Search this site

Hurricanes took huge tolls on families in Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico. Fires swept through Northern California totally destroying 8,000 structures and taking 51 lives. My financial advisor and two clients lost everything. We discovered major electrical damage and potential fire in our house, resulting in a stunningly expensive need to rewire over two-thirds of our house. My best friend buried her husband of 64 years and within five months, also buried her 17 year-old grandson. Opioid addictions kill thousands and within a month after the massacre in Las Vegas, 300 more people in the U.S. are dead from guns. Are we exhausted yet? I believe so. In fact, Dr. Mary McNaughton-Cassill, a professor of psychology at the University of Texas in San Antonio and an expert on the connection between media consumption and stress calls it “compassion fatigue”. The steady 24-7 barrage of bad news is resulting in anxiety, lack of sleep, angry conversations and yes, depression. That’s a costly price to pay. And just like pulling money out of the bank, we all need to learn how to put “money” back in and regain some modicum of optimism and peace. Here are some tips: Restrict your flow of news, alerts, and text messages. As someone who starts the day with two newspapers and my phone, this is the hardest thing to do. On a smart phone, you can set time boundaries in which you receive no text calls except for emergencies from family members. Begin each day with at least 10 minutes of silence and meditation. I have found an app called Insight Timer. While there are guided meditations, I prefer just the single clear sound of a basu bowl. Set it for 10 minutes (or longer) and just sit still and breathe. There is also a list of music that is calming. Take a break with uplifting and/or fun videos. Upworthy always has small videos of everything from light-hearted fun to uplifting stories. Cute Emergency is a stream of memes and videos all about animals. Determine which causes most touch your heart. Every day I get requests for everything from Mercy Ships to the Red Cross—and always with pictures that break your heart. I have found two organizations that I have researched and that support children and families. These I pay attention to. The rest I discard. Spend time with loved ones. And that does not mean sitting around the dinner table with everyone on their phones. Put the phones AWAY!  Begin a practice of asking everyone for one happy moment or something that struck them as funny. It’s a great practice that can rewire your brain from the negative connections to positive ones. End each day with gratitude. When I hear myself stressing over the cost of all manner of home emergencies, I must stop and remind myself, at least I do have a home. And yes, I will donate to the cities devastated by all these natural disasters. So, take care of yourself first. You are the only one who really can!

Renowned leadership expert, Jim Kouzes, calls Bill Treasurer's newest book "one of the most unique and value books you will read all year." In this second interview, join me as I ask the founder of Giant Leap Consulting about a concept in his book A Leadership Kick in the Ass. This concept revolves around the courage it takes for a leaders to surrender!

Today I have a featured blog post on Inspire Me Today and I'm going to share a bit of it below but you can read the rest on the Inspire Me Today website!  Thank you to the staff of Inspire Me Today for featuring me! Living In The Now If I could share 500 words to inspire, this is the important wisdom I'd want to pass along to others... I’ve been called the “Woman of Independent Means.” Funny, but it seems to capture all the vigor and verve of self-sufficiency, achievement and hard core measurable goals which marked my passage and intentions upon entering the decade of the 90s. I determined to change the world, to make quantum leaps in financial gain, to publish and to produce. After all, 40 was upon me and time a’fleeting. Now, closer to 65 than to 40, I realize that the better triumphs have not come from reaching these goals but in the shadows and nuances of missing them. When things have not gone as planned and I am forced to stop in pain and confusion, I learn and grow more. And I discover how very dependent we are upon an external world to help us see meaning and discover the deeper purpose behind the seemingly meaningless. It is impossible to truly be a “woman or man of independent means.” Read the rest of my post at Inspire Me Today!

