American reporter and humorist, Franklin P. Jones (1908-1980), wrote, “Honest criticism is hard to take, particularly from a relative, a friend, an acquaintance or a stranger.” Like Jones, you may dislike receiving criticism. Logically then, we should also be cautious about giving criticism. I was once given twenty-seven criticisms in the guise of feedback. It […]
Have you ever wondered about your humor personality or telling a joke or two? WAIT! You might be asking, “Do I need to tell jokes to have a sense of humor?” Absolutely not! Read on! Most of us, at some time or another, crack a smile — if not a gut wrenching guffaw. Having a sense of […]
Years ago, my heart was deeply moved as Les and I shared dinner and personal stories with our dear friends, Judy and Tink. Judy Armstrong, a multi-talented artist who excelled in acting, singing, songwriting, and dancing, had once fallen head over heels for Tink, a versatile artist himself, skilled in acting, singing, dancing, and choreography. […]
If you dread job searching, you are not alone. A young woman, let us call her Jane, emailed me with a request to help her. The majority of her message about looking for a job is below: Good Morning, I have always enjoyed your e-newsletters and your positive messages for resiliency. I am also a […]
Have you ever left your favorite bookstore feeling renewed and a little wiser? Or perhaps you have felt the same after visiting amazon.com and glancing through pages of book titles. I noticed this phenomenon when visiting a friend. I was drawn to her wall of well-read books. I realized that the core message of most self-help and knowledge based books is […]
Research indicates humor can help increase creativity, cut stress, improve relationships, and attract clients. Yet, there are misconceptions about lightening up in the work environment.
She looked baffled as I asked her about her reaction to a disturbing event. 1. “How do you feel?” “I don’t know.” 2. “What sensations do you feel in your body?” “I don’t know.” 3. “What are you telling yourself?” “I don’t know.” This young woman’s Emotional Intelligence (EQ) was low. Years ago that young […]
Workplaces with sound leadership can significantly help strengthen personal and emotional resilience. Resilience in the workplace typically happens when management’s behavior and attitude is supportive, fair and adaptive to employee needs. Years ago I counseled Rachel, who was repeatedly criticized by her manager. She was told she was either too verbal at meetings or not […]
To succeed today, you have to set priorities, decide what you stand for. Lee Iacocca We make decisions over and over again…What am I going to wear today? When am I going to take a break at work? Or how about, What’s for dinner? While raising a family, that question became boring and irritating. So […]
In early May 2016, the Fort McMurray (Fort Mac) fire put Albertans in the midst of a major crisis. Over 80,000 evacuees needed to leave their homes. I have some sense of it all since I was a keynote speaker at the first anniversary of the 2013 Slave Lake fire. These significant events leave us feeling profound grief […]
Your business and personal success can be strengthened and accelerated through the support of others. Mastermind groups provide a useful structure for such purposes. That has been my experience and that of many of my professional speaking colleagues. I have enjoyed and benefited from a number of mastermind groups–an international one, a personal one, […]
Most of us have had our resiliency challenged when we feel resentment for hurtful behavior by others. Perhaps equally as painful is longing for others to forgive our transgressions. Then we are stuck. Those who are wise tell us that our emotional freedom rests in putting forgiveness into action–for ourselves and others! But how? […]
