Inspiration

There's something on my mind lately, and it has been central to what I am leaning into these days. Life is an emotional roller coaster, but in these current times, it's all magnified. Having been the financial leader for multiple billion-dollar drug portfolios, I want to share my perspective on how we can come out of these times even better than before.

Peaks and valleys are just a natural part of the human experience. If you have been on the peaks, then you also know you can end up in the vall…

Often when I am connecting with people, I will bring up the concept of ikigai (pronounced Ick-ee-guy). If you have not heard of it, it is a Japanese term that means “a reason for being” or your reason for getting out of bed in the morning.

In order to get to your “sweet spot” or ikigai, you have to ask yourself a few “simple-yet not-easy-to-answer” questions: 

• What do I love? 
• What am I good at? 
• What can I be paid/rewarded for? 
• What does the world need? 

So where do we go from here? …

What is your relationship with fear? Some people are paralyzed by fear, while others are motivated by it. Lately, I have been thinking about how fear can be fuel if you have the right relationship with it. When you allow fear to stop you from taking action, it prevents you from growing, and it will ultimately prevent you from living fully.

As the Egyptian existentialist Naguib Mahfouz bluntly stated, "Fear does not prevent death. It prevents life." Fear is responsible for holding most people ba…

You have heard the saying "seeing the forest through the trees," and maybe in the corporate world, you have been told that you are too detail-oriented, and you need to see the forest through the trees. As with everything in life, context is everything. Your brain does not do absolutes; it only deals with relationships and meaning-making. That being said, sometimes we need to focus on both the forest and the trees. We need to bring the details into focus so we can understand what is truly going o…

September is in the books, school is back in session (for the most part), and I have been thinking about the experience of being a student in the world today. With so much uncertainty, ambiguity, and fear going around, I can only imagine its impact on students of all ages. Navigating our formidable years is already challenging enough without additional pressure! 

I hope that as parents, mentors, friends, and leaders, we can be there for our students to give them the emotional support to navigat…

Do you know your Why? I have wrestled with this question ever since Simon Sinek broke through with his books about Why ("Start With Why," "Find Your Why"). As people often say, it is simple but not easy. I have recently spent some time with Simon's team to get a better understanding and see if I could get some clarity. They did not let me down. 

As with many things in my life, I had to take it to the next level, so I took the time to refine my Why; I also uncovered my How's, and something that …

I hope you have had a fantastic summer, and you made the best of your time, even though it was surely a departure from prior years. One of the things I noticed about my adventures this summer is that I had a greater appreciation for the little things. A simple moment dining outside made me smile a little wider than usual. 

I had the opportunity to get into the mountains, which was truly amazing. Being in nature rejuvenates my soul and puts things in perspective. As I traveled along, my attentio…

Should I stay, or should I go? The classic song from The Clash has been running through my head lately as we come to terms with the mixed messages around the phased re-opening of the economy. Many leaders and employees are polarized right now around the decision to get people back into the workplace or to stay safe at home. According to a recent New York Times article (you can find it here), Google, Facebook, Amazon, Capital One, and others are extending work-from-home policies to September, and…

This time of year has me thinking about freedom. With the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement, I have been challenging my view of what it means to be free. 

What is freedom, really? Freedom is the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint. Based on this definition, I can think of so many examples of freedoms that are taken away from us on a daily basis. From the most basic freedom of a black man in fear of racial profiling to a woman speaking up…

My soul is aching for an adventure! As the days wane on and uncertainty continues to weigh heavily, I am anxious to plan my next escape. For me, traveling is much more than taking a flight to a beautiful beach to relax (however, I do enjoy that, too). I travel to get into new situations that stretch me, to transform the way I think and how I see the world. 

With my wanderlust in high gear and no current way to satisfy it, I have been reflecting on past adventures and how those experiences have …