Energy to Finish 2018 Strong

October 9, 2018 

We are in the 4^th and final quarter of 2018. Let us create the ENERGY to Finish Strong!

No matter whether you set goals for this year, or not. No matter where you are on accomplishing those goals, or not. The most important thing, right now, is to do yourself the favor of bringing all your enthusiasm and energy to your life to finish this year strong.

I love this metaphor from one of my mentors, Brendon Burchard:

“The power plant does not have the energy. It generates it.”

Energy is my favorite high performance habit because it flows through and enhances and accelerates performance on all levels – physically, mentally and emotionally.  (For easy reference, the 6 High Performance Habits, are: clarity, energy, necessity, productivity, influence and courage.¹)

So, today as we step up to the challenge of how to generate energy, I will offer 6 tips. The first 3 tips are all tactical and start...

Hello: I Am a … Role Model – here is your name badge for today… for every day. 

Indeed, I am a Role Model. You are a Role Model. We are all Role Models. The question is: When we show up in the world -- in our personal life and in our professional life -- what are we role modelling? How, exactly, are we showing up today… in this moment?  

I am inspired to write today’s Blog by the confluence of 2 recent events. First, in a recent coaching session on Influence – High Performance Habit # 5 -- we discussed this excerpt from Brendon Burchard’s new book, High Performance Habits: How Extraordinary People Become that Way, (page 248):        

“High performers give a lot of mindshare to thinking about being a role model. Seventy-one percent say they think about it daily. They say they want to be a good role model for their family, the team, and the greater community. 
….

To be clear, high...

Courage to Continue   

September 11, 2018   

On this day, 17 years ago, I stood on the curb at LaGuardia Airport on my way to an important client meeting on the 99^th floor of the World Trade Towers. I saw the unimaginable --- smoke billowing from one of the Towers. I want to dedicate this Blog on Courage to all the heroes of that day – all the First Responders, the strangers who acted to save others, the people who tragically lost their lives, and to all the family members and friends who lost loved ones.

Today, I am writing about every day courage – the courage to continue. Winston Churchill famously said:

“Success is not final,
failure is not fatal: 
it is the courage to continue that counts”

What does courage look like to you in everyday life? How do you define courage? 
 

Initially, when I thought about writing on courage – I said to myself: “Who are you to write on such a deep and profound topic?”...

Saying Thank You

August 28^th    
 

Saying Thank You is about the daily practice of gratitude, the potential to change your perception of yourself and how you see your world, the new scientific evidence supporting that you can rewire your brain, and practical advice on a range of ways to cultivate a daily gratitude practice. I will also offer an original poem – just because it comes from my heart.

Thank you, dear friends and readers.

As the Zig Ziglar quote says:

        “There are three things you can give and still keep,
          your word, a smile and a grateful heart.”

When you say, “thank you” with intention and a grateful heart, you give a gift – and you get to keep that gift. It is a wondrous example of how giving and receiving are one.

Gratitude is a foundational element in my stress management coaching practice and underlies many of the habits in high performance...

Create Your New Morning Ritual  

 August 14, 2018  

How you start your day is very important. Do you start your day off to the races with your head filled with your “To Do List?” Or do you start your day with gratitude, intention, and feeling grounded? Which way do you think best sets you up for success?

In my corporate career, I started my day at 4 AM. I made my cup of coffee, turned on CNBC to see what had happened overnight in the Asian and European markets, and to assimilate the market-moving issues that might be the focus for investors. If my Wall Street Journal was not at my door by 4 AM … I was pissed.

Ten years ago, I dramatically changed my morning routine—and transformed it into a ritual. Before I opened my eyes, I started with reflecting on 3 gratitudes for the day and took 7 deep diaphragmatic breaths. Then I arose, made my morning coffee, and settled in for an hour to read poetry, scripture and philosophy and...

