Honoring Courage

October 9, 2020

In this October Blog, I feel strongly it is important to speak out and honor our collective struggles and honor courage in facing the unprecedented challenges of this 2020 year of pandemic. 

Initially, I had a very different message in mind … something like Fierce Focus, with an eye to closing the year strong. Honoring Courage is the message that sang to my heart. May it uplift and inspire you – and support you in moving forward. 

Our focus in this newsletter is on courage -- acts of courage to face our fears and move forward in the midst of uncertainty and during what can appear, at times, to be a chaotic landscape. 

I want to start with a solemn prayer and tribute to the 211,844 people in the USA and the 1,056,493 people worldwide who passed over this year after a struggle with COVID 19. (Data from Johns Hopkin’s University as of October 8^th.) This is a personal and universally shared tragedy.  I mourn...

My Morning Ritual

August 30, 2020 

Good morning! How do you welcome each new day? I am going to share my Morning Ritual because I passionately believe how you start your day is vitally important to managing stress and improving your energy at the get-go, every day. 

Recently, I was honored to give a presentation at Lakeside Chautauqua: “How to Manage Stress During a Pandemic.”  The emotional contagion of stress is as important as the viral contagion of COVID-19, in my opinion. I reviewed the array of research and advice from experts of the top 5 or 10 or 17 things people could do to better manage stress during the pandemic and constantly changing landscape of advice. 

I chose a different approach. In my opinion and experience, focus and consistency are paramount. The ONE most important thing to do is carve out the first 32 minutes of the day for a Morning Ritual.   

I am sharing my Morning Ritual as an example to get started and...

August 5, 2020 

Serendipity!

For the entire month of July, I have been posting on the many faces of courage, counting my two most recent Blogs and innumerable Facebook posts.  I was just starting to plan a pivot to a related theme for my first Blog in August, when Jackie Acho's Blog, "Choosing Life Over Fear" arrived in my email. 

As soon as I read her piece, I wanted to ask permission to feature her as a guest writer this month. I immediately reached out to Jackie for permission to share her Blog with my readers. Being the open and generous person that she is -- Jackie immediately said, "Yes!" 

I love this Blog for so many  reasons. First and foremost, Jackie writes from the heart and provides a first-hand, up-close-and personal account of what it means to choose life over fear. If you have battled cancer, I think you will hear a kindred heart. In addition, I believe all of us know a family member or friend who has battled cancer and this may help us...

YOUR MIRROR OF COURAGE

July 22, 2020
 

My early July Blog, “Acts of Courage,” was just a warm-up. Let us look a little deeper. In fact, let us stand up and look in a mirror. If you do not have a full length mirror handy, use your imagination to see yourself.  

This is an exercise I love from our Certified High Performance Coaching^™ Program. Stand in front of the mirror and see yourself as your most courageous self. What do you see – in the mirror or in your mind's eye?   

Be specific.

• Are your feet solidly planted on the ground, with your feet shoulder width apart? You are not on your heels – or leaning back, right?
• Are your shoulders straight and your posture erect, like you have an imaginary cord pulling you up to the ceiling? Your shoulders are not slumped, you are not hunched forward, right?
• Are your hands expressive, reaching out, palms open and inviting? Your arms are not crossed, or rigid at your side, or behind...

Total Immersion Retreat:  High Performance Habits 

Held at the Historic Holt Lake House on Catawba Island 

August 6 - August 9, 2020

I am opening my historic Lake House overlooking Lake Erie for a Summer 2020 Total Immersion Retreat, from the evening of Thursday, August 6, through noon, Sunday, August 9^th. 

Experience the joy and confidence of consistently living from your best self. Invest in yourself and learn the tools and science behind high performance habits – the habits that move the needle most -- to get you from where you are to where you want to be. 

This is a small, intimate, intensely energizing 2 ½- days for women to launch positive changes in their personal lives and make rapid advancement in their professional lives. In keeping with the new protocols, registration is limited to five applicants.  

