Wagaliciousness Begins Here!

Are you a veteran? Thank you! Are you the parent or sibling or child or spouse/partner of a veteran? Thank you! And yes, Veterans Day was yesterday – there are not enough ways to thank those who choose to serve in ways that most of us wouldn’t. Veterans are vital to the survival of our country – thank you to everyone who serves and has served.

And then there’s this weird, confusing piece:

Veterans Day is often treated as a very somber occasion, and I’ve never really figured that one out. On Memorial Day, a day set aside to remember Americans who died in battle, we have cookouts and fireworks. On Veterans Day, a day set aside to thank those who fought on behalf of our nation and returned home, there is a solemn wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington Cemetery’s Tomb of the Unknowns, a monument to military men and women who died in battle and whose remains were not recovered.

I’m pretty sure we have the observances flipped,...

What are you passionate about? What do you do to share your passion? When you’re sharing your passion, do you feel like you’re in your sphere of genius? 

Today I’m at the Saint Bernard Club of America’s National Specialty, a huge annual show held this year in Loveland CO. Do I have a Saint Bernard? No. Do I want a Saint Bernard? No – I admire the breed and it is way more dog than I want to try to manage, though they are sweet as they can possibly be. I’m there because they’ve invited me to come and share what I know about being more successful in the show ring, and about canine structure and movement.   

Kinda random, right? And today, as you read this, I’m standing firmly and happily in my sphere of genius. I want you to know how to do it, too. So back to those first three questions, because they’re the springboard to you stepping into your own sphere of genius: 

1.      Discover...

Do you have a friend who’s persnickety about the “ethnic correctness” of food? One of mine refuses to go to a very popular Italian restaurant owned by a Middle Eastern man, not because of the man’s ethnicity but because his dishes are fragranced with more than just garlic and basil. She believes that if it’s being called “Italian” then the food needs to be authentically Italian.

Maybe she has a point. Yet she’s missing out on some of the most delicious Italian dishes I’ve ever had, and I lived in Italy for three years of my life.

Maybe you have a friend who hates TexMex food because it’s not authentically Mexican. OK, maybe they have a point, too, like my friend might. Yet if they want to be true to their demand for “ethnic correctness” they need to keep their paws out of the nacho plate, keep their hands off the fajitas, and are not allowed to even think of scooping up any of the cowboy beans. Those are all...

Quick – name a teacher who helped shape who you are today. If you’re like most people, and like me, you can name a few.

Mrs. Sharrett, my 4^th grade teacher, who made paying attention pay off. She used operant conditioning on her willing subjects, making intentional mistakes and paying the first student to point it out with a piece of candy from a special drawer in her desk.

Mr. Buhn, my high school physics teacher, a man completely grounded in science and yet still fun in the way he taught his passion. He was delighted when his class gave him membership to the Flat Earth Society. He used their monthly newsletter as a springboard for lessons on how things really work.

Miss Gardner, my performing arts teacher and coach, who took raw talent, lit a fire under its container, and created the knowledge and belief that I would be a performer. And I was, for three decades, a very successful major market radio personality. Thank you for believing in me, Miss Gardner!

Teachers...

During the winter months, those of us who live in the northern hemisphere experienced shrinkage. No, not THAT kind of shrinkage. I’m talking about brain shrinkage. Your cerebellum got smaller through the winter months, and as the longer days take over, the part of your brain that controls fine motor movement is getting bigger again. Meanwhile, subcortical structures in your brain that control motivation, processing of emotions, and decision-making got larger during the winter and are now shrinking in size as the weather gets warmer.

What the heck is going on inside our skulls? Don’t be scared – it’s just your brain reacting to the seasons of the year. It’s been going on inside you since you were born – you just never noticed it because the change happens slowly over a long interval.

Some of the brain changes that are seasonal in nature are more obvious than others:

1. Seasonal Affected Disorder is a mood change that happens in the winter. It seems...

It’s a week before spring officially begins in the Northern Hemisphere, so maybe a little bit early for spring cleaning. It’s a month before tax returns in the US are due to be filed, and if you’re like me, perhaps you’ve found a lot of things to do instead of getting organized for that chore.

Today is designed for us – it’s Organize Your Home Office Day. Do you have a good file system that separates your work and personal finances? Is it up to date? Do you know where your W2s and 1099s are? Cancelled checks? Credit card statements? And has your mouth gone dry and have your palms gone moist, like mine? Today, can you block out some time to make your home office look and feel organized?

There are a lot of systems you can use to whip a home office into shape. The one that works best for me is to have the shredder in the middle of the room, a vertical file folder holder or a hanging file frame ready to put “birds of a feather” together,...

Quick – what’s your name? I bet you know the answer to that question by heart, right? One of the first things parents teach their babies is how to recognize and use names – mama, dada, doggie, and the child’s own name. But what’s in a name and why are they so important that they get an entire week’s celebration?

The first full week in March is Celebrate Your Name Week. It’s one of those oddball holidays that got started because one person became randomly, then endlessly, fascinated by something. In this case, Jerry Hill read a news story about another Jerry Hill who died. That Jerry Hill happened to be from the first Jerry Hill’s hometown, making him wonder if they were related, then begin to start wondering about names. He became so fascinated by names that he created a website, which was so fascinating to others that eventually Public Broadcasting Service wrapped it into their website.

Names matter. Classrooms are organized by name....

Today let’s talk about leaders, and the leader that lives inside each of us. It’s easy to think about leaders as those who are somehow above our level – the president of your division, the president of your company, the president of the United States – and those are all leaders.

Did you know that you are a leader?

Today, let’s talk about what makes a good leader, and where leaders show up in our lives. Take a look at these examples:

• Have you ever sat behind someone at a red light and when the light turned green, they started driving? That’s leadership skills right there. A good leader pays attention to the conditions around them and reacts appropriately at the right time. If you don’t believe that taking off when the light turns green is showing leadership, think about how you feel when the person in front of you fails to go when the light turns green. Do you get irritated? Wonder if they’re on their phone? Clearly, they aren’t...

Do you equate age with wisdom? Many people do, and there’s science to back it up. While youth is revered in our culture, wisdom is, too, and when people are looking for advice, it’s their aging friends and colleagues they turn to. It is true that memory functions can fade with age, and it's also true that the frontal lobe, where logic, reasoning, and problem-solving happen, continues to develop.

As we age, we develop more emotional intelligence. That means older people generally are more concerned with the wellbeing of others, make significantly better choices and decisions, and process information and thoughts more holistically, so take in multiple perspectives and can share them more clearly.

Doesn’t that sound like someone you’d go to for advice, counsel, and coaching?

Last Wednesday was Spunky Old Broads Day, and February is Spunky Old Broads Month. Chances are, you know a spunky old broad or two, and maybe you even are one. I’m not sure when it...

Do you have a pet? Do you know how influential you are, you pet-owner, you?

As people spent more time with their pets during the pandemic lockdown, and as those without pets realized the value of non-human companionship, all categories of pet purchases – food, veterinary care, training, boarding, you name it – have had booming bottom-line increases. The pet industry, which encompasses all things that pets need, is exploding financially. What is now a nearly $250 billion industry is projected to be pushing $370 billion in just six years.

You, with your care and concern for your pet or maybe multiple pets, are driving that. Meanwhile, your unsuspecting pet is doing what pets have always done – providing companionship to the extent you allow, being as good as you’ve helped them learn how to be (at least they’re good most of the time) and becoming a bigger line-item in your monthly budget as prices of everything goes up. While some people are making the...