My mother, Theresa, was a force of nature: Joyous, divinely artistic, unpredictable, enthusiastic and passionately invested in every moment she had the pleasure to inhabit. One sunny afternoon, when I was ten years old, after we had just finished eating tuna sandwiches at the white Formica table in our kitchen, my mother absentmindedly grabbed a black [...]
As a performer, the worst directors or coaches I ever had barked out a result and expected me to fulfill it. “Be more angry,” they’d say. Or “I need you to be more vulnerable.” And I’d scratch my head, wondering, “how the heck do I do that? Give me something to DO?” Because, as my [...]
You strike a match, and light a sputtering candle. Around you, the wind whips, threatening the flame as it struggles to take hold. Instinctively, you cup your hand protectively around the tiny tongue of fire, feeling its warmth grow against your palm. It wouldn’t take much to squelch this dancing flame—one well placed breath, one [...]
I don’t follow tennis much, but I am well aware of tennis stars Venue and Serena Williams, sisters who turned women’s tennis into a power game with their sheer physical domination. Picking up the newspaper last night, I read an article about these exceptional athletes, and was struck by a statement that Venus Williams made [...]
The other day, Mark Le Blanc, my wonderful business coach, reminded me that, as a motivational speaker and presentation skills coach and trainer, I am always and only one big toe ahead of the clients and audience members I’m trying to inspire to greater fulfillment. He’s right of course. Every day I try to motivate [...]
Every night this week, I’ve screamed like a kid watching the American Olympic Team swim, dive, leap, run, and spike balls across nets. I’ve loved watching Team U.S.A. win, especially Ann Arbor’s own Michael Phelps, who, as of this writing, did the impossible and won a record-breaking goal of 8 gold medals for his swimming [...]
It’s happened to all of us: Just when we think things are going swell, something or somebody comes along and knocks the stuffing right out of us. Demoralized, mis-understood, mis-treated and miserable, we pack our bags and move to Bittertown, where we threaten to remain for good… or at least until we get our come-uppance…someday… [...]
Sometimes, for whatever reason, it is all we can to do put one foot ahead the other and take a faltering step forward. And yet, one foot, one step after the other, is all is takes to get us where we need to go—even when the icy winds of our fears conspire to blow us [...]
