A Freshly Minted Holiday

One favorite acting-term, from my theatre-days of yore, is “fresh minting”. The term “fresh minting” means experiencing something you’ve done or said before, as if it’s the very first time. “Fresh minting” means experiencing something you’ve done or said before, as if it’s the very first time. Every year as we trim our tree, and […]
Challenging Perception

It’s amazing what you notice when you begin challenging perception. I’m a ritual junkie. When I do my daily walk I take the same route, at the same time, on the same side of the street every day. It helps me think. It soothes me, like a salve; makes me a much nicer person. My husband […]
How Can Your Attention Make a Difference?
It was a beautiful thing. She brought such complete attention, that in her presence I could see his confidence expand. He stood taller. He played with more passion. It was as if she had the power to light him up from within. This past weekend, as my kiddo was reacquainted with his keyboard and asked […]
Could You Be So Right It’s Hurting You?
I woke up this morning to little snowflakes on my windshield. SNOW! Apparently New York didn’t get the ‘it’s Spring” memo. When I saw the snow I immediately felt grumpy and, after 2 or 3 minutes of pouting, I realized I have a choice. I can choose to stay grumpy and let it ruin my mood […]
The Power of Surrender
“We must continue to open in the face of tremendous opposition. No one is encouraging us to open and still we must peel away the layers of the heart.” – Chogyam Trungpa, Rinpoche, Tibetan Buddhist master There are books that you read, that reach down and grab you by the soul and shake you, and […]
How’s Your Filter?
Early in my career I was idealistic, opinionated, and I’m pretty sure that my mouth’s filter was defective. I remember sitting in meetings in my early 20’s, voicing my thoughts and ideas with abandon, not questioning how they might land. I of course thought I was “right” about most everything, and wasn’t afraid to say […]
More Than Meets the Eye
Every time I lead a session of OnStage Leadership, I’m always astounded by the stories my participants share. Stories of resilience, endurance, courage, tolerance, patience, heartache, loneliness, regret. Of a hunger for learning, of kindnesses received, of self discovery. Stories filled with heroes and villains. Of joy and pain. Of wins and losses. So many […]
Elusive Perfection
“Oh my gosh, Jeremy! Look! It’s a Blue Morpho!” I whispered, trying to grab his attention without scaring the butterfly away. “Mom! That’s good luck!” he shouted excitedly, as he ran toward it for a better look. The butterfly, once spotted, fluttered elusively down the path with my gleeful son in pursuit. I would love to […]
When to Say “When”
There are days that I would love to have a clone. Today is one of those days. As evening approaches and I realized that I had not yet written a post, the sinking awareness that I should accept the fact that today’s blog may not be “all that” hit me. And then I thought…I bet many […]
Ask Yourself, “What If…?”
I’m always amazed at how transferable my theatre degree has turned out to be in the world of work. I never imagined that it would serve me as as it has and give me tools that I use daily in my personal and business practices. One acting technique that has become the foundation for everything […]