Inspirational Archives

13 Sep Last-place finisher in Olympic marathon delivers a first-class Olympic moment

Posted at 17:49h in Abundance, effort, Entrepreneurship, Inspirational, Olympics, Personal, Positivity, Sport

An entrepreneur’s life is full of challenges, and let’s face it, sometimes we feel like quitting. Yet it’s the perseverance – not the results – that gives us the greatest reward in the end. Watch this video to see what I mean: Last-place finisher in Olympic...

24 Apr The hidden value of setting goals

Posted at 11:53h in Business, Entrepreneurship, Inspirational

The business coaching world is full of people encouraging you to set goals. We treat these goals like milestones leading to our final glorious destination of ultimate success. The fact is that most goals that we set, both big and small, don’t get realized the way...

08 Mar Does your business feel like an obligation?

Posted at 15:02h in Business, Entrepreneurship, Inspirational

Remember when you started your business, how you imagined your days would be filled with creative, joyful activities that would inspire you every day? And you would revel in the freedom to choose what to work on whenever you wanted to do it? Then why is...

12 Dec Three tips for getting what you want this holiday season

Posted at 16:57h in Abundance, Business, Entrepreneurship, Inspirational

My mother used to tell a story about a Christmas morning early in her marriage to my father. She had her eye on a certain camelhair coat displayed at a department store. Her anticipation grew as Christmas drew near because a box appeared under the...

28 Sep How I Nearly Became a Certified Imposter

Posted at 13:33h in Abundance, Business, Entrepreneurship, Inspirational

Before I became a business coach, I spent many years teaching people how to use computers. One of my early clients was an investment firm. Math had never been my strong suit, and I was always vaguely intimidated by those confident bankers who made tough decisions...

19 Sep No more self doubt: how to silence your inner critics

Posted at 11:09h in Abundance, Business, Entrepreneurship, Inspirational

This week I got a question from a client that really resonated with me: “I have no shortage of ideas or inspiration but I find I’m still talking myself out of these ideas or finding reasons why I may not be skilled enough or experienced enough...

31 Aug I wrote this in 2012, and look at me now!

Posted at 11:31h in Abundance, effort, Inspirational, Music, Positivity

Back in 2012, I was just getting into the bluegrass jamming scene. At that time, I wrote this blog about how, as a singer, I had always wanted to play the guitar, but let minor obstacles like the pain in my fingertips get in the way of getting...

17 Aug The pricing paradox

Posted at 11:02h in Abundance, Business, Entrepreneurship, Inspirational

Very early in my coaching career, I had a sales conversation with a woman I met at a networking event. I’m embarrassed to admit that I gave her a low-ball quote that was half of what other coaches were charging. To “sweeten the pot” (as...

29 Jun Birds, Words, and Entrepreneurship

Posted at 16:03h in Abundance, Business, effort, Entrepreneurship, Inspirational, Positivity, Results

One of the joys of my financial abundance as an entrepreneur is owning a country home in the Catskills. Its best feature is a screened-in back porch where I sleep on warmer nights. I love that it's completely silent except for the gurgling of our...

21 Jun The Irony Of Success: Effort vs Perception

Posted at 12:58h in Business, effort, Entrepreneurship, Inspirational, Results

During the height of the pandemic, many people took on learning new skills, like how to bake sourdough bread or play the guitar. My pandemic lark was to enroll in my local college to get a bachelor's degree in Music. I just finished my third class. (I...

20 Apr The Myth of Easy: Why Harder Can be Better in Business and Life

Posted at 12:30h in Business, Entrepreneurship, Inspirational

I suppose I'm just like everyone else. I want everything to be as easy as possible, preferably laid out in one of those "easy step-by-step systems" I'm always hearing about. But sometimes, harder is better. I was reminded of this when I went in for a...

22 Mar ChatGPT edited my son’s resume, and even he was impressed.

Posted at 14:51h in AI, Business, Entrepreneurship, Inspirational, Technology

Like many people, I’ve been caught up in the recent AI wave. It was just a couple of months ago that I was introduced to the technology, but it has been a game-changer for me. I’ve used it to help me with everything from questions for...

