I think of all the times we are asked to share ideas, to help solve problems, to brainstorm new ideas, how many of those times do we hold ourselves back? How many of those times do we question our ideas?  In a conversation with a friend, I asked her to describe a leader she really admired that was inspiring and supportive. She told me that she considered herself lucky because she did have an example for me.  This leader would often sit with the team to brainstorm, and ask many questions to get her team to engage and just say whatever was on their mind.  She would bring a blank canvas to a meeting and challenge her team to fill it.  The idea was meant to inspire them and to challenge them to think outside of the box, but also to trust that she was listening. They would come up with the most amazing ideas that they could. The sky was the limit.  And in our conversation my friend and I talked about the importance of encouraging and engaging our teams to want to share their ideas, their thoughts, to question processes and investigate possibilities.  What would you do if you were given a blank canvas? How would you fill the space? What would you be willing to share? Express? 

Todos sabemos que la soledad no es nada agradable. Cuando estamos solos y tenemos esa sensación de no estar conectados, las emociones negativas surgen fácilmente e incluso pueden llevarnos al punto de sentirnos deprimidos o completamente desmotivados. ¿Pero estamos haciendo algo al respecto?

We all know that loneliness is not a nice thing. When we are lonely and we have that feeling of not being connected, negative emotions easily arise and can even hold us to the degree of feeling depressed or completely demotivated. But are we reaching out?

It is very unfortunate but mother nature reminds us of our fragility from time to time. In September 2017,  Greater Houston, the 4th largest city in the United Sates with almost 7 million habitants, was devastated with floods. We have been trapped in our homes with many roads closed and we have witnessed through news, text messages, phone calls and social media how less fortunate friends have been evacuated from their flooded homes.

Can this be changed? Can I do something about it?

 I am a firm believer of goals, plans and actions, I am convinced that if I have not gotten something in life, it is because I have not had the discipline to implement a good plan to get it, I think that is empowering. But I also recognize that sometimes some of our energy gets lost on trying to change something that will not change.