I’ve been using essential oils for 40 years, long before essential oils became widespread. Despite the variety of essential oils available on the market these days, I always come back to one: lavender essential oil.

Lavender is both my favorite oil and my favorite fragrance. I’ve used lavender essential oil for everything from treating bee stings to bringing down fevers when my kids were young to clearing the air of doggie smells!

That’s precisely why I love lavender essential oil so much: it’s so versatile! To showcase its benefits to you, here are ten uses for lavender oil that are easy [...]

To communicate, or to commune using its Greek root, is at the core of all relationships, teams, and communities. Without communication, there is no bridge from my private universe to yours. However, finding our way through the mazes created by our unique experiences, thoughts, emotions, biases (over one hundred!), assumptions, and beliefs is a feat in and of itself. So, every day, life presents us with a daily puzzle: to understand and connect with ourselves, and then to one another. To lead from within instead of reacting to outside stimulus.

It can often be challenging at any given [...]

Motivation and how to motivate teens are common topics and complaints for parents. They are also the focus of many teacher discussions, as well. Why? Because we expect children to be motivated without giving them the raw materials to build the muscle. We don't even realize that we deny children the very things they need to spark and develop the motivational center in their brains. And while a child is developing, we don't understand just how critical it is for a child and teen to lead themselves.

Lately, I have been listening to moms frustrated with their children's lack of motivation. [...]

“If your emotional abilities aren’t in hand, if you don’t have self-awareness, if you are not able to manage your distressing emotions, if you can’t have empathy and effective relationships, then no matter how smart you are, you are not going to get very far.” ~Daniel Goleman

Emotional intelligence (EQ)  is vital in today’s workplace. And to be an effective leader, EQ is a critical skill set to have. By recognizing and addressing your employees’ emotional needs, as well as your own, you can increase trust, morale, and productivity. Let’s explore leadership qualities and techniques for [...]

“Why does a woman work ten years to change a man, then complain he’s not the man she married?” ~Barbra Streisand

I see it all the time; couples stuck in a rut of marital conflict and stress where small issues become giant hurdles, and their love gets buried. Love sure can be inconvenient, but empathy can dramatically help. Empathy will strengthen your closeness and bond so you feel rich in love, and you’ll be able to handle nearly every challenge that comes your way.

Apologies are essential in our relationships. No matter how they are given, whether through an apology letter or in person, apologies recognize that hurt has happened due to the actions of another. Without that recognition, bitterness and resentment can build.

When given freely and sincerely, apologies hold the power to be precious. They say, “I have screwed up and have hurt you.” Are we able to mend and move forward in our relationship in spite of the screw-up? Will the experience result in greater distance or more closeness and understanding?

Every company needs managers to make sure that the work gets done and employees stay on track. Every manager needs specific skills to be successful. However, many people who excel at their job get promoted to management without proper training. Managing people is vastly different from managing a process or project, and studies find that companies pick or hire the wrong people for managers 82% of the time! Now that’s a ton of wasted time, lost revenue, retraining costs, and frustration.

Finding the right people with the needed skill sets may be challenging. However, without the right [...]

A common phrase I often hear while teaching parenting classes or in parent coaching sessions is, “My kids are driving me crazy!” It doesn’t matter if the child is a toddler or a teen; this level of exasperation is more common than you may think. No matter the age of children, this is a plea for help. Unfortunately, as parents, we can often feel alone, like we’re the only ones who feel this way. And then guilt rises. After all, what’s wrong with us that we don’t like spending time with our children. Or worse, we jump to the conclusion that we’re failing as parents. We might even wonder [...]

A few weeks ago, I made a quick stop at the grocery store that turned into a lesson in love. While scanning the grocery cooler for a Greek yogurt I like, an older gentleman noticed my futile search. He was stocking the dairy aisle and inquired what I was looking for. He pointed me in the right direction; I had totally missed my favorite brand because of a new packaging design. It’s called change blindness, a cognitive phenomenon where we’re unable to detect small or large visual changes due to familiarity.

Anyway, we struck up a conversation. (My husband learned long ago that there are no [...]

Recently I went into The Flooring Place to get my Douglas Honeycomb shades repaired. As I waited to speak to a clerk, I saw an ad about flooring that read: Water resistant. Worry relief. This ad illustrates a simple principle: prevention.

Empathy is prevention. Empathy creates relief from emotional duress and upset. When a person truly listens and understands us, we feel heard, and emotions dissipate. Upset is no match for empathy. Feeling heard is a human need, and an empathetic response goes to the core of this need. So how do we teach this critical skill to our children?