Tag: Resilient

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365 Coaching Tips: 310th, 311th & 312th

November 6th Coaching Tip: Loyalty Matters.

When I started living in Naples, I had a great Uber driver who took me from the airport to my home. Ben was a nice, not nosey, had a calm demeanor; he was pleasant and mentioned that he’s from the Midwest (Rockford, IL). Then we got to talking about my many years in Central IL, and the bond began. Fast forward a few years later, I don’t even use Uber when I’m in Naples. I leverage Ben; he’s been loyal and available to me, and I’m loyal to him. It matters; loyalty brings a comfort factor that is hard to describe, but you know it and feel it. Ben’s parents are similar to mine; his dad recently passed, and his mother is still very much alive. Similar story for me, too. Loyalty matters; keep those close that are helpful and always show up.

Another loyal person in my life is my painter, Carlos. He has traveled two hours north to paint a lake home for me eight years ago and recently traveled an hour south to paint a property there. He doesn’t complain; he always says “yes” when I ask him to complete some painting for me personally in my summer home or for my real estate business. I don’t even get other quotes; Carlos is fair, and we both are loyal to one another. Loyalty matters.

November 7th Coaching Tip: Invites Work.

Since we have the remodeled farm house now all completed and almost fully decorated, I’ve been inviting friends and family to come visit. Tonight, one of my IU women’s basketball teammates came to visit. It was so fun to see her reactions, as she was one of my friends who saw it late in 2024 when I had just started this huge remodel project. As they say, “she got it.” Then we loaded up in the car, went out for dinner, and headed to an IU women’s basketball game. The gals won, and we snuck out of the game in the fourth quarter. My friend was home just an hour later; she’s now sharing with my teammates that we all need to get together there for a game and full weekend together. We are now inviting them for a weekend in January 2026.

We still have work to do on the landscape around the home and one of the barns still needs attention, but we are getting there. And inviting people to come visit is already creating memories…and it keeps me focused on getting more work done.

November 8th Coaching Tip: Play Til The End.

Today, the undefeated IU football team plan on the road at Penn State University; PSU has fired their coach a few weeks ago, and this was their first home game since that firing. My gut had me a bit nervous about this IU vs. PSU game. IU was up 17-7 at halftime, so I decided to drive somewhere for about an hour. Sure enough, it quickly turned into a tight game. PSU closed the gap in the third quarter to 20-10, and then in the fourth quarter, took the lead 20-24. IU got the ball back with less than two minutes remaining in the game, and they marched down the field with a number of outstanding passes, thrown accurately by our quarterback. With 36 seconds remaining, IU scores on an amazing catch that the receiver was able to catch way up high, control high body, and tap his toe to score the TD. He played to end, because he did miss a catch with 1:51 remaining. He stepped up, controlled his emotions and his physical abilities, and made the catch of the year in college football. He played to the end.

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365 Coaching Tips: 295th, 296th & 297th

October 22nd Coaching Tip: Get Caught Up.

As I drove home from work today, I realized that I forgot to update my notes today and leverage our CRM tool for my key activities. When I got home, I grabbed my work cell phone and put 30 minutes on my calendar first thing for tomorrow morning to quickly get done what I had forgotten to do today. We all forget to do things from time to time; it’s how you handle them moving forward. Get caught up, quickly. This will help declutter your mind and will also build confidence with your colleagues and clients, indicating that you have integrity and are reliable and dependable.

October 23rd Coaching Tip: Quick 15 Minutes.

Today I visited with two women who needed clarity on their business growth and organizing their work week. In a matter of 15 minutes with each of them, we jumped in quickly. They gave me an update on what they had been working on since I visited with them for one hour each over the last couple weeks.

I was proud of these women, because they both are committed to personally growing their businesses, and I could feel their willingness to get better. They both emailed after our 15-minute efficient session today and were so happy to be coached. They are already starting to feel the progress that they were desiring. Don’t ever underestimate the power of a quick 15-minute accountability check-in.

October 24th Coaching Tip: Thinking Ahead.

Knowing that I had a one on one with my boss today, I got her my update a couple days ago. When we met today for 30 minutes, we both were prepared. Thinking ahead, in early November, I’ll be heading to a conference in Florida to learn from national experts on a wide variety of topics; I’ll also be speaking in three different breakouts on three different topics. Yes, three. Today, I really took some time to prep on how I would be organized with my thoughts, focused on being easy to understand for the benefit of the audience, and be relaxed as I’m getting ready now to help reduce any stress.

