Every year before Memorial Day, my husband and I spend the week in Yosemite. There is nothing that creates more clarity and inspires more feelings of awe than being surrounded by nature for seven straight days, twenty-four hours a day. I had a strange interaction that I’m still trying to make sense of during the…

Have you ever examined the way you listen? Did you know your inner state while listening directly impacts the other person—what they share, how safe they feel, and whether they open up or shut down? I recently invited a senior leadership team to practice listening to a peer from three different states: Here’s the typical…

Lately, I’ve been thinking about the connection between anxiety at work and anxiety on stage. It’s the same heartbeat, really—the ache to be seen, to belong, to make something matter. Yes, I started with talking about a literal stage, but let’s broaden it. “Taking the stage” can mean leading a meeting, navigating a tough conversation,…

Many of you know that my dad was a letter carrier for the post office when I was growing up. He loved being the person everyone could count on, and he took pride in walking three miles every day to deliver the mail, no matter what the Chicago weather had in store for him. Meeting…

Did you know we check our phones an average of fifty-eight times each day? In a hyperconnected world, we’re drowning in information. We’re constantly bombarded by headlines, updates, and breaking stories. If you’re like me, you sometimes wish for a flip phone. Flip phones are actually trending again, thanks to people driven by nostalgia, a…

Our origin stories shape us. They’re not just chapters in our history; they’re the foundation for everything we build. Origin stories also can fuel our confidence to overcome anxiety or fears and embrace our potential. My professional journey began in the warehouse of the S&H Green Stamp Company. Remembering where it all started has been…

Denver artist Diana Merkel shared this photo of her art installation at Burning Man 2024 with me. I love these pods because they are an ode to the stoop, talking circles, and our early origins of sitting around a fire. Communing over a flame dates back thousands of years and explains our connection to storytelling,…

Ever since I saw the movie Pretty in Pink, I’ve been fascinated with reusing and repurposing clothes. I had the most fabulous opportunity this week to go to a “designer repurposing event” and got to bring in an old denim jacket that I never wear anymore to have it refreshed by designer Simon Ungless, who…

Paul and I were delighted to spend a week in Yosemite in May. It was the first time we were there without a fire going on and with the waterfalls in full force. We hiked to the top of Nevada Falls and kept our eyes open for bears. If you haven’t been to Yosemite, I…

I learned to sew when I was in fifth grade, and I never stopped. My eighth-grade graduation present was a sewing machine, and I quickly turned into Molly Ringwald in Pretty in Pink and made all my own clothes during high school. When I turned sixteen and was able to get my first paying job,…