In any job or new venture, self-confidence is an integral part of your success. Your confidence impacts how others perceive you and how you feel about yourself. Read More

The house I grew up in was on a large corner lot in a lovely suburban neighborhood. Our beautifully manicured lawn was difficult to maintain because the neighborhood kids used it as a thoroughfare to quickly get from one street to the next. They used our front lawn to literally “cut the corner” and shave some time off their route through the ‘hood.   For the past several years my family has been busy visiting colleges in search of a perfect fit for each of our sons. On one recent visit, the student tour guide said “Notice that no one walks on the grass here at our college. There are no shortcuts in life, we make sure not to cut corners here at college either.” I loved hearing this! If we are paying attention, there are life lessons all around us! Read More

Do you give yourself an inspection before you leave the house in the morning? Perhaps you use a full-length mirror or a magnifying compact. You may even rely on the visor mirror in your car to make sure that you 'have it all together' before you head out for the day.   My sons attend a military high school and Morning Inspection is a mandatory daily drill. Every member of the student body/brigade has to appear before his inspector each morning before the start of classes. My eldest son is the Cadet Colonel which means he is the person who is responsible for overseeing the inspection process. He was recently telling me how frequently the inspectors have had to say the words "belt-socks-fail". I asked what this meant and he explained that the initial part of the inspection is "silent" as each platoon leader quietly checks the members of his unit for uniform compliance including haircut, shave, tie, name tag, rank stars and bars, ribbons, buttons, etc. Then the inspector says the words: "belt" and "socks"because this prompts the cadet to lift up his sweater or coat and bottom of the trousers in order to show that he is wearing a belt and socks. So at the end of the inspection, you either hear "belt-socks-pass" or "belt-socks-fail" and apparently there have been a lot of fails lately. I was left wondering how it is possible to fail for belt and socks and I quickly learned that there are days when many a cadet leaves home without putting on what I consider to be essential articles!How do you leave home without them? Read More

Apple made headline news again this week. Many people who plunked down $1k+ for the ‘latest and greatest’ iPhone have been understandably upset that their new device has not been charging when plugged into a power supply. Apparently there is a software or hardware bug that is preventing the phones from charging properly. We have come to expect charging problems from our older-model phones that have been dropped, cracked, used and abused. It is another thing entirely when you are unable to use the newest member of your technology family because it is already acting up.   “Charging” is a big topic in my home. “Where is my charger?”...”My charger isn’t working!”...”My phone doesn’t have enough charge!”....”I need a new charger.” If you’ve been to an airport or a Starbucks recently, you have witnessed the masses vying for an available outlet in order to charge up their devices. During a recent trip, while I was waiting in the airport for a connecting flight, a woman stood right next to me (and my charging iPad) waiting/stalking until I was ready to relinquish the coveted spot next to the wall outlet. You probably have had a similar “charging” experience. Read More

Setting your own hours, doing work you love, and sharing your true passion are all perks of being your own boss. While it may seem overwhelming to make the step to becoming the leader of your success, as your own boss, you now have the ability to manifest your future and create the life you’ve dreamed of. Read More

Tuesday was National One-Hit Wonders Day. As I am certain you have noticed, there is a National Day for just about everything. While One Hit-Wonders Day isn't as exciting as National Donut or Ice Cream Day, it is fun to stroll down memory lane to reacquaint ourselves with the many, very popular songs by artists who sadly only had momentary success. For me, it's very easy to come up with my favorite..."Never Gonna Give You Up" by Rick Astley. It is not the most original pick since this song is considered by many to be the most successful one-hit wonder of all time. The reason I love the song isn't because it brings me right back to 1987 when I hear it. It's because all of these years later, the music and lyrics still never fail to get me moving. I did not write this Blog so we can all start contemplating "What ever happened to....?" about Soft Cell ("Tainted Love"), Dexys Midnight Runners ("Come On Eileen") or the Baha Men ("Who Let The Dogs Out?"). I chose to write about one-hit wonders because I seriously think that we should each ask ourselves if we have become one. Read More

