Words of Wisdom

Words of Wisdom – Desiderata

This post comes from one of my favorite writings, “Desiderata,” found in old Saint Paul’s Church, Baltimore, dated 1692; it is attributed to Max Ehrmann. In rereading it, I am awed by its timeliness. There is much wisdom here and, once you’ve read it, you may choose any one ...

Buddha and The Ginger Jar – Who’s Responsible?

The following story is one of my favorites. I don’t know where it came from, and I can’t remember who told it to me, but I often find myself relating it to my clients, friends and family. The story describes a good lesson about who’s responsible (it’s lengthy so ...

True Leaders

This post is about true leaders. One of my favorite pieces about leadership was written by Lao Tzu. In case you’re not familiar with him, Lao Tzu is considered the father of Chinese Taoism. He lived in the 6th century B.C.E. and is the author of the Tao Te Ching ...

Living With Less and Being Grateful For It

The title of this post could be “Grateful for Less.” I’ll tell my story, and then you can decide. Years ago I lived in Venice, Italy, for a year. I wanted to live in Europe for an extended period of time, in a place where the locals demanded that ...

Follow Your Bliss

I’m reading a wonderful book, “The Three Marriages: Reimagining Work, Self and Relationship,” by David Whyte. Here’s a quote that best describes what the book is about. “We have the remarkable ability as human beings to fall in love with a person, a work, or even, at times, an ...

The Value of Not Over-Analyzing Yourself

I have always appreciated the writings of Dr. Albert Ellis, a noted psychotherapist who died when he was 93. Dr. Ellis focused much of his psychotherapeutic treatments on action; that is, rather than overanalyzing everything, he encouraged his patients to take action regarding their emotional and psychological states by accepting ...

The Importance of Rigor and Relationship In Management

This post is about the importance of rigor and relationship in management. I recall reading about a phrase that is attributed to Barack Obama’s mother. Evidently, the young Obama was struggling in school, and his mother decided to wake him up at 4:30 a.m. to tutor him. When he complained ...

How Music and Art Inspire Us and Their Importance In Our Lives

This morning when I awoke, I found that the music I had listened to yesterday was still in my head and my heart. My husband and I had attended a concert the night before where we heard a tabla drumming master perform. I often think about what in my ...

Finding Optimism In The Midst of Bad Economic Conditions

This post has some good suggestions for how to find optimism in the midst of bad economic conditions. Lately, I’ve been trying to figure out whether all the bad news we’re hearing about the economy is educating us or making things worse. We have more access to information than any ...

Ways To Deal With Monkey Mind

Here’s a post about what to do about having ‘monkey mind’. My definition of monkey mind is when my thoughts run all over the place and I don’t seem to have any control over them. It’s like watching a monkey dart up and down the branches of a tree ...

The Value of Authenticity

This post is is about authenticity. I recall a video I watched years ago of Susan Boyle, the middle-aged, single, unemployed Scottish woman who sang on the program “Britain’s Got Talent,” the English equivalent of our “American Idol.” Out she came onto the stage, looking as dowdy as you ...

The Benefits of Persevering

The post is about is perseverance. This morning, I had to sit myself down and have a short internal conversation about the necessity of persevering, even when I think I can’t, when I feel defeated, and I just don’t have one ounce of energy left to do much of ...

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