The Total Immersion Retreat in High Performance Habits is designed for women to dedicate the time to go deeply...

ACTS OF COURAGE

July 2, 2020 

“Excessive caution destroys the soul and the heart, because
living is an act of courage, and
an act of courage is always an act of love.”

This is a quote from Manuscript Found in Accra, a captivating novel by best-selling author Paulo Coelho, published in 2012. It is a story of a city under siege, where Jews, Christians, and Muslims live together peacefully and are preparing for annihilation from the armies of the Crusades. The novel is a series of parables as spoken by a Sage about love, faith, friendship, bravery, community and uncovering the sources of human fears and anxieties, written down to preserve the wisdom of the city’s soul.

To be clear, by choosing this quote, I am not talking about the current controversy of whether to wear face masks or not. Coelho is speaking to life and death issues – from the great wisdom traditions.  

Our focus in this newsletter is on courage -- acts of courage to...

Our Challenge to Change Ourselves 

April 4, 2020  

First and most important, I am sending healing energy and deep gratitude for your service to everyone on the front-lines of this global COVID-19 pandemic – doctors, nurses, hospital staff, EMS, FEMA, people working, stocking and delivering to the grocery stores, and retailers, restaurants open for take-out meals, schools serving meals and teachers calling students, our nonprofits such as United Way, Salvation Army, volunteers at Food Pantries and Pay-It-Forward Cafe's, like our local Bistro 163, the public policy leaders of our cities and states, – and the list goes on and on. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

My heart goes out to everyone who has lost loved ones to COVID-19 and to families that have suffered losses at this time of physical distancing and cannot feel the warmth of hugs and solace from friends, near and far. There are huge economic challenges  -- unprecedented in my...

What is High Performance?  

March 6, 2020 

What is high performance?

Some people tell me they see it as applying to high achievers in a corporate setting, on a career track. Other people think of it as applying to athletes. As a Certified High Performance^™ Coach, we have a broader definition – one that can apply to anyone, anywhere, at any age – who has a growth mindset. 

In our program, High Performance means succeeding beyond standard norms consistently over the long term. You craft your own specific definition for where you are in your life right now, professionally or personally. Equally important, High Performance is the ongoing feeling of full engagement, joy and confidence that comes from consistently living from your best self. You know it, when you feel the JOY! 

I love to give people options – because we all learn differently, and we have different time and financial constraints. This week, I am want to share a number...

How Do You Manage Your Time? 

February 14, 2020

I am going to continue the theme from last month on productivity by asking, “How do you manage your time? 

One might take this question in many directions – it is a deep and complex question. For now, my focus is quite specific and will use the MBTI^® Personality Type framework.  We will focus on the 4^th letter in the 4-Letter Personality Type, the “J” or “P” preference. 

There is often some confusion and misinterpretation about this 4^th letter – our preference for how we organize our life and manage our time – where the “J” is Judging, and the “P” is Perceiving. A note of caution: “J” does not mean judgment and “P” does not mean perception. There are no right or wrong, good or bad preferences in this framework. Rather, we all go about organizing our life and managing our time differently. The population is...

My Top 5 Productivity Breakthroughs 

January 20, 2020 
 

Is your year going according to plan?  My honest answer … is Yes… and No. Overall, things are not exactly smooth and going according to my plan! 

We are 20 days into 2020… the start of a new year, the start of a new decade. How can plans and good intentions get off track so quickly? Cripes!!

Personally, I am working on my energy levels – physically, mentally and emotionally. I am stretched – in a good way – and working on how I dig deep to persevere, and how to take my productivity habits to the next level.

So, let’s talk perseverance and productivity!

Here are my Top 5 Productivity Breakthroughs culled from years of experience in the corporate world, the lessons in my Certified High Performance Coaching Program^™ and the insights from my From Stressed To Best^™ practice:

1. Create Your Own Morning Ritual: This morning ritual is a 3-part...