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Maybe This Christmas
Christmas is upon us, complete with its full calendars, packed parking lots, and growing to-do lists. My annual fear is that, amidst the flurry of activity surrounding Christmas, I will race from store to event to activity without taking so much as a single deep breath to soak in all the richness around which the…
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Perfectionism
“Perfectionism will ruin your writing, blocking inventiveness and playfulness and life force (these are the words we are allowed to use in California). Perfectionism means that you try desperately not to leave so much mess to clean up. But clutter and mess show us that life is being lived. Clutter is wonderfully fertile ground –…
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Hide or Seek
If you want to do work that matters, you need to choose: Will you hide, or will you seek? You can choose to hide from discomfort, skirt around chances to lead, avoid the risk of failure. There are lots of great hiding places out there. Or you can learn to seek. To stand up, to…
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Stepping into the Darkness
Caminante, son tus huellas el camino, y nada más; caminante, no hay camino, se hace camino al andar. Al andar se hace camino, y al volver la vista atrás se ve la senda que nunca se ha de volver a pisar. Caminante, no hay camino, sino estelas en la mar. Wanderer, your footsteps are the…
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Your Chance to Shine
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God.…
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Speaking in Your Underpants
If you’ve ever asked for advice on how to overcome pre-speech nerves, no doubt you’ve heard the sage advice: “Just imagine your audience is wearing nothing but underwear.” Helpful advice? Maybe for some. What’s interesting to me though, is how this advice masks what’s really going on when you step on the stage. When you…
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Delivery & Discovery
Delivery and discovery are both important if you want to make an impact. Delivery is deadlines, to-do lists, responsibilities, carrying out your commitments. Discovery is trying something new, tinkering, following a rabbit trail. It’s “play” for grown ups. In the spectrum between delivery and discovery, where do you spend most of your time? If you’re…
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Radiology, Avatars and Human Connection in the Digital Era
In To Sell is Human, Dan Pink tells about the Israeli radiologist Dr. Yehonatan N. Turner, who did an experiment in making his work more personal. “Radiologists lead lonely professional lives. Unlike many physicians, who spend large parts of their days interacting directly with patients, radiologies often sit alone in dimly lit rooms or hunched…
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The Thirst for Freedom
Life is full of constraints. The boss, the budget, our family responsibilities, geography, education, all create boundaries and limitations. We dream of shaking ourselves free from our chains and living the life of our dreams. Free of responsibility, free of constraints. If we could only get free, then we’d be truly happy and fulfilled. The…
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Comfort and Safety
As a kid I learned how to ride bike with no hands. With my first attempts, I tried to ride slowly, to minimize risk, I thought. I wobbled and struggled, without success. It wasn’t until I was told to ride faster that I finally succeeded in pulling my hands off the handlebars. As with snowboarding,…
