In last week's article, I shared two core pillars of Transformational Coaching: Radical Acceptance and Radical Responsibility. I've capitalized these concepts intentionally because I want them to stand apart from your everyday run-of-the-mill experiences of acceptance and responsibility. Radical means always, not sometimes. It means doing it when it's difficult, uncomfortable, and exactly what we don't want to do.

If I've learned one thing in my career as a Professional Coach, it's this: all change begins with Radical Acceptance. Think back on your life and identify one meaningful change you made that stayed with you. I promise you—it started with fully (and often painfully) accepting your current reality. Radical Acceptance is necessary, but not sufficient, to create the changes so many of us long for.

One of the foundational practices of Life Coaching is helping our clients understand the distinction between being a victim and having a victim mindset.

So many of us navigate through life with a victim mindset, convinced that external circumstances control our fate instead of realizing our own power to shape it. When we embrace this mindset, we often find ourselves depleted of energy, creativity, and agency. We feel like a dinghy being tossed around in a turbulent ocean — dependent on the next wave to determine our direction.

The fear of uncertainty is one of the most paralyzing obstacles for young adults. By cultivating the right mindset, clarifying identity, and using practical strategies, we can navigate change, take responsibility, and confidently thrive even when life feels unpredictable.

Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood.” I’ve realized that fear has held me—and many young adults I coach—paralyzed. Some fears we can conquer; others take time. When we pair understanding with action, fear loses its power, and we can finally step into life fully.

This week, Jews all around the world are observing Passover, a recollection of our ancestors’ time as slaves and a grateful honoring of their journey to freedom. In looking at the rituals, I’m struck by the ways our modern “shackles”—fame, pleasure, money, and power—quietly limit our freedom today.

“Why should I work with a Professional Coach?” It’s a question many of us silently ask. While our default future unfolds without effort, it may not be the one we want. Coaching helps us uncover what we truly desire, why it matters, when to act, and who can guide us—transforming hesitation into deliberate progress.

I just spent five days at a Coaching Retreat with five extraordinary women. Left to my default, I’m a lone wolf, but this experience stretched me beyond my comfort zone. Through honesty, vulnerability, and shared reflection, we created profound connection, insight, and transformation that will shape the next chapter of our lives.

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.

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.

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.