What if a better life begins not with improving ourselves, but with noticing someone else? We spend a remarkable amount of time thinking about ourselves. How am I doing? Am I where I thought I would be by now? What should I work on next? How can I become healthier, happier, more productive, more disciplined, more successful? There is an entire world built around helping us answer those questions. Books. Podcasts. Morning routines. Assessments. Apps. Courses. Coaches. Cold plu

It turns out there isn’t one universal scientific definition. Instead, psychologists, neuroscientists, organizational researchers, communication experts, and attachment theorists have all been studying different pieces of the same human experience. They just use different words: Attunement. Validation. Belonging. Recognition. Psychological safety. Secure attachment. Empathy. After reading across these fields, there is one resounding conclusion: To truly be seen is to have ano

What? But I’ve spent my entire life trying to make other people think I was “the real deal.” Maybe you can relate? Over the last few years I’ve read the books. LOTS of books. I’ve listened to the podcasts, tracked the habits, optimized my routines, worked on my leadership skills (I’m convinced these are are called leadership skills but they should actually just be called being a good person)... Put more simply, I’ve focused wholeheartedly on becoming a better version of mysel

We are in a crisis of belonging. I’m not trying to be dramatic but it’s the truth. We live in a world where loneliness is rising (cue data from the last few years), division is deepening and kindness often feels countercultural. We sit and scroll past one another passively consuming highlights, work beside one another, sit in classrooms with our peers, and yet many of us report still feeling unseen. However, in this crisis, we have sought control. Humans need to make sense of

“Hey, good morning! Happy Friday! How’s it going?” …“Good, just busy. Yeah, busy and tired.” I hear it all day long. Don’t you? Did you just reply that way to someone? Got ya. I bet you did. I think people are exhausted because modern life asks us to perform constantly while rarely feeling deeply seen. We are exhausted because we answer emails, texts, attend meetings, hit our deadlines, scroll….scroll some more…still scrolling, we optimize and ultimately, we produce. Doing al

Let’s talk about the difference between development and formation. Development teaches you skills to master public speaking and influence without authority so you can lead a meeting well. A person can become a highly developed, confident communicator, productive, strategic, influential … and still make people feel invisible when they walk into the room. Formation is deeper than skill acquisition. Formation shapes the kind of person you are inside the meeting. Formation is bei

I’ve been trying to fit my career, my personality, my lifestyle, and my passions into a neat and tidy box. I was always aspiring to be the perfect “cookie cutter girl.” Perfect edges, no mess, and playing by the rules. I didn’t really love or believe in what I was doing… but the cookies looked good to the rest of the world, and that’s what mattered. Up until now I’ve chalked it up to my perfectionism, eldest daughter syndrome…you know, just the societally acceptable labels we

Remember the African Proverb? “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” It’s incredible to think about how “connected” we are in 2026, and yet many of us have never felt more alone. We sit in rooms together while staring at separate screens. We scroll past each other’s highest highs “highlight reels” and we also scroll past their vulnerability and pain. We outsource conversation, encouragement, creativity, even companionship. I’ve seen the articl

How much do you ACTUALLY know about the people you were in meetings with yesterday? I mean ACTUALLY know. Do you know what they are going through at home? Do you know if they have a chronic auto immune disease that gives them pain daily? Do you know if they just lost a family member? Do you know how their morning even went? Did you know their 3 kids have cystic fibrosis? One of the greatest forms of suffering in modern work is that we show up all polished and shiny, but reall

Are you someone that is obsessed with “self-optimization.” It’s okay, I am too. I have Developer as my #2 CliftonStrength after all…but I’m starting to think that we have been sold a lie. I believe that our world has tried convincing us that the answer to every problem is to become a “better” version of you. Wake up earlier, track more habits (hello every single wearable I’ve owned over the course of my adult life), read more books, listen to more podcasts, improve your minds

I found myself at the ear, nose, and throat doctor with a long scope that felt like a spaghetti noodle dangling all the way down my throat. I was searching for why I had been experiencing vocal strain, pain and hoarseness off and on for the last decade. By dinner time every single day my voice was completely shot. I lived like this for over a decade before I finally decided that this wasn’t normal. I’m a speaker, author, leadership workshop facilitator, coach, and mother of 2

Let’s talk a bit about emotional invisibility at work. Most adults go entire days without feeling deeply seen. I know I do. Do you? Why is that? Why have our workplaces gotten so good at rewarding people for being productive, hustling, grinding, back to back meetings are a badge of honor, and skipping lunch because “a working lunch is so en vogue” and it’s cooler to stare at a screen than it is to look up and talk to a coworker or the person next to you bagging bell peppers a

As Simon Sinek likes to say — What is my WHY? Why do you do what you do? What is your deep seated purpose, cause or belief? For some of us that might feel really heavy or daunting. My deep seated purpose, cause or belief? Yikes. That’s major! It is major because it matters. We all know what we do. What is usually the first thing someone asks you when they meet you? … “What do you do?!” Here, I’ll go first. I’m a business owner, entrepreneur, mother, sister, daughter, friend,