Category Archives: Life lessons

(#450) Respectful Relationships


Respectful relationships help build lasting, meaningful, accepting, loving, nurturing, and sustaining communities. As I wrote Community as a Safe Place to Land, I had the opportunity to speak with transformational people in communities from Savannah, Georgia to Celebration, Florida.  Each … Continue reading

Posted in acceptance, accountability, action, amplifying, Appreciation, Communication, Community, community development, Life lessons, resilience, respect, responsibility | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

(#448) Flexibility


  NOTE to my followers.  This will be my last post for 2018.  Next week in this space you will find my annual end-of-year retrospective.  Thank you for following, commenting, and sharing my posts.  I appreciate you. May you end … Continue reading

Posted in assumptions, awareness, bias, boundaries and limits, change, Choice, collaboration, curiosity, Life lessons, resilience | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

(#439) Are You Paying Attention to the People in Front of You?


Collaboration does not come from telling, yelling, or selling people. It comes from considered conversation. Four quotes that remind us to pay attention to the people sitting at the table. “Who are these people and what do they want?”—Jim Young … Continue reading

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(#438) You May Not be the Gift in the Room


Effective collaboration rests on the ability to share the stage. In the early 1990s, the public high school where I taught created a committee called the “Shared Decision-Making Committee.”  I was tapped as its first chair.  The stated mission of … Continue reading

Posted in accountability, amplifying, authenticity, Being REMARKABLE, Being selfish, Choice, Civility, collaboration, collegiality, Communication, Critical Thinking, decision making, Life lessons | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

(#437) Your Meeting Deserves a K.I.S.S.


Keep It Simple and Short Do an internet search for “effective meetings” and you will find a few suggestions. About 185 million. Is there a “secret sauce” for an effective meeting? A few questions to consider as you plan your … Continue reading

Posted in accountability, action, assumptions, awareness, effective meetings, leadership, Life lessons | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

(#436) Facing the Worst. Preparing for the Best.


Once the conversation started, no one was going to stop it. Two NOTES to my readers: Tomorrow, October 1, begins Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This week’s blog post honors the month, those with (and who have had) breast cancer, the … Continue reading

Posted in amplifying, Appropriate Behavior, authenticity, awareness, change, Choice, Community, courage, focus, fortitude, Friendship, generativity, Gratitude, growth, inspiration, Integrity, Life lessons, Passion, resilience | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

(#434) Wisdom


The opportunities to appreciate wisdom exist all around us. Are we mindful? Are we paying attention. Several years ago, on this blog, I wrote the following: Wisdom does NOT necessarily come with knowledge. I know a lot of “educated” people … Continue reading

Posted in assumptions, authenticity, awareness, curiosity, Life lessons, vulnerability, wellbeing, wisdom | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

(#433) Verifying Truth


You won’t find a step that says evaluate a source based on what “my group believes” or “who tweeted the most” or “how much I dislike a source.”  2012: Maybe it is the heat of the political campaign season. The … Continue reading

Posted in assumptions, bias, Civility, Communication, Community, confirmation bias, Critical Thinking, information literacy, Life lessons, opinion, truth | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

(#432) Compassion


“That which is hateful to you, do not do to another. That is the whole Law. The rest is commentary. Now go and learn.” —Rabbi Hillel— The election season turns a bright light on a tarnished process. Reasoned discourse?  Recognize … Continue reading

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(#431) Pay Attention to the 360° View


If we gaze in one direction, toward the subject and the toward the subject only, we miss the full spectrum. On every sunrise beach walk, Roxie and I see people capturing the splendor of the dawn. Generally, with their phones … Continue reading

Posted in Appreciation, assumptions, awareness, Choice, community development, confirmation bias, Discipline, growth, habits, inspiration, intentionality, Life lessons, listening, Mindfulness, Personal growth, Personal Wellbeing | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments