#attitude

Bits of Brilliance Blog

Like most professionals providing relevant growth insights, I occasionally put my thoughts to the written word! (I don't write so much as dance with words.) Enjoy!

Come here to see when I might drop a little pearl of wisdom, or subscribe to my RSS feed to never miss a nugget of awesome.

Jan 12, 2019
3 min

Doer vs. Spewer

When we surf our social media feeds, we see a wealth of narratives that people are selling about their lives. Every word we type, every photo we post, and every thumb we put up tells the world something about who we are and what we value. Let's put aside for a moment the actual reality of our posts -- we all know that life is a heckuva lot more messy and complicated than what our feeds tell about us. However, with every post, we get to decide what kind of ENERGY we want to pu

Jan 7, 2019
1 min

Taking the First 762 Steps to Success

My mother ran her own business for over thirty years, and on nearly every one of those days, she would go into the bathroom each morning and "Create a miracle". This involved an elaborate hair and makeup process that would make Liberace look like a hobo. Ma always told me that her efforts gave her that extra boost of motivation she needed to pick up the phone, set up the meeting, ask for the sale, and otherwise do the unpleasant tasks associated with running a successful busi

Mar 30, 2018
2 min

The Truth Contained in the Browser Tab

What browser tabs are open right at this very moment? I asked myself this question earlier this morning as I fought through a bout of entrepreneurial stinkin’ thinkin’. I was boo-hooing that a few of my big-ticket proposals have gone into limbo and found myself sporting a bad attitude and a major dip in productivity. As a thought leader in Mindful Productivity, I know that our performances (or lack thereof) leaves clues everywhere. I looked at my Sent file, and there were pre

Mar 12, 2018
2 min

Monday Morning Energization

"How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives". This quote from Annie Dillard is one of my favorites. I do my best to mindfully start each day with movement, meditation, and manifestation (I call this my Morning Momentum). It is especially important on Monday mornings when I have less get-up-and-go. It's even more critical during that first Monday after Daylight Saving Time. This morning I wanted to get a jump on the day, so I took a few extra minutes before ge

Feb 19, 2018
2 min

Sweet Karma In Action

Last week I wrote a post about getting jilted on Valentine’s Day and how I pivoted towards joy. It received a lot of attention with 11,000+ views on LinkedIn over the last four days. This prompted all sorts of interesting opportunities, including several messages from men who happily offered make up for my date’s poor behavior. However, I also got on WCCO radio and even received juicy inquiries about my speaking from organizations who want me to spread that same message of em

Feb 15, 2018
2 min

A Valentine's Day Pivot

Yesterday was a Valentine’s Day to remember. I got all gussied up to go on a much-anticipated first date with a seemingly-decent man. While waiting for my Uber, I get “The Call” where Romeo tells me that we aren’t, in fact, going out. As I hang up the phone in total disbelief, I step into my Uber and say to the driver, “Hey there. It’s Dave, isn’t it? Change in plans, Dave.” I then had Dave shuttle me to CRAVE American Kitchen & Sushi Bar so I don’t waste the night or how fri

Jan 8, 2018
2 min

Remembering That It's Worth It

My filthy Mazda is inspiring others today. It has been frigid and gray in my home state of Minnesota for many (seemingly endless) days. Nearly every car on the road has a gross film of salt, dirt, and sadness covering it. We don’t even bother washing our vehicles when it is this icky outside because they just get dirty as soon as we drive away from the car wash. As a professional inspirer, I find opportunities to spread sunshine whenever possible. When I saw the dirty rear en

Sep 19, 2017
2 min

Resistance is Futile; Resilience is Required

I admit it: I cannot resist eating quality dark chocolate, watching the latest episode of Outlander, and being onstage. Those things are too powerful a force for me to ignore. I MUST have them, and to fight against them is an act of folly. However, we also try to resist the more unpleasant aspects of life -- pain, loss, doubt, fear, lack, loneliness -- hoping that if we push hard enough against them, we will emerge victorious. Sadly, that's not how energy works. We can't push

Sep 16, 2017
1 min

Don't Let 'Em Douse Your Flame

"Complete waste of time" That's what one attendee recently wrote on an eval form about my keynote. WOW. Never mind that 96% of the attendees said they were Extremely Satisfied with my program. I obsessed over the ONE who was Very Dissatisfied: Mr. or Ms. Complete-Waste-of-Time. Why is it so hard not to take that kind of so-called criticism personally? I mean, seriously?! All 60 minutes of my "energizing", "hilarious", "charming" and "highly interactive" program that improves

Feb 1, 2017
3 min

Don’t Let Donald (Or Anyone Else) Distract You

Wow. There is A LOT of chatter swirling about regarding the change in leadership in the world’s highest position. It’s been less than two weeks since the Inauguration, and let’s just say that there has been a flurry of activity coming out of the Oval Office and into the streets of our great nation. This activity has caused many people to get caught up in the maelstrom, whether they are on the right or the left of the political spectrum. Social media feeds have exploded with t

Sep 2, 2016
3 min

Getting Back on the @&*(# Elliptical (Or Anything Else You’ve Been Ignoring)

Working out regularly takes commitment. Working out after having fallen out of the routine requires Herculean effort. I recently had one month of absolute craziness in my schedule – I attended the annual convention of the National Speakers Association (and boy, those people can talk!), a personal development technology-free retreat with my teenage daughter, an intensive Mastermind retreat with my speaker sisters, and, of course, my scheduled keynote and training engagements.

Feb 22, 2016
5 min

Get Real, Get Noticed

One week ago, I created a post on my personal Facebook page about recently getting divorced. I had just received a final notice (via email!) the day before, and it felt important to let my tribe of friends, family, and fans know about it. I hadn't publicly shared anything about my dissolving 18-year marriage, so I didn't really know when or how to do it. Changing my status from Married to Divorced seemed insufficient. To be honest, I wrote the status and posted it on a Saturd

Jan 19, 2016
4 min

Share Your Inspiration, Even If You Are Sporting Scary Hair

Now more than ever, people need to feel joy. They need to feel seen and heard. They need to belong. They need to feel appreciated. They need to feel loved. If you are like me, you have a passion for filling that need, and you know that doing so comes with amazing perks. Not only will you light up someone's day, you will also inspire them be more present and engaged in their personal and professional lives. Those little moments of levity and inspiration shake us out of our fun

Oct 18, 2015
1 min

What's Your Perspective?

Recently I found myself in a super-crabby mood in a run-down Holiday Inn in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Instead of allowing my day to be ruined by my oh-so-mature snit-fit, I decided to shift my perspective. What will you do today to elevate your attitude? #Video #Inspiration #Attitude