Intimacy isn’t a trait we’re born with—it’s a practice we cultivate. Through radical acceptance, creating safety, mindful vulnerability, and nurturing connection, we can build authentic, lasting closeness in relationships, whether personal or professional.

Motivation is a fair weather friend. It feels like a superpower for a week or month, but disappears overnight when circumstances change—leaving shame and guilt behind. There's a better way. Instead of chasing motivation fueled by external circumstances, shift to inspiration. Inspiration sparks a fire inside you that belongs to no one but yourself. This is the real fuel for achieving your goals.

Last week's blog elicited a lot of responses and questions about finding your top life values. To understand our Real rather than Show Values, we must look at our actions—the day-to-day indicators of what matters most to us. My top two values are Freedom and Faith. For most of my life, I held a very common definition of "freedom"—no rules, do what I want, keep my options open. But that way of thinking was getting in the way of creating the life I actually wanted. A life of purpose, meaning, and direction.

A strange and different kind of year is coming to an end, and oddly, most of us are experiencing the same pre-holiday stressors as we do during any other "normal" year. For a year that was seemingly "cancelled", we sure have a lot to get done, right?

In my recent experience completing the grueling Broken Arrow 52K race, I discovered the transformative power of having a coach—someone who guides, supports, and believes in you when you can’t fully believe in yourself. This story illustrates how coaching can help us push past self-doubt, embrace challenges, and achieve what we once thought impossible.

Much of the work I do with my clients centers around cultivating their sense of compassion, for others and for themselves. I've found that most of us can find a level of compassion for others, but when it comes to ourselves, we can be obstinate and harsh. We expect so much of ourselves and confuse our lack of self-compassion for ambition, strength, and control. We falsely believe that the more we judge ourselves, the higher our future performance will be.

Recently, I completed an endurance race I had quit years ago, finishing last but under the cutoff time. Despite the achievement, my inner Gremlin tried to steal my joy. I realized that external validation can’t quiet self-doubt; true change comes from creating compassionate, loving thoughts. For me, that meant recognizing: whether first, last, or in the middle, I’m still the same person—and I’m good enough.

When Julius Caesar wanted to conquer England, he burned all the boats so his army had no choice but to move forward. My clients do this every single day—they take action that makes them uncomfortable, that feels risky, that doesn't come with guarantees. Now it's my turn to burn the boats on a 52-kilometer mountain race that scares me, reminding myself of what I ask my clients daily: dream big, take one small step after another, and never leave an exit door open.

Feeling stuck in your relationship doesn’t mean the love is gone. Often, what’s missing is the courage to communicate openly without fear of conflict. In this post, I share three simple but transformative communication skills—from reframing your inner story, to replacing expectations with agreements, to opening tough conversations with curiosity—that can shift your partnership from tension to connection.

In the work of life and career coaching, highly productive individuals often seek the latest time hacks, yet the most powerful principle I teach is surprisingly simple: slow down. Only by focusing fully on the task or person in front of us can we create maximum value. Rushing reduces effectiveness, while slowing down—through mindfulness, presence, and singular focus—enhances productivity, satisfaction, and results.

As parents, we often hear ourselves say “You make me so happy!”—but relying on children for emotional satisfaction can unintentionally burden them with responsibility for our feelings. Modern parenting and professional life coaching now emphasize taking ownership of our thoughts and emotions, demonstrating that true happiness flows from how we interpret circumstances—not from others’ actions.

It was a privilege to have the opportunity to coach one of my peers, Rebekah Weintraub. Here’s what Rebekah writes about the experience.

Ever notice how you can be one person in one area of your life and a different person in another? In my years as a Professional Life Coach, I can argue that I am (more often than not) a better professional than I have been a parent. This is not an easy statement to make, but here’s why I think it’s true.

Struggling to find time for your goals? Learn how to organize your daily activities into meaningful "Life Buckets" to prioritize what matters most. This 5-step guide helps you identify key areas, align actions with values, and create lasting habits for a more balanced and purposeful life.

Shirin Yadegar from LA Mom Magazine and I discuss how to easily transform your daily life while being intentional and getting your fill of life. In this short but powerful interview, you'll learn what a life coach is, why athletics and entertainment have steered the path of coaches, and how to navigate sticky transitions like career, marriage, and purpose.

These are complex times and I thought long and hard before writing this blog. There is so much "information" being hurled at us—whether we've invited it or not—and I wasn't sure I would add value by creating yet another piece of content.

It was a privilege to discuss how to improve the quality of your life by prioritizing activities through the lens of "Life Buckets." Life Buckets are areas that we make deposits in either consciously or unconsciously that determine how we spend our time. By deciding what your 3-5 non-negotiable Life Buckets are, we're able to say "YES" to the things that matter.

Movement-based coaching helps you step into the present, quiet mental chatter, and tap into your creativity and higher wisdom. Walking side by side, in nature, we co-create, gain clarity, and move from problem-focus to solution-focus. Small, consistent movement can transform body, mind, and life.

President Kennedy borrowed a phrase from Irish writer Frank O'Connor about throwing your hat over a wall—leaving yourself choiceless in doing whatever it took to mount it. This powerful story about commitment has guided nations and individuals alike to pursue audacious goals. The question becomes: What life goal are you willing to toss your hat over?

Why is change so hard? Because our brains are attached to predicting the future. Somehow a negative but predictable future is easier to accept than a positive but unpredictable one. We'd rather read our horoscope than try a new action outside our comfort zone. But here's what's powerful: by taking new, consciously chosen actions, we become creators rather than predictors. That's so much more fun!