Human Resources.  When I first started working around the corporate world and very new to the terminology, this terms always struck me as just wrong.  “My new resource”, the common way to refer to a new team member.  How human is a resource?

Being very busy seems like it would be a very productive, useful state.  After all, we are getting a lot done and that feels good, right?

Here we are, getting close to another holiday season.  This last week I’ve had curiously many conversations that started with talking about the holidays and locked into feeling burned out and tired.  And not really looking forward to the holidays because it is just another thing to do.  Sound familiar?

As a sequel to last week’s post, Appreciating Autumn, I feel honored to be able to bring you another perspective on the subject.  My dear friend Christine Friel, amazing acupuncturist, herbalist (and so much more) and founder of Double Happiness Health in San Francisco, shared some of her knowledge with me about the changing seasons.  This came at a perfect time for me to understand some of my own challenges, so I wanted to share her wisdom with you.

Historically, autumn has been a hard season for me.  The light getting shorter, the sun’s energy waning, colder days and the feeling of the world folding in on itself is a challenge for many people.

A very inspiring conversation with my friend and acupuncturist Christine Friel, founder of Double Happiness Health, helped me reframe my perspective around the change of the seasons.

I just got back from spending a week in Austin at Austin City Limits Fest.  Again, musicians were my subjects of observation.  I keep choosing musicians because I find them the perfect examples for tricky-to-build businesses.  The competition is is fierce and to be successful you have to observe all the steps that any successful business has to hit:  your audience has to love you no matter how talented or skillful you are, you have to be your brand, you have to have a tremendous amount of grit and vision to build your career, and I am going to add another hugely important ingredient:  above all, you have to have, live and exude JOY.

I just spent 3 beautiful days at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival seeing some incredible performances by old favorites like Patty Griffin, Bonnie Raitt and Richard Thompson and discovering exciting new acts like First Aid Kit, Bettye LaVette and Della Mae.

Last week’s post How To Be a Rockstar received an interesting array of comments.  The whole point of the post was to spend a little time with the meaning of “No”, and what very successful people have done to deal with it.

Just returning from a week in Nashville, I am left thinking about what it takes to make it.

Having been involved in the music industry for much of my life, the answer to that question often seems elusive.  For some, talent and skills seem to matter little and it’s all about relationships and timing.  But for most, it is just the same as building any business:  being very good at what you do and knowing how to connect, making an impression, serving your audience as best as possible, combined with an undeniable passion for what you do and how you do it, perseverance, and an ego that knows how to be humble and take rejection, hope, denial, elation and frustration all at the same time.

Many of my clients are on the curvy road of figuring out management and the sharp turn that is required moving into leadership.  Many people use the terms management and leadership interchangeably and it has been so striking, how different these two states really are.

I work with many people who are searching and wanting to create, what is truly meaningful to them.  One of the biggest challenges I see here, is creating a business or career, where our soul and our goals line up.  I am getting an inkling that I have a lot of clients who are going through this, because I know this place all too well.

Until about 6 years ago, my main focus in life was skiing as many days as humanly possible and making money.  I was a highly motivated ski bum.

However, my motivation only had one goal: serving my temporary needs.  There was no vision attached to it and it wasn't part of any bigger plan.  I had a vague idea in the back of my head that I should be part of something bigger, a higher purpose, but having a really good time and feeling great in my life kept all that pretty quiet.

As many of you know, my wedding is coming up in just a few days.  So love and especially, commitment, is just something very much on my mind.

For most of us, a typical day is governed by a to-do list that all too often seems insurmountable.  Right now, for me, I am trying to finish the first layer of a remodel, finalize the planning of our wedding at the end of the month, organize the time when my family arrives from Germany in just a few days, all this while staying on top of working with my clients and continuing to grow my business.

Many of my clients are working on navigating the waters of becoming true leaders.  Leadership looks differently for everyone, so if you find yourself challenged by inspiring the best performance possible from your team, the first question that is invaluable to ask yourself is, what kind of leader do you aspire to be?