“Learning is the antidote to fear, prejudice, bias, and to becoming obsolete.” ― Kate Nassar Life is a journey of highs and lows, gifts, and sacrifices — and the many planned and unexpected events. When I talk like this I sound like my mother and grandmother....
You can still make new friends when wearing a mask. Your eyes carry your smile. — Leslie Yerkes On my recent first plane trip since the onset of the pandemic and my first trip out of the country in over two years, I found the world waiting and people willing to...
“Sometimes it takes a total break to lead to complete healing and restoration.” ― Karen Pennington I took myself to a different place and discovered all sorts of things. After two years of no plane travel and many canceled trips and engagements, I boarded a...
“Rescue me,Oh take me in your arms.Rescue meI want your tender charms.’Cuz I’m lonely and I’m blue.I need you and your love, too.Come on and rescue me.” — Raynard Miner & Carl Smith Some people would tell you that I have dogs,...
“If you could only sense how important you are to the lives of those you meet;how important you can be to the people you may never even dream of.There is something of yourself that you leave at every meeting with another person.” — Fred Rogers ...
“Never be a prisoner of your past. It was just a lesson, not a life sentence.” — Anonymous I really appreciate it when one of my blogs sparks a reaction. I write from what I observe and hear. So, to add to that collection of themes really broadens...
“Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future.” ― Niels Bohr Never has the challenge of finding the skilled talent, filling and fitting positions, and retaining good people been as difficult — or as much as of a concern — as it is...
“Normal life is highly structured for most people. This is because of the routine ofgoing to work, social interactions, and the like. The loss of these rhythms means thatwe are almost lost in time because we don’t have our usual cuesto what day it is, or...
“We use narrative to label the lens through which the storyline is told.I hear about narratives everywhere I go.” — Leslie Yerkes When I was in school, a narrative was a literary term associated with the storyline of a book. To be a narrator is to be the...
“When we are no longer able to change a situation,we are challenged to change ourselves.” ― Viktor Frankl This morning I succeeded at maintaining a commitment to myself that I had previously let fall off my schedule. For the first time in many months, I...
“In the darkest of times, have faith and ask for support,and the light of hope, friendship, and help will appear. “ — Leslie Yerkes I don’t have too many seriously emotionally hard weeks. I am not afraid of hard work or challenging situations. This week,...
“We can wait out the stormOr we can stand in the rain.Gonna have to mournOr hide from some pain. It weighs heavyOn my mind.So heavyOn my mind.” — “Heavy on My Mind”Mavis Staples I know, what a silly question to ask as we are eighteen-plus...
“The mind can go either direction under stress— toward positive or toward negative: on or off. Think of it as a spectrum whose extremes are unconsciousness at the negative end and hyperconsciousness at the positive end. The way the mind will lean under stress is...
“Pets are humanizing. They remind us we have an obligation and responsibility to preserve and nurture and care for all life. — James Cromwell Before the end of October, I will be adding a new responsibility to my life. I don’t need to make this life change, but...
“She tugged and pulled and pulled and tugged and slowly, slowly, slowly, they started off.” — Watty Piper “The Little Engine That Could” Today I will be making my first speech since the onset of the Pandemic. I trust that the venue and protocols...
“We learned that trying is not nearly as good as doing. So I don’t settle for “I’m trying.” But the most important lesson was this: When you make a promise, keep it.” Beej in “Lost, Found, and Forever.” Leslie Yerkes & Randy Martin Are these the dog...
“Anyone who stops learning is old,whether at twenty or eighty.Anyone who keeps learning stays young.” ― Henry Ford This reflection was written in the winter of 2020 pre-pandemic when life seemed simpler and I was on a vacation to beat all vacations. Yet, the lessons...
“Don’t wait for anyone to push you up, push yourself up; don’t wait for anyone to pull you up, pull yourself up! — Mehmet Murat ildan While walking my dogs, first on the shores of Lake Erie and then back along the sidewalk, I noticed something. The...
