Winning. It’s an American addiction. We love sitting on top of the heap, an attitude that goes back to the beginning of our country. During its early years, two wide oceans protected us from foreign interference. The geographic isolation allowed our nascent country to build an adventurous culture bent on chasing opportunities in the vast […]
On my last day of college, I slung a bag over my shoulder, grabbed an oversized suitcase and dragged it with a box of books to a car bound for Montreal, Canada. Other than a summer internship at a Canadian hospital, I had never lived in Canada. I was twenty-one years old, armed with a […]
The Scene: We’ve all met this person. The Director of Sales stomped into the meeting room, slammed a full cup of coffee down on the table and, without looking at anyone in particular, plunged in. “I don’t know what we’re supposed to be doing here. You said you wanted to talk about how we’re working […]
In the world of 24-hour news cycle, an hour ago is yesterday’s news. Change happens whether you like it or not and often arrives without advance warning. Scary or annoying as change can be, unexpected events also offer a gift, a chance to shift from idling in neutral to drive. We have a sterling example […]
You never know what you’ll discover on a daily walk. Some days you learn more than others. A recent walk reminded me of the galvanizing force of anxiety. The Event On a street lined by well-tended lawns, I came upon a properly dressed older woman I recognized from previous walks. A devoted gardener, I had […]
By Julie Benezet: My day began with Atom Ant. After dragging through one depressing news article after another, I raised my eyes toward the lake in search of a vista that did not include murder, mayhem, or mean spiritedness. I needed inspiration to focus on something positive. Right on cue, he appeared. Atom Ant, a […]
By Julie Benezet: Your voice matters. Whether your listener is an executive, romantic partner or state legislator, there is much that needs to be said and, more important, heard. Finding the right tone for a situation will make a difference as to whether your message gets through and achieves something better. A simple training exercise […]
By Julie Benezet: There was a time when few of us would have even thought of meeting on Zoom, or anything like it. Why in the world would we want to spend hours online trying to carry on meaningful conversations while staring at strangely lit faces, domestic backdrops and random pets? Then along came the […]
By Julie Benezet: Change junkie that I am, I’d had my fill. Political chaos, bizarre weather patterns, Covid… Enough already! Then, right when I thought I’d reached my outer limit of chaos, came a personal reckoning that landed me on the winding road of an unexpected change, joining a throng of people on a similar […]
By Julie Benezet: Well, I thought I’d come to terms with living life out of control. Crises surround us: a pandemic, a tanked economy, lawless politics. I had accepted having power over basically nothing beyond doing the laundry and making sure we loaded the dishwasher on time. Seated in my home office for another shelter […]