Blog
The Key to Personal Reinvention
Grandma Moses didn't pick up a paintbrush until she was 80 years old. Steve Martin became a dad for the very first time at 67. Madonna has reinvented herself every single decade. Even James Bond was trying to figure out how to be old in Skyfall.And, why is this?Because being...
Focus on the Lesson, Not the Mistake
A few weeks ago, I tried to do a good thing for someone that I had admired from afar for a long time. We belong to a small, private community of authors and speakers. He reached out to the group with an emergency, and I, along with a few others,...
Do to Dream
“Dream it, and then you can be it!”I’m calling bullshit.You know those sun-soaked, flaxen-haired, boho-chic girls in Instagram memes, the ones who blow dandelion petals into the air as they stare longingly, and yet purposefully, into the distance? This is precisely the kind of advice they give. And it’s terrible.Don’t believe...
Live a Life of Consequence
Do you sometimes feel like your life has no consequence?We want our lives to matter. We want our love to matter. And, we want our work to matter.But, how can we feel confident that it does? It starts by first figuring out your consonance.So, what is consonance?It’s best explained by...
This is My Freak Flag
I have a freak flag. I’m damned proud of it, too.And, that makes me unapologetic.That wasn’t always the case. I worked hard to fit in, to be like everyone else, to wear the right clothes, get the right jobs, say the right things. And, I was good at it, and...
Overcome the Fear We all Face
I think what makes me different as a speaker is that I have this attitude, this fearless attitude.I know that everybody who’s sitting in the audience is just as afraid of screwing up as I am.Everyone that’s in the audience listening has the same fears the rest of us do....
Bring A Bold Confidence to the Table
Seven years ago, Katherine E. Jacobs and I ate slices of the best dive NYC pizza. Immediately after, we proudly marched ourselves into the chief executive suites at the ACLU to announce it would be a capital idea to put our little search-firm-that-could on retainer. You see, we knew the demographics of...
Parenting vs Career – The Guilt Inducing Choice
No one said parenting was easy. No one said having a career was either. Being both a parent and a professional creates a constant battle between your head and heart leaving your emotions as the unintended victim.I recently read a friend’s Facebook confession of how they were feeling guilty for...
Top 20 Tips for Awesome Networking
(Disclaimer: Using these networking tips may result in an enormous Rolodex, through which you might change the world.)1. You will say something inane, at some point, to someone. Someone will reject you, look for someone more interesting, or only be half listening. Get over it. Keep going. No one really...
The One Meeting You Need to Add to Your Calendar
We hold a Family Meeting every week. It's the most important meeting in our home, and if you're not holding your own Family Meeting, it's the most important meeting you aren't attending each week.Let’s face it: it’s hard to be a perfect parent. We try to do everything, know everything,...
Leading with Confidence is the New “Fake It ‘Til Ya Make It”
Men lead with confidence. Women lead with competence.In fact, studies show that men vie for promotions, initiate salary negotiations (and ask for bigger increases when they do), and run for office with far less prompting, if any, than women.And why is that? If you ask a woman whether or not...
Being a Boss Bitch
At the 2018 Academy Awards, Frances McDormand closed a traditional Best Actress blah-blah-blah-I’d-like-to-thank-the-Academy acceptance speech with this: “I have two words to leave with you tonight, ladies and gentlemen: inclusion rider!”It was said so seriously, so oddly out of cadence with the rest of the personal, heartfelt vibe of her...