Blog Articles

Local Factoid I remember the iconic NECCO (New England Confectionary Company) factory building on Mass Ave (Massachusetts Avenue for out-of-towners) in Cambridge. You couldn’t live in the area and not be aware of those sweet smells. This is where the ubiquitous little Valentine conversation hearts were first made in 1902. Don’t laugh…around 8 BILLION of [Read More…]

The Winter Solstice on December 21st is the shortest day and darkest time of the year. And it is out of this very deepest dark that we most need to ramp up the light. Yesss. Light those candles, lanterns, fireplaces, Yule logs, menorahs, Kwanzaa kinaras and string fairy lights. Shine things up and go for [Read More…]

Why, Yes I Am Procrastinating, that is. What is it with these life lessons that we think we’ve learned? And somehow haven’t? A Client Mentioned the 80/20 Rule. He spends 80% of the time procrastinating; 20% of the time doing the actual work he spent so much time avoiding. I relate. If All Behavior Is [Read More…]

It’s The Same Story Just like clockwork, the calendar page turns, our New England air gets sharper (“a slice of cool” a friend calls it) and September arrives. Bingo! We’re baaaack. And whatever summer looked like or felt like to you, it’s now officially over. So sorry. And Yet It’s Different Because this year is [Read More…]

This Photo Was My View a few weeks ago, sitting in the front row at the outdoor stage of Jacob’s Pillow, in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, waiting for the evening’s performance to begin. I knew the brilliant featured dancer (Taylor Stanley of the New York City Ballet), but I had no idea what new pieces [Read More…]

Photo Credit: Betty Stone Photography It’s Been Three Long Years since I last attended my beloved Beantown, a week-long swing dance camp focused on Lindy Hop. Sweaty, high-energy, up-close and personal couples dancing sure hasn’t been on my agenda during COVID. Is It Worth It? I did a little risk/reward analysis when Beantown announced they would [Read More…]

These Words Are Being Typed ten days after the devastating attack at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas left 19 children (nine to eleven-years old) and their two heroic teachers dead. Slaughtered. There have been more than 230 mass shootings in this country so far this year. I Am Haunted by reports of multiple calls [Read More…]

Last Month One of the Greats passed away. Ned Johnson, Chairman Emeritus of Fidelity Investments, who built the company into a global financial services powerhouse over four decades, died at the age of 91. Hearing the sad news sent me down memory lane. The Year Was 1996 Yikes, that’s 26 years ago! I was hired [Read More…]

March is One of Those Months kind of betwixt and between. Here in New England, winter has basically lost its grip, but spring is playing hard-to-get. I remember this proverb from childhood: March comes in like a lion, and goes out like a lamb. A little Googling turns up the year 1732 as the earliest reference [Read More…]

Heart Comes First When you’re planning a presentation, it’s helpful to ask yourself: What’s the heart of the matter here? What am I really trying to say? Sounds simple, doesn’t it? But it’s the hardest, darn thing to actually do. Forget the Preamble Preamble is everything we say before we start to say what we [Read More…]