The Kind of Leadership People Remember. Years ago, when I was the executive assistant to Kevin, a hospital CEO, a high school student asked if he could job shadow him. Kevin agreed, but he wanted the student to see more than one person sitting in the CEO's office. He asked me to build a schedule that would give him time with several members of the administrative team, including leaders in finance, nursing, human resources, and operations. We made the arrangements. The student completed the...
7 days ago • 2 min read
When You and a Friend Grow in Different Directions Have you ever had a friendship not feel the way it used to? Sometimes there’s no falling-out and no single moment you can point to. Over time, the things that once connected you don’t hold you together in the same way anymore. I know that feeling. I’ve had friendships change as I’ve changed, too. Friendships often begin because we share something. We work together, raise our children alongside each other, belong to the same community, or...
14 days ago • 3 min read
When Manifestation Starts to Feel Like Pressure On my morning walks, I say good morning to everything. Not out loud, just in my head. The birds, the trees, the clouds, the moon if I can still see it, the flowers. They all get a good morning. With each good morning, I can feel the love in my heart start to light up. It’s genuine love, and it makes me feel like the whole day is going to be the best day ever. When I see someone, they get a friendly good morning too. I’m smiling. I feel lighter....
21 days ago • 3 min read
When Your Child Leaves, Home Changes Too You come home after dropping your college student off and realize the house sounds different. The car that has been sitting in the driveway is gone. Their belongings are missing from the places they’ve always occupied. The schedule that revolved around school activities, practices, games, performances, and last-minute errands has changed. Even if you’re not completely an empty nester, one child leaving changes the dynamics of the whole house. College...
28 days ago • 3 min read
Purpose Isn’t One Big Answer You accomplish the goal, raise the kids, build the career, and then you’re standing there asking, now what? Last week on my In the Driver’s Seat podcast, I talked about Dolly Parton and what we could learn from the way she lived. I was wearing a shirt with one of my favorite Dolly quotes on it: find out who you are and do it on purpose. I love that quote, but there’s a question that often follows right behind it, and I didn’t get to it that day. (If you missed the...
about 1 month ago • 4 min read
The Picture We Create I spent eight years shrinking myself for a man who fell in love with the version of me that hugged everyone. I used to greet my friends with hugs. Ten years deep in the racing world, I was surrounded by guys in the pits, joking around, competing, and talking strategy at dirt tracks on Saturday nights. I was happy and affectionate with my race friends the way you are with family, because in a lot of ways, that's what the racing world gave me. My first husband fell for...
about 1 month ago • 4 min read
You Don't Have to Earn Relief You are allowed to feel better before the problem is solved. For a year, I carried around the same unsolved problem. I was trying to write a memoir, and I could not figure out how to organize it. How do I tell the whole story without letting my dad's disappearance overshadow everything else? I read books about writing, started a blog to practice my writing, and turned the structure over in my head so many times I lost count. Then one afternoon, I was walking the...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
When Did Everything Become So Serious? Somewhere between being a kid and becoming an adult, “Ice cream!” became “Ice cream.” My grandson was taking laps in their backyard, pretending he was racing on his bike when we heard the distinct music of an ice cream truck. With wide eyes, he shrieked, "Ice cream! Let's go, Lovey!" When the truck pulled up in front of their house, he jumped up and down while looking at his choices, then switched to a dance once he decided on Minions. I just got back...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
They Handed Me the Keys. I Figured It Out. Nobody asked if I knew how to do anything beyond writing as a reporter. They just handed me the keys. I was three weeks into my job as a reporter at the Knoxville Journal Express when the editor made a mistake that turned the whole town against him. He was fired within days. The acting editor worked at another paper half an hour away, so somebody local had to become the lead news person in the meantime. That somebody was me. I still had to cover the...
2 months ago • 4 min read
Wanting More Doesn’t Make You Ungrateful You are allowed to build on a good life instead of needing to escape one. When I gave notice at the hospital and told people I was moving to Florida, everyone had questions. Where would I live? What would I do for work? What if it didn’t work out? I wasn’t moving because my life in Iowa was terrible. I loved where I worked, I had people I cared about, and a reputation I was proud of. I needed something different. For years, I had wanted to write a book...
2 months ago • 5 min read