Author: Laura Gassner Otting

  • Start small, aim low, go slow

    Here we are deep into the first month of the last quarter of the year. 2024 is almost over, and already you can hear the screaming swarms of snake-oil success salesmen, cajoling you to go big in 2025. They are going to tell you to crush it, to lean in, to 10x everything. And, you…

  • Hallway Lessons with Robin Roberts

    I ran into Robin Roberts in the hallway last week before my ​latest Good Morning America appearance​. (Okay, look, I know that sentence is ridiculous. I recognize that. It makes me uncomfortable even to say it. But, we’re going to have to get through this together, because there is just no other way for me…

  • “I’m Sorry”

    Did you know that one in four people apologize for something outside of their control every day? I’m not saying we should never apologize. Genuine apologies have their place and are crucial for maintaining healthy relationships and owning up to our mistakes. But there’s a big difference between apologizing for something that genuinely requires an apology…

  • I’m Throwing It All Away

    It’s Bagster Week in my house! What’s Bagster Week? It’s the one week each year that I get to purge the piles of random, broken, and outdated “stuff” that we have accumulated. My husband is maniacal about recycling, composting, and donating. It’s honorable, and I love him for it and appreciate it deeply. But it…

  • Will Give Blood For Work

    If you follow me on social media — And if you don’t, what are you waiting for? — In my Instagram stories right now I’m demonstrating how I taught my doberman to give gentle hugs — then you know that on Saturday I was on Good Morning America. It was my fifth time, but only the second mug I…

  • Beware of Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing

    Last week, on a flight back from Los Angeles, I had a radical a-ha moment that has the potential of opening up an entire swatch of speaking clients. It was one of those head-smack-obvious-in-hindsight moments after which we feel equally proud (to have had) as annoyed (that it too so long to realize). As an…

  • How Do You Measure a Life?

    How do you measure a life? Four years ago last week we lost a giant whose thoughts on how to measure his own life were formative for so many, including me. Though emanated from his religious faith, this exercise is one we can all do. It’s been a minute since I’ve sat down to think…

  • My Word for 2024: Delight

    My word for 2024 was supposed to be EASE. But then everything changed. Last year, my word was ELEVATION. If I am to launch a new book, how do I do it in such an elevated way that I make the Wall Street Journal bestseller list? If I am to go big on public speaking,…

  • My Favorite Christmas Cookie

    I have a favorite Christmas cookie. Imagine that you are a nice Jewish Girl from Miami going home for your very first Christmas at the childhood home of a nice Catholic Boy from Cincinnati. Greeting you is your future mother-in-law, and she’s carrying the most delicious cookies you’ve ever tasted: the thumbprint cookies. They are…

  • When are You at Your Very Best?

    A couple of years ago, I gave a giant keynote to my biggest audience ever. It was one of my first talks back after COVID shut down the world. And, I was recommended to the event planner by a friend whose reputation I would never want to sully. So, you might excuse the fact that…