As a professional that others rely upon, are you thinking ahead? Are you prepared? Are you remaining relevant or are you falling behind? Think ahead. You’ll thank yourself. Always stay present when you are with your clients. Do both: think ahead AND be present.

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365 Coaching Tips: 292nd, 293rd & 294th

October 19th Coaching Tip: Let It Rain.

We finally got some rain. The ground was very dry; as the farmers harvested their fields, the dust was heavy. I was thinking about planting some trees and perennials, but it had been too dry. The rain sounded so pleasant as it hit the metal roof that I even got up to open the windows to hear it rain. Sleeping with those windows open was good; I slept a bit longer and also deeper. Let it rain, let it all soak in. The good Lord has perfect timing with all things and the rain today was one of many perfectly timed things.

October 20th Coaching Tip: Embrace AI.

It’s here and it’s not going away. What? AI. It’s here. It’s everywhere. For example, when you order something on Amazon, pretty soon, you then get similar products recommended. If you ask Siri a question on your iPhone, you soon receive relatively accurate info on the topic that you asked about. Here’s what happened to me today: 1) I looked at an advertisement for a piece of jewelry, 2) clicked on the 15% and provided my email. Within minutes, I was receiving ads of similar looking jewelry but by different brands. It happened within seconds.

At work, our company has made the decision to rollout Microsoft Teams and AI is included via “Copilot”, which is like having a virtual, personal assistant on your laptop. Those who are utilizing it are getting work done much faster and it is saving time on projects, processing, and handling client inquiries. My thoughts are if you don’t embrace AI and others do embrace it, you’ll be far behind and it’ll be hard for you to catch up. BUT, always remember that humans want to be noticed and loved. So do both, embrace AI and love others.

October 21st Coaching Tip: Racism Is Roaring.

Both of my godsons have let me know that in the last few days, they have been subjected to racial comments. These men are now in their mid-30’s, and they both are indicating that they have never heard comments like they are hearing now. For example, one of them said a black lady yelled at him and told him to go back to Mexico. The other said that as he was bartending, and a white man was saying racist stuff that he had never heard. He was speechless.

As racism roars, I’m proud of my godsons for not engaging with those racists. I’m proud they both just moved on. Racism comments are unacceptable, and yet leaders in our country think that it’s ok to be selectively racist. Be better. As our mothers and grandmothers taught us, “if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.” Be intentionally better, treat others with respect and kindness.

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365 Coaching Tips: 280th, 281st & 282nd

October 7th Coaching Tip: Listening? Put Your Phone Down.

When my partner and I are speaking, I find it VERY helpful to our conversations when I turn and look at her and really focus on her face, body language and what’s she’s saying and how’s she’s saying it, all while putting my phone down or pushing it away. I’m learning that this sends a clear signal that my partner matters, and it is a physical movement that I intentionally take that really reinforces that this conversation is of higher value than anything that could be on my phone. Put your phone down when you’re listening.

October 8th Coaching Tip: Call Ahead.

My mother does a great job of calling people and calling ahead. Why does she call? To get the results that she’s looking for. It works, because she is able to create a quick connection. She lets me know when she starts heading my way and then will let me know when she’s in the driveway. She will call her bestie/neighbor and let her know that she is going in to town, and ask if she needs anything. She will call the doctor’s office to see if anyone has cancelled or postponed an appointment, to see if she can get in earlier.

Pick up the phone and call ahead. It works, especially when you create a smile, embrace kindness and connection, with a results mindset.

October 9th Coaching Tip: Make It Look Pretty.

The contractors were pouring concrete today in front of the garage and front door at the house that we have been remodeling. Since I was at work and away, I talked to the guys in the morning and reinforced one thing: make it (the concrete) look pretty. Make it look just like your wife, with the one thing that would make her even prettier. They laughed and then said, “we got you, we understand.” I reinforced thru the word “pretty” that this was the first impression of the home: walking up the new concrete sidewalk to the front door and driving up to the new garage on the new concrete.

When I inspected the finished product this evening, I was so pleased with the quality of the concrete work. Indeed, it was pretty. Sometimes it’s HOW you communicate, and with WHAT metaphor, that helps get your point across and achieve the goals that you want.

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365 Coaching Tips: 274th, 275th & 276th

October 1st Coaching Tip: Love me some Yankees.

When I was a kid, we used to watch the Major League Baseball playoffs at elementary and middle school and then watch more baseball games when we got home at night. That’s when I fell in love with the Yankees. A homerun king, Reggie Jackson, caught my attention by hitting three homeruns in one game. I was smitten! And since that evening as an eighth grader, I have been a Yankees fan. (On October 18, 1977, in the sixth game of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees outfielder Reggie Jackson hit three home runs in a row off of three consecutive pitches from three different pitchers.)

