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When I was growing up, every year the Wizard of Oz would come on TV and the family would gather to watch it. My favorite scene was when the Wizard gave the Lion, Tinman, and Scarecrow their “gifts”. So, often when the subject of courage comes up, as it did in last week’s blog, I…

One of the most impactful books I’ve read is The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. I find that the third agreement is the hardest for me to apply: “Don’t make assumptions”. We are hardwired to run on automatic, and it is when I’m on automatic that I live and breathe my assumptions. I tell…

9/11/2001. I was supposed to be at the Pentagon that day. Just an hour before I had planned on leaving my building, I was pulled into another meeting. I remember walking into the conference room, as the first plane hit the Twin Towers. We thought it was an accident. We soon learned differently. Throughout my…

*It’s the first week of 4th grade and it’s my turn to stand in front of the room. Deciding what to share about my escapades of the last two months was a lot of pressure! Did anyone really want to hear what I did? Would I be as funny as Sam or as interesting as Molly? What difference would it make to share my story anyway?

Sometimes, it can be embarrassing to learn and grow in front of others. I’ve heard this from many top executives in my career. When you get to the top, you’re considered super-human, right?! Well, it certainly can feel like you need to be because that’s often how others treat you. One of my more memorable…

Have you ever sat in one of those meetings where the group needed to come to agreement and it just wasn’t happening? No one would budge from their stance, and frustration and tempers mounted? Reflecting back, I’ve been in way too many of those and it was a while before I broke the code. We…

I’ve always had a passion for adventure. I haven’t always, however, been courageous. I’m deathly afraid of heights, and yet I embarked on a climb to the top of Sigiriya Rock, a massive fortress standing nearly 660 feet high in the center of Sri Lanka. Centuries ago, King Kashyapa built his palace on its top.…