Today is a maintenance day at Chez Rothman. Our heating system has an error code, and we’re upgrading our wifi. So people are stomping around—and I’m very happy about that. What we’re doing today is “extra” maintenance—updating and upgrading. We do normal maintenance all the time. The cleaning people make our house sparkle once a […]
How Do You Manage to Notice When You Need Updates or Upgrades? Read More »
Many of my colleagues are in the midst of change. Some people are looking for new jobs. Some writers are looking for places that will buy their stories. Others are considering consulting. All these people have something in common—they want to take that first step. Except, many of them stop before they do. Instead of
How Can You Know You’re Good Enough to Take That First Step? Read More »
Many of us think of leaders as people with titles, bestowed leadership. In my experience, we all have the possibility to exercise our leadership—and part of that is seeing that we have alternatives we can consider. So adaptable leadership means we need to generate options, which means we need to see the reality of our
How Can You Incorporate Adaptability Into Your Leadership? Read More »
The US is voting next week, for what we call the “midterms.” We don’t change the entire government every four years—we stagger terms for each representative, senator, and governor. Much of the time, the voters want change. That means the President’s party tends to lose seats in the midterms. I also want change. But I’m
Do You Plan to Vote for the Short or the Long Term? Read More »
When the pandemic started, I was fine—better than fine—staying home. I felt safe and secure. Mark did the grocery shopping and cooking, and we spent a ton of time together. All good stuff. I was happy with limited horizons. However, after I received my first booster, I wanted to go out—and I was still concerned.
When Do You Realize It’s Time to Expand Your Horizons? Read More »
It’s the start of the Days of Awe, the time from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur, where Jews introspect. We reflect on our lives last year and consider how we might live better next year. We pray that God writes our names and then seals us in the book of life. That’s all about change.
What or Who Calls You to Change? Read More »
Have you ever had a long-term disagreement with someone else? I’m going to discuss something small: when to take the garbage out for garbage day. (Talk about a first-world problem!) Our garbage day is Wednesday and nothing about our pickup is predictable. The current garbage company picks up the recycling and the actual garbage at
What Would Have to Be True for That Outcome to Occur? Read More »
I love shortcuts—especially if I’m not supposed to use them. Why can’t I avoid right-angle paths and use the hypotenuse instead? That saves me some time. Can I make my exercise easier? I can—and I too often lose the value of the exercise. So shortcuts aren’t always good or always bad. The context matters. Shortcuts
What Do You Gain or Lose with Shortcuts, Rules, and Laws? Read More »
On my other blog, I’ve been explaining that my WIP (Work in Progress) is way too high and what I’m doing about that. (Writers, this means all my work, not just my current writing project.) But I didn’t explain how my WIP got so high. I’m trying to fail to success. I learned about this
What Would It Take for You to Fail to Success? Read More »
When we were kids, we outgrew our clothing, sometimes at an alarming rate. (I vividly remember one summer when my older daughter needed a new pair of sneakers every three weeks.) Later, as we changed from childhood to our teenage years, we outgrew our interests. Some of us have outgrown jobs and found new jobs.
When Did You Last Outgrow a Friend—Which Allowed You to Create Your Better Life? Read More »