“Oh The Places You’ll Go” by Dr. Seuss reinforces how important it is to go see difference place. My recommendation is to expose your kids to winners, and losers, to new terrain, to new foods and new cities, etc. Oh the places that you will see as well. I’ve taken friends and family to the new and former Yankee Stadium. I was able to go to two games with my niece Katie and my nephew Kyle; niece Ally and I went to one game. Let’s Go Yankees!

October 2nd Coaching Tip: Get To Your Destination.

Today starts a 5-day vacation. We are making our annual Fall trek to Michigan. We both have family and stories from Michigan, so we enjoy wandering thru MI in the Fall, stopping at farm stands, taking in the views of barns, wineries, orchards, farms, lakes, etc. We made the decision to be on the road (with three stops) nearly 6.5 hours to get to Traverse City. On the way, we stopped at a road-side farm stand and I bought one apple, small jar of local jam, local potato chips, and a pint of blueberries for $2. Yes, just $2!

Our goal was to get to our destination, so that we can truly enjoy our short stay up north, visit with some family, and see more sights. Today, we head to a town that we’ve never been to before: Charlevoix, MI. Can’t wait. Get to your destination!

October 3rd Coaching Tip: Communicate Clearly.

At 8:15am this morning, an electrician called me from one of my house projects (and we were eight hours away in Michigan). After a quick and thankful greeting, “happy Friday, thanks for calling me first thing in the morning”, we got to work. By communicating clearly what I needed worked on in three locations in the garage, outside, and in a barn, we were able to be on the same page. I then called my contractor, and he indicated he would be there in a few minutes. Why did I call the contractor? Because I spent a few minutes with him a couple days ago explaining what I needed the electrician to do. We three were all on the same page, because I had taken the time to 1) clearly identify what I wanted, 2) told my contractor in advance, too, and 3) told the electrician and also asked him for feedback.

A few minutes after the electrician and the contractor spoke, the electrician called me back and gave me an idea that would save me money and save him time and be just as effective. Communicate clearly…and let people know that you truly want their ideas and feedback. It works!

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365 Coaching Tips: 256th, 257th & 258th

September 13th Coaching Tip: No Response, Best Response.

Ben Franklin was a master at so many things, including communication. He reflected in his writings and attributed sayings, by suggesting that “…it may be better to avoid pointless arguments and prioritizing goodwill over winning” as a wiser approach. Pointless conflicts and arguments often bring no true winner and can isolate or alienate friends and family from each other. Listening with no response is many times a way to learn and be more aware of a situation, without causing further stress or conflict.

In my coaching work, I’ve many times reminded myself and those that I coach that we have one mouth and two ears and two eyes. That’s a ratio to keep in mind: four to help you watch and listen, only one to voice your opinion. I embraced that all week, as I was around a couple people who were loud and boasting opinions that I didn’t agree with. I had no response, and it was the best response. For my overall wellness, it’s a healthier choice for me, too.

September 14th Coaching Tip: Early To Rise.

Our weekend was a blast in SW Michigan with my 1983 IU teammates. With us all departing on a Sunday morning and our checkout to be completed by 10am, a couple of us decided to get up early (6:00am) and we set up a yogurt bar with fresh fruit, Michigan raw honey, cinnamon and granola. We also had the coffee brewing and some Swedish muffins and pastries (from our shopping yesterday), as everyone would be moving quickly, packing their cars, and heading out. It all was easy to eat or to make it quickly so that they could take it with them. We wanted them to have ease…this early on a Sunday morning.

When thinking of others, be aware of the entire situation. Everyone had a blast all weekend. However, everyone was ready to get on the road to head home. Early to rise was the right thing to do. We returned back home by 12pm, because everything was ready for checkout at 830am, instead of 10am.

September 15th Coaching Tip: Work Those Relationships.

It’s my goal to know and appreciate my new neighbor at the house we are remodeling. Today, my neighbor was out mowing so I walked up the hill to greet him. After complimenting his yard and mentioning that I need to care for my yard a bit better, I simply thanked him for mowing and making it all look nice.

Then, I shared a common story; then he mentioned that he just got a heart stent. So then I shared that my mother got six stents more than seven years ago and she’s doing pretty good. As I walked away, I turned around and asked him what his favorite candy is for Halloween. He said he liked it all; I asked him to narrow that down, and he said anything except those Easter peeps marshmallow things. Then he said, “Reese miniature cups, Snickers, 3 Musketeers.” You know that I’m going to be handing him some of these the next time I see him; my goal is to keep working the relationship. It will benefit us both.