“Every time you are tempted to react in the same old way, ask if you want to be a prisoner of the past or a pioneer of the future.” — Deepak Chopra After college, I was working in a field I loved, doing what I loved. I enjoyed every day of work...
“Self-reflection entails asking yourself questions about your values, assessing your strengths and failures, thinking about your perceptions and interactions with others, and imagining where you want to take your life in the future.” — Robert L. Rosen I spent the last...
“My goal in life? Be as good a person as my dog already thinks I am. ” — Unknown I was raised in Pittsburgh and we watched “Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood.” So I’m certain his counsel to “Be a Helper” entered my psyche over time. However, I believe...
“The key to everything is patience. You get the chicken by hatching the egg,not smashing it.” ― Arnold H. Glasow This week, I shared with several clients my observation that right now people are like papier-mâché eggs. While this concept does...
“Rescue meOh take me in your armsRescue meI want your tender charms’Coz I’m lonely and I’m blueI need you and your love tooCome on and rescue me.” — “Rescue Me” by Aretha Franklin What experiences of your life...
“When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.” — Henry Ford Today at breakfast — while coaching a friend and former client — I found that what I had been discovering in my life...
“Spring will come and so will happiness. Hold on. Life will get warmer.” — Anita Krizzan We are emerging from the short, dark days of winter. With each day — which is now lighter, longer, and warmer — we are reminded of our resiliency. In my...
“In a wicked world, relying upon experience from a single domain is not only limiting, it can be disastrous.” — David Epstein For my entire career, I have been working to create, nurture, and reclaim the cultures of the organizations and leaders whom I...
We all wear different hats, wear various face-masks, every day under different situations and variable environments. Deep down, we all want the grasp of the hats and face-masks to get loosened so that we ourselves can find our true existence. — Subhashis Biswas ...
“Slow down, you move too fast You got to make the morning last Just kicking down the cobblestones Looking for fun and feeling groovy Ba da-da da-da da-da, feeling groovy.” ― Paul Simon “The 59th Street Bridge Song” As you make your way...
“When the wind blows in your face, when you feel you are losing your head, when the going gets tough, and when all else fails, look inside you, you are not alone.” ― Malak El Halabi I live alone. And I am occasionally lonely. During this pandemic, I have spent...
” Who am I this time?” — Harry Nash, in Kurt Vonnegut’s short story of the same name I have never been attached to having a title. We as people are always labeling people by their age, gender, hometown and so much more. The power...
“In the depth of winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer.” — Albert Camus Did anyone else run out of steam towards the end of the year 2020? Did you struggle to find the holiday cheer during a social distancing pandemic?...
“What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness?” – John Steinbeck The end of summer meant the end of endless play. No more picnics or swimming or traveling vacation. And that meant it was time for school. Which of course meant...
“If you have gained the trust of a horse, You have won a friend for life.” — Equestrian Co. Ask and you shall receive. (That is if you are open to it and willing to be receiving.) I am more comfortable with giving than I am with asking for help and...
If you can’t fly, then run;if you can’t run, then walk;if you can’t walk, then crawl.But whatever you do,you have to keep moving forward. — Martin Luther King, Jr. I have had the great fortune in my life to both to mentor and be mentored. In all cases I always...
“You may think your light is small, but it can make a huge difference in other people’s lives.” — Anonymous Though we are related, I did not grow into a relationship with my cousin or his wife until I started to visit my uncle as a surrogate for my mother who...
“Your path is illuminated by the light, yet darkness lets the stars shine bright.” — J.L.W. Brooks As I interviewed my friend and colleague, Ralph Febbo, I learned that he had run ten marathons and so understood my use of the metaphor immediately. Ralph has been...
“Give light, and the darkness will disappear of itself.” — Desiderius Erasmus My clients have learned to expect that I come to our conversations with as many questions as I do recommendations. I love how a good question can open up space, awareness, and...
“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear,and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.” — H.P. Lovecraft In late winter we watched a virus migrate around the globe. We saw our lives became more complex but at the same time...
