Recently, I connected with writer Farnoosh Tarobi's team for an article she was writing for O, The Oprah Magazine on '5 Things To Know Before Quitting Your Job.' I thought long and hard about my best advice on this, because so many people are struggling with feeling miserable in their jobs and desperately wanting to quit without having another one lined up, but can’t decide what’s best. My personal take i...

We’ve all heard the many pundits and researchers claim that our country’s current educational model is simply not sustainable for the vast majority of students and families who want to engage in it, now and in the future. Costs are soaring and student debt is escalating, with the national student loan debt at $1.41 trillion, leaving us to wonder exactly why are higher education prices so exorbitant and will...

Working with people who can't wait to “dig deep, discover their true self and illuminate the world with it,” we focus on not just landing a job, or making more money. These folks are pursuing the big dream or vision that will change everything for them, and bring the thrill, reward and impact that they desperately long for. In fact, this one dream has become a true calling for them. Over time, I’ve...

When I hear people complain about the myriad of challenges they face, and what holds them back from creating the life they dream of, many are not referring to physical challenges. Instead, they’re grappling with deep internal blocks, fears and limitations. But what happens when those internal challenges are overlaid with physical ones, such as blindness? How do people come to terms — in productive, inspiring and...

In the leadership development work I do with mid- to high-level professionals, we begin by focusing on how to help each individual lead his or her own personal life in more positive and enlivening ways. You can’t lead anything well (including others, projects, growth, or organizational behavior) if you’re not honest, brave, emotionally self-aware and mentally healthy. After all, you’re a person when you sh...

For many years during my 18-year corporate career, I remained in a number of roles I disliked, and a few of them were a terrible fit. Now I see now that there were some critical factors that influenced my strong resistance to make the changes I needed to, including worries about money, self-esteem issues, confusion as to what I really wanted, reluctance to start over in a new job, and just plain fear. Now, after two rei...

Several years ago, I wrote an article on '6 Toxic Behaviors That Push People Away: How To Recognize Them In Yourself and Change Them.' A great deal about that post and the reaction to it was a huge surprise to me. But most of all, I was touched and moved by how many people wrote (over 1,100 people) that they were sick and tired of their own toxicity, and were desperate to change and heal. I was inspired by the bravery pe...

As I enter my second decade of helping people build happier lives and livelihoods, I continually see that our professional successes and failures, and our crushed hopes, have everything to do with what we believe about ourselves internally, and how we’ve come to operate in the world and navigate through our challenges. People tend to see outer circumstances beyond their control as the culprit for their dissatisfact...

Experiencing public humiliation can feel excruciatingly challenging and confidence-crushing, especially for leaders of organizations who thrive on appearing that they have it all together. But as we see in our personal lives, humiliation can be one of the most potent and transformative pathways to growth, resilience and courage. Interested in learning more about how we can turn our humiliating experiences into fuel for g...

Last week, something happened on LinkedIn, and for me, it was the last straw. I received (for the hundredth time in a few months) an autoresponder from someone’s LinkedIn account that pitched their business hard, offering me a free consultation on something I had less than zero interest in, immediately after connecting with me. When an action like this hits me as really off-putting and annoying, it’s usually...