“One of the greatest necessities in America is to discover
creative solitude.”
Carl Sandburg
________
Reflections
“One of the greatest necessities in America is to discover creative solitude.”
Carl Sandburg
________
Reflections
If Only We Paid Closer Attention…
"History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes." Credited to Mark Twain As I’ve been holed up in my house like everyone else, I’ve developed an insatiable appetite for documentaries. Especially documentaries about horrible diseases. Morbid I know. I watched a...
A deep distress hath humanized my soul.
Here is the entire stanza from a William Wordsmith’s poem published in 1807. So once it would have been—'tis so no more; I have submitted to a new control: A power is gone, which nothing can restore; A deep distress hath humanized my soul. Very prescient words written...
We Need Each Other
“Our comforting conviction that the world makes sense rests on a secure foundation-- our almost unlimited ability to ignore our ignorance. “ Daniel Kahneman The past few weeks have really shaken our sense that our world rests on a secure foundation. And that...
Travelling with Pomegranates
This is a blog that I wrote a few years ago, and it really resonated with women, especially mothers. So I thought I’d reprint it again during Women’s History Month. I really enjoyed Sue Monk Kidd’s novel, The Secret Life of Bees, and when I had a few moments in the...
My own “Tennessee Mountain Home”
I’ve never paid much attention to Dolly Parton. I’ve admired her for being her own person and doing exactly what she wanted, but I haven’t listened to her music or visited Dollywood in Tennessee. A friend recently recommended the podcast “Dolly Parton’s America.” I...
Have you spent enough time diagnosing the problem?
Einstein realized that it is as important to see the problem clearly as to see the solution. Many clients will come to me convinced that they know what their problem is and just want me to help them with the solution. For example, many leaders struggle with...
Did you see your shadow on Groundhog’s Day?
Will you have six more weeks of Winter or an early Spring? I’ve often wondered why we have Groundhog’s Day but haven’t wondered hard enough to google it. On a recent cold, cloudy, snow-packed day, I decided to look it up. It actually has Native American roots,...
The Elephant in the Room
We’ve all heard the phrase, “the elephant in the room.” It’s defined by the Cambridge Dictionary as “an obvious problem or difficult situation that people do not want to talk about. Difficult situations and unpleasant experiences. a (heavy) cross to bear idiom.” When...
The Power of One
The title of a recent article in HBR, “How One Person Can Change the Conscience of an Organization” captured my attention as I often work with leaders who feel they can’t bring meaningful change to their organizations as they aren’t the CEO or they have a “difficult”...
Who do you want to “be” in 2020?
I have been trying to not binge watch the newest season of The Crown. I like to stretch out the pleasure. Unfortunately, I’m already through episode 7. The episode that has touched me so far (whether or not it is historically accurate) is the episode where men walk on...
Our Backstage Selves
One of the things I like best about coaching is that I provide a secure, confidential setting for clients to be themselves. Whether at work, home, socially or online, we constantly are performing the best version of ourselves. It’s always been true that we attempt to...
Knowing when and how to “pull rank”
I love the Netflix show, “The Crown” about the English monarchy from the mid- 20th century till now. The third season is about to drop and Helena Bonham Carter will be playing Princess Margaret in her middle years. Most of us don’t have the initials HRH behind our...
