Feeling overwhelmed by competing priorities? Take an empowered stance and follow these four steps to break through breakdowns and reach your goals!

As a manager, you're basically the glue that holds everything together. But what happens when your direct reports feel like you're not listening to them? It creates this terrible cycle of miscommunication and frustration that can ultimately damage your team and work environment. So, how do you avoid this?

Are you a professional woman who feels like you've done everything right in your career, but still haven't achieved the level of success you desire? It can be frustrating to feel stuck in your current position or not be recognized for your accomplishments. But the good news is, you're not alone. With the right tools, it is possible to overcome the obstacles that may be holding you back.

What does your inner monologue look like? When was the last time you stopped to congratulate yourself for a recent accomplishment, or even a simple acknowledgment of how far you have come?

If you’re like most people, the answer (sadly) is probably not recently or even not ever.

Your reality does indeed come from your perception. And your perception IS a complex bundle of your thoughts, feelings, emotions, past experiences, and expectations – basically, it’s YOU in any given moment.

And depending on which YOU shows up will determine your own reality..

“Happiness comes from WHAT we do. Fulfillment comes from WHY we do it. Fulfillment comes when our work connects directly to our WHY.” - Simon Sinek

This is an oft-quoted statement by Sinek and it’s the foundational premise of his well-known book, Start With Why. But what does “finding your why” have to do with public speaking?

Oh, ho, ho, here come the holidays. With Thanksgiving happening in just two days, it’s time to cue the stressiest time of the year. I meant: the happiest time of the year.

But, let’s be real: for most of us, the holidays can be an extremely stressful time. So, just in time for this season, I have a quick reminder about a very effective way to maintain a high level of energy even during the holidays.

Here's the deal: if we want to be successful (and who doesn’t?)...

There is a fine line between being polite and adopting a fake persona of pretense and the latter? Yeah, that can become habitual to the point of self-harm. Even worse? Adopting that fake you for too long means you will not only become disconnected from your true (and best) self, but you’ll start to lose what you put that mask on for to begin with: credibility.

If you have a “work self” you are certainly not alone (and you’re not necessarily wrong, either). It may not be as severe as truly pretending to be someone else entirely. It usually looks more like an attempt to always put your “best self” forward.

It may feel like we have to put on this sort of show when we're at work instead of acting how we would with friends, family, or even acquaintances outside of the workplace. And although maintaining professional boundaries is an absolute must…

Okay, it’s the post-pandemic world and you’re holed up in your WFH office, wearing your WFH yoga pants, drinking your WFH (maybe spiked) coffee. Public speaking isn’t just the last thing on your mind… it’s the last thing you think you need to worry about.

Because most people do. Worry about public speaking, that is.

What if you could transform the energy it takes to REACT to something into energy that CREATES?

And what if that thing it creates is something extraordinary and beneficial, inspiring and productive, or even restful and restorative?

It’s a no-brainer… but it doesn’t come naturally. Which means, in order to transform reactionary energy into creative energy, you must DECIDE TO DO IT and then WORK AT IT.

Given much thought to your energy lately? I don’t mean your enthusiasm level or your daily caffeine intake or even your post-workout, post-deal-closing, post-quittin’-time I’M KING OF THE WORLD go-get-em energy. I’m talking about your internal, deep-seated, very personal energy, which is essentially the filter through which you experience, interpret, and understand your world.

I’d say that makes it pretty important.

According to quantum physics, our thoughts are the source of reality. Everything that we see and experience is a product of thought energy. We are all connected through an energy field called the collective consciousness, which responds to our thoughts and emotions by creating reality. Each person’s mind gives rise to its own dimension within which they experience different forms of matter and energy; this is how we end up with subjective experience in an objective world.

None of us want to admit feeling afraid, but the truth is that fear is a very real obstacle when it comes to having the confidence we need to achieve our goals.

I’m not talking about dark-basement-steps-fear. I’m talking about the things that make you feel scared, anxious, stressed, and uncertain. You know, normal things, like being scared that you didn't do an excellent job on your last presentation…

Most people will and do experience career challenges, like struggling to fit in, dealing with difficult co-workers, confronting toxicity, getting along with the boss, perfecting time management, overcoming harassment and/or discrimination, and combating burn out.

These types of things will make or break us.

Let's face it: we've all had to deal with a toxic workplace at some point or another. Whether your experiences have been as extreme as the one I’ve described above or not (oftentimes, these types of situations can very quiet indeed: an eye roll behind your back, a microaggression of some kind, malicious office gossip… not all toxic workplaces display themselves so loudly), I can guarantee that if you’ve spent any significant amount of time in the corporate world, you know exactly what I mean when I say toxic workplace.

On September 9, Mercury began its third retrograde of the year, starting in Libra before continuing into Virgo on the 23rd, and not resuming direct course until October 2nd. Count on stalls, lurches, miscommunications, backfires, and other flaws in the plan along the way. No two signs are more concerned with objective perfection than Libra and Virgo, making the trickster planet’s work that much easier — and your life that much harder.

“Don’t raise your voice. Improve your argument.”

I’m going to get really real. I’m a yeller.

I come by it honestly. When I was a child, my mother yelled all.the.time. It was a manifestation of her own trauma, of course, and she did it to feel safe and powerful…

Our emotional intelligence (the capacity to be aware of, control, and express one's emotions, and to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically) plays a significant role in how we are perceived by others, which, in turn, is an important part of how they respond to us. Developing emotional intelligence, or EI, is an absolute MUST if we want to impact those around us – both professionally and personally.

Deeply embedded belief systems can’t be helped with self-help-platitudes.

Regarding the experiences we have in life, whether work-related or personal, we always have 2 basic choices:

1. We can let our preconceived assumptions, notions, knee-jerk reactions, and emotions control what we think, feel, and say; or

2. We can gain control over ourselves, our minds, and all of those -tions and choose happiness and positivity.