“What matters most is how well you walk through the fire.” — Charles Bukowski I use metaphor to soften the impact of words and make sense of complexity. Words shape worlds. And if I had attached too many negative adjectives to describe what we were...
“We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us. The old skin has to be shed before the new one can come.” — Joseph Campbell Is anyone else tired or feeling overwhelmed? Have you learned to have boundaries...
“Who shall tell the lady’s griefWhen her Cat was past relief?Who shall number the hot tearsShed o’er her, beloved for years?Who shall say the dark dismayWhich her dying caused that day?” — Christina Rossetti Everyone has a different reaction...
“Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood.”― Ralph Waldo Emerson I do know that life is a series of experiences with lessons attached so I have learned to ask myself, “What am I supposed to be learning from this situation?” I have...
“Don’t walk in front of me… I may not followDon’t walk behind me… I may not leadWalk beside me… just be my friend”― Albert Camus In a world that feels like we are fracturing into pieces, and conversations that focus more on difference than commonality, I had a...
“If you realize that all things change, there is nothing you will try to hold on to. — Lao Tzu Recently, my life has been filled with many passages. Now that I think about and reflect upon them, I realize that life is a series of voyages like these. From dependence...
are “Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You...
“It’s a gift to exist, and with existence comes suffering.” — Stephen Colbert If someone said to you, “I will give you six months to work from home, be with your family, discover new ways of working and relating” would you...
When good intention is met with resistance, what do you do? “You have been called to heal wounds, to unite what has fallen apart, and to bring home those who have lost their way.” — St. Francis of Assisi Have you ever been hijacked by a use of force? Even...
“We are not perfect, we are learning. That’s the beauty in our specific journey.”— Alex Elle I asked a friend for feedback on my Secrets blog. I am anxious that what I write is responsible and relevant. As the fog and weight of grief and physical...
“Your family and your love must be cultivated like a garden. Time, effort, and imagination must be summoned constantly to keep any relationship flourishing and growing.” — Jim Rohn While a colleague and I were talking business on the phone, he shared that he...
“The deeper we try to dig into space, time, and the unknown, the closer we get to where we originally started.”― Rajesh, “Random Cosmos” I am showing my age. This reference is to the Rocky Horror Picture Show. Yes, for those of you who are up on...
“Adulthood is not an age, but a stage of knowledge of self.” — John Fowles From an early age, I knew that numbers and formulas was not my path to success. I knew, however, that I was good at observing, interpreting, and quickly understanding the...
“My barn having burned down, I can now see the moon.” ― Mizuta Masahide 17th century Japanese poet and Samurai Part of this experience is a mind game. Difficult issues require planning, preparation, practice, and a solid mental mindset. In spite of what are...
“We sit silently and watch the world around us. This has taken a lifetime to learn. It seems only the old are able to sit next to one another and not say anything and still feel content. The young, brash, and impatient, must always break the silence. It is a waste,...
The world, nature, human beings, do not move like machines. The edges are never clear-cut, but always frayed. Nature never draws a line without smudging it. —Winston Churchill In a conversation this week a colleague so eloquently described all of the confluences...
“Coming home is one of the most beautiful things.” — Andre Rieu Life is about shouldering our responsibilities, making our way through the day in a positive way and fielding the problems that are tossed in our direction. Life is a form of boot camp...
“In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity” — Albert Einstein Physicist & Nobel Laureate Early in the first weeks of the Coronavirus Pandemic I floated the metaphor of Marathon as a way of describing the collective event that we are currently...
Is this a divine ‘Time Out’ to interrupt our frayingand help us to find our footing? Twelve weeks into my first ever pandemic I am conforming to new expectations, reinventing how I work and relate, and finding ways to be relevant and contributing. For the most part I...
“Don’t squander this. Let it make you more tender. Let it rewrite what matters. Let it bring you closer to all you love, to all you could lose. Let it bring you to your knees.” — Heather Lanier The World is changing around me while I shelter in place. For more than...
“You can leave camp but camp never seems to leave you.” I had a thought this morning that there are some lessons from summer camp that can apply to our current situation. I try to draw inspiration from anything I can in an attempt to keep my mindset positive...
