Living What You Love

Ask yourself: Are you living your version of the dream - or someone else's?

As we all know—and often feel—time passes much more quickly than we’d like. As I approach my 55th year on this amazing roller coaster ride called life, I find myself becoming more reflective and grateful, and far less regretful about the choices I’ve made—both personally and professionally. I’ve also become more honest with myself about where I invest my time, and I’ve grown much more selective about choosing to do the things I love, rather than just the things I like.

I can say from personal experience that I’ve fallen into the trap of self-limiting beliefs—and even now, I occasionally find myself drifting back there. If you’re unfamiliar with the term, it refers to the assumptions or perceptions we have about ourselves and the world around us. These beliefs create mental barriers that hold us back from pursuing our goals or discovering our true purpose and passion.

You may have heard someone respond to the question, “How’s it going?” with a sarcastic, “Living the dream.” I’ve heard this phrase used frequently in the workplace, and often, it’s a sign that the person may not be living their dream at all. It could be a cue that it’s time to reflect and start doing the inner work to discover what truly ignites your passion—the things that challenge you, fulfill you, and light you up. The things you love, not just the things you like.

Sometimes, people become trapped by what’s known as “The Golden Handcuffs”—a term used to describe being bound to a job for the sake of salary and benefits, even if the work leaves them feeling unfulfilled. While these financial rewards can be valuable, they may also contribute to long-term frustration and resentment if they come at the cost of personal satisfaction and purpose.

Of course, money, benefits, and incentives are wonderful—if they support a life centered on doing what you love, not merely what you tolerate. Over the years, I’ve met people who are financially wealthy but deeply unhappy, as well as those who live modestly and are genuinely content with their lives. Time is finite, and I truly believe that each of us has a unique purpose and gift to share—with ourselves and with others. That gift should be rooted in something you love, not just something you like.

Curious to learn more? Feel free to schedule a call. We can discuss the different ways I can help you develop teams and a culture built on trust through my proven leadership workshops, training programs, and 1:1 performance coaching. Taking responsibility is taking action—and taking action leads to results!

Leadership in Uncertain Times

Fostering unity, support and respect in challenging times

It’s such an interesting time we’re all experiencing right now. There’s so much division being created in the world—and so much happening within our own country. Just to be completely upfront, this blog is not about political beliefs. There’s already more than enough of that being shared on social media, and in my opinion, it seems to be causing more harm than good. Again—that’s just my opinion!

I’m writing this with the hope of fostering connection and encouraging support as we face the uncertainty and fear that often drive a wedge between us. Of course, this is easier said than done. The uncertainty and fear we’re experiencing are, for the most part, beyond our control—unless, of course, we’re creating them ourselves. If we continue to consume the constant stream of news and social media, it’s inevitable that the division will grow and ultimately push us even further apart.

So, what can we do to create more connection, support, community—and ultimately, more love and less hate?

Let’s talk about Leadership. Leadership always plays a significant role in setting the tone and direction. If leadership is critical to creating unity, connection, support, and sound decision-making, then we must ask ourselves: What kind of leader do I want to be—for myself and for those around me?

Jim Rohn has a famous quote that I believe to be true: “Work harder on yourself than you do on your job.” This means you're not passively waiting to be told or shown what to do. Instead, you're actively driving your own path to personal development. You're investing time in figuring out how to improve yourself and positively impact those around you. Being a self-actualizing person—or leader—means you’re in competition with only one person: yourself.

When we make intentional decisions to show respect—for ourselves and for others—we’re also choosing how we show up in the world. When we feel the urge to express anger, fear, or hate, or to say something potentially hurtful or disrespectful, can we pause and choose our next words or actions more carefully? We can ask ourselves: What will be the impact of what I’m about to say or do? Will my words be helpful or harmful? Do I have the emotional maturity to disagree with someone while still respecting their perspective?

As we move through 2025 with so much uncertainty ahead, one thing we can take full responsibility for is ourselves—our words, our actions, and how we choose to interact with others. I don’t believe being passive is the answer, and I don’t believe being aggressive is either. The sweet spot lies somewhere in the middle. Knowing the difference between the two will help you build stronger connections—and become the kind of leader others want to follow.

Curious to learn more? Feel free to schedule a call. We can discuss the different ways I can help you develop teams and a culture built on trust through my proven leadership workshops, training programs, and 1:1 performance coaching. Taking responsibility is taking action—and taking action leads to results!

