The Launching Pad: What Moving My Last Kid Into College Taught Me About Confidence
This Past Weekend This past weekend, I moved my youngest daughter, Mili, into American University. I’ve done this five times before, so I’ve got the system down. Blue packing bags, not suitcases, because they smush down to nothing once you’ve unpacked them and you’re not stuck hauling five giant bags back out to the car. […]
How Do They Do It? What High Achievers Actually Have in Common (It’s Not Talent)
Have you ever said that to yourself? Or thought it about someone else? You watch someone climb all seven summits; you hear about a woman who went back to law school in her fifties or sixties; ou meet the first person in their field to do something nobody thought was possible. And the question comes […]
The Last Sunday of Summer
There’s a specific kind of Sunday that shows up every August. The pool towels are still damp on the railing. The kids’ schedules are about to flip from “whenever” to “6:45am, no excuses.” And somewhere in the back of your mind, a quiet voice starts asking what you actually did with these last few months. […]
The Skill We Stopped Teaching, and Why It’s Showing Up in Your Workforce
My kids grew up with screens in their hands. So did yours, most likely. And somewhere along the way, a lot of kids started believing that playing a game online with a headset on counts as hanging out with friends. It doesn’t. Watch a teenager’s face when you ask them to call someone instead of […]
Why We Judge People So Quickly (And How to Stop)
I watched the reaction to the World Cup final halftime show roll in as it happened. Madonna, Shakira, BTS, Justin Bieber, Burna Boy, even Kermit and Miss Piggy showed up for the first-ever halftime show at a FIFA World Cup final. Within minutes people online were tearing it apart. One prominent football writer called the […]
What a Viral World Cup Photo Teaches Us About Confidence
A photo of a young Lionel Messi bathing a six month old Lamine Yamal in 2007 resurfaced this year once it was clear the two players would meet in the World Cup final. The story behind it holds a simple lesson: real confidence means showing up fully in a moment before you know whether it […]
Embrace the Season
My youngest daughter Mili leaves for American University in a few weeks. It’s a major moment for our family as we prepare to embrace change together. She’ll be studying in Washington, D.C., a few miles from her brand new nephew. She’s already declared herself the favorite aunt. She’s close enough to actually show up for […]
Why Confidence Feels Harder to Find Right Now (and What Actually Builds It Back)
If you’ve searched “how to feel more confident at work” or “how to stop feeling like a fraud” lately, you’re not alone. You’re part of a very large, very current wave. Right now, confidence is having a rough year. Not just personal confidence. All of it. CEO confidence dropped in the first quarter of 2026 […]
Top Confidence and Leadership Keynote Speakers for HR and People Teams in 2026
Top Confidence and Leadership Keynote Speakers for HR and People Teams in 2026 Booking a keynote means matching the speaker to your actual outcome. Are you trying to reduce turnover? Build confident managers? Give your team language for handling hard conversations? The right speaker depends on the answer. Here’s a practical roundup of speakers worth […]
Why Embracing Failure Is the Most Underused Leadership Development Tool
Every company says they want innovative employees. Almost none of them have built a culture where it’s actually safe to be wrong. That gap is costing more than morale. According to PwC’s Global Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey, only 56% of workers feel it’s safe to try new approaches at work, and just 54% say […]