The year of kindness: Join me on a kindness journey

Kindness is showing love to someone else. I believe that kindness is the cure for violence and hatred around the world. Lady Gaga The January 1st Parade magazine edition had an article about making 2017 the year of being kind and included the lovely quote above by Lady Gaga. According to the article, studies have…

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A lesson from toothpaste

My fabulous children’s manners teacher, Jan Townsend, forwarded me a Facebook post written by someone I don’t know. The author’s name is Amy and I was both excited and moved by her words. In her post she talked about teaching her daughter, who was entering middle school, about kindness. To teach the lesson, she had…

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12 months to a better you

It’s the New Year, that time when everyone looks forward to a fresh start. Many people make resolutions such as lose weight, exercise more and eat better. Those are all worthy goals, but what if instead you focused on being a better person? A person who made great first and lasting impressions and who was…

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Bad behavior

Do you turn into a monster behind the wheel of your car or when you’re in other seemingly anonymous situations? Why is it that even the mildest mannered, gracious people become Mr. Hyde in certain circumstances?

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Nice gals and guys finish first

I read in the Seattle Times this morning that Sally Jewell, President and CEO of REI, has been nominated as Secretary of the Interior by President Obama. I couldn’t be more excited for Sally, and, I’m not surprised she has been tapped for this high level position.

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Make Kindness Your New Year’s Resolution

I recently wrapped up my 14 week kindness “class”. This class was offered to the general public by the Puget Sound Community School, a private school in Seattle for 11 to 18 year olds. The school founder, Andy Smallman, created the class “to start ripples of kindness that will be felt in far away places,…

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Don’t Go There: Taboo Topics in Business

I just attended a small business roundtable group which serves as a forum for entrepreneurs seeking business advice and mentoring. The facilitator couldn’t be there so we were on our own to lead the discussion with a couple of suggested topics. Unfortunately that led to trouble. We started out talking about economic projections but a…

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America The Uncivil?

It would be easy to assume civility is dead given the antics of a few people who should know better. Over the last week we’ve had a Congressman be disrespectful to the President, a tennis star show poor sportsmanship and a musician take away from another’s moment in the spotlight. What these three did was…

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