When I think about dying wishes, I think of grand proclamations, deep revelations, or avowals of great emotions. Like: “I was the luckiest person in the whole world because I had you two amazing kids.” Or “Now I can see that God’s hand touched all the moments, even the ones I didn’t like, and it made for a meaningful journey as I managed to navigate … Continue reading Practical Dying Wishes
We take our true crime seriously here in the Pacific Northwest. I think that’s because we were home to both best-selling true crime author Ann Rule, and notable serial killer Ted Bundy. In a strange crossing of paths, Ann Rule and Ted Bundy both volunteered at a suicide crisis hotline in Seattle and were friendly. I’m qualified to weigh in about this because when Ted … Continue reading The Murderer Killings
It feels like I’m spending a lot of time with pitches these days. No, that’s not a World Series joke, although that would be timely. I mean the “a form of words used when trying to persuade someone to buy or accept something.” For example, PR agents pitch guests to come on my How to Share podcast. I pitch sponsors, guests and hosts for why … Continue reading The Art of the Pitch
My six-year-old son started playing Little League last year. Watching these young athletes trying to learn the skills to catch, throw, and bat made me realize how difficult those skills are. When a new Little Leaguer actually caught a ball, they were often surprised they actually did it. Then they didn’t want to throw it to someone else and risk them not catching the ball. … Continue reading Doing the Right Thing: A Great Baseball Story
A few weeks after we adopted our crested gecko, Rusty, we went on vacation. I left instructions for the pet sitter on how to feed and water him. But he texted a couple of days after we’d left saying that he didn’t think Rusty was moving. In fact, he hadn’t seen him move in the enclosure for more than a day. Right as we were … Continue reading Lessons from Vacations: The Importance of Sharing
A squirrel stole my sunflowers. I’ve been plotting my next move ever since. Encase the next bloom in wire mesh? Line the top of the nearby fence in sticky tape? Or better yet, a bed of thumbtacks? At the beginning of the summer, my neighbor gave me a few sunflower starts. Now I understand why she plants them out in the front of her house … Continue reading Creative Response
I regularly ignore all AI suggestions for my posts. Sentences too long? Not enough headings? Bah! But I write my titles last. And every once in a while I will test out the title generator when I’m stuck finding the right title. Wow, are those title suggestions dry! For instance, I tried it with this post. Would anyone click through to?: But of course those … Continue reading Writing For Humans
Last week I had dinner with a friend who was concerned about the impact of AI on the work he does. As a marketing professional, he fills a lot of roles for how to communicate to and motivate audiences. He’d recently heard an interview with an AI expert who predicted that 90% of US jobs could be replaced by AI as early as 2027-2028. I’ll … Continue reading Sharing In the Age of AI
Podcaster, author, and former ABC reporter and anchor, Dan Harris, has a tattoo, FTBOAB which stands for the Buddhist expression, “For the benefit of all beings”. As a regular listener of his 10% Happier podcast, I love that wide angle view of purpose. It connects me to a greater sense of what we can do when we up our game to be in it as … Continue reading The Cumulative Effect of Dan Harris
This past weekend, my five-year-old son and I were looking at the Guiness Book of World Records. It’d been about 6 weeks since we’d last picked it up. When we came to the woman with the world’s longest fingernails, he giggled and said, “How does she wipe her bum?” Which is the joke I made the last time we were thumbing through the book. Then … Continue reading Words to Remember
I saw this sign pinned to a board at my massage therapist’s office: It made me think of intentions. If I resolved to be the most self-interested jackass I could be, would anyone doubt that I could meet that goal? Don’t answer that- it’s a rhetorical question! But if I stated my intentions on being consistently kind, I think it’d come across as Pollyana-ish. I’d … Continue reading The Intention To Be Kind
The other day I pushed my double running stroller up the hill near our house and it spoke to me. The stroller, that is, not the hill. Although with the steep inclines in Seattle, they’ve spoken to me in other ways. I was taking the empty stroller to the second-hand shop in our neighborhood so this was our last walk together. With my hands on … Continue reading Oh the Stories You’ll Tell
You know what is celebrating its 70th anniversary? The Guiness Book of World Records. What an interesting book franchise. I read it as a kid – and my kids love it too. More than that, they came to it without any input from me. It was some combination of YouTube Kids and a book fair at the school library. Whatever the source, getting the 2025 … Continue reading The Unique and Amazing You
When I recently saw Moana 2, there was one line that jumped off the screen and screamed to me. “For some things we never feel ready.” My nine-year-old daughter was sitting next to me and asked why I was writing that down. Funny because she was one of the things I wasn’t quite ready for. I’d chosen to become a single mom at age 46, … Continue reading We Never Feel Ready
About 25 years ago, I met a man that seemed to be able to see into the depths of me. He had this delightful romanticism, soulfulness, and energy about him that was so intriguing. And there was a palpable connection between us that we both attested to. Over the years, we tried dating a few times but the timing was never right. We even happened … Continue reading Grateful for What I Don’t Have
Almost 20 years ago I participated in a climb on Mt. Whitney in the winter. Mt. Whitney is the highest point in the lower 48 of the United States, at 14,505 feet, and it is a pretty straightforward climb in the summer. But when you climb it in the winter and add the snow, the inaccessibility of the roads to the higher parking lots, and … Continue reading The Case for Not Slogging it Out
When I recently brought a new iPhone, the rep offered me some deal so that if a new phone came out in something like 90 days after my purchase, I could upgrade to the new phone for free. I laughed because I certainly don’t need to do that. But it reminded me of the standard adoption curve I learned years ago getting my Electrical Engineering … Continue reading Why You Should Feel Smug About Your Learning Curve
When I was graduating from college with my electrical engineering degree, the last class I had to take was a technical writing course. I was taking it as a correspondence course because I thought that would be more convenient. This was back in the day when you had to literally mail it in. Unfortunately, I learned more than just how to present technical information. Because … Continue reading Sequence Matters
My one-year-old puppy-in-a-big-dog-body, Cooper, likes to steal stuff. Shoes and socks mostly, but he’s not above nabbing a pair of underwear or a blanket. It’s his invitation to play. He grabs the contraband, backs up a foot or two so he can maintain eye contact but also have enough of a head start and then dares you to pursue him. Of course, I tell my … Continue reading An Invitation to Play
I was listening to a podcast in which a journalist was talking about how they pitched a project to National Geographic. And it struck me – what if we had to have an elevator pitch for all the ways we are spending our time. Would it help us see our every day lives in a different light? Could we pitch our lives as best sellers? … Continue reading Practicing The Pitch
