10 Things to Remember When You Are Stressing Over Exams

on April 24, 2023

Surviving Exam Season!

You are a student, you are stressed, and you feel the pressure put on my teachers, parents, and worse – yourself. It’s too much! It really is. Stop and take a breath. Give yourself a little credit. You are more than one exam, one grade, or one day in your life. Do the work you need to do, then get a really good night of sleep. And remember these basic truths! Education is a journey, not a race. It doesn’t matter how long it takes to get there, just that you keep going. Even if you fail, there’s summer school! No grade is worth your life, your health, or your sanity. Take it one test, one day, one hour at…Read More

How to Fight for Your Dreams

on March 27, 2023

Fight For Your Dreams! There are so many great quotes from Robert Kennedy about the power of dreams, and following your dreams, but he is also the one who said, “Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.” Which is my note for today. It’s easy to say, dream big or go home. Dreaming is the easy part. It’s the doing that’s the scary part. Achieving dreams takes action—sometimes daring action. But there are also practical steps you can take to ensure your goals get a little closer within reach. 1-Knowledge: Become an expert on your dreams. Figure out what you need to know. What is your subject? What is required? What’s going on in the field…Read More

Disappointments Are Defining Moments

on March 13, 2023

How to Handle Being Replaced or Overlooked on the Job

There are always going to be times in our lives when we lose a role on a team, a part in a play, or are replaced by new fresh blood—either at school, work, or at home. This is never an easy experience. It is an experience that can make you feel too old, too young, too inexperienced, inadequate, threatened, embarrassed, and even fearful of becoming irrelevant (and therefore you will lose your job, your partner will dump you, your children will abandon you, and you’ll become homeless and die alone). Yes, there are some who take it all the way to the bitter end. I don’t wish this on anyone. All those emotions are uncomfortable. And I know personally, I…Read More

Authentic Encouragement

on January 30, 2023

How to help a friend, colleague, or family member through a rough spot.

Encouragement is a basic human need. It was late in my life when I really learned the importance and the power of encouragement. Once it struck, it struck deep. I began to understand this basic human need, I’ve gotten a little better at it. I’ve also learned it takes time and practice as well as insight and sincerity to really get it right. It’s easy to be rah-rah. That’s the quick pass at encouragement when you are running around to get stuff done and don’t actually have time to look the person in the face and see what’s up. Or the quick, ‘you can do it’, without recognizing what it really takes for the person to do it. Don’t get…Read More

Leading The Way When There Is No Leadership

on January 16, 2023

How not to be Sucked Up by a Leadership Vacuum!

Phew! Take a breath. I just picked a really big topic for what was meant to be a short blog! The Vacuum of Leadership What do you do when you are in a job where there is a vacuum of leadership? When your leaders are so MIA, that people don’t even show up for work and no one notices. When the shop has not been minded for so long that the shelves are empty and even the employees are starving! This is what I’m going to talk about in my first blog after my book writing absence. Take another deep breath. All right let’s get into this. Identify immediately: Is this a transitional change or just how things are done?…Read More

The Boyfriend List for Girls

on December 5, 2022

35 Things To Put On Your Boyfriend List

Hey, I know everyone would like to have a great boyfriend, right? Well, it’s not as easy to find the good ones as you would think. And let’s be honest, it’s a waste of time drifting from guy to guy hoping he’ll be what you are looking for when, you don’t really know who you are and what you are looking for. That’s why I always recommend The Boyfriend List. It’s important to be clear about what you want and expect. And to make sure you’ve got it right, write it down and focus on it. Of course, whatever you want, make sure you can also give it back. You need to be awesome to attract the awesome guy, right? Unlike in…Read More

The Confidence Code

on September 26, 2022

Which is Better - Competence or Confidence?

I’m currently reading The Confidence Code by Katty Kay and Claire Shipman, and it’s everything girls, women and parents need to know about understanding confidence. The bottom line: It’s not enough to be talented. You have to be confident. Recent studies have shown evidence that confidence is actually more important than competence when earning social status. In the work or school environment that might mean you’ll be more admired, listened to, and influential for being confident—even if you’re not the sharpest tool in the shed. The fact is that a lot of confident people are confident they can learn anything they need to know. Confidence is important because it ignites action. It is optimism and self-assurance in yourself that you…Read More

Day One or One day?

on January 26, 2018

Day One or One Day. You Decide.

We all have that thing that we put off, dream about, or push to the side and say, “one day…” What’s yours? As I write this month it is knowing that the year before me will be a time of great change—much of it transforming my life in ways I don’t even know yet. My “one day” is drawing near. Last year was my year of gratitude and it truly changed how I feel about everything. I enter this year of change with immense gratitude for all the changes I will make and need to make this year. My first big change: I resigned January 5th from my job with Walt Disney Imagineering where I designed and developed attractions and…Read More

Writerly Wednesdays: So You Want To Write A Book!

on December 2, 2015

So You Want to Write a Book? I am often approached by people, who after discovering I write books, tell me they’ve been wanting to write a book too. Sound familiar? With the advent of self-publishing, it seems like everyone wants to write a book about as much as everyone wants to write a screenplay. “I started writing a book.” First, there are those, who think there’s big money in writing a book, and think it will be easy to get it published and that it would make a great movie. They’ve started something ages ago. When you ask how far along they are on their book, they might hem and haw a bit, and say only chapter one, or page five….Read More

Writerly Wednesdays: 5 Reasons to be Thankful for Writers!

on November 25, 2015

5 Reasons to be Thankful for Writers! Writers take us places we might never go on our own, and sometimes places no one could possibly go. Writers can give us the happy endings we need. Writers can inspire us to be better and give us dreams to which we can aspire. Writers make us think differently about our views, prejudices, and perceptions. Writers can help us escape from the worst moments in our own lives (and take us to a world where people are even more screwed!) Thank you to all my fellow writers, readers, dreamers, and schemers. Life is always better with a good book. Happy Thanksgiving! Tricia