I got permission from my very funny and totally brilliant brother, Andy Goodman, to share an email he sent to me and my sisters. It's a perfect illustration of how to make an irresistible request. It rewards the ask-ee even before they've fulfilled the desired...
My sister Meredith and I celebrate our birthdays in July, but decided to jump the gun by a few days in order to see Bette Midler's performance in I'll Eat You Last: A Chat with Sue Mengers, which closed yesterday. What a thrill! Bette performed the part of the...
My move to NYC has vaguely resembled my first birth experience. Before my eldest was born, I threw myself into a study of pregnancy, the birth process and breastfeeding via reading, enrolling in Lamaze classes and attending La Leche League meetings. I was...
As I've accelerated my decluttering, downsizing phase, I came across a book that I was featured in published by La Leche League in 1984 entitled Of Cradles & Careers by Kaye Lowman. I was combining motherhood and career by running a community-based arts program...
"There is no work/life balance the way it's portrayed," were the opening words of relationship expert and author Dr. Patty Ann Tublin, the third speaker in the Insights from Entrepreneurs series presented at the Westport Library last night. I had arrived early to...
I'm baaaack! There were days during the month of July when I thought I may never utter those words. But time does its thing, and I couldn't be happier to be at my desk, working with clients, planning the upcoming year and reporting out to you. It's appropriate that...
I'm back! The most significant takeaway from my wonderful trip to Mexico and California was that for the entire week at Rancho La Puerta I was fully present and never thought about home, work, responsibilities, finances, 2012 or anything other than what I was...
I had invited a friend from NYC to have dinner with me one evening several months ago. We spoke earlier in the day to nail down her arrival time at the Westport train station. She said, "I'm not really accomplishing anything now because I'm already in 'leaving'...
On a coaching call today the topic of setting limits came up, especially with children living at home. I told my client that when I began practicing Transcendental Meditation (TM) almost 20 years ago, my instructor provided me with a sign to hang on the doorknob of...
You've got to see this! My brother Andy Goodman was invited to participate in a Rant performance in Los Angeles. He chose to talk about our mother and what her death meant to him. Hard to believe that he turned it into an hilarious 10-minute talk which I want to...
I don't do well at buffets. Talk about leaving money on the table! Too many temptations, not enough appetite. When faced with all those opportunities--antipasto, salads, entrees, cheeses, soups, veggie platters, not to mention entire dessert stations, I contract. I...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPjjZCO67WI I occasionally allow myself the joyful distraction of online videos, particularly if they're sent by one of my kids. I say occasionally because the temptation is frequent. Laura, my youngest, sent me this link to something...
While waiting for my friend Patty to arrive for our coffee date recently I observed a young family interacting. Mom and Little Sister were taking care of personal needs in the ladies room. Dad and Big Brother were negotiating the order and table arrangements. An...
While doing a Discovery Session with a new client, she said that her gremlins weren't necessarily voices of negativity as is common with most of the women I work with. "Who do you think you are?" and "You're not that good." Instead, what prevented her from moving...
A colleague recently shared her young assistant's admiration. "You have it so together," the 20-something cooed. If only she knew, my friend thought to herself. Her second thought was, I'm glad I'm projecting that image. As a coach and active networker, I'm privy...