My life experience says joy and abundance aren’t in the achievement of perfected bliss but in the awareness that when life’s disappointments, confusion, hard choices, and grief-filled moments appear, I can come back to center.

Rather than try to fix, change, avoid, or fight it, I can be like the caterpillar – I can sink in, allow myself to be, take a deep rest, and trust that the way will again become clear.

Listen in for the lessons in caterpillar goop and human soup, along with the warm wisdom of horses.

Stories play a powerful role in our lives, and the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves are the most impactful. Positive stories can help us launch our dreams, achieve our goals, and propel us to the next level, while negative stories can do quite the opposite, and most significantly, create disconnection from others.

Listen in for the three types of negative stories, the six reasons we use them, and how to slow or stop the endless cycle for someone who has become stuck in their own story.

I’ve been listening to You Are a Badass at Making Money by Jen Sincero because it was recommended by people I respect, although the title feels a bit slimy to me.

Well, her audiobook is fast-paced and funny with a smart, dry wit. While listening to Jen talk about how our words, energy, and beliefs inform what’s possible for us, I began seeing connections – both to myself and to many of the blocks my clients face.

Listen in or read on for more from the book, plus 8 lessons on badassery that I’m putting into practice.

When you ask your staff why they missed a deadline or dropped a project, you may hear, “I didn’t get it done because I’m overwhelmed. There isn’t enough time in the day for all that’s on my plate.”

And now they’re off the hook, and you’re on it, even if that wasn’t their intention. Because how can you effectively respond to that? It’s not like you can manufacture more time for them.

Well, listen in for a question you can ask that will point the way to getting more done with however much time they have.

Ten years ago, whenever I felt certain that something had to change, I was quite certain it was someone else who needed to change and not me. This was true in my friendships, my work relationships, and how I viewed the world. I held the expectation that everyone would be better off if they were more like me.

But now, through a lot of self-work and with more self-awareness, I know that whatever emotional energy comes up in me is simply there for me to continue to learn about myself. Listen in or read on for more…

When we encounter a challenge, problem, or puzzle, throwing heaps of resources at it can seem like the best or only solution. But before you invest a lot of time, money, and effort, get a bigger flashlight and take another look at the problem. A better solution may be smaller, easier, or closer than you thought.

Listen in for 4 questions you can count on to gain a new view, plus a simple question that allowed my client to give her business what it most needed while getting what she most wanted.

We put so much effort and attention into counting dollars, tracking expenses, investing in the newest technology, and charting our strategic pathway to the future – and those are all valuable activities. But it is the rare leader who connects a dollar value to every minute spent in putting off direct feedback and clearing up petty conflicts, confused communication, and ongoing office drama.

Listen in or read on for more on where time (and therefore money) gets wasted and what you can do about it.

Many years ago, the National Indian Youth Leadership Project’s Mac Hall taught me an incredible lesson about bringing programs into the world. He said, “We only go where we are invited,” meaning we could provide information, but we wait to be asked. We didn’t assume we knew what was best for a community. Instead, we trusted that, when the time was right, their invitation would come.

Listen in (or read on) for more about my time on the Acoma Pueblo and working with Mac, and also my invitation for you.

We went camping a few weekends ago, and I’m pretty good at building campfires, but it’s close to impossible to build a good fire with bad wood.

Fortunately, our sad, smoky little fire was rescued by two pairs of gentlemen on two separate occasions. With their tattoos and camos, they appeared to be the opposite of us. But it turned out we had at least one thing in common, and answering the question it raised connected all of us, despite all.

Listen in to hear how our paths crossed and what I found there.

When we clutch and cling to what we treasure, our tightly closed fist prevents us from accepting anything more, and it can also prevent our moving forward with ease and freedom.

Listen in (or read on) for a short, sweet story about a child who learned to open her fist, which, in turn, opened my eyes – and also a list of nine rocks that many of us hold onto.

Do you easily make commitments to behavioral changes, but you struggle with following through? The keys to fulfilling your commitments despite external and internal challenges are found in the ancient story of Ulysses and the Sirens’ deadly song.

He had himself tied to the mast of his ship and his crew’s ears plugged so they wouldn’t be tempted to their doom, but you can simply think about when and how you’ll need support, and then ask for it. Read on or listen in for more about this commonly missing piece…

Ready-made seminars can be helpful, but there are times when a canned approach to leadership won’t get you where you want to go. It’s most effective to tweak the best practices to suit your work style instead of the other way around.

Listen in or read on for a case study on Results-driven Ron, who struggles to sit through meetings that continue in discussion long after he’s ready to take action. The steps he learned in an active listening seminar felt false and frustrating, but our customized strategy is a far better fit.

Not every dissatisfied employee can easily walk away from their job. Government employees especially can find themselves with accumulated benefits such that it’s in their best interest to stay. But even in the private sector, you can leave behind a challenging employer, coworker, or supervisor, but unless you see how you contributed to the challenges, you’ll likely find the same situations at your next job.

Listen in (or read on) for 3 questions to ask yourself when the going gets so tough that you’re thinking of going.

Are you using your brain power as effectively and efficiently as possible? To do your best work, it’s important to create an environment that suits and satisfies your brain, as well as a schedule for tackling tough tasks when your brain is at its best.

Listen in (or read on) for tips on tidying up, sorting out, making way, and letting go so your brain has space – and energy – to do the most amazing things.

Our ego wants to protect us from being wrong, and in our effort to be right, we may close our mind to other perspectives, supporting our isolated view even when we would benefit from seeing what things look like from someone else’s perspective.

Listen in (or read on) for two stories on perspective-taking – one imaginary and one true – that demonstrate how listening better and more often can help your organization move forward and get more done.

The story about a meeting meltdown and its aftermath continues...

In this second and final “episode”, you’ll see how the chaos spread through the management tier all day and well into the night.

As with last week’s Part 1, as you listen to or read the tale, notice how – and how many – people were affected, and think about all the places where you hear time (and, therefore, money) leaking out of this organization due to a single moment of drama and the subsequent distractions and confusion.

This story about a meltdown in a meeting and the chaos that followed is based on a situation that occurred in an organization I worked with. As you listen to the tale, notice how – and how many – people were affected, and think about all the places where you hear time (and, therefore, money) leaking out of this organization due to a single moment of drama and the subsequent distractions and chaos.

Unwritten rules are rules that we’ve created or adopted that govern our decision-making and our behavior patterns. They’re barely noticeable to anyone else, but when they’re challenged, they cause us discomfort, bring up conflict within us, and make us wonder – and judge – why other people don’t follow the same rules we do.

Listen in (or read on) to see how unwritten rules impact your relationships at work and at home and, maybe, hold you back from your full potential. And to hear the thing about my Christmas tree...

Isolation is a common thread among leaders who wish they hadn’t gone into leadership. The higher you move up in an organization, the less time there is to work in your area of passion and strength, the more you become the guard dog and keeper of secrets, and the fewer people you can talk to about decisions that weigh on your heart.

Listen in for six characteristics of isolated leaders plus three simple strategies they can use to re-engage with their work, their life, and the people around them.

How many times during the course of your day do you overhear things, see things, read things and take them personally? Choosing to be curious and to ask questions is the pathway away from drama and chaos. Join Beth as she uncovers why we take things personally and how you can disrupt that tendency. Just proclaiming “I will not take things personally!” isn’t enough to switch us. Instead, Beth explains how taking things personally is a practice, a choice.