Join me at Progressive Pittsburgh May 7th- an All Day FREE Conference

Sponsored by the Community Bridge-Building Network, this is a community conference celebrating business, education, recreation, social service, and cultural diversity in the Pittsburgh area.

8:30 AM-5:00 PM May 7, 2010 at the Edgewood Club, 1 Pennwood Avenue, Edgewood Borough, 15218

The conference is FREE but you must register by emailing CBridgeBN@aol.com with "conference" in the subject line. Include your name, company name and phone number.

Speakers include:
Bill Peduto, Jennifer Ankowiak, Brian O'Neil, Harish Saluja, Gina Mazza, Cheryl Campbell, Georgia Berner, and Pat Clark.
Entertainment provided by: Etta Cox

Take Time to Evaluate Your Relationships

I was once engaged to a man I never married. He was lovely and wonderful in many ways. But, the decision to end the engagement didn’t come from an argument or a fundamental disagreement in lifestyle. It was a simple question that I posed to myself one day.

“Do I love him more than I believe I have the capacity to love another?”

You see, I wasn’t, as most do, going to just compare this love to ones previous. That seemed too simple and in fact would only cheat myself in the long run. I had to try to imagine what the possibilities for love were and to somehow compare what I had with those possibilities. Hard I know, but believe it or not, the answer came quickly. “No, I didn’t.” I truly believed that a greater love existed in the world. Whether or not I’d find it, that was going to have to be a gamble … or maybe a prayer. But, I couldn’t settle. I think most people do that and I didn’t want to be like most people. Most people seem really unhappy too- why on earth would that be a crowd I wanted to be in?

As spring has arrived and newness is on your lawn and, hopefully, in your heart, I challenge you to take a look at your relationships and ask yourself some tough and some not-so-tough questions. They don’t have to be the same question I asked myself. Make up your own. Do your own evaluation.

If you are willing to share, I’d love to hear what you asked and what you answered.

Wishing you healthful and happy relationships, everyday.

Join me this Thursday, April 22nd, at the Get Invovled! Service Summit

It is going to be a great day filled with networking, education and fun with other service-oriented people in their 20's and 30's. Tom Baker has put together an all-star line up of speakers from local politicians to non-profit executives to coaches. I'm thrilled to have been asked to be a part of it. See you there.

For more information visit: http://www.bakerleadership.com/events.html

I have two tickets available if you are interested. Email me.

Time for You and Those You Love

*This pic was taken in Virginia City NV

I just came off of a 2-week vacation. Most people I know rarely take 2 week vacations anymore…. There is just so much to do at work, at home, etc…. How can they afford to disappear for 2 weeks? My question is how can you afford not to?

I came back refreshed, rejuvenated, and more relaxed.

Work lives went on without me- you aren’t as irreplaceable as you think- and few of us are emergency surgeons, and even if we are that is why they have others on call.

I actually got to enjoy day after day of doing what I want when I wanted and with whom I wanted to. It was joyous. Although, I must confess, I do feel that is how I live my non-vacation life at least 40%+ of it. But, this was extra-special.

When is the last time you took more than 5 days away from your job (and don’t count illness)? If it was more than 6 months ago I encourage you to plan your next break now. Make it at least 12 whole days. Go where you want. Hide away at home if you want: reading, cooking, doing a local retreat, whatever…. Just make sure it’s really your time and no one else’s.

Then, drop me a line and tell me how you felt afterwards. It’s ok if you tell me that it felt weird the first few days or that you felt compelled to be back at work- in today’s frenzied environments we’ve, sadly, created that trend. But, give it a few more days and allow your bodies and minds to sink into vacation mode. Then, simply enjoy.

Now Go Out There and Get Yourself a Raise! Quoted in CNN Money

http://money.cnn.com/2010/04/05/magazines/moneymag/105914381.moneymag/

Fresh off the press, I was interviewed for this piece featured in CNN Money on how to get a raise in a tough economy.

Enjoy it and let me know if you have specific questions.