Destressifying

July 30, 2018  
 

Kudos to davidji on his book “destressifying: The Real-World Guide to Personal Empowerment, Lasting Fulfillment, and Peace of Mind,” published in 2015 by Hay House. I believe this is an excellent read for people who want to learn more about the science and research into the effects of stress and discover additional tools to manage stress – “destressifying.” davidji is an internationally recognized stress-management expert, meditation master, author and former Chopra Center COO and lead educator.  Early on in his career, he was in finance and M&A on Wall Street. I knew there was something about his journey that deeply resonated with me!  Just FYI, davidji is into lower case because he feels it is more graceful and flowing. 

As many of you know, I am an avid researcher and reader. I have been all my life -- since I was a little girl in school, continuing through my career as head of...

Take Back Control: How to Escape the Flight/Fright Response

July 16, 2018

When I worked in the high-powered, hard-charging world of Wall Street as a Managing Director at a top-tier Investment Bank, I used to say I was earning an advanced degree in stress management.

I couldn’t have been more wrong. I was simply stressed – and the physical, mental and emotional consequences were significant.  

There are several chapters in Be Happy NOW!: From Wall Street Ambition and the Illusion of Success, My Path to Happiness that deal with how I learned to let go and take control. Learning how to let go is a very deep topic – one I will leave for future Blogs.

As an “INFJ” (Personality Type “The Persistent Counselor”), I now turn all my strategic and analytical skills honed over 30 years in corporate and investment banking to working with clients to understand the pernicious and pervasive health effects of stress and how to reduce their everyday...

Your Invitation to a Party: Laughter Meditation

July 3, 2018 

Let’s have some fun! It is a popular misconception that meditation is a serious undertaking, with many rules. I am inviting you to a party – a Laughter Meditation on a beach. Please watch this video for at least 60 seconds and join the party! If the spirit calls, watch it for the full 5 minutes. 

How do you feel now? Are you present in this moment? Are you feeling lighter? Did you connect with your inner child? Did you have fun? I sure did!

Thank you, Corrinne Cosseron at www.laughterscool.org for the laughter meditation.

Because Laughter Meditation is unique, some background and warm-up exercises may be helpful. I found the structure and coaching in this short 3 minute video a very good introduction.  Essentially, the steps are:

1. Warm-up by stretching your body, making some funny faces and practicing animal noises.
2. Laugh for 5 minutes – fake it until you make it!
3. Relax and breathe

...

Managing Your Stress: One Size Does Not Fit All    

June 18, 2018

Coming back from New York City and a wonderful event at BookExpo 2018, exhibiting “Be Happy NOW!”, I am reflecting on a what I used to say when people ask me if I was stressed: “Oh, I am fine, thank you. I have an advanced degree in stress. I worked on Wall Street for almost 10 years as a Managing Director.”

Now, I have advanced certifications in stress management, big difference! My perspective and understanding of the physiological and psychological effects of stress has significantly expanded since I became a Certified Stress Reduction Specialist and an affiliate of From Stressed to Best^™ as well as an MBTI^® Certified Practitioner in 2013.

As an “INFJ” (Personality Type “The Persistent Counselor”), I now turn all my strategic and analytical skills honed over 30 years in corporate and investment banking to working with clients to...

June 3, 2018
 

My coauthor, David Prudhomme, and I just returned from an amazing 4 days as an Exhibitor for Be Happy NOW! at the combined event, BOOKExpo/BookCon 2018 at the Javits Center in NYC.  We are happy to report the world of books --- publishers, publicists, librarians, authors and readers – is vibrant and HUGE. We came away with some great new connections with an award-winning transformational author and publicist, a host of a nationally ranked radio show, hundreds of avid readers and new friends and fellow authors.

Going to NYC, aka “The City”, brought back many memories and some new discoveries.  

• The first night we found a great Asian fusion restaurant in the area known as Hell’s Kitchen. My Grandma raised her family of 7, including my mother Eileen, in a tenement in Hell’s Kitchen before they moved out to Bayside, LI. Grandma worked in the men’s shirt department at Macy’s, Aunt Mary, the oldest, oversaw the crew...