– Jane
· · · Jane’s Thread · · ·
Stuck in the Middle?
Rosabeth Moss Kanter, a professor at Harvard Business School, once said, "My personal law of management, if not life, is that everything looks like a failure in the middle." Having experienced my own legions of failures in the middle, I've become an expert at...
Michio Kushi 1926 – 2014
I let out an audible gasp this morning when I saw the obituary for Michio Kushi, the founder of the Kushi Institute, and a major influence in my life and health. I attended my first macrobiotic conference at Babson College in 2008. Here I was introduced to a...
Flip Sides of the Same Holiday
How busy are you these days? If you're in retail, you're crazed, I'm sure. If you're in a service business...not so much. Everyone is distracted at this time of year--either shopping, feeling guilty about not shopping, worrying about getting it all done or thinking...
Seth Godin Continues to Break the Rules
I had the privilege of hearing Seth Godin at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Monday night. Not a typical venue for this entrepreneurial guru. But, in a stroke, or SPARK, of creative genius, Julie Burstein invited him onto a two-person panel to celebrate a...
“Do you ever feel like a loser?” asks Diane Von Furstenberg
When I read that line in her interview with Oprah in the December issue of O Magazine, I almost spit out my hot water and lemon drink. A rich, gorgeous, multimillionaire business phenom, married to Barry Diller questions her level of achievement? Here's the direct...
The Happiest Woman She Knows
I had the sublime pleasure of being invited to participate on a field trip to Winterthur yesterday organized by a friend in the publishing industry. She generously added me to her guest list which included three additional women, all major players in that field...
Here’s a Courageous Artist/Woman
You see creative types trying all sorts of ways to get attention in NYC--laying out armloads of prints on tables along Times Square, quartets of young men calling for everyone's attention on a subway car and then performing an outrageous gymnastics feat, or the...
You Can’t Save Your A** and Your Face at the Same Time – a writing class assignment
Approaching the West Side Highway exit for 42nd Street, I felt the energy of New York City, its pulsing beat merging with the honking horns and cacophony of people thronging the sidewalks. I was thrilled to be bringing my daughter into the city for her first...
Subjected to Criticism and Feedback
I want to learn and grow. Still, in my seventh decade.(That sounds really old, doesn't it?!) Which means putting myself into a learning environment, like the Gotham Writers Workshop, where I am thoroughly enjoying the memoir class I'm enrolled in. This is my...
What Scares You This Halloween?
Last night I dreamt that I was on my way to my memoir class and was crossing the campus (it's actually housed in a skyscraper on 8th Avenue) on a snowy afternoon. I couldn't get my footing and kept slipping backwards as I was trying to walk towards the building. I...
The Brilliant Mind of Bryan Mattimore
My Mastermind Intensive met last Friday and had the privilege of hearing Bryan Mattimore's expertise on the subject of innovation and creative thinking. He's the author of Idea Stormers and a long-time business associate of mine. He graciously accepted my...
Debbie Fay Nails It
Don't ask me why, but I keep my baby book (yes, from when I was a baby) on the lower shelf of my bedstand. Maybe it's the memoir class I'm taking that has me reviewing my history, but this morning I came across my report card, hand-written my Miss Major about me as...
Choose Your Value and Watch What Happens
At my next Remarkable Women's Network event the focus will be on radical fulfillment. Sounds like a lot to accomplish in two hours, right? But it starts very simply by identifying what's really important to YOU. Easier said than done. How many times this week...
OK in the Lull
This is my 800th blog post. How I've fit all these into my life over the last 6 years is worth thinking about. Especially today when I find myself nearly topic-less, and with time on my hands. I'm almost embarrassed to admit it. I'm not that busy. Blasphemy! Right?...
Banned Words aka Discouraging Voices
I met Nancy Williams following my heart. With my new intention to spend more time involved with 1:1 networking meetings, I was delighted to be introduced to Nancy by a mutual friend. Through that introduction, Nancy approached me via email inquiring about the use...