The other day, someone mentioned the book, What Got You Here Won’t Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith. I have not read it, so I’m not sure what it’s about (my apologies to the author) but the title really struck me. As I’m progressing through my yearlong sabbatical, it has occurred to me several times...
I recently came across an exercise where you write a letter to your younger self. I chose to write to myself at age 15 when I was full of teenage angst and bursting with ambition and struggling to contain other emotions that felt like they could tear me apart. As soon as I started the...
The other night at a local concert, singer-songwriter Maia Sharp talked about a conversation that took place when her long-term relationship was coming to an end. Her partner said, “You’re gonna make a nice girl miserable someday.” Maia must have gotten a certain look on her face, because her girlfriend then added, “Oh my God....
I was chatting with a woman at a fundraiser about her career at our local university. She described several roles she’d played. “Wow,” I said. “You must have been there quite a while.” “Thirty-one years,” she said. By the tone in her voice, it was clear she felt that amount of time was significant, meaningful,...
I was talking to a very lovely but very sad woman in my pandemic dream last night. We were in a foreign country surrounded by beautiful scenery. “What’s wrong?” I asked “I’m just so homesick,” she said. I sat down beside her. “I know, and it feels kind of wrong, doesn’t it, to feel homesick...
When I first started writing for a living, I worked for several local newspapers and small magazines. I wrote mostly feature articles, often history related. It was not uncommon for me to spend 8 hours on an article for which I was paid $25-50. $75 if I was lucky. At the time, I knew the...
How many times have you been told to “focus on the positive” or “look on the bright side” or “count your blessings?” All of those things are important, and I try to do them as often as possible, but what happens when a negative thought or reaction creeps in? If we believe too firmly the...
I just finished a World War II novel called Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys. Then I started watching the Masterpiece show Atlantic Crossing. People ask me often how after 30 years of researching, writing, and speaking about World War II, I could still be so interested in the subject. “Don’t you get tired...
This week marks the seventh anniversary of this blog. Someone asked me how I had maintained the stamina for such an endeavor and how I came up with new ideas every week. I told her it all comes down to passion and permission. In 2014, friends had been urging me to start a blog for...
During the pandemic, I’ve fallen out of touch with a few of my favorite people, including my Future Self. I used to enjoy chatting with her often as I created new products or programs or services. She was always one of my greatest cheerleaders, but also the person I could count on to advise me...