Do you know about the butterfly effect? I’m not super science-y, so I’m going to give it to you in simple language that I understand. It’s the idea that when a small thing happens, it can lead to a slightly bigger thing, which can change the whole course of things. A butterfly flaps its wings, it changes the direction of the wind ever so slightly and yadda, yadda, yadda, there’s a tsunami. Told you – not science-y. This idea has always fascinated me and I love books and movie

In the sea of coaches you will find on the internet, it's easy to lose track of who is who and why you should even care about someone. In light of that, here's some information about me that may resonate with you, may make you remember me when you're thinking about discerning who's who out there in the web-world. 1) I love cheese. And potatoes. If I had to pick a two-ingredient life, that would be it. If I could have a third ingredient, it would be salt. I like it simple.

I woke up this morning, body twisted in an unnatural, uncomfortable, contortionist position. Halfway down the bed, on my side, was Puppy. During the night, she decided the most comfortable place for her would be where my body belongs. And, clearly, as shown by the crick in my neck, the tweak in my back, the wrench in my knee, I accommodated. I didn’t do it consciously. I’m sure my brain knew that if I tried to move her, she’d wake up and I’d pay for it; she’d give me the “oh

How can you set a goal... ...to UN-be-doing something? You're an achiever, right? And a perfectionist? And a people pleaser? And a workaholic? So here you are, working too hard already and something new, an opportunity, a goal, an assignment comes your way. You think any one of more of these things: They trust me! They believe in me! They need me! They have no one else to give it to and they know I'll say yes!* *This one's not the healthiest thought out there, but we achiever

I was in a sales position early in my career. I was awful at it. Why? I love relationship building. I love service providing. I like administrative work. When it came time to sell? I absolutely sucked. I didn't think it was my place to tell anyone what I thought they needed. And now, I have a coaching business. New clients choose me. And it's BECAUSE I don't sell. What? But Lauren! If you're going to convince people to be clients, you HAVE to sell to them! Nope. I talk to pot

We work, then we sleep, then we take care of errands, then we pay bills, then we work again. And in the in-between, we get rewards: a new car, a promotion, a raise, maybe even a puppy. And we think, ”This is fine.” But it’s not fine, is it? It’s barely enough. It’s busy. And kind of stifling. And it’s not what we want, but it’s what we keep doing. Because we think this is just what we get. We hit an age and we settle. But it doesn’t have to be that way. So I made a decision.

Why do paper cuts hurt so freaking much? And for so long? I’ve been nursing a paper cut for three days and it still stings. What IS that? That’s all. Oh, you thought I was going to share some metaphorical inspo like how paper cuts are small things at work and we shouldn’t focus on the small things? Or that paper cuts are distractions from what’s really important, the company mission? Or that paper cuts can’t derail us from the more important half of the analogy, knitting the

If you are leaving a job where you're a leader, read this: YOU ARE ALREADY A LEADER. I'm going to say it again for the people who won't believe me the first time: YOU ARE ALREADY A LEADER. If you are a leader in a company that promotes from within, and you part ways with that company, why do you think you have to start over? Sure, where you were, there is a clear ladder up. And in that place, you had to start from the bottom. You grew, usually pretty fast, into management pos

"How can I get you into a car today?" "Let me check with my manager in the back to see what we can do for you." "I see your problem and I know how to solve it." "Are you tired of...? Well I have news for you!" Blech. Ugh. Ew. When I started coaching, my worst fear was having to create a sales pitch. Having to be ready for the moment when I had to 'close' the client. I felt gross that I would have to convince people to 'buy' into coaching. I quickly learned that building a coa

I've created it. The exact definition of perfection. I'm ready to share it with the world... Oh, wait. That one word seems a bit off. And I think I should swap what's after the comma to what's before the comma. It should be shorter. No, longer. No, wait. It's not actually a definition. It needs a narrative. And a picture. Nope. Not going to share it now. It's not ready. I'm not ready. It's not perfect. TRUTH BOMB: Nothing will ever be perfect. Perfect is unattainable. Believe

