Life lessons

The Emotion of Worry

I am continuing with my series on emotions. I started with anger because anger really hurts you and those around you. Remember, anger is a cancer to your soul. So, to have a happy life, you have to let it go. Then, I talked about the pain of shame. Shame is a failure to meet your own standard of behavior, and this emotion will wreak havoc in your life if you’re not careful. And I added in the thought that you that you should stop thinking that others have to accept your forgiveness for you to be forgiven. They don’t. […]

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 […]

Garbage In, Garbage Out

Seriously, I have no idea why people watch TV. Consider this a rant (and forgive me if you feel otherwise): in the space of two minutes of my clicking through TV channels in my hotel room, I saw horrifying and gruesome abuse (directed towards women), physical beatings of men and women, vulgar language and inappropriate insinuation of harm to kids. And we wonder what is wrong with our world! I have never been a big TV watcher. I taught myself years ago to put down the remote down and pick up a book. While I love any TV adventure that […]

The Emotion of Jealousy

I am going to continue with my theme of emotions, which are causing you harm… because I want you to understand that you are more than how you feel, and you can (with help) heal the damaged places in your heart and mind. 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 […]

Normal Is for Others. Amazing Is for You.

Recently, I was speaking at a conference, and one of the other speakers quoted Maya Angelou, “If you are always trying to be normal, you will never know how amazing you can be.” And I got to thinking that is a really great thought IF you could convince yourself to let go of the low expectations you have placed on yourself and then consider how working to be amazing would be a game changer for the rest of your life. What I have seen is that many people work and strive for “normal” (whatever that is), and in doing so, they give just enough instead of knocking […]

Outside of the Box

I was reading an article online last week and came across an interesting job interview question for one of my clients that dealt with thinking outside of the box. I know you’ve heard that phrase over and over, so it is not new, but I wonder why so many seem to stay in their boxes instead of moving forward, sideward, or upwards in life. Is it because they are so comfortable in the rut of sameness? Or have they ground their wheels so deep into the mud that they can never get out and go anywhere interesting? You’re familiar with […]

You are the message

You are the message Recently, I was having dinner with a friend, and we were talking about one’s life being the message they send to the world, and that got me thinking about the title of an old political book I read years ago by Roger Ailes called You Are the Message. For me, it was a book for those considering a life in public office to remind us that every deed, every word, every action is a reflection of who we are and how we would be seen by others. From the Amazon website about, the book, it says, […]

The Emotion of Shame

I am continuing with my theme of emotions, which are causing you harm because I want you to understand that you are more than how you feel and that you can (with help) heal the damaged places in your heart and mind. So, let’s continue… 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. And then I spoke on jealousy, that green-eyed monster that will wreck your perfectly happy home and make you (a […]

Your Two Most Valuable Assets

In an article in the Wall Street Journal, hotelier Ben Weprin said, “The best business advice I’ve ever received came from Sam Zell, who told me the most important thing is Shem Tov, which means your name and your integrity. Make all your decisions upon protecting those. I am an avid reader, and I love the WSJ for the front page and the weekend edition listings of all the amazing homes for sale. In the Life section, they feature celebrities and a listing of about twenty questions. In one of the questions, the idea of business advice was posted, and […]