Mastering Stress & Overwhelm

Learning Happiness

Recently I wrote a post about my new grand daughter, Isabella Rae Lerma. She is perfect, right now, as we all are, in our true essence. When it comes to our essence and who we really are, there is nothing to criticize, condemn or judge. “Bella” is ten weeks old now and I haven’t heard […]


Are You Ready to Roar?

    Are You Ready to Roar? When we come into this world, our instinct is to be who we naturally are, to know what we want, to communicate our needs and desires and to assume we are worthy of all of them. We come into this world ready to “roar”—to fully express ourselves. Beginning […]


Seven Questions To Rock Your World Today

Alan’s “Seven Questions To Rock Your World Today” How will I communicate with myself today to fuel my mind, body and spirit? (The truth is, if you master this one thing, you will be living in a rare space.) How can I offer myself unconditional support, on all levels, to thrive today? Who is most important in […]


Stand By Me: What Your Employees Really Need

One of my all time favorite songs is “Stand By Me.” Whether it’s the original version by Ben E. King or Bono and Springsteen or others, the heartfelt plea of the song never fails to get to me. Here’s another one: “Lean On Me” by Bill Withers. Truer words were never put to music: Sometimes […]


Amazon Pays Unhappy Employees to Leave

How much money would it take to get you to quit your company and move on to another opportunity? Even if you knew what that number is, I bet your company wouldn’t pay it. But two of the best companies in the world would and do; Amazon and Zappos. Why? Because they know if you’re […]


Question Everything

We have beliefs about everything, but not all of our beliefs are helpful or defensible: Beliefs about self (“I’m not a risk taker.”) Beliefs about others (“He’s an idiot!”) Beliefs about our future (I can’t get a better job in this economy.”) Beliefs about money (“Money doesn’t grow on trees.” Technically true, but what are […]


The Myth of “Letting Go of the Past”

How often have you heard a therapist, coach or friend give someone the advice, “You  need to let go of the past.” It sounds good, doesn’t it? The only problem is it doesn’t work. Huh? No, really, it doesn’t work. How many times have you tried to “let go” of the past and found yourself […]


Is “Stress Management” Stressing You Out?

“Stress management.” I don’t know about you, but there’s something amiss when it comes to the idea of managing your stress. It’s not that toxic stress isn’t a big deal – it is. Toxic stress cuts deeply into our happiness, health, and overall well-being. At work, it is responsible for employees taking “mental health” days, […]


Progress, Not Perfection!

A few years back I had a phone appointment – but not just any phone appointment. I was scheduled to be interviewed by Matt, a reporter for The New York Times for a piece he was writing on influencing others at work. I have to tell you, I was excited about being quoted in The New York Times! […]


Facing Your Fears and Feeding Your Dreams

How are you…and how is your New Year  so far? For some of us, the answer would be “Good…no, I mean really good!” For some of us, the answer would be”Not so good, I’ve been kind of stuck” and for others of us the answer would be “I’m just holding on. I thought this year […]