English majors in college are commonly put through a curriculum that requires reading some of the world’s classic novels and discerning what makes them so. One measure of a great novel is that the reader can see the entirety of the narrative in its first pages. The theme, tone and structure of the early pages of the book foreshadow what is to come. Simply stated, every part of the book leads to the whole and you can absorb this message from every part. Imagine if that were the case right now? We would think in ‘stories’ and write our own.  

Congress is unveiling a proposal that would give most Americans a monthly payment of $2,000 until the coronavirus pandemic begins to fade. This is profoundly necessary relief for those of us who cannot safely

Black Swans are circumstances that take civilization completely off guard because they occur with an extreme element of surprise.  The source of these events often is not knowable and the frequency and duration of a Black Swan cannot be reliably predicted.

In the world of finance and economics, a Black Swan is the term given to an event which is impossible to predict in advance and that has extremely negative consequences for an economy. The author Nassim Nicholas Taleb, a former Wall Street trader, summarized the nature of these events in his 2007 book “The Black Swan”:

"First, it is an outlier … outside the realm of regular expectations, because nothing in the past can convincingly point to its possibility. Second, it carries an extreme

Black Swan Event · This Time Is Different · The New Normal is Not Normal · Time To Rethink Your Career · This Is What Happens When Change Happens · 30 Million Americans Are Unemployed in 6 Weeks · How To Do Business From Home · Why Fi ? · Our Country Is In A Leadership Vacuum · The Stock Market Is Disconnected From Reality · Become The Best At Serving Your Sphere of Influence · Just Do Something · Circumstances + Attitude = Outcome · Awaken Possibilities Again · Resist The Urge To Do Nothing · Now Is The Chance You’ve Always Wanted · Strike While The Iron Is Cold · The New Normal Is Not New Or Normal · What To Do With What Is Left · Now Your Job Is To Live Out Your Greatest Potential · Growth Is Still There, It’s Just Not In The Same Places As Before

Easter Sunday – 4/12/20 

I noticed this sign on a front lawn Easter Sunday afternoon. It caught my attention, such that I pulled over and took a picture of it to illustrate the message it inspires in these words. When I arrived at my parent’s house, I went straight for the bookcase and lifted my father’s copy of the “The Greatest Generation”, by Tom Brokaw. It was the first thing that came to mind from this image. In light of current circumstances, World War II and Depression Era sentiments would certainly provide a strong dose of meaningful perspective, the likes of which we are unfamiliar. The insights in this book embrace the very essence of the spirit we can reference right now. The level of sacrifice and selfless courage conveyed on its pages

We all hope to get back to our “normal” lives sooner rather than later, but unfortunately, we have no way of really knowing how long this “new normal” will have to last. Most of us have had to pivot and adapt to COVID19 to figure out new ways to best service our clients during this time. Real estate may slow down for some, but for others it is a necessity to be an active participant in the real estate market. As a divorce real estate specialist, I’ve learned that some people have discovered they are no longer compatible or perhaps a separation had already begun when COVID19 entered the scene. When divorce happens, real estate transactions are commonly involved, and the divorcing couple needs to be able to work with a real estate professional who can help

It is 2020, and we live in a world that thrives on the desire for instant gratification. Over the years, technological advancements have shaped the landscape in which we live and operate on a daily basis. For many of us, these changes in technology have improved our way of life by allowing us to become more efficient in ways that are constantly changing and improving. We can order nearly anything under the sun and it’s delivered to our doorstep within hours. We can FaceTime with our family and friends on the opposite end of the world within seconds. Need a ride? An Uber or Lyft driver is there within minutes. Don’t want to wait in line at Starbucks?  Cool, place a mobile order through their app and skip the line. As quickly as we can think of what we

Essentials & Basics of the Good Life… 

Anybody out there remember rotary dial phones? How about dial-up internet and AOL’s patented “you’ve got mail” notification as you logged on? For those of us north of 40 years young, we recall a time when we had direct access to far less. No high speed anything. No smart phones. No cell phones at all! Less immediate Entertainment, Stimulation and instant Muse. And we liked it!! That’s right I’m going old-timer on you. Not that I have any right to whatsoever. I do not. But I do remember a time when there was less distraction, noise or what is now commonly experienced as Diffusion. In so many ways we’re “checked out” as a population, fixated on our screens. This is not news. Focused on material rewards, most of

We have all mostly been locked in to some extent, more so now than ever before.  This can take a toll on people in many ways from mindlessly snacking to realizing loneliness isn’t lack of company, but a lack of connection. Many discoveries are being made and not all will have a positive impact on your mental and physical health.  There are ways to combat this and show up for yourself when you need it the most. I’m going to share some ways I have been personally trying to fill my own cup.  

Yoga - I’m practicing daily.  Some days, I have short spurts of stretches and other times I follow livestream yoga classes made available by: Tricia and the crew at Blissworks Yoga, Cassie Arroyo with Hot on Bank, and Candlelit yoga with Lori Lee Miller.  Links

Here we are furloughed in quarantine, heretofore unseen. Feels like we’re on the set of a sci-fi movie, wondering how and when this story is resolved. At some point the protagonist swoops down and saves the day just as things take a turn for the worst. If we are to stay on script, we’re rapidly approaching the moment when we need the hero to enter stage left. So, where are they? 

Ever notice, award winning movies are often the ones that leave us without any emotional rescue? No happy ending or 11th hour mission that rights all wrongs and puts the villain in his place. Some of us even root for the villain. Why is this? These movies present themselves as realistic. They feel authentic and believable. Films that come across as glib and overly-scripted

Mahatma Gandhi once said, “In the midst of darkness, light persists”.  I have taken these words to heart over the last couple of days, while observing the reactions to COVID-19 and how this global pandemic has impacted our world. Whether talking about the virus directly in terms of our health, our global economy, stock markets and retirement accounts, local business and municipality closures or the flash flood of mass hysteria relating to these events; we can all agree that a sense of darkness has set into many of our lives over the last couple of weeks.

Uncertainty can cultivate an influx of emotion and different states of being. It can often feel as if we are caught in the undertow of life, unable to decipher which direction is up. During that