I just returned from five days with my professional colleagues at the annual National Speakers Association conference in Orlando. Despite freezing meetings rooms, Florida storms, humidity, and sleeping rooms that refused to cool off, I am so grateful I went.Why? My community! Like all of us in a specific profession, we are a practice community family. No one except my NSA colleagues understand the demands of travel, the need to constantly research and improve, the wacky audiovisual glitches that happen all too often, the clients who ask for one thing and then look for something else, and the great joy of a standing ovation and the agony if you don’t quite hit the mark. But there’s something else that a practice community offers: feedback. I believe this is true in all professions. A caring community doesn’t just offer thoughts for improvement, but probably more important, a caring community validates what heart and soul we bring to our work. I know for me, I am often so close to what I do, I do not realize the positive impact I have had on a fellow speaker. Thus, it’s really easy to slip into place where you wonder if what you do even matters. How can I relate the surprise and joy when Linda Larsen, CSP, CPAE told this audience that I approached her decades ago, looked her in the eye, told her she was tremendously talented, and affirmed her work.I barely remember that event but to Linda it was a profound moment. This past week, as I stood on the stage next to the panel I was facilitating and heard Linda say this, I started to cry. Here’s the deal.  Linda did not HAVE to share any of this. Her decision to open up in front of 100 or more colleagues was not only kind, but it filled a place in my heart. This event was YEARS ago but it mattered deeply to her. Frankly, it mattered even more to me. What would it take for all of us to take the time and specifically tell people about how they have touched us? Can you imagine the joy that could resonate --- joy that could warm even the coldest meeting room. Thanks, Linda!

Given the vitriolic verbiage that spews from twitter feeds, angry demonstrations, and from protesting groups, my heart often sinks into concern that we have lost the human characteristic of compassion. However, a recent incident renewed my faith in what we can do for each other when we plunge into action in a time of need AND taught me a valuable lesson. The setting: Maligne Canyon, a natural 160-foot deep gorge in the Jasper National Park in Jasper, Alberta. Steep paths and five bridges allow hikers to delve deep into the heart of the earth as Karst topography melts before the onslaught of water.The day was damp, overcast and the paths easily slipped away if one was not careful. We came to a woman on her back, husband and young daughter surrounding her. Her leg was immobilized and she was holding her head up. "OMG - what happened? How can I help?" I blurted out. The husband said someone had already called for a rescue. It appears she had tried to get out of the way of a tour group coming down the trail and in the process, slipped and-it-appeared… broke her ankle. "There were instantly three Iranian doctors in the group," said her husband. "They came and did what they could for her leg, gave her a pain pill and wrote down the name of it so I could show the paramedics." I didn't have anything to help prop her head up and she said vertigo just hit if she tried to put it down. She was trembling from cold, pain and - I suspect - fear. I knelt beside her and talked her through taking deep, slow, breaths. It stopped the trembling. We told them we'd check back when we turned around since the trail was narrow and God knows how paramedics would get down. About 15 minutes later we returned. This time, an Asian man from another tour group was tucking her in the metallic emergency blanket he carried. He went back down the trail and came back with hand warmers. She started to cry and ask if she could give him a hug. Just then the amazing paramedics came… five of them with a stretcher on wheels that had to be lifted over the rocks as her husband exclaimed, "The kindness of strangers!" OK: my lesson. My blind spot. I had been grumpy about "the tour groups" that crowd things in the park. I was a model of unconscious bias. In that instance, I saw how my initial reactions to tour groups totally discounted the humanity that resides in all of us. Shame on me. A lesson in many ways.

Today nurses in 2600-plus health care facilities, 50 states and 15 countries walk taller, prouder, and renewed in their work because of the death of a 33 year-old man. The power of heartbreak that becomes a heart aroused is one that every individual and organization can benefit from. In late 1999, at the age of 33, Patrick Barnes awoke with some blood blisters in his mouth. Having survived Hodgkins Disease twice, he was admitted to the hospital and diagnosed with the auto-immune disease, ITP (Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura). Pat and his wife, Tena, had just had their first child two months before he became sick. You can read the rest of the article on LinkedIn!

