Oftentimes, people ask me how I got into public speaking and coaching. It’s a hard question to answer. The short answer is, I realized that there are many out there who need to know they are not alone, their worth has never changed, and they can come through their challenges having greater peace and faith than they ever thought possible. So I shared.
 
The things I have learned on this journey have shaped why and how I see the world, and if they can help make the journey of others more peaceful, why wouldn’t I share? Some of these lessons include: the importance to teach our children leadership skills, self-confidence, how to speak up for your needs, how to work through anxiety, and how to find peace with food, just to name a few. I’ve also learned that while our challenges are all different, the lessons we need to learn are very often the same. That’s how speaking and coaching became my passion.
 
Today, I share with you a link to a podcast interview I did this past week where I was asked to share my story of overcoming childhood sexual abuse.  Given that at least 1 in 10 children are sexually abused before reaching the age of 18, I imagine that it might be of help to you, whether you were a victim, or if it has impacted someone you love.  Please feel free to share with any whom you think would benefit.
 
As always, feel free to reach out to me if I can ever be of service to you.

​Listen to the podcast HERE. 
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In a well-meaning effort to avoid financial cost, this company’s manager had unwittingly cost his company between $10-20,000 a year per employee in wasted productivity, simply because he was unwilling to change with the times.
 
Dinosaurs went extinct for a reason. Don’t be one.
 
One of the essential leadership skills for every successful leader is the ability to be fearlessly agile. To be agile means to be able to think, understand, and move quickly. When a prospective client has a different vision for your partnership, when your HR team approaches you with an unforeseen problem, or even when you get a call from the high school principal that says, “we need to talk”, being able to think clearly, assess a situation, and find solutions on your feet will likely make the difference in your level of success.
 
One of the ways to stay flexible in our ability to lead is by being clear on the principles that drive your decisions. Are you committed to not spending money on a new operating system, or are you committed to productivity? Are you clinging to the way you bill a client, or to adding value in all of your interactions? When we are focused on guiding principles, then we can be comfortable altering our practices while still remaining authentic to our purpose.
 
One of my business clients was used to selling her services in a “piecemeal” fashion. When her top client began wanting more and more of her services, they found that cost was becoming an issue. Because the motivating principle for my client was to offer great value to her clients, while still honoring her own, she was able to offer this company a consulting contract that would work to both keep their costs down, and give her the stability she needed to give them her best work, while taking care of the needs of her own company. It was a win-win for everyone because she had developed fearless agility through our work together.
 
Dinosaurs certainly had their place in this world, but you won’t see them leading in any modern-day pursuits. By developing great clarity on your leadership principles, you will have a strong axis around which you can tailor your practices to the needs at hand, and seeing within yourself the true leadership quality of fearless agility.
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How you choose to spend the seconds within those days is up to you. You can be the person who just does what they have to do, or you can be the person who impacts; the person who creates significance…that adds value, lifts up, and that is there for someone else for one of their 365 days this year.
 
If you do that often enough in your relationships, in your friendships, in your marriage, with your kids, with your mom and dad, with your brothers and sisters, with your aunts and uncles, your neighbors, with the man or woman at the grocery store, with your community, you will become world famous to them.
 
Most of us can’t imagine the rewards we get by living a “world famous” life. For sure, you will make somebody else’s day, but you know what? There’s more than that. When you begin to recognize your true potential, your true power to make somebody else’s day, as you begin to tap into the resources of curiosity and imagination, you begin to realize and believe in your own significance.
 
You have significance. You have the power to add meaning to somebody else’s life. When you realize this, then your own life will never be the same again.  When you look in the mirror, you will see something different within you. You will see a power inside of you that can impact anybody you come in contact with.
 
It’s a choice we can make. And not only do we enrich the lives of other people, we enrich our own lives in the process. So to paraphrase Clint Eastwood, go ahead, make their day

​By implementing the Fish! Philosophy in your home or organization, you empower others to make a significant difference in the lives around them. This dramatically improves relationships with family, coworkers, clients and community. Discover how to transform your organization today. 

We’ve been talking about the Fish! Philosophy, discussing why Choose your attitude was Fish! Philosophy step #1 last week. This week, let’s talk about why step #2 is Be there. 
 
