When I Executive Coach a Leader, we need to define in the beginning exactly what they are trying to achieve. We need to be clear on our goals and make sure we are both moving in the same direction.

So, I would like to take a moment at the beginning of our journey together through this blog series to define what my blogs overarching theme of Leading and Living with Purpose really means.

What does it look like to lead and live with purpose?

Today is my birthday! I am now 49 years of age.  You will never hear me complain about turning another year older.  Each year is a gift.  My husband, Jeff, died of esophageal cancer at the age of 46. I have gotten the gift of three extra years (and counting!) more than Jeff did on this Earth.

A few weeks ago, I began recording short video clips to share some of the brain-hacks I have learned to help me reduce stress while I was in brain rehab after suffering a brain injury 12 years ago.

I feel like I have collected a wealth of information about the brain through this very painful experience, which led me to being a guinea pig about how some of this stuff would actually work on a Type A High Driver type of person.

The results were pretty amazing.

Check out my video Stress Series to learn a simple brain hack to rewire your brain for greater peace.

I recently picked up a copy of Mel Robbin’s new book, ‘Let Them.’ Like so many others, I also have had times when I have fallen into the trap of worrying too much about others’ thoughts. I have experienced the guilt of making a decision that feels right for me or my family but has gnawed away at me when I worried about whether everyone else outside of me will be happy about my decision. But, if they are not, as Mel Robbins would say, “Let Them.”

It is hard to believe that we are soon approaching the end of another year. Has anyone else felt that time has moved even quicker since the COVID-19 pandemic?

It has been a busy month for me, and no doubt for you, too! I have had a lot of projects to finish and then, of course, Christmas shopping and the events that come with the Season.

But now I remind myself I have a choice. I can continue to keep ramping up high speed throughout the holidays with social outings and doing lots of prep work to blast into an exciting new work year, or, I can allow myself some time to rest. I don’t have to keep going at the pace that I have been carrying on now. Yes, I needed to have an energy burst to complete some things I had been working on, but I now get to choose if I take my foot off the gas pedal or not.

This picture was taken for my MBA graduation. I had been working for a few years after my university undergrad and then college education when I decided to go back to school on weekends to pursue an MBA. When I graduated from this program, I was 27 years old. I had just signed on for a new job with General Motors and got my first signing bonus. In many ways, I was flying high on life and felt anything was possible. I was smart, super ambitious, and ready for anything that came my way…or so I thought.

After experiencing a brain injury 10 years ago, the death of my Dad and husband, Jeff, to cancer within a few years of each other, and then came the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, I had to reach down deeper within myself than I knew even existed. What have I learned about life and my career along the way? And, what do I wish I could have told my younger self?