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365 Coaching Tips: 253rd, 254th & 255th

September 10th Coaching Tip: Slow to Anger.

Children in America are threatened weekly with some type of gun violence at school. Today, as I was walking into the break room at work, I noticed that the news was on the TV; the breaking headline was that a prominent and young public figure with millions of followers had been assassinated with a single gunshot. It stopped me in my tracks; I was thinking, “not again…more gun violence during the daytime”. By the time I got home after work and then relaxed in the evening, I was noticing the amount of anger due to this specific assassination was at a very high and intense rate on social media and TV media. The anger was like an inferno. As I laid it down that evening, I prayed for peace, kindness, and understanding. I prayed for our nation to heal and see just how costly gun violence is in our communities and to our overall well-being. I then prayed for wisdom, asking for help to be slow to anger.

September 11th Coaching Tip: Never Forget. Never.

Yesterday, I was stopped in my tracks as I went to the break room with the horrific news of an assassination of a young leader. And 24 years ago, on 9/11/2001, I was on a short walk from one conference room to the next at a facility in Mossville, IL (That was during my Caterpillar Inc. career). I turned my head to see what the breaking news was on the TV’s in our cafeteria; then I noticed that a small group was gathered around the TV’s and someone mentioned that a plane flew into the World Trace Center Towers in NYC. It didn’t feel right at all; nothing about it felt right. Learning just a bit more from the news, I then pivoted out of the cafeteria and headed back to my office. What would I do in a tense moment like this, as a new and young leader, leading a huge $20mil project with about 100 teammates. Timeliness, communication and understanding were going to be critical. A couple of us jumped up on a table in the middle of our large group, gave everyone a quick update on what was happening in NYC, and then we offered the rest of the day off to everyone on our team. (We already knew that this airplane going into the Towers in NYC was terrorism; it was NOT a mistake.)

As I drove home, I stopped at the grocery store quickly and bought two things: peanut butter and water. I knew that IF we all had to buckle down and stay home for a while, I could live on water and PB. I will never ever forget where I was and how I felt that day on 9/11/2001. Fast forward 24 years later, now I work for Merrill Lynch and ML lost employees that horrible day in NYC. Never Forget. Never.

September 12th Coaching Tip: Travel With Your Friends.

My bestie (Kim) and I jumped in the car together and headed north to be with our Indiana University women’s basketball teammates from our Big Ten Championship season in 1983. Some of our teammates got together in early April in Tampa for the women’s Final Four; now this weekend is in southwest Michigan, steps away from Lake Michigan. Kim and I were in the car together for nearly three hours of drive time. Then we all had lunch and walked to grab some ice cream. With our tummies full and then on a complete ice cream/sugar high, I went for a walk to see the neighborhood and check out the access to the Lake Michigan beaches that were nearby. The next day had us getting up slowly, with a light rain, to enjoy a full breakfast together at the large dining room table. Once the rain cleared, six of us piled into one vehicle and we shopped at two farm stands and one Swedish bakery. My goodness did we ever have a blast buying fresh and incredible food. And on and on the fun times continued. Came back to chili being made and served with a “chili toppings bar”. College football games were on, and then it was another sit-down dinner made by my bestie; she roasted over 10 veggies, of all colors. It was a beautiful display of food and friendship at that dinner table that evening. Travel with your friends! Make those memories. Even cooking and eating together are times well spent.

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365 Coaching Tips: 193rd, 194th & 195th

July 12th Coaching Tip: Keep An Eye On Trends.

Someone today asked me how to start an LLC. My very quick response was to leverage AI. Why did I respond that way? Because the last time I started an LLC was years ago, with an professional expertise of an attorney, and he just took care of it. I also watched the CEO of a large corporation today talk freely and confidently about how he expects his company’s employees to learn and leverage AI. He wasted no time in saying that replacing their Microsoft Outlook system with Microsoft’s new 365 system that has AI embedded will cost more. He is expecting to have employees leverage it to help improve productivity and the client experience. (And I’m expecting it to ultimately replace employees who do NOT learn it and do NOT leverage). I may be wrong; I may be right. I’m making the commitment to keep on eye on trends and stay aware of AI’s developments and embrace it to be more productive personally and professionally.

July 13 Coaching Tip: Assists Indicate Alot.

