I am so proud of my friend and fellow Rotarian, Teresa Miller, for contributing an article to my blog this week. She is one of the most persistent people I know. Her focus on introspection and personal development is inspiring. She also has a huge capacity for and commitment to volunteer leadership and public service. [read more]
After a 35-day partial government shutdown, affecting an estimated 800,000 federal workers and their families, there is hope in sight. Well, at least for 3 more weeks, at which point who knows what is going to happen. Another shutdown? Did you know? This recent 35-day shutdown holds the record for the longest government shut in [read more]
Last weekend my husband asked me the question, “What are we going to build this weekend?” He was playing off the blog post that I wrote at the beginning of the year – What’s Your Power Word for the Year? We have selected the word BUILD for our power word for 2019. To keep this [read more]
It’s the third week of January and already the windows of new opportunity are opening up. In my case, a door had to be shut before a window could open up. You know where I’m headed with this one. I’m talking about the optimistic expression, “every cloud has a silver lining.” What’s the upside potential of difficult [read more]
Last weekend, my husband and I helped my parents pack up their holiday decorations and get their house back in order. We also wanted to encourage them to put their 2019 Word for the Year into action. They have chosen “Declutter” as their keyword for the year. They have a big house and love to shop, and [read more]
It’s my favorite day of the year – New Year’s Day – when all things are fresh and possible. It is a day of reflection on the highlights of the prior year. It is a day to declutter and re-organize my physical and mental space to make room for new ideas. It is a day [read more]
You never know whose life you are going to change for the better. You may never hear about the impact your simple acts of kindness have on other people. In the absence of feedback you may start to wonder if it really makes a difference. I’m here to tell you that it does. And that [read more]
What’s the difference between Excellence and Perfection? I would say that one is a worthy pursuit, while the other is a frustrating ideal that is nearly impossible to achieve. The late Dr. Harriet Braiker might have agreed with me as she was quoted as saying “Striving for excellence motivates you; striving for perfection is demoralizing.” [read more]
I dedicate this blog post to all of my friends and colleagues who suffer from the perfection trap, and to those who struggle to be a “completer finisher.” The idea that “done is better than perfect” can be attributed to several people, including Sheryl Sandberg, but I heard it first, and most often, from my [read more]
While driving to Maine on a road-trip style vacation this past summer with my husband, I read a news story that captured my imagination and got me thinking deeply about an important question. Airbnb, the home rental website, launched a contest called “Night at the Great Wall,” in which four people and their guests would [read more]