We’ve all felt it. You’re telling someone something you feel is meaningful and the next thing you know, they’re checking the latest vibration on their phone. Immediately, an invisible wall goes up and suddenly you feel you’re more alone than if you had actually been alone.
 
Perhaps you’ve been lucky enough to experience the opposite. Every once in awhile you meet a person who has truly learned the value of being there mentally, as well as physically, for others. They make eye contact. They ignore interruptions to your conversation. They ask questions and engage in the conversation. There is nothing quite like leaving a person who just made you feel like the most important person alive for the few minutes you were together, is there?
 
Too often, we are physically present, but mentally elsewhere. When we are sitting at work, our minds are at home. When we’re finally at home, our minds at work. We can’t seem to get our bodies and our minds at the same place at the same time.
 
When I work with organizations to help them adopt the Fish! Philosophy, they are often stunned at how the simple skill of learning how to be there positively affects job satisfaction, productivity, retention, and company culture. The truth is, being there changes lives. After all, the only words more powerful than I love you are the words I’m there for you. 
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​Does your company culture need a powerful energy lift? Let me show you how the Fish! Philosophy can turn around your organization.  

John turned their story into s 30 minute film, accompanied by a short book, and the Fish! philosophy was born.
 
The first step in the Fish! philosophy is Choose Your Attitude.  This step can seem as if we are putting on rose-colored glasses and simply ignoring the difficult things in life. No doubt, there is a lot of “stuff” in our lives that threaten to weigh us down. We deal with depression or anxiety, divorces and bankruptcy, difficult relationships and health problems. We are always going to have “stuff”, but this is the way to rise above the “stuff” and find joy and peace in your life in spite of it.
 
In 2008, the world faced a terrible financial crisis that affected untold millions. And yet, life went on. Along with banks collapsing, foreclosures, divorces and deaths, there were also babies being born, bar mitzvahs held, and companies thriving. And in all of that, the only power you and I could never lose was our power to choose our own attitude. 
 
It has been proven over and over again that it takes a positive attitude to achieve positive results. When we choose to manage our attitude to look at what is going right, we are able to see our full circumstances more clearly, and see the pathway to improvement and possibility. When we choose to look at things in a more positive way, it gives permission to the people around us to do the same, and pretty soon, we have a team of people who are primed to create positive change out of whatever circumstances we find ourselves in.
 
As Helen Keller pointed out, “Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow.” Determine today that from this day forward, you will carefully choose your attitude.
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​Next week, we’ll touch on the importance of simply being there.
If you’d like to implement the Fish! Philosophy in your organization, call me for a free quote. 

As a leadership trainer, I love helping organizations and people recognize the power they have over their own happiness, not to mention the influence they can have on their influence over others. One of my favorite ways to teach this lesson is by sharing the famous Fish! Philosophy.
 
The four simple principles of the Fish! Philosophy can change any person…any organization…from one of apathy and boredom, to one of excitement, energy and joy! And it can happen faster than you think.
 
The Fish! Philosophy was developed by the Seattle Pike Place Fish market. These fish mongers had a sweaty, dirty job, repetitive day after day. Like all the surrounding fish markets, the atmosphere had become draining. There was no energy and the employees could hardly wait to leave work each day. But one day, they realized that it didn’t have to be that way. They could choose to make their fish market world famous, and turn those same hard-working jobs, into meaningful opportunities to serve others, all while having a wonderful time themselves.
 
Over the next four weeks, we’ll discuss the four principles of the Fish! Philosophy:
1. Choose Your Attitude.
2. Be there.
3. Make their day.
4. Play.
 
You may wonder, what does the Fish! Philosophy have to do with me? Good question! Do you want to have more energy? Do you want to enjoy your work? Do you want to create better connections with those around you? Would you like to increase your influence with your family, friends and coworkers? Would you like your challenges to fly by with fun and excitement? If you answered yes to any of these questions, it’s time to learn about…and embrace…the philosophy that has enhanced 80% of Fortune 500 companies.
 
If you’re ready to take your life, or the life of your organization, it’s time to go Fish!
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​In four one-hour sessions, Becky can help transform your company culture, and help your team make their work – and their lives – more positive and productive.