There is only this moment. And this moment. And this moment. Sometimes, we take in a moment, and we hold it in our arms and carry it forward with us. And another moment holds enough importance to stack that on top of the first moment. A third, fourth, fifth moment comes along and we stack those on. Our arms get heavy with moments, and we forget to let go. By the end of last week, I was absolutely exhausted, carrying all the week's moments with me. Some of them were hard momen

You're not special. What?!? But, Lauren, a few days ago, you JUST said I AM special! I know. I know. You ARE special, because you have magical qualities that make you stand out, make people want to be around you, hire you, work for you, marry you, and give you buckets of gold and snuggly puppies. But do you want to know why you're not special? There is nothing special, nor unique... In your feelings of not being enough (you are!). In your worries that people are going to real

Me too! In my quest for positivity and progress and possibility, I dread this feeling. Want to know what I'm doing about it today? Right now? Nothing. Not today. Tomorrow, I'll go back to all of the possibility. I'll find something inspiring to read (like I do daily on LinkedIn or in one of several books I'm reading). Or I'll have an amazing conversation. Or I'll get an opportunity to support someone else getting out of their own slog. Or I'll watch something funny

You are special. Such a simple statement...one we tend to wave off in our hurry to dismiss compliments. Stop a minute. Read this next sentence more than once. YOU ARE SPECIAL. Sit with that for a minute. Think about what makes you kind of magical. It can be something big and mighty. Or something tiny that just makes you shine a little bit in a way that's different than others. Me? I can bring a little surprise humor to a very serious situation without deflecting or dismissing

Have you ever sent something out to your whole organization that had a due date mistyped three different ways, none of which were the actual correct combination of due day and date? Asking for a friend. Me. I'm the friend. I'm embarrassed. And grateful that it was pointed out to me. And sheepish about a dumb set of errors. And tired after a week of big ups and downs and ups. So I'm also forgiving myself. And letting go of it by telling all of you about it. Bye, bye,

A thing happens that makes us think, "This is the moment everything is changing." A job offer. A wedding. Adopting a dog. Crashing a car. That thing feels like a starting/ending point - the corner is turned, the lightbulb goes on...everything will be different now. But sometimes, the moment that 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒔 isn't the moment that 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒔 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈. For me, breaking my shoulders (in my own home, slipping in my socks chasing a Roomba - f

Do you have a bendy, warped justification for the way things are? I was frustrated. I was working. A lot. I was taking on too much. Working 100 hours a week. I decided this was normal (it's not). I thought I should look for another job with fewer hours (hold on, we're not at the bendy, warped part yet). I looked at other jobs; they seemed the same as what I was already doing (we're getting closer). I decided I shouldn't move (closer). Because if all jobs were the same (closer

Quick! Make a list of the nine people you love the most. What number are you? Oh, you're not on your own list? Neither was I, for a long time. Now, I'm working to be #1. Ok, maybe #2. Puppy comes first. Oh, Puppy's not a person? Try telling her that. But, back to me. I always thought loving others should be first. And I thought demonstrating that love through servant-leadership and doing and being there for others was everything. And it was. Until I burned myself out because

Would you rather be disappointed or cynical? Both terrible choices, right? Here's why it's important to choose one: If you choose cynical, your thought pattern starts at, "It's never going to work anyway." So if you're thinking about a new job opportunity or starting a hobby or reaching out to network with someone new, but you come from a place of being cynical, you will absolutely never do it. You won't take any action. Because you've already decided it's not going to happen

Do you know what you want to be when you grow up? I’m asking you, friends in your 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s and so on... When I found my career in HR 20 years ago, I felt like I had struck GOLD. An opportunity for a strategic helper job?! Sign. Me. Up. As I’ve grown in my career, I’ve found that a lot of work I’ve been doing isn’t the work that makes me the happiest. So... Last year, I refocused myself and now I’ve set some new work goals that will help me focus on positive, pr