I am sick. OK, having read the headline you are probably shaking your head and muttering, “You sure are. No one loves ironing.” But I am physically sick this week: chills, deep congestion, ear infection, nausea, dizziness and a general all-over body fatigue. It’s a catch 22: lay down and cough away, risking pneumonia or move around so phlegm doesn’t gather but risk the nausea and dizziness from my ears. Ironing is a solution. I take but a few steps to the laundry room, grab pillow cases, and let the warm steam smooth their wrinkles and soothe my soul. In 10 minutes, I am back in bed. As I did that today, I realized that ironing has always been a comforting activity for which I am grateful. Mom started me on Dad’s handkerchiefs. Remember those? Irons did not have steam so all clothes were rolled in a damp towel and then pulled out to be pressed over and over again until the moisture and wrinkles went away. I graduated to pillow cases and eventually to shirts. The seams had to lay down flat, the back placket went first, then the sleeves and lastly the body of the shirt. In the days of spray starch, I’d end up with six or more shirts on hangers, all crisply saluting my effort. I recently read that Sandra Bullock irons when she feels stress. I get that. When nothing in your life works, when you can see no results, ironing offers immediate return on the investment of little time. I believe it’s the small things that we do that often offer larger rewards. So when my body is giving out, I can at least iron. What do you do? PS: Yes, I still iron pillowcases!

Bill Treasurer is the author of A Leadership Kick in the Ass and a consultant for over 20 years to firms that want to grow courageous leadership. In this series, join me as I talk with Bill about how to help leaders who are oblivious to the negative effects of their own behavior.

Resilient workplaces and resilient relationships are the result of a power give-and-take exchange of energy. Listen to award-winning author, Achim Nowak, as we discuss what you can do to foster that energy exchange.

Can a leader spark energy in others? Join me and Ted X Speaker, Achim Nowak, for a quick insight into what you can do to re-energize others.

Let’s face it: in a 24-7 world with multiple competing demands for our time talent, and yes—treasure—it is so easy to become overwhelmed. Join me in this 3-part series with my guest and colleague, Achim Nowak. Achim and I connected at Wisdom 2.0, a 3-day intensive experience that brought thought leaders together to explore wisdom in all its various dimensions. As founder and CEO of Influenc, Achim and his team are international coaches and trainers of C-level executives— all focused around ENERGY. Enjoy these simple to say but sometimes harder to do pieces of advice:

Todd Adams, CEO of Star Thrower productions, the distributor of my training film Gifts from the Mountain, just wrote this piece and I asked his permission to share it. Important reading! A recent study at the University of Michigan found that empathetic skills in college students have declined by as much at 48% over the last 8 years. The reasons for the decline are many, but two in particular stand out: People participate in less face-to-face communication Mobile devices are taking the place of actual interaction This same challenge is faced by organizations. The ever-increasing drive for productivity has changed the time people spend together. Remote workplaces, file sharing, and self-paced learning all contribute to fewer face-to-face interactions. This lack of physical interaction makes it difficult to truly connect. As noted by Dr. Sherry Turkle in her book, Reclaiming Conversation. “Empathy is uniquely human. It cannot be mastered without face-to-face conversations.” Improving empathy requires an investment. The good news is that the actual cost of improving empathy is small, and the potential payout huge. Research has shown that teams with higher empathy are more creative and productive. To improve empathy, organizations require an investment of time. The goal should be to allow time for people to get to know each other as individuals. Here are a few simple suggestions: Schedule informal discussion time at meetings - Set aside a few minutes at each meeting for non-organizational discussions. Encourage face-to-face communication - When possible, encourage people to speak directly, rather than email. Special events – Do things not directly related to work. Watch and discuss a video, plan an outing or group breakfast - it doesn’t matter. Remind people you care – This simple action will encourage trust. Trust will improve communication. Communication will improve empathy. Nice. We all have the ability to be more empathetic. To improve empathy, individuals require an investment of commitment. Here are a few ways to improve your ability to empathize: CHALLENGE your own assumptions. DO NOT JUDGE the choices of others based on your personal upbringing/life experiences. LISTEN to others’ stories. TRY to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. Little changes can make a big difference. Invest in improving empathy. You will like your return on investment. Here are two short video series by my colleague, Dewitt Jones, that can help you address empathy. You can preview them here.