Emotional Intelligence

Unlock the Power of Your Emotions for Personal and Professional Success

I find it interesting to observe and understand these things called EMOTIONS. As a practitioner of Emotional Intelligence I have spent years learning, understanding, and teaching the fundamentals of Emotional Intelligence and how it can assist or hinder our personal and professional relationships. Often, I’m asked, “what is the difference between our I.Q. (Intelligence Quotient) and our E.Q. (Emotional Quotient)?” I.Q. is a measure of a person’s reasoning ability and can be measured by taking an I.Q. test which is supposed to gauge how well someone can use information and logic to answer questions or make predictions. E.Q., also known as Emotional Intelligence, or E.I., is our ability to understand, use and manage our own emotions in positive ways to relieve stress, communicate effectively, demonstrate empathy with others, overcome challenges and defuse conflict.

There have been numerous studies done on I.Q. and E.I.  and both hold value, however the research time and time again shows that having a high Emotional Intelligence is a good predictor of success in many areas of our lives. So, what are some of the areas of E.I.  that we should be aware of so we can become better personally and professionally? 

-  Empathy - the ability to empathize with others is a very important part of a person’s Emotional Intelligence.  Meaning you can appreciate someone else’s feelings, and you empathize from a place of listening curiously as opposed to judging.

-  Self-awareness - our ability to understand our own strengths and limitations as well as sense and understand others contributes to a higher E.I.-  Stress management - often one of the most difficult aspects of our work and personal lives. To manage and understand stress we need to embrace flexibility and optimism, meaning that we can adapt to unpredictable circumstances. We can also view problems as a learning opportunity during times of stress and high emotions. 

The great thing about our Emotional Intelligence is that it can be developed and improved at any time in our lives.  Becoming Emotionally Intelligent is viewed as a core competency and part of a skill set that allows us to build more confidence, self-esteem and ultimately foster stronger positive relationships. 

Curious to learn more about yourself and how to increase your Emotional Intelligence? Reach out and get a conversation started, we’re here to help!

So Many Distractions...

There are so many distractions to take our mind in so many different directions today. Outside distractions, as well as inside distractions, and both can take us down different rabbit holes. Before we know it, we’ve spent so much time on things that don’t hold a lot of value.

So, what do these distractions look or sound like? The outside noise is rapid and comes with such volume that it can be intimidating. At times we feel like we are drinking from a fire hose! Social media platforms, all the various feeds for news, and of course always having our device with us and ready to view 24/7 can often be our loudest noise. I’m not against any of these things, as they can hold great value if we choose to treat them with care; working hard at not allowing all the fear, shame, guilt, judgement and comparison that can easily happen if we immerse ourselves in our devices. Everything in moderation as the saying goes. Our ‘inside’ distractions can easily be magnified by these outside ones, as we typically produce around 65,000 thoughts a day! I know that sounds like a lot, and it truly is, but the important thing to keep in mind is whether these thoughts are controlling us, or are we controlling our thoughts?

I would prefer that I decide  how to control these thoughts. I find a lot of peace in knowing that I’m accountable for my thoughts, and my responses, and I get to decide how these work every single day. Things like meditation, journaling, practicing emotional intelligence are all ways for each of us to stay present, grounded and work towards much more satisfying thoughts and relationships. Of course, things will happen that we don’t want, or we never expected… this is called life! We all want to experience joy and not pain, but the reality is both will take place in our lives. Your ability to get back up and keep going depends on how you handle the noise. Ultimately you are in control of your thoughts and the distractions!

Power vs. Influence

Working for a leader, which do you prefer: a leader who exudes power in order to get you to do your job or a leader who influences you to see the value in yourself and your work? In my experience people want influence over power every time. In today’s fast paced businesses, however, many leaders fall victim to using power and end up creating separation within teams, eroding relationships and ultimately breaking down all forms of trust.  Influencing people as a leader holds so much value and ends up creating a positive workplace culture. 

As a Leader, if you come to the realization that you are hitting the Easy Button, aka, The Power Button not to worry you can make the change. Rather than pointing blame or looking to hold people accountable as a way of authority, try to be curious about what people offer, even when they make mistakes and people do make mistakes!  Also, look for the moments when you can give recognition when people/teams achieve or do something that warrants acknowledgement from you as the Leader. Promote transparency and be critical about ‘what’ went wrong and not ‘who’ did wrong. 

The more self aware you become of the Power Button and start paying attention to ways to encourage and influence, the better relationships you will form with these fine people who come in to do the work everyday.  Influence people to be the best version of themselves and you will be on your way to building great teams and becoming a great Leader who will be remembered in very positive way!