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What is in Your Top 10 For 2021?
What is in Your Top 10 For 2021?
"Sometimes, you have to look back in order to understand the things that lie ahead." – Yvonne Woon
Before we jump into the new year, I want to take a moment to do one more reflection on 2021. I am sure you have seen your fair share of Top 10 Lists lately (Top 10 Movies of the Year, Top 10 Artists of the Year, Top 10 Stocks to Buy, Top 10 Predictions for the Future, etc.). I want to change things up and challenge you to create your own Personal Top 10 List for t…
Seeing With Different Eyes
Are you stuck on a particular problem and need a creative solution?
Edward de Bono is a physician, psychologist, author, inventor, and philosopher who became known for the concept of lateral thinking. His book "The Six Thinking Hats" offers a practical approach to making decisions and exploring new ideas. De Bono suggests organizing the thinking process into "six thinking hats":
- White Hat: Neutral and objective, concerned with facts and figures
- Red Hat: The emotional view
- Black Hat: Carefu…
Dopesick
I have recently been captivated by the Hulu series Dopesick which is based on the bestselling book, Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America by Beth Macy. The series takes viewers to the epicenter of America's struggle with opioid addiction, from the boardrooms of Purdue Pharma to a distressed Virginia mining community to the hallways of the DEA. It is a grim and compelling picture of the opioid epidemic, which has killed hundreds of thousands of Americans over the …
Downshift to Accelerate
Did you know that time is elastic?
If you had two weeks to pack for a flight, the process of thinking, organizing, and eventually packing could easily elongate itself to fill that time. But time can also be condensed because if you suddenly realized your flight left in two hours… you would get hyper-focused and still get it all done, right? This is part of my theory behind the four-day workweek.
What if it has nothing to do with working harder and instead everything to do with our ability to f…
From Reactivity to Creativity
How do you go from reactivity to creativity?
It’s a challenging world these days, and things are coming at us from every direction. But those who can consistently turn reactivity into creativity are always the ones who are most capable of navigating the shifting winds on the ocean of success.
When we encounter a challenge that appears to be an “impossible situation,” our internal process responds by falling into an unresourceful state. However, when we stay open to new possibilities, our inter…
From Resign to Re-Align
Let's Shift From Resign to Re-Align
Over the past few months, many people have asked me what my thoughts are about the Great Resignation. I have many viewpoints on this growing trend, and I have gathered a lot of insights from leaders, professionals in transition, and thought partners I have talked to recently. With people leaving their jobs in record numbers, the impact of this trend will have a long-term effect on everyone, so it is no surprise that this topic is on everyone's minds.
The pan…
The Eightfold Path: The Way of the Buddhist Leader
I have always been intrigued by the art, the stories, and the teaching of Buddhism, but my understanding of the Buddha's teachings took on new meaning when I became a coach. As I started to open myself up to the ideas of enlightenment, I immersed myself in reading books by Pema Chodron, Matthieu Ricard, Thich Nhat Hanh, and the Dalai Lama. I even committed to spending a month in India tracing the historic steps of Buddha in Sarnath and Varanasi.
Sarnath was the place where Siddhartha Gautama, B…
Are You Committed to Something Bigger than Yourself?
"A single individual driven by a purpose can change the world." – Peter Diamandis
Do you ever think about how you contribute to the world at large? You may be thinking I am only one person; what I do makes no difference in the larger scheme of things. How wrong you can be!
If you take a step back from the day-to-day activities of your life and you look at what you do in the context of the big picture, you can start to see something incredible. Your contribution (no matter how small) makes an i…
Connect with your Story and Use it to Propel Yourself Forward
"The stories we tell literally make the world. If you want to change the world, you need to change your story." – Michael Margolis
As I started to interview people for my podcast, The Virtual Campfire, I realized how powerful our personal stories can be. Our past is not something to run away from; it is something to embrace, reconcile with, and use as a powerful lever to move us into the future. When you commit to understanding and owning your true story, you uncover things you never clearly un…
Nothing Is As It Seems
“Nothing Is As It seems,” to take a riff off of an old Pearl Jam song.
It’s easy to look around and see people looking like rockstars on social media, perfectly put together on LinkedIn or like they have got it all figured out on Zoom.
But what we see on the surface can be misleading, and without really knowing the world beneath it, we can make up all kinds of stories.
This can be a huge disservice to our careers because without even realizing it, we can create separation between ourselves a…