You’ve spent days and weeks preparing for this opportunity. You’ve enlisted colleagues to give you advice. You've practiced what you want to say. You’ve written many scenarios and improved each time. Those who know the process exclaim, " You’ve got it for sure." Not so. After all that work, a rejection email appears. You sit in bewilderment: angry, confused, hurt, stunned, and potentially even considering just plain quitting. I’ve been there. And I bet you have also. Plug in whatever context you wish and we all—to a greater or lesser degree—can recognize the response. Perhaps you feel stupid, worthless, and incompetent. You might also feel like giving "them" a not-polite gesture and exclaiming "What do they know?" None of these responses will move the needle forward. I know. I have done them all. Over time, consider these resiliency options. First: Get angry. Pout, cry, yell, whine, moan and eat dark chocolate. Whatever is your comfort food.You’ve wanted this for so long. You worked so hard. You are allowed and encouraged to have this emotion. But then—time to get over it.  Anger and self-pity won’t move you forward. Two: Remember the past "setbacks."  I’ll bet if you think about it, you can recall a time when the door slammed shut and you thought all was lost. But today, you realize it put you in a different place that would never have happened otherwise. Example:  Early in my career, I was a senior public relations consultant in a PR firm. I got to the place where I hated writing press releases. I didn’t want to do this work. My escape was waiting for my husband to win a large contract and we’d move to Seattle where I would be the communications director for a new project. Yahoo! Alas, the deal was lost. I had to make my move. I resigned and now, years later, I realize I would never have started my business had we won the contract. Wow! Three: Reframe. Is there another way you could frame the event that shows something positive? What did you learn? Did you make new friends? Can you use any of this experience for another project? Remember that glue that refused to stick became 3M’s famed post-it-notes. Four: Express gratitude. The first wealth is health. If you have that, say thank you. In the end, love is the most meaningful of all. Do you have people who love you? Say thank you. Do you have the basic necessities of life? If so, say thank you. Fifth: Begin again. A mountain is toppled by a rain drop. An elephant is devoured by an ant. Small drops, small bites. One at a time. Take a deep breath.Move forward. Be blessed.

Resilient managers know that growing through challenges as well as opportunities is a great career move. However, when one moves from the rank and file into the echelon called “boss”, strange things can happen to the relationships with people who were once on your peer level. We found this marvelous infographic that offers 10 tips for how to grow INTO the role as a first-time manager. I trust you will enjoy.

I’m throwing down the foul flag. The use of profanity and sexuality explicit words must go. It is a mockery of intelligence to think that such low level language carries greater weight than words of substance and thought. We call them four-letter words because they require little education. I would say they are used by fourth graders but that would be an insult to nine year-olds. Years ago, I’d get to my office at Amelia Island Plantation in Florida very early. It was the best time to prepare for the work ahead. Every morning, two of the fourth-grade boys waiting for the school bus would come into my office to chatter away.  On this particular morning, they came in quite agitated. “Quick, Eileen. Teach us some bad words. The kids at the bus stop are using them and we don’t know many!” “Hey kids—it takes zero intelligence to use bad words. What if I teach you BIG words that actually means something and will confuse the heck out of your tormentors?” My little friends high-fived each other and waited for my instructions. Here is what I told them to say:  “Your bellicose verbiage and outlandish diatribe speaks volumes about your potential IQ.It might be time to reconsider what you are spewing.” I explained what it meant and they repeated the words until they had them memorized.  I told them to state the sentences and then just walk away from the bullies. The next morning, they ran in full of glee, telling me it worked and that the bullies were scratching their heads. I couldn’t help but remember a great Dorothy Parker line, “In a battle of wits, I never argue with an unarmed man.” So, two points here: first, if you have no clue as to what I taught my nine year-olds to say, best start boning up. But second, do not accept the language that is streaming at us. Register your strong disapproval—whether in written or in verbal form. Insist that you will not tolerate or listen to such foul words. If they work for someone, write their manager. If you know the parent, tell the parent. It would do ALL of us a world of good to hear profound thoughts instead of profane.