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Words to inspire the belief that we have all we need to be the change we wish to see.

Tag: Michelle Obama

We see them as we are

Adam Grant’s book Think Again reminded me of Anais Nin’s quote, “We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.”  And therefore, we can see them differently if we choose.

Some of the tips he offers for putting a new lens on our views include valuing curiosity, looking for information that goes against what you believe, focusing more on improving yourself and less on proving yourself, looking for people who will challenge you with feedback to help you grow, using questions rather than statements when listening to others, talking to kids at dinner about different topics and what they think about them, considering better practices rather than best practices to always raise the bar, and not asking kids what they want to be when they grow up. Continue reading

Sam Kass

I read about Sam Kass in Michelle Obama’s book Becoming.  He was the head chef at the White House.  But I didn’t know his back story.  I heard it last week on Tim Ferriss’ podcast and it was so inspiring.  He went to the University of Chicago on a baseball scholarship and did a history degree because he was always interested in how we got to where we ended up.  He mentioned a tidbit about professional baseball that I found extremely interesting.  He said the top professional baseball players have a 30 per cent success rate.  So the best players in the league fail 70 per cent of the time.  How inspiring is that?  They hit more but they also swing more.  A lesson for us all. Continue reading

Becoming

I am reading Michelle Obama’s memoir Becoming and it is an excellent book.  What a journey she travelled from the South Side of Chicago sharing the top floor of a house with her parents and brother to the White House.  She remembers being drawn in when she went to listen to her friend Barack, a law student doing a placement where she was a lawyer, speak at a community meeting.  He said, “You can live in the world as it is, but you can still work to create the world as it should be.”  You can have hope. Continue reading

Life is what happens when you are making other plans

Life is what happens when you are making other plans.

All three of my kids are competitive Irish dancers and it takes up much of the oxygen in our lives.  As I’ve said before, I don’t pay for dance but for the life lessons it teaches including perseverance, dedication, getting up when you fall, and winning and losing with grace.  In a month, my two boys are registered to compete at the North American Irish Dance Championships in New Orleans.  Planes and hotels booked.  Practices and workshops on the calendar. Continue reading

Finding an open door upon arrival

As someone who has children with two Irish grandparents and two Croatian grandparents, I understand the opportunity that immigration affords.  And as the daughter of two people who emigrated from Ireland, I am very thankful for the country that welcomed my parents with open arms.  I grew up hearing stories about the Irish famine and all the poor, destitute, hungry people who travelled across the ocean on boats to a new land.  Not knowing what to expect.  But finding an open door upon arrival. Continue reading

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