A few thoughts as we close out National Recovery Month.

One core insight from a TED talk: "The opposite of addiction is connection" - and this applies far beyond substance abuse.

Whether you're transitioning to entrepreneurship, navigating a layoff, or joining a new team, isolation can creep in quickly. In this article, I share how every entrepreneur I spoke with emphasized the same challenge: rebuilding their professional community after leaving corporate life.

The TL;DR: Reach out to 2-3 people you don't really know each week. Just like people in recovery build support networks through daily connections, we can combat professional isolation through intentional relationship building.

That "awkward" coffee chat invitation? It might be exactly what both you and your colleague need. In our rush toward efficiency, we've lost sight of how much genuine professional connection matters, not just for business outcomes, but for our wellbeing.

Sometimes the most generous thing we can do is extend an invitation to join us in community.

Today I was struck by two articles about two contrasting uses for AI: the rise of AI companion startups addressing loneliness, and the tech industry's cultural shift from collaborative to more concerning behaviors. My thoughts continue to circle around the question of whether we're embracing AI to improve the state of the world. Are we, truly?

Most leaders think gratitude is "soft" leadership. They're dead wrong.

While you're grinding through 14-hour days and back-to-back meetings, the most successful executives have discovered something counterintuitive: the fastest way to build mental resilience isn't through toughness. It's through hashtag#gratitude.

Here's what the research reveals:

→ Gratitude rewires your brain for better decision-making under pressure
→ It increases emotional intelligence by 23% (critical for executive presence)
→ Leaders who practice gratitude see 31% higher productivity in their teams

This isn't about writing thank-you notes or feel-good mantras. This is about a strategic mental practice that Stoic philosophers and Navy SEALs both use to maintain clarity in chaos.

In my latest article, I break down:

✓ How to implement this practice in 5 minutes daily (even with your packed schedule)
✓ The specific gratitude techniques that translate directly to leadership impact

The bottom line: While your competitors are burning out, you'll be building the mental foundation that separates good leaders from great ones.

Initially I wrote this article on Friday, September 6 with the intention of posting it the following week. And then terrible events happened the following week. So much news, so much heaviness. Understanding the impact of the very live emotions so many people were experiencing, I opted to delay this post. Even as I post it, it's my hope that this message is helpful and encouraging.

The uncomfortable truth about why your most talented women are operating at half-capacity—and what you can do about it.

When the very women who should be lifting each other up become the guardians of conformity, and why authenticity is your greatest competitive advantage.

Why the most accomplished women in tech are using only half their strategic capacity—and what it's costing the entire industry

What happens when you give yourself permission to transition slowly, deliberately, and with deep intention?

For most of my career, I approached transitions with swift decisiveness. When a role no longer served me, my pattern was clear: make the decision, execute the change, and navigate the uncertainty afterward. This approach had served me well in many ways—it demonstrated confidence, moved me quickly through discomfort, and often led to growth opportunities. Yet it also meant I consistently bypassed the nuanced learning that exists in the liminal space between decisions and actions.

You have the power right now to turn our democracy around and create a nation that centers on the highest good for all—and it starts with refusing to feed the systems that profit from your complicity and taking one concrete action today to build the community that will sustain the resistance.

I’m honored this week to share this deeply personal story from my friend Diana Funk, who reminds us that our most challenging transitions often become our greatest teachers. She shows  us what it truly means to be present and compassionate in the face of the unthinkable.

On her husband's 50th birthday, Diana Funk received news that changed everything: he was given a rare cancer diagnosis that would later become stage IV and incurable. What began as her worst nightmare became an unexpected teacher in presence, compassion, and what it truly means to be alive.

The sacred fall isn't about failure. It's about having the courage to let go of what no longer fits so you can discover what's actually yours to build.

There's a moment in every high-achieving woman's life when the very foundations we've built our success upon begin to crumble. Not because we've failed, but because we've outgrown the person we had to become to get where we are.

This week, I'm sharing a story a friend shared with me. It's from a woman who had it all—thriving business, international speaking career, long-term relationship—and who made the radical choice to walk away from everything when she realized she'd lost herself in the building of it all.

Ancient wisdom for Sacred Passages leadership in modern times

We've all been there. That moment when everything falls apart—personally or professionally—and we're supposed to lead others through the chaos while we're barely holding it together ourselves. The board meeting where you have to announce layoffs while processing your own grief. The team crisis that hits right when your personal life is imploding. The moment when your carefully constructed leadership persona crumbles and you're left wondering if you're cut out for this.

Pay Attention

Much has already been written about the state of our world—the rise of extremism, the impact of unrestrained capitalism and patriarchy on families and communities, the environmental devastation, the systematic destruction of entire peoples. No matter where you sit on any spectrum, you're feeling it. We'd have to check your pulse if you don't.

These are hard, dark times. Even the world's wealthiest discover that billions cannot protect them from reaping what they've sown—from publicly destroying powerful relationships to watching their empires crumble.

It feels overwhelming. What can any one of us do that makes an actual difference?

When the life you built perfectly stops serving the soul you're becoming

The executive coaching client sat across from me in my home office, tears streaming down her carefully composed face. "I built everything I thought I wanted," she whispered, "and I've never felt more empty."

A story about remembering what matters most

Last year, as an internal coach at my former employer, I was on a coaching call with a senior architect. She'd reached out because she felt stuck—technically brilliant, steadily moving up in her responsibilities, but feeling increasingly disconnected from her work.

"I used to love solving problems," she told me, her voice carrying that particular exhaustion I recognized too well. "But now it feels like I'm just optimizing metrics. Revenue up 23%, user engagement climbing, technical debt piling up... but when did we stop talking about the people our code actually serves?"

There comes a moment in every woman's journey when the whispers of untapped potential grow too loud to ignore. For me, that moment arrived last year when I answered a deep call to pivot from my corporate role and fully embrace a new path as a solopreneur.

This transformative year has been about releasing what was, discovering what is, and owning all of who I am. Through study and exploration, I found myself drawn to my Celtic and Eastern European ancestral roots, where I discovered …

Staying in the moment keeps me focused and concentrated and fully present with the task at hand. And that works with small, daily things as well as major events in my life.

Speak up, boldly. Demand. Fearlessly confront those who would take away our rights.  

Picture of a happy middle aged Korean female manager standing behind glass wall, adding colored sticky notes on window, organizing working processes or adding steps, developing corporate strategy.