogs and other creek life. Then we started taking our summer vacation to Isle of Palms on the coast of South Carolina, and my creek became an ocean. Back then, the island was row upon row of summer beach homes (not the spectacular ones you see nowadays). Our beach bungalow was easily recognizable since we were very close to the “famous” island house called Tickled Pink, and yes, it was bright Pepto-Bismol pink. (My brothers would have […]
Leadership
I don’t know a single successful person
I don’t know a single successful person who leaves their shopping cart in the middle of the parking lot. I freely admit that I am probably in the 2% of people who love to go grocery shopping. I always have a list, but I also like to wander the aisles to see what else is new in the market. It’s not that I have to buy anything; I’m just fascinated by packaging, current must-have mineral waters, acai berry teas, and live lobsters in the tank with the little rubber bands on their finger-crushing claws. I tend to shop everywhere because […]
The Past is a Place of Reference Not a Place of Residence
I had a client tell me about a family situation that happened while she was in high school, in which, due to unforeseen circumstances and due to the economy, her family had to declare bankruptcy, and, in the blink of an eye, their lives had changed. Although that would be traumatic for any young person, this young lady’s parents held the family together, vowing to rebuild and continuing to provide to the best of their ability for their kids. Instead of allowing that experience to define this amazing young woman’s future, she simply used it as a place of reference […]
The Emotion of Fear
I am continuing with my series on emotions. I started the series with the emotion of anger because anger is a cancer to your soul. So, to have any chance for a successful and happy life, friend, you have to let it go. Then, I talked about the pain of personal shame. Shame is a failure to meet your own standard of behavior, and this emotion will wreck your life if you’re not careful. And I added in the thought that you should stop thinking that others have to accept your forgiveness for you to be forgiven. They don’t. Once […]
The Kindness of Strangers
I am sure at some time or another when you least expected it, a “stranger” helped you. The kindness of strangers–completely unexpected, gratefully accepted, and long remembered. It sometimes happens when a thought flashes in your mind; I could use some help here. And suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, someone comes to your aid, answering your silent prayer or your out-loud request to any visiting angels to hurry and help. I can remember many times when I uttered a prayer or word or even a thought that flickered through my mind requesting help when, lo and behold, someone in human […]
Live in such a way that if anyone should speak badly of you no one would believe it
My friends send me email jokes and cartoons all the time; in fact, I had a few friends I had to ask to put me on the weekly list and not the daily emails. I have no idea what they do all day that allows them to surf the web and send their network 20-30 jokes and stories all day. A while back, I got this one: Live in such a way that if anyone should speak badly of you, no one would believe it. Wouldn’t that be great? What if you and I were so well known to be […]
You don’t need more time; you just need to decide
“You don’t need more time; you just need to decide” – Seth Godin I don’t know about you, but I always need more time – a few more hours in my day. I know we all have the same 24 hours, but for some reason, I lose a few and end up running late or behind schedule much more than I like. And that’s a problem since I have no patience for those who are chronically late. It’s my pet peeve, and yet I do it also. I saw this statement online the other day from Seth Godin, and, in […]
Goodwill Garners Goodwill
Recently, I was flying to an engagement, and the in-flight magazine had a story about a staffer with a certain airline who had gone above and beyond what was expected of a passenger who had been stranded. When others in the organization heard about his good deeds, notes and letters poured in saying his kindness was legendary, and everyone knew his name and seemed to know of some display of kindness that he had shown to others at some time. At the end of the story, the staffer mentioned that the response from his fellow employees meant the world to […]
Sometimes Holding On Does More Damage Than Letting Go
As much as we like to hang on because we all like to feel like it is the right thing to do in our personal lives or at the office or with a friend, sometimes it might be best to just let go because sometimes holding on does more damage than letting go. Now, to be fair, that is hard to do. I don’t think most of us are wired to let go; I believe we’re wired to try, try, try, and try again to make relationships work, and office politics work out to some manageable agreement or to stay connected […]
