I’m one of millions of people globally who not only love bird watching, I love to do so from my garden. What a treat to interview Jacqueline Crivello, an award winning photographer, author, bird feeding store owner, a birder, entrepreneur and even an inventor of a bird feeder for hummingbirds. (The latter comes inspired from her very first bird feeder she created as a girl in the forest behind her Wisconsin home. She used a baby food jar and nail polish to attract them.) In our interview, we’...
May 25, 2024
21 min
More coachees are asking me each week how to become an International Coaching Federation (ICF) certified coach and how I became a coach, specifically the decisions before me and the training itself. (I’m delighted they ask, because coaching’s a truly delightful field.) I’ve found a fantastic home in this new industry, now coaching full-time for an audience I adore and relate well to. (Most of my clients are foreign-born leaders or managers on their way to the top.) I’m training coaches and&nb...
May 9, 2024
16 min
Certifying with the International Coaching Federation, the world’s largest nonprofit for professional coaches, challenges many coaches because it’s no easy feat. We must speak only 10% of the time, drive clarity, insights, and accountability too. Submitting a recorded coaching call to ICF evaluators for review often erodes our presence with our coachee, who we care about the most, even over the exam itself. With the calm wisdom of Coach Sathyanarayanan Sethuraman, my friend and peer coach,&nb...
Apr 26, 2024
30 min
Solar eclipse. Mercury retrograde. New moon. Job layoffs. Overwork. No surprise many of us are losing it at home and at work. But if you’re a mental fitness practitioner with a goal to stay calm and peaceful no matter what, some ways exist to find the ease and flow and stabilize the mood and feeling in yourself and those around you. In our delightful conversation, fresh after time digging in her garden (where she loves to play the most), Coach Karen du Four des Champs, who has been ...
Apr 12, 2024
39 min
My interview with Chicago-based fashion consultant and stylist, Magdalena Kranz, kicks off a series of ad hoc interviews across my two podcasts. (I also host the Sage Sayers on Apple podcasts). I love that dear Magdalena takes us from her turbulent past in Poland before migrating to the U.S. We hear that she arrived in Chicago as a teen with little more than books, two t-shirts, one pair of pants, and one pair of sneakers. Today, she serves as a fashion consultant at the U.S.’s most luxurious...
Mar 29, 2024
14 min
Building your own venture can bring a whirlwind of creativity, problem solving, and joy from building something you love. Partner it with coaching and certifying as a coach and you’ve endless surges of energy and happiness. This becomes the life and outlook of Coach Malvika Joshi, a London-based coach who’s just launched her own coaching practice with a co-partner while thriving still as a marketing leader. In our interview, you’ll hear Malvika’s learnings and hopes as a coach, and her intent...
Mar 15, 2024
33 min
If you’ve practiced yoga, you know: This ancient practice stills our busy mind and grounds us in our bodies while building stamina and strength. Yasna García da Rosa ACC (Associate Certified Coach) por ICF knows this shift well, especially from taking her love for yoga all the way to the top by certifying ( this quarter) as an instructor.Yasna shares the intricacies of certifying as an instructor of yoga (very tricky, very contemplative) and how her otherwise very busy life in Uruguay has cha...
Mar 1, 2024
24 min
Losing my first Tom Ford sunglasses in New Zealand’s Pacific Ocean at Ohope Beach on New Year’s eve this year reminded me that the fear of falling back financially never really leaves us. That's the fodder for this week’s podcast episode. I’m narrating an essay I wrote soon after losing my lovely Tom Fords and one I continued finessing during a snowstorm back here in Wisconsin. (So, it’s a cross-continental exploration of sorts.) I’m bringing these musings to my Competency No 5 podcast b...
Feb 16, 2024
17 min
In this week’s musings, reading from my musings on Medium, I’m sharing what I’ve learned from completing 2:10 of the required mentor sessions with my MCC mentor coach as I strive to certify as a Master Certified Coach with the International Coaching Federation. The insights I’ve gathered so far have changed how I feel, think, and how I coach — all through the lens of maintaining presence (competency no 5). My biggest a-ha? I can remain me—and stay creative—even while following the ICF’s very ...
Feb 2, 2024
15 min
Such a lovely way to launch season two for Competency No 5, my podcast focused on finding calm when we coach, lead, and live our lives. Meet Lady Pamela at the Sea, AKA Pamela Currall, a retired practice nurse in New Zealand. She’s also my dear Mum, and in our delightful interview (which takes place in her garden off of the Kapiti Coast) she shares the joy and tranquility that comes from gardening. Pamela’s immensely talented at this craft. She finds gardening and making something stunn...
Jan 18, 2024
17 min
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