I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work. ~ attributed to Thomas Edison with regard to creating the lightbulb This quote makes me think about a situation I experienced while serving as a board member for a non-profit organization. I had worked for weeks to prepare what I thought was an amazing agenda for an important two-day meeting. Unfortunately when meeting time rolled around, a lot of things happened that resulted in … Read More
I’m reading an interesting book called Fast Minds, by Craig Surman, MD & Tim Bilkey, MD. It’s a self-help book for folks with ADHD or who think they may have ADHD. This morning I came across a couple of sentences I want to share with you. “ We want to reiterate here that we feel one of the most important times to protect in life is planning time. Without stepping outside the busyness of the day-to-day activities … Read More
A lot of the work we do in professional coaching is around perspectives – looking at things differently, examining things from a different point of view. This photo was taken from an altitude of about 30,000 feet. It is a great visual representation of the different perspective available from that place. From 30,000 feet we’re able to grasp, ever so tenuously, the enormity of it all. Sensing this enormity invites us into a space where we can … Read More
This is the bookshelf in my office. Over the years, I’ve accumulated lots of books on myriad topics such as Home Staging, Feng Shui, Hoarding, Coaching, ADHD and surprise, Organizing. The top four shelves house reference materials while the bottom shelf holds primarily project materials. Over the years I’ve become more selective about what resides on these shelves. This bookshelf only contains materials I consider to be of value at any point in time. Materials no longer … Read More
We dropped off our twins off at college this week. For the first time since September of 1994 there are no children living in our house. My husband and I have had countless people comment to us over the past few weeks about how we would soon be empty nesters. The more I hear the term empty nester though the less I like it. Webster’s Dictionary tells me the term was first used in 1962 and means … Read More
A while back I wrote about the practice of keeping a gratitude journal. In it I mentioned that before actively practicing gratitude I would lie in bed after a bad day and ruminate on what went wrong and worry about everything else that might go wrong as a result. Before integrating the regular practice of gratitude into my life, last night could have looked like this: Me lying in bed reliving Cleveland Indian’s pitcher Perez’s atrocious performance, … Read More
How many pieces of paper are sitting on your desk right now? Have you given much thought to why they’re sitting there? What’s keeping them from being processed / moving off of your desk? Typically when papers pile up on my desk or a client’s desk it’s because the next steps that need to be taken for each of those papers is either not identified or it has been identified but not yet taken. I thought about this … Read More
I just spent the past few minutes reviewing my best practices. I actually have a “best practice” of reviewing my best practices each morning before I get out of bed. I find that it helps center and ground me by reminding me of what’s most important for a good day. What exactly is a best practice you ask? Well, Wikipedia defines a best practice as, “a method or technique that has consistently shown results superior to those achieved with … Read More
A few years ago, my father gave me a gift that continues to keep giving. It is a one page document containing information I would need to know to settle his and my mother’s affairs should something happen to them. Information so important that we keep this document in our safety deposit box. Since that time I have created a similar document for my family. Is this document all inclusive? No. Have my father and I thought … Read More
“Your baskets were a hit! Thx so much.” That’s the message my sister texted me the day after her son’s elementary school PTO’s annual basket auction. The baskets she was referring to were about 25 various shapes and sizes of Longaberger Baskets that had been sitting packed away in my basement for the past six years. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Longaberger baskets, they are a collectible woven maple basket sold through home parties. They … Read More