Experts Blogs

Acorns seem to offer the perfect analogy to illustrate the word “Potential”.  The first person ever to hold this tiny seed could never have imagined the towering oak that would come from such a tiny package. Even the most future-minded thinker would not be able to fathom the mighty oak destined to emerge.  Favorable conditions and an optimal growth-spot is what allows that acorn to plow its massive roots deep into the soil while its sturdy trunk and branches expand toward the sky.  This beautiful analogy culminates with the production of thousands of acorns during the life of this singular oak. ...

If you are like most people, you are probably tired of reading the same information about goal planning over and over again and still never getting results. So what is the missing link?The answer is spirituality. “Goal planning with spirit,” as I put it. I am not talking religion here. I am talking about the universal elements that make up our lives and affect us whether we are aware of it or not.Bringing spirituality into your goal planning can create lightness and joy, and it allows you to flow with your goal achievement rather than struggling uphill to reach a difficult...

Okay…today is THE DAY – it’s a brand new year, a fresh start, a place to begin again. And while it’s likely you have some semblance of a plan to slip back into those skinny jeans in 2012, I’ll venture to guess that it’s not your waistline, but your PLAN, that needs a major overhauling. In 12 years of coaching and training thousands of men and women, I can tell you that most weight loss endeavors (especially the New Year's kind) fail, not from a lack of self-discipline, but rather a lack of “pre-paving. “ Consider how easy it is, when...

We all deal with clutter on one level or another, whether it’s the visual clutter of a messy room, the mental clutter of inner chatter filling our heads with past disappointments and pending dead lines; or the physical clutter of carrying too much body fat, which often goes unnoticed until one day you find yourself staring in the mirror at someone you no longer recognize.   As a success coach and fitness trainer, I warn my clients that clutter saps energy, intensifies stress, robs you of time and focus, and keeps you from moving toward your true dreams and desires. Often,...

What prevents us from making the changes we know will make us more effective leaders? Great question. I may be the only executive educator who actually measures whether the participants in my leadership development courses actually do what I teach--and then measures if they are seen as becoming more effective leaders. At the end of my sessions, I ask leaders (who have received 360-degree feedback) to follow up with their co-workers and ask for ongoing ideas about how they can continue to become more effective. A year later, about 70% do some version of this recommended follow-up (as reported by their...

Over the last few months, I have given myself a self-diagnosis of A.D.D.  While I'm not sure that I meet the criteria to make me a hardcore case of Attention Deficit Disorder, I certainly have been struggling with "Attention Distraction Disorder." And the more I've shared my problem with other people -- whether friends, clients or colleagues -- the more I've realized just how prevalent this problem is. So if you are also struggling with keeping focus in a world brimming with distractions, read on...before your phone rings and your attention is pulled elsewhere.  Between our BlackBerries (dubbed "CrackBerries" for...