5 tips to be a successful leader

When I was working my way up through the business world, I had very few bosses I emulated. It appeared to me that to “make it” to the top, you had to work 100 hours a week and expect your employees to do the same. You had to be somewhat cut-throat and keenly competitive with others at your level within the organization. And it didn’t appear that empathy had anything to do with business.

I know a lot of that still goes on but was encouraged to read an article today in The Washington Post by Aaron Gregg and Thomas Heath about three executives from the DC area who were rated “the highest” by their employees. These are bosses you can look up for who they are – as well as for what they accomplish.

What’s cool is that these principles apply whether you’re running a small, medium, or large company. And they apply if you aren’t running a company at all! They’re simply great life ideas. Continue reading

Eyerolls and sighs

I’m a big believer in following a high energy path with anything you’re working on. If you don’t feel energy at the center of your body when you think about next steps in what you’re doing, it may be time for a change.

Eye rolls and sighs are your body’s clue that you’re on a low energy path. Sometimes these are obvious – oh, my! But sometimes only you can see and hear them like maybe when: Continue reading

Finding joy in caregiving

One of the cool things about bringing programs to our library is that I get to choose the topics and speakers, and I get to attend! I have learned so much over the last two years about squirrels, birds, writing, songwriting, democracy, art, travel, and much more.

Last week I had a new author in, John Eric Baugher, to talk about his book Contemplative Caregiving: Finding Healing, Compassion, and Spiritual Growth Through End-of-Life Care. Here are seven things I learned from John’s 25+ years of working in hospice that every end-of-life caregiver should know.

And honestly, I’m posting these today because they’re great advice for all of us no matter what we’re tasked with. Continue reading

Health is Happiness

Each spring, I learn something new listening to the Food Revolution Summit. One of my favorite take-aways from last week’s Summit was about “lifestyle medicine” which is all about being healthy (and productive!) with help from lifestyle changes versus being healthy from taking meds.

One lifestyle change you can make is to eat more plant-based food and fewer animal products. If you think about the entire history of mankind, it’s only recently that we’ve had the money, refrigeration, and resources to eat meat up to three times a day v. just on special occasions! And it’s only been recently that we hear about diabetes starting earlier in life. About more heart disease. About more cancer.

So why not fight back and take a baby step to change one meal a day to be plant-based? Continue reading

Add some G-BOMBS to your diet

Healthy people get stuff done. We are focused. We have good energy. We are productive.

A huge, huge part of being healthy and feeling great depends on the food you put in your body. If you feel bad after eating – you’re tired, acidic, foggy – that’s your body’s way of telling you that something is not right. If this is happening to you, track what you eat and how you feel after eating for a week or so, and then start experimenting to isolate the variables. Continue reading

Pay attention to coincidences!

Life is full of chance encounters that aren’t as random as they seem. The person you sit next to on a plane that gives you an idea for a new project. A conversation you have that months later leads you down a new path. The choice you made buying a house or choosing a school that led to all sorts of new relationships. A book you pulled from a shelf that gave you new insight on how the world works.

My latest awesome coincidence came out of the writers’ group at the library. One of our attendees mentioned, in passing, that she had a friend who wanted her to read The Artist’s Way. That led to our Artist’s Way group which has set me off in all sorts of new directions with writing as well as with beads. And all it took was listening as Tyche mentioned a book and a desire. And then listening to my gut to take action.

When I started this blog, I wrote about my Book of Coincidences. Here’s how that started… Continue reading

Out of a rut and onto a curious path

When you’re in a rut it’s a great idea to get off the path you’re on. You never know what cool thing is just around the corner. Or maybe your next great idea is hiding in front of you in plain sight. All it takes to find it is a little curiosity.

Here are a few ideas to jump-start your energy and get you onto a new, curious path. Continue reading

The Food Revolution Summit is coming right up!

If you’re not healthy, it’s hard to get organized. And what’s at the core of good health? Good food!

Every April, the Food Revolution Network holds a free online Summit with a mix of speakers talking about the latest in food health. That may sound dry, but I’ve listened for the past 5 years and the content is always insightful and helpful. The speakers are top-notch; many are doctors with new ideas about food-health. And it’s free – as long as you resist buying their “empowerment” package! Continue reading

Add a spoonful of JOY

When people are struggling to get organized, the weirdest piece of advice I give them is to add something to their to-do list: Joy. It is counter-intuitive. Why not just focus on the multitude of tasks at hand?

Because if you’re struggling, it means you don’t want to tackle the tasks at hand. They seem like chores. They’re heavy. They’re things that have to be done. Yep. So add one more: Joy.

Continue reading