“Remember that your fans are your lifeblood. See that you know who they are,and give them a reason to follow you. Be sure to thank them, often,for caring enough to support you.They’re responsible for your success just as much as you are.” ― Simon Zingerman, “We...
“A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe,a part limited in time and space.He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelingas something separated from the rest,a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness.This delusion is a kind of prison for...
“Community service gives me a valuable opportunity to walk into a different community that is less familiar to me but just as colorful and most importantly, in need.” — Caroline Landry Once I have attended to my home and work responsibilities during this pandemic, I...
“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” — Dr. Seuss As an homage to the book In Search of Excellence, which shifted our focus from the economic malaise of the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, I would like to share...
“If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.” ~ Marcus Aurelius Out of bad things good can come. This has been a theme of our human...
Things end. People leave. And you know what? Life goes on. — Elizabeth Scott, “Perfect You” This is the last blog in The–Pandemic–as–a–Marathon series and I am circling back to ask myself what I have learned, what I will advance, and what I will be letting go of as I...
“Life doesn’t come with a manual. It comes with a Mother.” Facebook has a function that shares the posts of previous years on the day that you posted them. I look forward to seeing what I was doing in the last years. It reminds me of...
“Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live.” — Norman Cousins During the 2020 COVID 19 crisis, I find myself really missing my mother. I yearn to hear her perspective; I miss having her as my...
“She was unstoppable. Not because she did not have failures or doubts.But because she continued on despite them.” ― Beau Taplin, “Unstoppable.” This pandemic presents a preponderance of opportunities for teachable moments. When we encounter something...
“Something very beautiful happens to people when their world has fallen apart: a humility, a nobility, a higher intelligence emerges at just the point when our knees hit the floor.” ― Marianne Williamson I knew immediately that Miguel was a leader. I met Miguel...
“Maturity is achieved when a person accepts life as full of tension” — Joshua Loth Liebman I could interview someone every day to find out what they are thinking and feeling about our current situation, how they are handling their responsibilities, and how they see...
“You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt After ten days of...
The way in which a man accepts his fate and all the suffering it entails, the way in which he takes up his cross, gives him ample opportunity – even under the most difficult circumstances to add a deeper meaning to his life. — Victor Frankl Neurologist, psychiatrist,...
The metaphor of our situation as a marathon remains with me. “Without having been able to prepare for this marathon, what strategies would you use to be in the race,survive the race, and finish?” ______________________________________________ I am not searching for...
The metaphor of our situation as a marathon remains with me. “Without having been able to prepare for this marathon, what strategies would you use to be in the race, survive the race, and finish?” ______________________________________________ Once I started to ask...
The metaphor of our situation as a marathon remains with me. “Without having been able to prepare for this marathon, what strategies would you use to be in the race, survive the race, and finish?” ______________________________________________ I am very curious to...
The metaphor of our situation as a marathon remains with me. “Without having been able to prepare for this marathon, what strategies would you use to be in the race, survive the race, and finish?” ______________________________________________ I couldn’t write without...
The metaphor of our situation as a marathon remains with me. “Without having been able to prepare for this marathon, what strategies would you use to be in the race, survive the race, and finish?” ______________________________________________ Greg Schnupp, Owner,...
The metaphor of our situation as a marathon remains with me. “Without having been able to prepare for this marathon, what strategies would you use to be in the race, survive the race, and finish?” ______________________________________________ Joanne Lacompski, friend...
The metaphor of our situation as a marathon remains with me. “Without having been able to prepare for this marathon, what strategies would you use to be in the race, survive the race, and finish?” ______________________________________________ Five Lessons from...
This is a marathon – have you done the training? Smarter people than me have said:‘”By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.’” ~ Benjamin Franklin Unfortunately, when a crisis arises, the time to plan is minimal. If we didn’t plan when we could,...
