Social-Emotional Leadership

[caption id="attachment_667" align="alignleft" width="224" caption="I sat myself in the Rodin room, all glass, and particularly interested in The Thinker."] [/caption] Today, 11/11/11, at 11:11 am, I found myself in the Cleveland Art Museum. I sat myself in the Rodin room, all glass, and particularly interested in The Thinker. I have my nana's copy of this sculpture in my house.  I love nana's wisdom. And -- as I grapple with over-thinking, under feeling in my life -- I am learning more ways to switch my story to something more authentically positive than the recurrent negative banter. Remember, we're built for the threat, so below our level of...

I drove 400 miles to Cleveland, Ohio yesterday to continue a newer chapter of my life called "My Dreams are Coming True." I swear, people--this stuff works! It's happening in my life and it's because I'm learning to think differently. Trust me, please. I'm not just talkin' smack. But let me tell you, the past few weeks have been filled with mixed emotions. Lots of anxiety was coming up for me in New York. (I'm learning too that my fear shows up in strange, strange ways . . . almost hard to notice in real time, which is why hindsight is a beautiful thing.)...

[caption id="attachment_523" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Louis Joseph and Louis Thomas"][/caption] I had a great SOMO moment today with my dad. We were in his car driving (obviously) and catching up. He said, "I've been selling lots of jobs lately -- most of the sales calls I've been going on turn into sales" (he's had a contracting business for the past 30 years and I used to work with him). I responded, "Awesome, dad! Why do you think?" (i.e. how do you explain your success to yourself?) He paused and then said, "I don't know -- I suppose all the competitors send used-car like...

I was recently asked to write some fodder on what inspires me for a teacher, colleague and friend doing a collective inspiration project. Here is my submission: With so much talk of mavericks a few seasons ago, I could not help but think about who fits that bill? Is it Barack Obama for his ability to inspire hope? Harvey Milk for following a civil rights dream? Was it Mother Teresa who touched the lives of people no one else wanted to help? Who are mavericks closer to home? Is it my friend Bright who helped me change a belief system about...

-- temporarily. My belief is that everything is temporary -- and this changes my feeling about moving away from NYC. Makes me move closer to my true knowing which is: right now, Cleveland calls. Never before have I had such a holographic view of my life: I am teaching people to think about their own beliefs - and being more aware of my own than ever before. This must be what they mean by consciousness. It is built! And it is good. Gets us more of what we want: happiness, health, wealth. Dreams coming true, literally. Want some of it? Get in...

Many of you know I'm working in Cleveland on a city-wide transformation project, a viral well-being initiative teaching people how to think differently and get more of what they want. We do this by inviting folks into SOMO Learning Labs, a place to come learn snippets of applied positive psychology, a "mind gym" if you will. But for many people, when I say I'm working in Cleveland, they groan and ask "why?" I hear the sentiment is the same there in Cleveland, that when someone moves there,  instead of "Welcome" other residents ask, "Why?" And this is exactly why I'm working on...

I am not happy all the time. Just wanted to set that straight. Seems like my reputation is mythed, as the all-too- common belief is that I am super positive all the time. Ba'sha as my friend Judy would say. Not possible! It's not about being all positive all the time. It's about being flexible about how you think. It's about choosing thoughts in line with your higher self - which is in line with what you want -- not what you need or should -- but what you really, really want. I realize I can come across like a "Rah - Rah" cheerleader...

My Facebook status update read: “Dreams coming true this week” and really, that’s just as I experienced it. I’m still savoring the best week of my life, which I spent in Cleveland, Ohio, starting on Valentine’s Day and ending six days later as I drove back home to New York last Saturday. A long drive on route 80, indeed, but with a big smile on my face and lots of oxytocin running through my body, it was A-Okay. Better than okay. Great! Dare I say, the best week of my life? I was there working on an intervention project called SOMO Leadership which...

Just wanted to clear something up: I am not a life coach. Well, I am a life coach, but I’m not just a life coach. I more like to consider myself a change-agent, enabling individuals and systems to create their own, positive growth. Essentially, I facilitate conversations and learning opportunities for people interested in creating their own, positive evolution. I do this by teaching people how to (1) think about how they think, (2) get clear about what they want, and (3) dance. I realize some of those words look/sound strange: change-agent, enabling, evolution. But much of this learning is about incorporating...

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