22: This Is What I’m Afraid Of
For years and years (and to this day!) I didn’t let myself try things I wasn’t already good at. A pick-up game of soccer? Nah, I’ll just watch. Video games? No thanks. Slap cup? Only grudgingly because I didn’t want to feel left out. I avoid most things competitive, where others rely on me and […]
20: Why Should You Care?
One time, as a young green member of a communications team, I had to call a newsroom. The company I worked for was opening a new store, and we wanted as much publicity as we could get. A man answered the phone and asked what news I had. I put on my cheeriest voice and […]
19: I’ll Have the Opposite of What She’s Having
When I was growing up, it galled me to no end when my younger sister would “copy” me. “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,” my parents told me, but I wasn’t having it. I wanted to stand out and get distance and distinction from my family, and when my sister did or said what […]
17: 10 Networking Questions to Ask Before “So What Do You Do?”
I love networking. At least, I love meeting new people and getting to know them. It’s exciting! I can’t wait to find out what values we have in common, what people, places and experiences we share, and how we can challenge each other and move each other forward. People are fascinating. It’s amazing that you can have […]
15: When Is Enough Enough?
My weight trainer asked me to define “strong.” When I started working with her, my goal was to become strong. What does that mean? she asked. I will not bore us all with the dictionary definition, because the question on the table is what does strong mean to ME? To YOU? I was tongue-tied. “Strong” […]
14: What It Feels Like to Should On Yourself
In bed this morning, watching the stripes of daylight that came through the blinds, I had this thought: you should be making more money by now. I was thinking about a coach I’d love to hire, but she’s pricey. Yet in my fifth year of business shouldn’t I have the cash for a $15,000 investment […]
13: How Do You Know If Your Skills Are Valuable?
My sister and I were talking about skills: what we’re good at, what comes naturally to us, what we enjoy doing. I confided that when I list my skills, they sound pretty goofy*: I’m great at making friends I’m a good listener I give good relationship advice (but only when I’m asked!) I love reading […]
12: Work Is Neutral
My sweet friend Sarah sent me a surprise: a copy of Marlee Grace’s How To Not Always Be Working. I love this book. Reading it feels like giving my mind and spirit a hot rocks massage and a warm bubble bath. As Marlee explains in the introduction, she wrote the book for herself. But the more […]
8: The Work Is Showing Up Every Day
I heard recently that Seth Godin has written over 5000 blog posts, and that he considers “only half of them worth reading.” I tried to find a source for the 5000 tally, and came across this post from November 6, 2017: This is post 7,000. Seven thousand blog posts. Well over two million words. Writing […]
7: Commitment is the New Confidence
At the National Air and Space Museum today, I only teared up about four times. Three of the four times happened when I was reading about women pioneers in flying technology: Bessie Coleman, Anne Lindbergh, and Amelia Earhart. There is something about the stories of these first women that I find incredibly moving. What IS […]
