To What Are You Giving Your Attention?

Act Happy Week Spring Flowers

It’s been a wet winter here, so our yard is a reeking mud marsh dotted with swampy pools deep enough that we’ve attracted nomadic geese. We are in COVID-19 lockdown (Day 7). Our internet is spotty and overloaded, and my nine-year-old iMac chose today to fully embrace dementia. Our sump pump is blocked. A skunk has built a nest beneath …

[ > Keep reading ]

Read more articles like this one in: About Happiness, Happiness, Happiness Tips, Health, Practicing Happiness

Social Distance is not Social Disconnection

Act-Happy-Happy-Feet

Doctors ask us to keep two meters apart to reduce transmission of COVID-19. But don’t let physical distance lead to emotional disconnection. We need each other more than ever right now. Whether you are passing people in a hallway, sitting a safe space away, or speaking via video or phone, Smile. When you smile on purpose, it will affect all …

[ > Keep reading ]

Read more articles like this one in: About Happiness, Everyday Happiness, Happiness, Happiness Tips, Health

Slow Down or You'll Miss It

Slow-down-or-you-will-miss-it

  This month’s post was inspired by a blog from one of my favorite mentors in the consulting world, Alan Weiss. This short excerpt sets the stage and my thoughts follow: An asteroid three times the size of the Empire State Building shot by the Earth last week, “only” three million miles away and traveling 30,000 mph. In terms of …

[ > Keep reading ]

Read more articles like this one in: About Happiness, Everyday Happiness, Happiness, In the workplace, Leadership, Mindfulness, Pleasure, Relaxation
Leadership and Workplace

How To Be Present. Now. Here.

How-To-Be-Present-Now-Here

What Does It Mean To Be Present? Remember, Leadership is not about a title; anyone can be a Leader who creates a positive experience for others. I typically end my essays with a tip like above, but today let’s start with a reminder that leaders are people who make a difference for others, usually through how they engage–what we call …

[ > Keep reading ]

Read more articles like this one in: Communication, Happiness, In the workplace, Leadership, Leadership and Workplace, Relationships, Trust and Coaching
Leadership and Workplace

How Do You Choose To Be?

How-Do-You-Choose-To-Be

  A friend recently told a story to a conference crowd: A traveler climbing a hill saw another man ahead of him running and running. Then he saw the man stop. Then he began running fast again. And again, he stopped. Over and over he repeated this cycle. Eventually the traveler caught up to the running man. He asked, “Tell, …

[ > Keep reading ]

Read more articles like this one in: Articles, Communication, Happiness, In the workplace, Leadership, Leadership and Workplace
Leadership and Workplace

Coaching Wisdom From Prague

Last week I attended a global conference for coaches held in Prague, Czech Republic. I knew it was going to be one heck of a learning journey when my head was already popping with new ideas from the conversations I had at the opening reception, before attending any learning sessions! My own talk on day 1 (Accessing Intuition in Coaching) …

[ > Keep reading ]

Read more articles like this one in: About Happiness, Executive Coaching, Happiness, Happiness Tips, In the workplace, Leadership, Leadership and Workplace, Trust and Coaching
Strategies for Personal Change

Five Simple Things You Can Do Right Now To Be Happier

FIve-Simple-Things-To-Make-Happier

Why do we make Happiness feel so damn elusive and unavailable? Why is it always about the pursuit of Happiness? Can we, for just a moment, notice that it is sitting RIGHT NEXT TO US and all we have to do is turn to it, say “Hi!” and enjoy its company for a moment? Breathe deeply, on purpose, and enjoy …

[ > Keep reading ]

Read more articles like this one in: About Happiness, Everyday Happiness, Happiness, Happiness Tips, Practicing Happiness, Strategies for Personal Change

Talking About Death and Happiness

Talking-About-Death-Happiness

Talking About Death and Happiness Death—and its relationship to life—has been pushing onto my agenda in the past month, so much so that when I sat down to write this month’s post, I found it impossible to not write about it. “But Jim, “you are possibly thinking, “isn’t this site about happiness and leadership?” Well, yes. And as you’ll see, …

[ > Keep reading ]

Read more articles like this one in: About Happiness, Happiness, Happiness Tips, In the workplace, Leadership, Mindfulness, Practicing Happiness
Strategies for Personal Change

More Tiny Wisdoms

My focus on six-word wisdoms last month generated much positive reaction, quite possibly because our attention spans have shrunk to under nine seconds – less time than it’s taken you to read this sentence aloud! Here are a few more, for fun: Ask, “In what ways might I?” You’ve been trained your entire life to focus on problems as barriers, …

[ > Keep reading ]

Read more articles like this one in: About Happiness, Everyday Happiness, Happiness, Happiness Tips, Health, Mindfulness, Pleasure, Practicing Happiness, Strategies for Personal Change
Leadership and Workplace, Strategies for Personal Change

EAT LESS, MOVE MORE, SLEEP WELL

dark-love-header

  I love to play with tight language, which is why Haiku has always been my favorite poetic form (17 syllables and rigid rules, yet infinite possibilities). I also love the brutal simplicity of six-word essays, a format over which I obsessed in high school (see https://www.sixwordmemoirs.com for more) Since January I have attended 28 classes in my global Health …

[ > Keep reading ]

Read more articles like this one in: About Happiness, Communication, Everyday Happiness, Happiness, Happiness Tips, Health, In the workplace, Leadership and Workplace, Practicing Happiness, Strategies for Personal Change