Nine Bloody Good Reasons to Give of Yourself

  It was a bitterly cold snowy day when I arrived, and I was one of only four donors at the Red Cross Blood Services center. “I’m so glad you came in today,” said Valerie, the phlebotomist who served me. “This weather has forced cancellation of a lot of blood drives, and we are really in emergency mode.” We laughed and …

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Happiness is Hard Work

This video animation offers a great primer on the difference between traditional psychology and Positive Psych.  In many ways, it’s taken directly from many of my talks — of course the reality is that I studied with Martin Seligman and Mihaly Czikszentmihaly and apparently learned this explanation directly from the source.  The core message:  Creating Happiness in your life does …

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Seven Tips for Back to School

Your past is SO last year. Whatever happens in the next year/next phase of your life need not follow any old pattern, for you always have the opportunity to reboot. Here are seven tips inspired by the annual return to school

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Happy Math — Impact a Million!

My friend Craig James of Cat-Strat.com (a man who lives in abundant happiness) shared his vision of personal impact with me, and I called it Happy Math. I am reprinting a portion of one of his blog posts to offer proof that you are AMAZING in your impact on the world. (read more)

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We are what our habits allow us to be

Human development can be seen as a process of waking up to the choices that were there all the time. When we witness the nature of our habituation, when we open to the possibilities that our habits previously screened out, we have a moment of real choice. (and this is where Coaching emerges as midwife to the birth of a new ways of being in the world)

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Tiny Stories of Gratitude for the Holidays

A client of mine sent this story as part of his holiday message, and I loved it so much I asked for his permission to share it with all of you. My guest columnist, Rob, is an executive who lives in Chicagoland. He shares six tiny stories of miracles and gratitude.

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I Don't Want to be a Superstar; I just want to be ME!

I wish inspirational commercials like this were actually run on television, where they could reach more people and offer positive messages in the media. It’s a minute and a half, and the most powerful message comes right at the end: I don’t want to be a superstar; I want to be better than that. I just want to be me!

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14 Life Lessons from a Trip to Italy

Immersion in a foreign culture refreshes the way I view the world. First, the “different-ness” of life in another country or region opens up new awareness; then, my newly expanded lens causes me to review habits and beliefs that were previously “invisible” to me. Through the lens of learning, I share with you my most powerful life lessons from my family’s recent trip to Italy:

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