15 Mar My identity thief’s surprise pizza party

Posted at 17:26h in Business, Entrepreneurship, Inspirational, Personal, Positivity

Imagine my surprise last week when I got a letter in the mail from a bank congratulating me on my new 2020 Infiniti. Because I hadn’t bought a car. Yes, someone stole my identity to actually purchase a car and drive away from the car lot,...

12 Aug It wasn’t what I imagined, but…

Posted at 22:30h in Abundance, Business, Entrepreneurship, Inspirational, Music

Little known fact about me: when I first moved to New York City, I wanted to be a rock star. I had years of singing and dancing under my belt, and was even told by my NYC voice teacher “Yes, you’ve got what it takes.” She...

11 May How Long Should You Follow Up with Prospects? (How about 10 years?)

Posted at 16:27h in Business, Entrepreneurship, Inspirational, Money, sales

Yesterday someone signed up for a business strategy session using my online scheduler. Her name sounded familiar and she answered the qualifier, “How did you hear about me?” with “I’m on your email list.” When I looked her up, I saw that she has been...

25 Mar How Giving Can Go Wrong – and Hurt Your Business

Posted at 12:22h in Abundance, Business, Entrepreneurship, Inspirational, Money, Wealth

When I talk about the Three Keys to an Abundant Business (Ask Powerfully, Give Wholeheartedly, and Receive Graciously), people always assume that “giving” is the most joyous part. After all, haven’t we heard our whole lives about how good we will feel when we give? Consider...

12 Aug The Joy of Being an Entrepreneur

Posted at 13:44h in Abundance, Art, Business, Design, Entrepreneurship, Inspirational, Music, Personal

Ever have a bunch of tasks that aren’t a high priority, but when you get them done it feels sooooo good? That was my day yesterday: boxing up the Sodastream CO2 bottles to be exchanged, binding some music books I’ve promised to people, looking up...

29 Apr Are you leaving money on the table?

Posted at 16:33h in Abundance, Business, Entrepreneurship, Inspirational, Uncategorized, Wealth

How many times do you follow up with someone after a sales conversation if they don’t buy on the first call?

09 Feb To be a winner, get good at losing

Posted at 14:56h in Business, Entrepreneurship, Inspirational

I heard a song for the first time called “Learn to Lose” by Bakermat. (Looking it up on YouTube I see it has 10 million views, so clearly I’m a bit out of the loop.) These lyrics in particular jumped out at me:

07 Jan About that to-do list…

Posted at 18:45h in Abundance, Business, Entrepreneurship, Inspirational, Resolutions

Just about everyone I know has an ongoing and never-ending to-do list. Typically the tasks get rolled over from one day to the next, and although some completed tasks drop off, new tasks are always piling on.

08 Dec Here’s why you feel overwhelmed – and what to do about it

Posted at 18:29h in Business, Entrepreneurship, Inspirational

It’s one of the most common complaints I hear from my clients, especially at this time of year: “I’m overwhelmed. Help!”

25 Nov Want more abundance? Be grateful for this…

Posted at 14:50h in Abundance, Business, Inspirational

Many of us have a tradition of sharing what we’re grateful for around the Thanksgiving table. It’s a time when we acknowledge the bounty of what we have – the people we love, our health, our homes, and the food we’re about to share. Usually when...

17 Nov Stuck on sales? Go make an apple pie!

Posted at 13:11h in Abundance, Business, Entrepreneurship, Inspirational, Wealth

On the farm where I grew up in western PA, we had two large Macintosh apple trees just to the side of the house. Every year these trees would bloom and then produce prolific amounts of apples, which would fall and

03 Nov You have this, but do you use it?

Posted at 16:34h in Inspirational, Positivity

Alice Walker said, "The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any." This quote was on my mind this morning for obvious reasons – today is, after all, Election Day.