This is my 4th Grade picture. I must have been around eight or nine. I went to Catholic school and was generally a rule follower. I was also a tomboy. I loved that rugby shirt though. Technically the shirt broke school dress code rules because it didn't button all the way down. But none of the nuns or other teachers ever said anything about it so it boldly made its way into my school picture. Even though I went through some years as a teen and in my early 20s when I presented

Continuing with my Quest to Be Better, part of the lesson that I've learned so far is that having a better day and operating more effectively is not only about exercise and nutrition. Self regulation is also part of continuous self improvement and a main component in My Quest to Be better. This epiphany came months into My Quest. I was so laser focused on tracking steps and water and sugar intake that I didn't prioritize or really even consider the impact that my emotions hav

I lived in Japan for three years after college as a member of the JET Program. I was a Gaijin. As you may have guessed, "gaijin" means "foreigner" or "outsider." Through the JET Program, people from around the world are hired by the Japanese Ministry of Education to teach English in Japan's public schools. The program provides training and structure to provide support and community throughout the experience, but on a day to day basis, you are operating on your own. I thought,

Several months ago, I started on my Quest to Be Better. The purpose of the Quest is simple: to take incremental steps to improve the quality of my daily life and increase my happiness. The components include daily steps, water consumption, stretching, avoiding sugar, and other related items over time. I intended to completely crush it and turn my energy, eating habits, and fitness habits around for the better. It stuck hard for a little over a month. Then the next month, I ga

Thanks for reading Part 1 of "My Quest to Be Better" and for coming back for Part 2 of the story. Wait...if you haven't read Part 1 already, do that first. Here it is . Continuing from Part 1, the first two daily habits that I identified for My Quest to Be Better were daily steps and daily water consumption. I realized when I idenified these two huge gaps in my daily habits that it made sense why I was so much lower in energy than I should be. Improving my habits in these are

For those of you who follow me on LinkedIn or Instagram, you have likely read bits about My Quest to Be Better. Over the summer, I started My Quest to Be Better. Although I have flatlined, and even regressed, in my efforts over the last few months, I am still committed to My Quest to Be Better. What does it mean for me to be on My Quest to Be Better though? And why the need for a Quest to Be Better? After all, isn't life busy and complicated enough without also adding in a Qu

If you want to do good and be influential in the world, remember that you don’t need to have a leadership position to be a leader. Martin Luther King Jr said, “A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.” In order to be a leader, you don’t need to manage people. Being a leader means that you set an example for others and inspire others to act. You can be a leader without an official leadership position by following these basic guidelines: Let e

Learning how to network is one of the most important skills in growing your professional life and advancing your career, and yet, most people are left to figure it out on their own. I’m here to share with you what has worked for me and what I have observed that has worked for others. It’s important to acknowledge that networking is important for everyone, regardless of the type of job or career. You don’t need to be sitting in an office to find networking valuable. As humans,

I have learned a lot of leadership lessons the hard way by initially doing them wrong, and I am grateful for the knowledge that these...

Tony Hsieh, longtime Zappos CEO who passed away in 2020 at age 46, is known as one of the most empathetic modern-day leaders. He stated, "Just because you can't measure the ROI of something doesn't mean you shouldn't do it. What's the ROI of hugging your mom?" Hsieh's point drives home a very important point in life, that not everything needs to be measurable or provide a return on investment, including love and kindness. However, it would be interesting to quantify the real-

Let's go back to 2019 before the pandemic and before remote work was the norm. Most of us were spending time commuting each day and...

Throughout our lives, we continually hear tips for successful interviews. These tips include: Shake the person’s hand firmly. Make eye contact. Don’t fidget. Smile. Make sure you ask questions at the end of the interview. The list goes on. All of these practices are social skills. It has been ingrained in both hiring managers and candidates that good candidates for all roles must have strong social skills. But, is this true? Should all roles require the incumbent to have str

In my previous piece, I outlined five key steps to building a collaborative, resourceful, and self-sufficient team. I also asked leaders...

I went on vacation for a week and a half. My team didn’t need me while I was away. What does this mean? It means that I’m very proud of my team and that they and I together have built a collaborative, resourceful, and self-sufficient team environment. Does this mean that they never need me? Of course not. Effective leaders believe that a collaborative, resourceful, and self-sufficient team means that they have hired and trained the team well, as well as created a safe environ