I admit it. I like football. Until my daughters-in-law came on the scene, I was the only female in my immediate family, so going to football games, watching football on TV, and talking about football was inevitable. My choices were to: 1) Be miserable from mid-August until early February or… 2) Learn to enjoy and appreciate the game. I chose option #2. Like all sports, football teaches some life lessons. A primary one is, “Don’t look back.” Certainly one of the most exciting plays in a game occurs when a ball carrier breaks away from the pack and sprints down the field headed for the goal line. If he crosses the goal line and scores, it’s a thrilling moment for… [Read More]
Unplug
It’s summer. And because of school schedules, it’s typically the time of year that many people choose to take a vacation. The root word of vacation is “vacate” which means to empty, free, divest, remove, clear out, leave, quit, relinquish, depart, check out, resign from, depart from…you get the picture. But how many of us really do that? When you’re on vacation, do you – can you – unplug? Can you free yourself from your phone and other devices? Can you truly let go of what’s going on at the office and enjoy your time off? It’s not easy, is it? Technology makes it so easy to stay connected and so hard to let go of what’s happening “back at… [Read More]
Safe Zone
One aspect of my work that gives me tremendous satisfaction involves working with people who want to improve their presentation and communication skills. The learning is particularly effective in a group setting where people have the opportunity to work together and see the amazing transformation that takes place. As we often do, my colleague and friend, Dr. Shirley Garrett, and I recently spent the better part of a week working with a group of bright, interesting, high-level executives. We have discovered that even people who are experienced, mature professionals are often anxious – even terrified – at the prospect of presenting their thoughts, ideas, and information in front of an audience. The thought of “putting themselves out there” and being… [Read More]
Stop Whining!
I have very little patience with whiners. You know – those people who snivel or complain in a peevish, self-pitying way. In fact, a family mantra that we frequently repeat to our grandchildren is this: “Alexanders don’t whine!” It’s annoying when children whine; when adults whine, it’s a serious irritant. On a trip to the Monterey/Carmel area of California, I visited one of Monterey’s best attractions – the city’s world-class aquarium. The aquarium houses not only a fantastic collection of aquatic life but also a small exhibit dedicated to the sardine industry that once made Monterey Bay the sardine capitol of the world. In the first two decades of the twentieth century, the canneries produced as many as 1,400,000 cases… [Read More]
All You Need Is Love. Really.
In 1967, The Beatles released a song called, “All You Need is Love”. The words of the chorus summed up the simple message: All you need is love, Ta-da-da-da-da, All you need is love, Ta-da-da-da-da, All you need is love, love; Love is all you need. The Beatles manager Brian Epstein said of the song, which became something of an anthem for the “love” generation, “The nice thing about it is that it cannot be misinterpreted. It is a clear message saying that love is everything.” While this message may cause many of us to raise our eyebrows, shake our heads, roll our eyes, and skeptically say, “Yeah, right! What about money and a job and a home and… [Read More]
