There's an old quote from Al-anon that says, "fake it 'til you make it." The mantra is also refered to as the "act as if" way of being and is a common catchphrase that means to imitate confidence so that as the confidence produces success, it will generate real confidence. The purpose is to avoid getting stuck in a self fulfilling prophecy related to one's fear of failure. I … [Read more...]
Sum of the Parts
As Alfred Lord Tennyson once said, “I am a part of all that I have met.” I happen to agree. And that is one of the things I love about myself; the fact that I have taken away little pieces of all the wonderful people I have met in my 44 years. I guess you can say that’s one of the things I love about other people. It sounds a little strange saying, “I love that part about me … [Read more...]
Stand Up and Take Responsibility
I once heard that success in life is not measured by what we have accomplished, but by the obstacles that we have had to face…and most importantly, the obstacles we have overcome. I read something similar recently in a book that taught me to assume full responsibility for my life, my circumstances and my troubles; to embrace even the problems in a way that actually makes them … [Read more...]
We Are Nashville: The Importance of Building Community
Every day you hear or see someone networking; working the room for future business prospects or referrals. It’s one of those things that you get, but you sometimes get turned off by it. Oftentimes we are inundated with these community-building tactics on Facebook, Twitter and Emails. There are many less than complimentary things we can say about people who annoy us through … [Read more...]
Getting Over the Procrastination Hump
What is it that causes us to put things off we know we should do? Is there a psychology to procrastination? Is there a cure? I took a trip inside Psychology Today to learn there really is an art and science to procrastination: Twenty percent of people identify themselves as chronic procrastinators. It's not trivial, although as a culture we don't take it seriously as a … [Read more...]
Are You Homophonebic?
Are you afraid of using the correct part of speech or the correct spelling or usage of a word? Even more frightening, does it make you shiver when intelligent people (like your superiors) misuse common words that were differentiated at least in the 8th grade? With the advent of social networking, texting and IM'ing we commonly use acronym's like LOL and TTYL; and take … [Read more...]
Tell Me My Baby’s Ugly
Reposted from March 15, 2009. I don't have kids so it's easy for me to say. I know it sounds harsh, but if I did have kids I'd really rather know. So often in business we are forced to work with people who won't go to that place of, "tell it like it is," and it's frustrating for the rest of us who want to know the ugly truth. I'm not suggesting you lose all regard and … [Read more...]
Anything is Possible
25 years ago I was a mediocre Lang Lit student who rarely completed a project on time and exerted as little effort as possible. My journalism classes were easy enough to skate through and my creative writing courses at UNM were rudimentary at best, and yet I did the bare minimum and I got by. Needless to say, writing wasn’t my strong suit. I was in love with the idea of … [Read more...]
In Just One Moment
In just one moment our lives can change—for the good, for the bad, forever. One little moment in time can define who you will be for the rest of your life. Why not make that moment in time right now for the good? Why wait until something is lost, taken away or failing for you to have your defining moment? “Dad’s got cancer" or “they found a lump” are all too common words … [Read more...]
Name It, Claim It
Sometimes you just gotta put it out there and claim what's rightfully yours! I'm not talking tangible things that you may have earned ownership rights to; I'm talking about being on a personal and professional vision quest and staking claim to your desired result. I know so many of the “self-help gurus” tout that you should visualize your dream home, dream car, dream job and … [Read more...]