Good coaching gives you courage, not clarity. Clarity comes in the rear view mirror—after you've already done the hard things. Vision is harvested through practice, specifically through one core discipline: deep, skillful conversation. For over three decades in luxury retail, I mastered seeing deeply and hearing forensically. Now, as a coach, I understand: whole-hearted conversations create profound connection and miraculous results. It's about being truly seen, heard, and held.

"How can I support you?" is one of my favorite questions to ask. Most people want support but don't know how to ask for it. We also don't know that there are many "languages" in which we can offer and receive support—similar to Love Languages, but different. Deep listening, embracing silence, creating context, being vulnerable, doing something, problem solving, innovating, cheerleading, showing up. These are the 9 Support Languages that transform relationships.

The unending vulnerability of existence—pain, illness, loss, and grief—are not bugs in the system. They're features. Optimism is not optional for the awakened soul. It's the only choice. Acceptance is the start line for growth. Connection comes before creation. And the world is not changed by your words or declarations—it's changed by your example and actions. Here are 10 principles for living with authenticity, purpose, and power.

Years ago, my son and I were traveling by plane. We sat quietly beside each other for two hours until I asked a question that revealed something profound: most women sabotage their success by not asking for what they want. Coaching helps uncover these hidden obstacles and take deliberate action.

I used to worship Intensity, believing grand gestures could replace steady effort. Over time, this approach drained my energy, trust, and confidence. Learning to prioritize Consistency over Intensity transformed how I show up in life and work, creating sustainable success and long-term impact.

Many of you know that in 1982, my partners and I opened the first Versace boutique in the U.S. Observing Donatella step down this year reminds me how crucial it is to recognize the season of life we’re in—embracing its opportunities, harvesting its gifts, and preparing for the future without clinging to the past.

We often rely on willpower to build or break habits, only to fail repeatedly. Coaching shifts the focus from forcing behavior to cultivating identity. By adopting the identity aligned with your values, you create long-term, sustainable change that no burst of willpower alone can achieve.

We all experience days of feeling drained despite accomplishing much. Coaching helps identify what truly energizes versus what depletes you. Using tools like an Energy Audit and an “Always a Good Idea” list, you can reclaim your time, focus, and joy while reducing procrastination and off-purpose actions.

What if you had indisputable evidence that your words could unquestionably shape your life? What if, like magic, everything you uttered created your reality, both for the better and the worse? I’m not talking about mantras and spells. I’m talking about the everyday conversations we have with ourselves and others.

I finished an ultramarathon that took 11 hours—a race that 20-year-old elites completed in half the time. During those brutal miles, I kept asking myself, "What the hell were you thinking?" The answer: I wasn't. I was parked at the intersection of Ignorance and Arrogance. But here's the thing: a little I + A is exactly what gets us to attempt goals we wouldn't otherwise. Combined with a Why strong enough to sustain us, it's unstoppable.

Pain made itself at home in my body sometime in my forties. Every doctor I visited gave a diagnosis from the point of view of their specialty, yet no one could agree on the source. Fifteen years of deliberate work taught me that letting go of the search for a “fix” was the first step toward living with more ease.

Why ‘The Parent Test’ is More Than Just a Reality Show? Parenting is the hardest job in the world, but why do we insist on striving for perfection when "Good Enough" is an achievement in itself?

Recently, I explored Bronnie Ware’s insight, “I wish I had let myself be happier.” Most of us misunderstand this, thinking happiness must be chased. In truth, we must practice allowance—being present, releasing worry, dogma, and toxic productivity—to make happiness real and avoid future regrets.

Years ago, I resisted saying “love you” at the end of conversations, thinking it unnecessary. A lesson from an ex-boyfriend changed that. By speaking love openly to kids, friends, and colleagues, I discovered how expressing care authentically can deepen connection, expand the heart, and invite others to do the same.

Freedom has been my most significant life value even before I had the words to define it. My earliest and fondest memories are of roaming in our magical garden in Iran and feeling free to do and be whatever I wanted. That was my 5-year-old mind’s definition of freedom.

A dear client asked me how I define success at the end of a day that felt like anything but successful—I had failed to finish a 50-mile race I trained for with great commitment. One of the mind traps that gets in the way of being successful is confusing success with results. Money, grades, and titles are results. Failure, as heartbreaking as it can be, is not the opposite of success. Failure is literally what success is made of.

I used to give easy answers about coaching. "Therapy explores your past. Coaching creates your future." But that's incomplete. The real answer lives in the nuances—those subtle, complex truths that can't fit in an Instagram post. After almost 3 decades in fashion, I'd never ask a client to buy without trying it on first. Yet the coaching industry expects exactly that. Don't fall for credentials and certifications. Instead, find a coach willing to have real conversations with you first.

It’s that time of the year; whether consciously or not, we are all taking stock of the year that passed and thinking about the one ahead. You may or may not decide to set goals for the new year, but if you do, consider making them goals that change who you are rather than just what you do.

Coaching young adults has a tricky aspect to it. Even though I’m coaching young adults, their parents also need to change their beliefs and behaviors if they want their children to succeed. Recently, a friend with children close in age to mine asked how I exert my authority over them. “I have no authority,” I replied.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about scarcity and how it shows up in our lives. I was prompted when the host on this podcast asked me why many high-level female leaders are reluctant to help other women rise the corporate ladder. My response was that these leaders have a Scarcity Mindset, the belief that success is a zero-sum game.