You've probably seen a circus clown with a face painted white, exaggerated red lips and a big red nose. But have you ever thought about being a clown yourself? Frolic Your Way to Feeling Great My friend Lynn Levity (pictured above) is a clown. She frolics with friendly people in New York City's Central Park. She does it by donning her red nose -- a widely accepted symbol of fun -- in public and engaging with others. Why does Lynn clown? Lynn's not … [Read more...]
Don’t Worry About Self-Discipline: Get into the Flow State
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Do you wish you were more disciplined? Do you feel like you have to beat yourself up in order to do your best work? Flow vs. Force For most of us, simply pushing ourselves to be more disciplined just isn't effective. It's not that we're lazy, but driving ourselves with self-discipline just doesn't work that well. If you're like me, you'll much prefer finding the flow rather than forcing the process. Here's the 3-step strategy I often use to get into the flow … [Read more...]
If Money Doesn’t Buy Happiness, What Does?
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Do you think that having lots of money leads to happiness? Think again! Study after study shows that more money’s not all it’s cracked up to be. Once our finances cover the basics, our happiness doesn't increase with our income. What Does Buy Happiness? According to Michael Norton in his TED talk, How Can I Buy Happiness?, your happiness is linked not to how much money you have, but rather how you choose to spend it. Simply put, when you spend money on someone … [Read more...]
Saying “Hello” to Strangers: An Unearned Privilege
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What do you take for granted? If you're white and middle class, you probably don't expect to be hassled as you go about your day. You don't expect a floor walker to follow you around a store to make sure you don't steal something. You don't expect the receptionist at the doctor's office to be rude. You don't expect to be stopped and frisked for doing absolutely nothing wrong. But you DO expect people to be nice to you, because mostly they are. Respect -- Your … [Read more...]
What You Need to Achieve “Instant” Fame
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Have you ever opened your newspaper, glanced at the image of a movie star, musician, or writer and thought to yourself, “Wow! That person came out of nowhere, and now they're on the front page! Amazing!” It often looks that way from the outside, doesn't it? As though success, fame and fortune happened instantly. The Road to Success So what's got me thinking about the road to success? I'm so glad you asked! :) When I retrieved my copy of the New York Times … [Read more...]
Two Surprising Tips for Great Meetings… and Dinner Parties
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You're about to hear the best advice I've ever received for getting the most out of business and social meetings alike. Some years ago I had the good fortune of taking a Leadership course at the Gestalt International Study Center on Cape Cod. The remarkable Sonia Nevis, one of the Center’s founders, worked with our group over the course of several days. During our time together, Sonia shared these very surprising tips for making meetings work well. As it turns out, they … [Read more...]
You, Me, and What’s In Between
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There's YOU. There's ME. But there's also something else -- there are the things that are BETWEEN the two of us. What's in between is the most interesting of the three. Why? Because you think you know who you are. And I think I know who I am. But in the middle, where we intersect and overlap? That's where the magic happens. Positive Space Between Us It's in the space between us that we create new ideas, bigger and better ideas than either of us could have … [Read more...]
A Little Bird Told Me…
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I'm on vacation in the Berkshires, where my husband and I have rented a beautiful house overlooking the Housatonic River. Two days ago we filled a bird feeder with sunflower seeds, and I settled in and started waiting for the birds to come. Waiting... And waiting. Then, yesterday a little flapper (I'm really not a birder... apologies to those of you who are) made a quick stop at the feeder, grabbed a seed and flew away. Time passed and no more birds –- but, … [Read more...]
Time and Attention: The Greatest Gifts for the One You Love
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Are you going on vacation this summer? I’m all for vacations. In fact, I so believe in them that I take one every week. No, I don't go away several days every week; I still need to make a living! But every Friday since the beginning of the year, my husband and I have taken off... together. We’ve rambled around the city (New York City, that is). We’ve gone to museums and movies and art exhibits. We’ve walked here and there. We’ve held hands. We’ve eaten good … [Read more...]
Is Kindness One of Your Core Strengths?
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At the end of last week’s post about seeing what we look for, I asked you what you would choose to see. A number of people suggested traits like generosity, abundance, love, and kindness. Your suggestions brought me back many years to an “Ah-Ha!” moment in my life — a moment that lit a bulb in my mind and shifted what I look for. Recognizing the Importance of Kindness I was at a meeting of fellow fundraising professionals and, as an ice breaker, the facilitator asked … [Read more...]