The quest for certainty blocks the search for meaning. Uncertainty is the very condition to impel man to unfold his powers. Erich Fromm As the weeks turn into a month, the initial excitement of being with our spouses, children, pets, and roommates will fade....
“In the night full of pain and darkness be a candle spreading light until the dawn.” ~ Rumi This is a time to go within and develop yourself. We each have gifts that are relevant for this current challenge. Some formative events in your life have contributed to your...
“What can you do today to create a world of possibility beyond today’s current reality?”~ Leslie Yerkes What is good for the goose is good for the gander. I like asking questions and learning about others. I especially relish discovering that they already know what...
“There are wounds that never show on the bodythat are deeper and more hurtful than anything that bleeds.” ― Laurell K. Hamilton, Mistral’s Kiss In the not too distant past, after a very stressful (yet important) time in my life when the demands of the day...
“It’s when you’re acting selflessly that you are at your bravest.” — Veronica Roth I know that it is the season of my life and my age that I am facing a rising level of illness, dying and death in my circle of family, friends, and acquaintances. Each loss...
When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” — Mister Rogers Each of us needs to decide who we will be when facing a crisis. I tend to stay really...
What is your first instinct when experiencing difficult, challenging, and even dangerous situations? I don’t spend a lot of time worrying. I tend to take action on the things that concern me or need to be addressed. I know much of this behavior is my...
“Snowboarding is an activity that is very popular with people who do not feel that regular skiing is lethal enough.” ~ Dave Berry As I age, one of my personal goals is to keep myself fit so I can continue to ski. I exercise all year with a special...
“Giving advice is like seeing an elephant in someone’s path and suggesting they remove it.Heeding advice requires forcing the elephant to budge. Huge difference.” ― Richelle E. Goodrich This week, I found myself in a unique position. Instead of giving advice I was on...
No sugar tonight in my coffee No sugar tonight in my tea No sugar to stand beside me No sugar to run with me — The Guess Who My colleague Randy and I were talking on New Year’s Eve this year. We shared well wishes, conducted a little work, expressed our gratitude for...
A multi- generational Hawaiian businessthat understands the power of the 4 Ps “You’ll never have a product or price advantage again. They can be too easily duplicated. But a strong customer service culture cannot be copied.” – Jerry Fritz In 2002 a colleague...
Politics in Bed and Writing in the Tub “Even in the most peaceful surroundings, the angry heart finds quarrel. Even in the most quarrelsome surroundings, the grateful heart finds peace.” — Zoe Zantanmata Talking about politics in bed might not be the...
About conflict with a colleague “Rejections will redirect you to more exciting roads. When you think your life is falling apart, it’s usually falling together in disguise. Your search will throw you on journeys you never would have dreamt of, in your mind and in the...
Life is the Teacher “Be a reflection of what you’d like to see in others. If you want love, give love. If you want honesty, give honesty. If you want respect, give respect. You get in return, what you give.” ― Author Unknown My day started with a strong...
Bathing in the Pool of Shared Knowledge “Your brain takes its shape gradually from what you routinely rest your mind upon.” ~ Rick Hanson, Just One Thing I find myself sitting in a workshop as a participant and not a facilitator. The content...
Where do you take your inspiration? “In order to understand the world, one has to turn away from it on occasion.” ― Albert Camus, The Minotaur When I find I am alone with just myself, I seize that time to think about my values, my decisions, the people...
The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.” ― Joseph Campbell Have you ever taken an intentional trip to a place that would require you to let go of your cell phone and connectivity? A place so different from you own that it resulted in your slowly...
“Clutter is not just physical stuff. It’s old ideas, toxic relationships, and bad habits. Clutter is anything that does not support your better self.” Recently, friends and I attended a transition celebration for the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland, the original, and...
“If your actions inspire other to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader.” ~ John Quincy Adams In sports, a coach is someone with applicable experiences who mentors a novice to improve by sharing past learning, observing...
When the Answer is the Question In the middle of facilitating a day-long design for a community of families, patients, researchers, and physicians in the field of pediatric epilepsy who had gathered together to discuss the impact of surgery, I learned a lot...
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