Yes, your mother. Actually my mother too. She is Mother Earth and I have been listening very hard as I come to the end of a road trip from California through Nevada, Idaho, Montana, and onto the Canadian Rockies of Alberta and British Columbia. It's a perfect message for July 4 in the US and for the 150th anniversary of Canada. I have recorded some thoughts for you.

Here in the Canadian Rockies, the summers are magnificent, and also very short. Cottonwood trees blow their fuzz everywhere in an attempt to take root before snows come. Flowers bloom in abundance, taking advantage of the sun. And deer lay their fawns in tall, tall grass. Sometimes I think I waited too long to do something, thinking that the "season" will go on forever and that there is time. I'm reminded not to waste time. But to take advantage of every minute. Like seeing the deer birth her fawn. What is it that you need to birth?

Do any of these sound like you: Your organization has been downsized, “right-sized,” capsized. Perhaps you’ve been merged, remerged, submerged. Every time you think you know the answers, they change the questions. Up is down and down is up. Perhaps you have the opposite challenge: your organization is growing so fast that it's hard to maintain the pace! Business change is a daily fact of life. Perhaps you’re the leader with followers looking toward you as a model to move forward in complex and demanding times. You feel stuck in a time warp and want nothing better than the old days of career progression, linear movement, and a marketplace that is predictable and faithful. To read the rest of the article click here!

On the fourth day of my road trip with my husband I was amazed by the waters flowing from the Flathead River, glacial melt, creeks and the McDonald River have created wonderful waterfalls in Glacier National Park. But even more amazing is the collaboration of two countries to create an International Peace Park that stands testimony to what a collection of individuals can do when PEACE is an objective.

I've discovered that there is a big difference between flying and traveling by car.  When flying I work hard to take only what I need.  It's expensive and exhausting to try to drag everything you think you need through an airport.  A road trip is completely different.  We can pack the car full of things that we may or may not need along the way.  My lesson: boundaries push you to make smarter decisions. We have books, food, water, trail mix, boxes of all manner of shoes and hiking stuff. Layers of clothes for Canada . And now I wonder why I packed 8 t-shirts?

Long ago and far away—in a distant galaxy—I was married to man who thought marathon road trips were the best thing since sliced bread. The trick was to drive as many miles as possible in one day, sleep in some unassuming hotel, and head out again on the road. Roads were always Interstate and not interesting. There were a few stops along the trip for a hurried look-see, cross it off the “I’ve done that” list and head on out again. I was always the passenger and never the driver. (Although I do admit, I am a champ at reading road maps. Siri was not even in the picture!) This year, with my beloved spouse of 37 years, I have INSISTED on going on his long-awaited road trip. I can’t believe I insisted —and for two weeks too. But this time, I am sure it will be different. I pray it will be different. He has marked out backroads, side trails and places like Glacier National Park, the Canadian Rockies, and the farm towns along the eastern Washington and Oregon borders. I am determined to look with new eyes…to seek resiliency lessons... to find funny things... and to laugh loud and long. Wanna come? I am going to try and capture video along the way and make observations.  You can see my first video below and I'll add others to upcoming blogs. Remember, you get to sleep in your own bed. I will keep you posted. Adios.. and vaya con Dios!

