We have had such a tumultuous winter in many parts of the world. Ice, snow, power outages…..and they often hit at the most inopportune times. For example, my 2nd book launch and associated signing fell on the same day as Dallas was to get a few inches of traffic-stopping ice! It did not actually happen, yet many succumbed to the ‘fear’ of its potential. AND still others…….

Over the past few months, I have lost several individuals who were integral to my life. Yes, we know this is a part of life, and as my father would say, “None of us get out of here alive”. However, what can we learn from these inevitable transitions? A few observations:

I dare say, there is not a single person who at least once in his or her life has not faced an unexpected situation, a newfound reality, a daunting challenge, or veiled opportunity and not wondered what to do. You may feel that you have made poor choices, that your opportunities have passed you by, or that you’re playing musical chairs, the music has stopped, and all the seats are taken.

As many of us know. the first step to ‘upping your game’ is to honestly assess where you are today AND where you want to be tomorrow! Thus, as we end 2014, now is the time to take a hard look in the mirror and determine if 2014 was all and more than you wanted it to be…..or if there is still room for growth and improvement.

On this Veteran’s Day and month of Thanksgiving, I thought it was only fitting to ask the poignant question: For what are you grateful? I, for one, believe that by deliberately cultivating gratitude, we can increase our well-being and happiness. Some are obvious, others are not.

This past week I took Lulu (my precious rescue schnauzer) to our family lake house in Arkansas. This particular year, I decided to reach out to a few old friends to reconnect. What I learned from these women, and from this beautiful exchange, was worth writing about and sharing with you…as it does apply to life and to business.

I can assure you, each person reading this has most certainly experienced a broken relationship due to the break down of trust. This breakdown could be in the form of a spouse cheating on them or a colleague using information (which you developed or found) as if it were their own with no accreditation to you. It could be someone outright stealing a concept from a keynote or workshop, and using it as if it were their own. Or it could be a so-called friend or colleague saying one thing to your face and calling you a ‘friend’ only to have them back-stabbing you with unflattering commentary or falsehoods behind your back. Let’s face it, trust is so integral to our relationships that we often take it for granted; yet in an era marked by business scandals and a desire for accountability – we clearly need to nurture trust in our professional and personal lives. Where in the world has all the trust gone? And what do we do about it?

“Leadership” and its development within individuals has become a multi-billion dollar industry. However, what I have observed over the course of my career, and most recently through my work as a leadership development consultant and coach, is that the recipe for becoming an effective leader is seldom – if ever – found outside of oneself. What is the secret??

Many of you know I recently adopted a rescue schnauzer puppy. She is a precious pooch who has endured a lot in her short 6 years of life. What I am learning from her is often hysterical….and always simply amazing.

Recently, I was purging through 30 years of old files, and ran across my ‘special file’ where I kept those unique articles, emails, letters, and notes which were ‘too good’ to throw away. I found an email from 1998 which summarized Dave Packard’s 11 simple rules on how to deal with each other on a daily basis. He believed if we followed these simple rules, we would all emerge as winners – this blog offers a shortened version of the email.