Recently, I went to a chiropractor here in Paris to treat the pain in my lower back. When speaking in English, I have a wide range of vocabulary to describe pain — throbbing, aching, burning, shooting, tender, sore, tingling. In French, however, all I could say was “it hurts.” If it had been a more […]
How do I know it will work out? In working with 1,000+ clients over the past 10 years, I’ve heard countless variations on this question. How do I know … … if I should start my own company. … which job offer to take. … if I should reach out to someone. … if the […]
One of my good friends recently did something that surprised me. She bought a juicer. And not just any juicer — a top-of-the-line $300 cold press juicer. She’s also signed up for personal training sessions, after talking about starting to work out again for over a year. What surprised me was there was no obvious […]
I was speaking with a former client yesterday. He’s super smart, with a PhD in nanotechnology. He’s lived across Europe and Asia, and has a gift for connecting with people. He’s also a talented artist, whose work has been exhibited in public. And yet, he’s feeling stuck. Bored even. He wants to find work he can feel passionate about, where […]
Several years ago, I decided to enter a piano competition. I had about six months to prepare and my goal was to practice two hours a day during the week and three hours on weekends. Just to be clear, this was something I had voluntarily chosen. Sitting at the keyboard is not physically strenuous. The piano was […]
Recently I’ve noticed my mind getting into a bad habit. A bad habit with three parts: thinking about how much I have to do, racing ahead to the next thing on the list, and feeling resistance to doing that next thing, because it’s standing in the way of the next three things I have to […]
Hard work: it’s the secret to success, we’re told from an early age — by our parents, society and pretty much every person who achieves notable success. But what exactly is “working hard” and how do we know if we’re working hard enough? Good question. We’re not really taught any nuance around what constitutes “hard work.” And because work in today’s world isn’t linear and we don’t get immediate feedback after […]
After finishing third in the men’s 100 meter race at the Rio Olympics this week, bronze medalist Andre de Grasse excitedly embraced Usain Bolt, who had taken the gold. While Andre and Usain were hugging it up, silver medalist Justin Gatlin looked less than thrilled, lost, no doubt, in counterfactual thought about “what might have been.” As Seinfeld […]
“This feels too nice and polite to come from a ‘mental toughness coach,’” was my coach’s feedback when I asked him to review an email I had sent introducing myself to a high-profile entrepreneur. “Well, yes,” I thought. “I am asking for his time and attention, I want to be respectful.” In fact, I was reaching […]
Recently, I’ve become a fan of Instagram. One of the accounts I follow features Harlow, a stately Weimeramer and Indiana, an adorable Dachshund, who are best friends and a shining example of model canine behavior (@harlowandsage). The two of them lie peacefully on the couch, gaze adoringly at each other and maintain their composure at all times. My sister’s dogs, […]