A wise person once said, “If you don’t have a sense of humor—you have no sense!” Judging from the dour faces in Congress, I think the pundit is right. But we don’t have to mirror the snarls and growls that haunt Washington, D.C. That’s probably why so many people have been drawn to the parodies found on late night talk shows. However, life has its own way of presenting resiliency tests without looking to politicians. Work challenges, life challenges, opportunities that demand our energy—you name it. That’s why I so firmly believe that presilience™ (proactive resilience) is a daily life skill. One of those skills is laugh-ability. Start looking for anything that nudges your funny bone, takes you by humorous surprise, or gets you caught up in some comedic internal conversation—like the mystery of the spice drawer. Think about it: all the spices have screw top lids or plastic pour spouts. Use the spice, close the lid and put it away. Then how the heck do you open a drawer and find granules of various spices scattered throughout? My theory: they come alive at midnight and dance. Haven’t figured out what magical hand unscrews the lids but I can hear the dialogue: “Mrs. Dash, wanna tarragon with me?” “Hey, I’ve got the chives. They itch! Say Meg, you’re a nut—how about scratching my label?” “Umm, Sage you’re a wise guy. Let’s leave bay and go cinnamoning!” “I love to tango with Ginger. And how about Lawry: he’s so allspice!” “O-Regano, you dance a fabulous paprika.” "Yo—watch it guys. It’s thyme. Screw back lids. Assume standing position. Dance is over.” Hope you got the chuckle out of reading this. Now—send me YOUR funny observations.

I love to garden. There’s something about kneeling down on the ground, putting a trowel into the earth, and deciding what should be planted—or weeded—or seeded. Sure it takes time and I can get pretty dirty. I might need to amend the soil, make sure I have the right plants in the right sun or shade, and also be willing to pull out plants that no longer thrive. Gardening has much to teach us about life.We all know you have to get your hands dirty to achieve results. Looking at a Burpee Seed Catalog will not get the garden planted. Nor will gazing at a vision board turn dreams into reality:you must take action. A successful gardener also knows the truth of the saying from Ecclesiastics: “for everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven.” Think about where you are in your life and what is YOUR season? In gardening terms, WINTER is a time for rest, for regeneration and renewal. What looks like a frozen landscape actually hides the blossoms waiting for warmth.You might be in a season of Winter, hunkering down, waiting, watching. Winter doesn’t last forever—as Camus insisted: "In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer.And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there’s something stronger – something better, pushing right back." - Camus But SPRING must precede Winter. Flowers and buds are fragile. They require water and fertilizer.You might be too. What do you need to nurture so you can to burst forth in the richness of Summer? And Summer is indeed a gardener’s delight. Look at all the fruits and vegetables that abound. The wildflowers also peak in mountains and valleys. If you are in a Summer Season, you are on a great growth spurt, watering ideas, fertilizing projects. In Fall, you pick the fruits of your labors. When is the best time to harvest? Was it a bountiful crop of ideas, insights, sales?What must be nurtured and set to rest for indeed, Winter will come. Yes, I have come to realize that life parallels the natural world.The decisions I make are not unlike those a green thumb gardener makes. To thrive, I must know my season, grow my season. Feed, Seed Weed. Everyday wisdom—every day.

Resiliency is the new trendy word. Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant have sparked many conversations and insights with the publication of their book Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience and Finding Joy. The tragic, sudden death of Sheryl’s husband became the threshing ground for facing heartbreak with incredible honesty and pain. Her friend, Adam Grant, a psychologist at Wharton and a best-selling author, held her hand and offered concrete steps based upon his research. It’s a powerful, compelling book. And thankfully, has brought the topic of resiliency into the forefront.However, lest we think that resiliency is a skill used only in deep personal loss, I contend that resiliency is a life skill and one, frankly, that needs to be taught in our schools. John Doran is a Guidance Counselor in the Patrician Secondary School and author of Ways to Wellbeing a program promoting resilience and positive mental health for students nationwide and internationally.In a recent article, John states that schools might be preparing children for a world that no longer exists. Life has become far more demanding, competitive, and filled with stress. A fear of failure and thus risk avoidance is finding its way into educational systems and is also a pattern for every generation. Doran continually reinforces students to see setbacks as learning tools. In fact, Adam Grant’s research shows that successful products (like rocket launches) are possible only when failure is closely examined from the lens of “what did we learn” versus “who is to blame”. He also offers a lovely phrase to help with what I think of as “reframing”. FAIL becomes First Attempt in Learning. And mistakes are called VILE “Very Interesting Learning Experience.” In my book, Your Resiliency GPS, I call these events AFGO—Another Frigging Growth Opportunity. It does make me laugh—a critical piece of our resiliency skill set.