You can do hard things.

And it's easier to do the hard things when you honor what you need, focus on what really matters to you, and make choices that are a reflection of who you want to be.

I have been juggling a lot lately, as I am sure you are juggling a lot too.

My mom, Marlene, fell seriously ill in August, and since then, I had been balancing spending time with her along with work, kids, and the rest of life.

Back in August, she ended up in the hospital unexpectedly for two weeks. Each day, I would work in the morning and then travel 45 minutes each way to the hospital to be with her for the afternoon and evening.

My mom got somewhat better, was told she could make a full recovery and spent a month at her home after that (a couple of hours away).

While I didn’t see her in this time, I talked to her often and did a lot of research on her illness. A full recovery didn’t seem likely and I silently grappled with the possibility that we might only have a year or two...

Many leaders like you are no longer willing to settle for feeling overwhelmed every day, sacrificing being present with your family or enjoying your...

With any change, one day you’ll feel like you are crushing it and that “you’ve got this”, and the next day it might seem like nothing is going right and you're wondering how you'll make it through the day.

You will have amazing days where you are fired up, energized and being the leader, parent and person you want to be.

And, you will have days where you feel overwhelmed, frustrated that nothing seems to be going right, and when you definitely aren’t showing up as your best self.

Especially now when our days are often turned upside down and people are already feeling on edge.

Change is messy. Not everything is supposed to go smoothly, so stop expecting it to. You have a choice to embrace it instead of fighting it.

Over the years, I’ve learned how to thrive even with all the demands and expectations (which is what I help others to do now).

Last week, I had a couple of the not-so-good days. This is a time of change getting back into the...

For me, the month of July means summer vacation, enjoying time at the lake with family and friends, and taking a real break from the daily responsibilities and to-dos.

And, to reset and recalibrate from the past few months.

This summer though, I realized that I needed an even bigger reset than usual!

After a year of running my business and helping more than 300 busy professionals to step out of overworking, feel less overwhelmed and stressed, and be confident to lead and live aligned with their values.

Juggling that with my kids being in and out of school unexpectantly and the moral fatigue of constantly figuring out what was ok and not ok to do.

Being a coach, mom, teacher, wife, organizer, mediator, cheerleader, and more.

As I got to the middle of July, when I usually ramp up in business again, I realized I didn’t want to do ANY work  -- other than serve existing clients.

I longed for more downtime than usual and did not feel like forcing myself to do things.

I gave...

You might find yourself thinking a situation is black and white, right or wrong, or all or nothing.

I used to find myself often "all in" on this unhelpful mindset, such as . . 

• I am completely confident in myself or doubt myself altogether.
• I am right, and "they" are wrong.
• I make huge strides or zero progress.
• I will follow the process exactly, or I am doing it wrong.
• I hit my goals, or I am a failure.
• It has to be perfect or doesn't happen at all.

Sound familiar?

First off, it’s normal to fall into this thinking. You are not alone! These thoughts still pop up for me at times (it's just way less often now).

But this limiting mindset also leads to slower progress, overthinking, and unnecessary stress.

Instead, you can . . .

Feel confident in your abilities and challenge yourself to grow and learn new things (even if you aren't sure of yourself).

Know that there is no right or wrong way, especially with people. You have a perspective, and the other person has...

Want to really enjoy your summer vacation?

So many people are ready for a real break. When you're feeling tapped out from juggling it all. Dreaming of vacation days, some downtime and fun with your family and friends, and the joy of simply disconnecting from your usual daily responsibilities.

If this is you, your mind and body are giving you signs that it’s time for a break.

I know this because I have heard it from so many people and I feel it myself.

You also might feel overwhelmed by the idea of stepping away from the office for a week or two because the work will pile up while you are away.

Or think that it would be a great idea to take a couple of your planned vacation days to actually get work done without any distractions or people to interrupt you.

Or some big new project popped up, or a resource left and you no longer think it’s possible to take the time away and feel guilty if you do.

It can be easy to cut short your vacation time or stay connected by checking...

If you’re like most people, you end the day or the week feeling like you didn’t do enough. 

People are often surprised to discover that I am “terrible” at organizing my email inbox. In any given mailbox, I might have more than 15,000 unread emails . . .

. . . even though managing your email effectively to achieve “inbox zero” is a tried-and-true time management tactic.

You see, even back in my corporate career, I recognized that I simply did not have the desire to organize my inbox and that it often became a rabbit hole that would suck up my time.

I also had a demanding position with hundreds of emails a day, so I needed to be strategic in responding to what mattered most (and ignoring the rest) to still BE effective.

After many years of feeling like I was “failing” at my email management, I realized that it was working for ME. And, what works for one person might be different from another.

That led to the bigger realization that . . .

You need to have the right mindset FIRST and be crystal clear on who you are and how you can operate in...

My kids have their own style, especially my soon-to-be teenager Carter. He has worn shorts every day since 2018, doesn’t own a pair of pants and loves plain crewneck t-shirts.

So when we get invited for a family photo shoot for a wedding or other occasion, I often hear "Can you dress your kids better?"

My typical response has been "no" because we let our kids make these decisions and choose their own sense of style.

Sure, I will at least encourage them to pick something not stained or ripped but I won’t force them to dress a certain way to please people.

Recently, I received a frustrated text response from a family member saying that this is just an example where I don't care about other people and only think about myself . . . because I wasn't willing to make the kids "dress up" for a photo shoot.

Carter happened to see the text and told me: "Mom, you do care about other people – you care about me and what I want".

Remember, when you say "no" to something...