My walks with the dogs afford me some daily down-time and 30 minutes or so to clear the mental cobwebs – and sometimes, it is the source of new ideas from the most unlikely places. A recent dogwalk took myself and the dogs down to the beach for some fun and frolic – cabin fever…

We are a few weeks into 2012 now and some of us that made New Year’s resolutions have discovered that in our zeal to achieve change, we have created resolutions that have us feeling too constrained. For most people however, success lies in practicing a balanced approach to life. Finding balance means adopting the path…

Starting a business takes courage. You have to do the job of six people at once, deal with income that is variable at best, and non-existent at worst, and face all the other risks that come with walking where most others don’t dare to tread. But that’s old news – anyone who’s been doing this for…

Ebb and flow. Contraction and expansion. Highs and lows. It’s all about the cycles of life. The entire course of our life follows this up and down pattern of more and then less. Our days flow this way, each following a pattern of more energy, then less energy, more creativity and periods of greater focus…

Our minds are always preoccupied with inconsequential thoughts and pending tasks. We create a facade of constant motion to fool ourselves and others that we have a purpose in life. Instead, it is actually a purgatory of limitless wanting, made up of over shopping, eating, traveling and working. All of it used to alleviate the guilt…

I was a sporadic meditator at best for years, only to really commit to meditation when, just after turning 39, I discovered a mass in my right breast. From the point of discovery of the mass to getting the necessary tests, waiting for results, waiting for surgery, waiting to see if the newly diagnosed cancer…

Some people think that life balance is a thing of luxury, something you pursue when times are good…that we should work like dogs  to remain indispensable in this unpredictable economy. But wait a sec. Weren’t we were already working like dogs, before we added in the fear of losing our jobs? Here’s what got me…

Putting in some extra effort at work can pay off. You can get a promotion or a raise, or wind up on a choice project. The same goes with your personal finances — going the extra mile can help you pay off a debt early or save up for a purchase. You can push through…

I’ve heard a lot of great business ideas lately — and more than a few people announcing that now is the right time to go into business for yourself. I think that there’s a lot to be said for becoming an entrepreneur during a down economy — although the risks definitely go up. With…

Photo courtesy of Libby What do you think of this phrase: “The Joy of Apathy”? It sounds like such a clashing contradiction: how can joy, which is associated with happiness and passion, be found in the opposite stoicism of apathy? While joy and apathy certainly aren’t the same, they often work together and…

What does it mean to be productive? A typical definition might be something like, “Getting the most done in the least possible time.” In a workplace context, this means one and only one thing: more work. If the process for a task can be streamlined so it can be done in half the time, then…

Try making a single change in your outlook Regular readers will know that I am not much attracted to the type of article that can be summarized as “x simple ways to do y.” I distrust overly simple responses to life’s endless complexity, just as I distrust simplistic ways of thinking. However, I can think of one…

Last night my 11-year-old came into my office (9 p.m. to be exact, foreshadow, foreshadow), and said, “Mom, can you please get off the computer and be with me?” I should know better, right? After all, achieving work-life balance is one of the staples of the coaching diet. I turned off the computer and we…

If you’re anything like me, life keeps you pretty busy. Sometimes — more often than I’d like, actually — it’s hard just to keep straight what day it is, let alone where I’m supposed to be and what I’m supposed to be doing. Keeping track of the various roles I play helps keep…

The keys to going home gracefully It’s a myth that you will one day be able to go home from a clear desk. It’s never going to happen. The plain truth is that there will always be work undone at the end of the day. This gives you three options: 1) Go home, but take the…