Category: Authenticity

  • My Groundhog Day

    My Groundhog Day

    22 phone calls and 55 text messages into my day I am ready to pull my hair out. No, I am not talking about my work in IT service management. I am describing my day – just one day –dealing with the broken processes within our healthcare system. I now have two critically ill parents. […]

  • An Empty Cart

    An Empty Cart

    It’s a cold night. I want to feel anything other than what I am feeling. I pop the flip-top off the Jeep and drive the 20 minutes home. The cold air comes in from above and fills the front seat with a cool damp breeze. I’m driving with the heater on, and the dry, hot […]

  • Tap Dancing with Diane

    Tap Dancing with Diane

    Last night I had a dream that I was tap dancing down the streets of New Orleans with Tony Bennet. A person walking on the street stopped him and asked, “What are the top 4 memories of your life?” He replied, “Audrey, Nancy, Rebecca, and Samantha.” I laughed, and we continued tap-dancing down the road […]

  • 5 Steps to Become an Effective, Engaging, and Authentic Leader

    5 Steps to Become an Effective, Engaging, and Authentic Leader

    We are all unique. Not everyone leads the same way. Confidence comes from using leadership techniques that are natural to you. As you enter 2018, begin by developing a leadership style that is not only effective but also allows you to feel comfortable in being you. We are all unique. Not everyone leads the same […]

  • Left Here Without You

    Left Here Without You

    I remember the day you left as if it were yesterday. Until that moment in my life, I had known pain but never a pain such as I felt on that day. Your life had just inextricably been entangled into mine. Neither of us gave up too much but we gave of each other freely. […]

  • Do the Right Thing

    Do the Right Thing

    Yesterday I returned from a brief trip to San Antonio, Texas. My return flights took me through Los Angeles. The flight from LA to Sacramento was on one of the smaller regional airplanes with two seats on each side of the aisle. I was one of the first people to board the plane and while […]

  • Community

    Community

    I know that the times in my life where I have been the happiest and the most content have always been during times of being part of a community. When I was growing up, I was a cheerleader. I know it is hard to believe but in the 7th and 8th grades, I wore a […]

  • How Tall is Your Stack?

    How Tall is Your Stack?

    I recently came across the topic of practical intelligence in my studies and I was intrigued. Practical intelligence is defined as, “the ability that individuals use to find a more optimal fit between themselves and the demands of the environment through adapting to the environment, shaping (or modifying) the environment, or selecting a new environment […]

  • Happiness is Not About Getting What You Want — It Is Appreciating What You Have

    Happiness is Not About Getting What You Want — It Is Appreciating What You Have

    When I was a young mother, I lived in England for three years. I stayed home with my kids and spent most of my time taking care of the family and our home. One of my favorite pastimes was gardening in the backyard — which in England they call the garden. We moved into a […]

  • Small Town Values in a Big World

    Small Town Values in a Big World

    I grew up in a small town in northern Ohio and learned my values from my parents. My father worked for Chevrolet his entire life. My mother was a stay-at-home mom who coached girls’ softball. I was the youngest and only girl in my family. I grew up watching the Waltons and Hee Haw and […]