“There is no way that this winter is ever going to end as long as this groundhog keeps seeing his shadow. I don’t see any other way out. He’s got to be stopped. And I have to stop him.” – Phil Connors, Groundhog Day (1993) Working on the frontlines of healthcare as an operating room nurse for more than 25 years has allowed me to observe firsthand how stress impacts behavior. Pursuing Stand-up Comedy for years also taught me the importance of looking for laughter in everyday situations. The benefit of these divergent career experiences has led me to believe that our ability to manage well wh ..read more

Does this sound familiar? “Hey! How are you?” “Oh…I’m super busy!” “Super busy, eh? Me too”. I think this exchange paints an accurate portrait of our usual mindset when it comes to managing the steady torrent of demands we face in our day to day lives. And so when we arrive at the end of another ‘busy’ day, rather than taking some time to reflect and decompress, our minds continue to race – whether revisiting events of the past or filling out the next to do list. No wonder we pay scant attention to the Here and Now – to being Present. Which brings me to performance artist Marina Abramovic. In ..read more

When Covid 19 brought life to a grinding halt back in March 2020 I figured “Well that’s it. I’m done!  My business is over! I cant possibly connect with an audience virtually through a lens.” It was a time of introspection as I wrestled with self-doubt, ‘what ifs’ and a defeatist mindset that led me down some deep, dark rabbit holes. Thankfully, after a few weeks of soul searching, I began to reach out to my peers and my industry network to learn what they were doing to adjust to the tough new realities of the speaking business. In this video reel join me as I take you on a tour of my new ..read more

Fed up with this pandemic thing? I sure am. Yet here we are back in lockdown mode, grinding through winter, waiting patiently for the vaccine. It is like we are walking up an endless flight of stairs and – just when you are about to take the last step – inexplicably you find yourself back at the bottom starting all over again! As we approach the 1st Anniversary of the last time we shook someone’s hand, let’s pause to reflect upon all of the things we are doing differently as a result of the pandemic, and recognize how even the small changes we make – when added together – can have a lasting an ..read more

Wow! What a year! To me 2020 felt like a cross between a marathon and Ground Hog Day. I sure will be glad to see it fade away in the rear view. Click here for the video version of my 2020 Year End Message. It seems like eons ago I celebrated New Years with my family on a beach in Mexico. Back then ‘Corona’ meant beer; words like ‘bubble’ and ‘zoom’ had a very different connotation than they do now; and no one could have foreseen the marriage of the words ‘social’ and ‘distance’; and when mask wearing was the exception – not the norm! Talk about a hard re-set! One thing 2020 has done well is de ..read more

In the July edition of HomeStyle Magazine, I was honored to contribute an article titled ‘It’s Time for you to SHIFT’ alongside articles from houseware retailers from across the nation who share their stories of perseverance and resilience in a period of disruption unlike any they have encountered. Whenl Covid 19 came along, I realized I had a lot in common with retailers. They too thrive on interacting with their customers live and in person. And as we know, for many that mode of interacting went out the window last March. As such, I had to quickly reinvent my speaking business and adapt ..read more

“There is no failure except in no longer trying.”  – Elbert Hubbard Change is coming at us fast and from every direction. Every area of our lives is affected: how we socialize, work, study, communicate, shop, exercise, worship, eat – nothing is immune to the sweeping change brought on by the health crisis of our time. How do we respond to the overwhelming change that has been forced upon us for reasons beyond our control? When it comes to the SHIFT, we have a choice! We can be fearful, stand back, and just hope that our world returns to the way it was. Or, we take control and become an ag ..read more

Watch the final piece of my six-part series where we sum up the Mini Mindful Break (‘MMB’) Challenge. Did you miss the fifth video? Catch up here! One thing this Covid-19 lockdown has taught us is that now more than ever we need to dig deep to stay strong. Mini Mindful Breaks can help us build resilience and face life’s challenges head-on, even in the toughest moments. So, by building these small but powerful steps into your day…you can build the habit of mindfulness. Strengthening our mindfulness muscle and bolstering our resilience is like a mental push up. Ask yourself the questio ..read more

    Quarantine Day 22: This morning I saw the neighbor talking to her cat.  It was obvious she thought her cat understood her. I came into my house, told my dog…We laughed a lot!   If ever we needed a reason to laugh it is right now! With dire news dominating the headlines it is easy to get inundated by worry and stress. So, at times like this we need to do everything we can to put the brakes on those negative thought loops by being mindful about how we direct our mental energy. So, how are you spending your mental energy? Are you in control of your thoughts? Or are your th ..read more

BIG WOW! Just over 2 weeks ago I was on a walk in the woods soaking in the simple pleasures of fresh air, the sounds of the wind in the trees and the crunch of snow underfoot. I felt relaxed and happy knowing that winter was in retreat. That is…until I got in the car just in time to hear the World Health Organization announce that we were officially in a pandemic. Within hours of the WHO declaration my speaking engagements lined up for the spring began to get cancelled. One by one…the calendar cleared. The flood of negative news on all fronts became overwhelming. A trip to the grocery store of ..read more