Thought Changer

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Welcome! If this is your first visit or if you’ve been here before but haven’t had a chance to subscribe, would love to have you as a part of the Thought Changer community which has moved to Substack! Just sign up in the box to the left. You’ll get a welcome email from me at Substack. Don’t forget to click the confirmation link. Thought Changer looks at everyday life metaphors. We explore new ways to think about what we do, improve our mindset and live more consciously. And, if something moves you, please share! Thank you and enjoy this Thought Changer.

“I think your self emerges more clearly over time.” ~ Meryl Streep What a difference a year makes. My head is spinning today, my mind full of reflection, introspection, jubilation, anticipation, wonder and… trepidation! Now, admittedly right now the trepidation part is minimized by the other more effusive emotions and thoughts. But, every year on my birthday – yes it’s today – I spend some good time reflecting, etc. Where have I come? Have I done what I set out to do in my life in my life and career? Am I the kind of person I’m meant to be? Am I on the right path? What’s the meaning of life?! …and so on! But, this year the trepidation is much different than it was a year ago. The trepidation this year is more about being a year closer to fifty! And, I would re-phrase it as an “anxious anticipation”… Read more →

“I am careful not to confuse excellence with perfection. Excellence I can reach for; perfection is God’s business.” ~ Michael J. Fox Read more →

Does gratitude make you a better leader? “Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.” Melody Beattie, Author Gratitude is the highest of attitudes. This thought came to me full throttle this past week. And, when gratitude is combined with wisdom, lessons can be learned, embraced and then taught. Last weekend my computer got a nasty virus! I actually started writing this at the library because after SIX days Geek Squad had still not fixed the problem. (never again will I use Geek Squad but that’s a whole other story) So, I was without a dedicated computer and the internet for a week. And. sadly, I went through a withdrawal that brought up some… Read more →

“Successful people are masters of their words; they do not allow words to master them.” ~ George Foreman, Boxer & Entrepreneur Read more →

Fashion icon and Harper’s Bazaar editor Diana Vreeland once said, “The only real elegance is in the mind; if you’ve got that, the rest really comes from it.” It got me thinking about how much power we have or don’t have over our own states of mind. If elegance is indeed a state of mind, then can leadership be an acquired mindset as well? I would posit that it is. Some appear to be born leaders, and it’s true that some people do have an innate sense of their leadership qualities and how to put them into practice no matter what field they’re in or whatever endeavor they embark on. But, there are ways to recognize and adopt a leadership state of mind. One way to do this is to examine the differences between a “manager mindset” and a “leader mindset”. Both roles are necessary, but it’s when you truly… Read more →

“Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible’!” ~ Audrey Hepburn Read more →

There was an interesting piece recently on Good Morning America about flowers, and how using a drop of ordinary bleach in flower water keeps the flowers fresher longer. Who knew? So, I wondered, did the first person who tried this do it by accident or by design? It got me thinking about how there’s always an alternative way to get things done. In other words, if the conventional approach is tired or no longer working, look for an unconventional approach that many times will accomplish even more. You may surprise yourself! As Thomas Edison said, “I never failed once. It just happened to be a 2000-step process.” He kept trying different approaches and each one sparked a new idea for the next approach. This most certainly applies when it comes to your personal brand. After you’re solid on what your brand’s core values are, look for the unconventional ways of… Read more →

I recently took an on-line quiz that tells what color crayon you would be – if you were a crayon. I was yellow. Okay, it’s a silly quiz but it got me thinking about a person’s true colors. Are you showing your true colors to the world or are you a chameleon, changing colors depending on the perso n you’re meeting with, or because of a certain image you’re trying to project in business or at work? The expression, “showing true colors”, stems from the time of the fighting sail when ship captains would fly the enemy’s flag in order to infiltrate their territory. Then, before attacking, the offensive ship would change its flag to the true colors of the ship’s country. In today’s social terms it means showing your true self and in some connotations where your loyalties lie. The same principle applies when it comes to your personal… Read more →

WYSIWYG, or What You See Is What You Get, is most commonly an acronym referring to web content displayed during editing that appears very similar to the final output (as defined in Wikipedia). I like “WYSIWYG” kind of people. The personal attribute that comes closest to this acronym is TRANSPARENCY. I’ve been thinking a lot about this quality lately. Transparency, I believe, is one of the most prevalent characteristics in great leaders, yesterday and today. It sprung to mind again this weekend with the passing of Walter Cronkite. His iconic “That’s the way it was…” nightly sign-off embodied an entire day, or a human story, or an experience in one simple sentence. Mr. Cronkite was known and loved for being the real thing. He took his job as a reporter seriously in his straight up, this-is-what-you-need-to-know style of imparting the world’s news. But, it was his most human, uncensored, and… Read more →

HOW TO MAKE SHOW-STOPPING PRESENTATIONS Here’s a piece of news that may surprise you. Some of our best and most Award-winning actors are indeed methodical planners, contrary to wide-spread belief, and the way they get to the performance is through a careful, tried and true method of breaking down a script and peeling back the layers of their character. They break it apart scientifically and then put it together in a way that is unique to them and them alone. Anthony Hopkins, Daniel Day Lewis & Meryl Streep are three brilliant examples of analytical actors who dissect their roles like a med student to a cadaver. And, their performances are renowned. Who can forget Anthony Hopkins’ Hannibal Lector’s chilling persona in “Silence of the Lambs?” That came from studied analysis and rehearsal. Thinking like an actor will enable you to make bolder, more interesting and enticing presentations or pitches. This… Read more →