In the Buddhist teaching, Upajjhatthana Sutta, there are five remembrances for contemplation. The one I reflect on the most, by far, was best paraphrased by the late Thich Nhat Hanh: My Actions are my only true belongings. They are the…
Power, personal power specifically, is often defined as the ability to influence people and events. I don't disagree but the definition lacks a core. Power is not a veneer, it is not a lever or a conduit. What it is,…
I like to hand sew complex things. When this is your hobby, you tend to spend a significant amount of time planning the steps in a project. If you try to skip this part, you end up spending a lot…
Nothing will prepare you for excellence in a task more than just doing it. Focused practice with some stakes, such as practicing a speech or song in front of friends is great for this. But at some point, you just…
The net I am referring to is the elastic net of air we are surrounded by all the time. The fact is that even when we are breathing ineffectively, we are breathing. Survival wins. So what does it mean to…
Brené Brown (Dr of Social Work, author, speaker, and kickass human) talks about "the story we tell ourselves." In essence, how we are responding to a given situation based on our internal story. When we get up to speak or…
Somedays you would rather just stay in bed, with Netflix, and forget the outside world is there. Somedays you are actually feeling ill. Some of these days you still have to get out there and speak to humans, sometimes lots…
We are circus people. By that I mean, I am suddenly spending time in a circus school while my child learns circus things. While observing a particularly graceful and terrifying maneuver on aerial silks, I stated, "I don't think I'd…
Presentation is an interesting craft -- You are sending information and intention out into a room, hopefully with enough energy and flair that it has the desired impact. It is difficult even for those of us with years of acting…
I talk about individual components of articulation a lot. Making sure the vowels are centered and the consonants present and complete. Addressing cadence, melody, and meaning in Voicing to make sure phrases have Purpose. Still, I haven't written enough about…