You hear a lot of interesting things being shouted when you are sitting on the sidelines watching a sporting event. "Play to the whistle!", "Let's go!", "Talk to each other!", "Get your head in the game!","Brush it off!","Hey, ref! Put your glasses on!", and many more. As I have said in previous posts, I am a Soccer Mom and I love watching my sons play and hearing the "color commentary" from the other parents. Sometimes you can sit close enough to hear what the coaches are saying to the players. At a recent game, the coach of the opposing team was extremely vocal and we could easily hear the things he was shouting at his team. When he shouted to his striker, "Keep your head up after a bad pass!", I said to the parents sitting near me: "That's a lesson than can apply to more than just soccer."   I included a photo of a cute baby with this blog because babies don't need to be reminded to 'keep their heads up.' Once they have the strength to do so, babies keep their heads up all of the time. In addition to the excitement that little ones have about lifting their heads up and gaining a better view of the world, the posture of babies is not linked with their self esteem (or lack thereof). I don't think that babies are capable of having the self-esteem issues that adults have. They don't catch a glimpse of themselves in the mirror and think "I need to lay off the second helpings." You never see a baby perseverating after a tumble...they just get back up and try again. They don't need a coach to tell them to "keep their head up after a bad pass." I often tell my clients that they need to "baby themselves" because I want them to make self-care the highest priority. We take such wonderful care of our babies, yet we fail to treat ourselves with the same loving kindness. Another reason we should baby ourselves is to reclaim our 8-month old self who smiled at our reflection in the mirror, kept trying something we wanted to do until we got it right, and were so happy to be uniquely ourselves (there is no "keeping up with the Joneses" when you are a baby). Read More

I wasn't planning on talking about the Seinfeld show two weeks in a row, but something happened this week that made me think of the "Reservations" episode of the popular television sitcom. Sunday was Grandparent's Day and I placed an order last week for flowers to be delivered to my Mom on Saturday. I know the order went through because I received an email confirmation letting me know. For many of us, once an order is placed, it becomes a "set it and forget it" moment...in other words, you trust that the company you paid to process, complete and deliver your order will follow through. When we didn't hear from my Mom on Saturday, I had a feeling something had gone wrong. When I contacted the floral company on Sunday morning, I was told that even though they received my order and my payment, they had neglected to process the order. It was extremely upsetting and frustrating to hear that there was absolutely no way that they could get the flowers that I ordered for my Mom delivered on Grandparent's Day. I went right into dialogue from the Seinfeld show, "So you know how to take a reservation (order), but you don't know how to hold a reservation (order)!" Needless to say, I had to find another floral company who would be able to process a same-day-delivery (for a large surcharge, of course) and I promised the first company that I would no longer do business with them and that I would use the power of my pen to warn others about their terrible customer service. Read More

I really miss the Seinfeld television show! I am a huge fan of the comedian/actor and Thursday night was definitely "must see tv" for me for many years. There was so much to love about the show - the fabulous actors, the ingenious and clever writing, and the adept way that each and every episode of the "show about nothing" reached out and connected with the viewers through their depiction of everyday life.   If you are missing the show as much as I am, or have yet to discover Jerry Seinfeld's brilliance, then you may want to head on over to Netflix to watch"Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee". The premise of the show is that in each episode, Jerry Seinfeld picks up a celebrity-comedian in a vintage car and they make their way to a local coffee shop where they share conversation over espressos, cappuccinos, and lattes. One of the episodes from several seasons ago really stands out in my mind - the one with Chris Rock. Read More

At IIN, we teach the importance of joy in living a healthy and balanced life. Health isn’t just about eating kale and getting proper exercise; it’s equally important to relax, play, and laugh. We’ve all heard that “laughter is the best medicine,” and it’s true! Read More