First, let me be clear: I am not a gamer. I would rather curl up with a well-written and engrossing paper-bound book, than sit in front of a screen any more than is required in this modern life….

As a nonprofit leader, you may be fretting over whether you’ll meet your end-of-year fundraising goals. Or ruminating on the things you wanted to achieve this past year and didn't…..

As a child when I heard someone was "on the horns of a dilemma," I imagined a "dilemma" was an impala-like animal with a man hanging from its horns by his suspenders. Even if he managed to get unhooked from one horn, it seemed to me he wasn’t much more comfortable on the other….

We’re often good at playing individual notes, but we have a much harder time attuning to the whole song. We’re quick to offer answers, but not sustained solutions….

In the US, almost all of us have been raised with a 'growth' mentality. Bigger is better. More is better. Growth is always good. But what if 'better' has nothing to do with 'bigger'?….

A few evenings ago I went to a presentation about Restorative Justice (RJ). It wasn't an abstract talk about how we need to move away from a criminal justice system based on punitive action to a system that supports accountability and healing. It was deeply personal because….

"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that don't work." — Thomas A. Edison

I love this quote by Edison….. I couldn't agree more, but geez, I can still find it hard to consistently approach life in this way….

…What if I had let the music play me rather than the other way around? Over the years, I've learned that's really the only way to be in sync not only with music, but with everything else in life too….

I spent the first few decades of my life being a "will power" junkie. I thought: No matter what the challenge, no matter what my needs and interests might be, I’ll do whatever it takes to make it happen….

Have you ever felt confused by what “authenticity” means? I sure have. The prevailing Western view is that authenticity is something static and unchanging — something that is uniquely “you” over time. People are often judged for being inauthentic or not "themselves” if they express ambivalence or modify their perspectives on an issue or show up differently in different contexts.

Have you ever said to yourself, “I’m going to find more balance in my life”? Haven’t we all? We imagine what a wonderfully balanced work day or week would look like. We’re going to take more breaks, have time for exercise, eat healthy lunches (not at our desk) and no longer work late into the evening. And then life happens….

“Mr. Duffy lived at a little distance from his body….” Mr. Duffy, as depicted by James Joyce in his short story, “A Painful Case,” in fact lived his entire life detached from his physical existence – he even referred to himself internally in the third person. Painful indeed! But don’t most of us live a short distance from ourselves at times?

One of the best-known characters in Western literature, Ebenezer Scrooge, experiences a major shift in consciousness in Charles Dickens’ novel, A Christmas Carol. Scrooge is visited in the night by three spirits who ask him powerful questions about his life….

Have you ever had a close friend ask you a question that suddenly changes your perspective? The blinders you thought were the edge of your world fall away. You realize how much you’ve been limiting the brushstrokes of your own imagination.

…We humans are no less in need of roots and no less interconnected with one another than the trees are (not to mention, with all other life forms). The more we are rooted in what matters to us, the stronger we can grow. The more we nourish our network of relationships, the greater impact we can have on what we most care about….

…I needed to learn (and continue to learn) to nourish what is most life-affirming, authentic and meaningful in myself so that I can accompany others in becoming even more of who they are and want to be in the world….

When I first heard about coaching some years ago, I thought it was mostly a feel good service for people who already had a trainer, a nutritionist, a therapist and a nanny. Not a profession I personally found compelling.

Wow, was I wrong….