The Indiana Fever women’s basketball team played the Atlanta team today and crushed them. What did they do so differently? They set a team record in assists; assists are when a player passes the ball to another, and that person scores. The unselfish and fast pace of play was exciting, and the Fever dominated the game, winning by 19 points and scoring over 100. The Fever also had only 8 turnovers. So there were lots of assists, few turnovers, all meaning the players were really looking for each other and making great decisions.

In life, assists indicate a lot, too. When someone is willing to help you look good, that’s positive. When a colleague is willing to pass the praise and give another person the credit, that’s an unselfish human. Assists indicate a lot and they feel good when you assist others.

July 14 Coaching Tip: Productivity Gains.

Today I was prepping for a virtual event that was available nationally for our colleagues. About 30 minutes prior to the start of the event, I double checked a few things: did our guest speakers have the invite? No. Did our speakers ever receive the final deck of visuals to support our conversation? No. As we were approaching one minute to go, our producer finally got one of the speakers dialed in to the event.

This all could have been avoided if the production invite was smoother and included the speakers and the visuals, instead of just completing the task of setting up the invite. In your line of work, always be on the lookout for ways to improve and identify productivity gains.

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365 Coaching Tips: 157th, 158th and 159th

June 6th Coaching Tip: Get Your Sleep.

Tomorrow is a big day. I’ve been training for months to hopefully compete and run faster than I did one year ago in my first ever Indiana Senior Games. This being my second time, I knew that I needed to eat properly, hydrate well, and get my sleep (over 7 hours). When I left my house for the 3-hour drive, I loaded up the cooler with “my food and my drinks” and checked in to the hotel around 6pm. And I was resting, in bed, by 8 pm, and woke up the next morning with exceptional sleep and resilience.

Prioritize your sleep for top performance. Lack of sleep can have many side effects, including reducing your life longevity. Get your sleep.

June 7th Coaching Tip: Compete With Yourself.

I challenged myself and competed against no one. That’s correct. No one.  BUT, I ran faster in the 100m, 200m and 400m than I did last year (June 2024) at the Indiana Senior Games. Sure, we had competition, but I had no one in my exact age bracket (60-64 years old) to compete against, so I just set out to beat myself. And that I did. I ran the 100m nearly two full seconds faster than my 2024 time, and I ran the 200m two seconds faster while running the 400m almost four seconds faster. So proud of myself for improving even though I’m a year older. It’s amazing what you can do, if you simply compete with yourself in a healthy manner.

June 8th Coaching Tip: Talk It Over.

Lots to do? Feeling a bit overwhelmed? Having a hard time prioritizing? Maybe your stuck? Talk it over with your partner or friend or spouse, and you may be surprised just how quickly a plan comes together. Why is that? Because most of us know exactly what we need to do and sometimes, we just need to say it out loud to someone we trust. Research indicates that when we write down priorities, and then share them with someone, we are much more likely to complete them. We feel this innate responsibility to honor the commit to thy self and your trusted person. In my situation recently, my partner had a lot going on, a lot. We were able to get my partner’s three key to do’s done in less than an afternoon. Although I wasn’t feeling the best (lil exhausted from the senior games), me simply allowing my partner to talk it over helped out bunches. Talk it over. 

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365 Coaching Tips: 148th, 149th and 150th

May 28th Coaching Tip: Six Questions for Your Budget.

Talked to my godson recently and he mentioned how important it was that I taught him how to budget in minutes. It was one of those many moments for me that I actually don’t actually recall ever having with him; however, for him it was a moment that definitely impacted him, and he’s shared the budgeting tips with his friends for years now.

Let’s get the ball rolling here by answering these questions about your income and expenses to help you establish your budget. 1) What is your total income? 2) What is your net income (after taxes, 401K, health insurance and social security are deducted from your paycheck, if applicable), 3) What do you want to save for and why? i.e. $5,000 emergency savings account or $40,000 for a home downpayment or $15,000 for a few months off to study or travel. 4) What are your monthly mandatory bills, i.e. food, housing, utilities, cell phone, and car or transportation expenses. 5) What are your discretionary monthly bills, i.e. health insurance, dining out, clothing, entertainment, gifts/parties, etc. 6) What is your monthly debt that is NOT housing, i.e. Visa, Mastercard, loan payback to parents and friends, etc.

Once you understand these six questions, take five to ten minutes to answer them. Your MONTHTLY net income needs to be MORE than all of your MONTHLY mandatory expenses, discretionary expenses and your debt. If you are positive, then you have the ability to save even more. If your expenses are higher than your net income, then you must a) find ways to increase your income (work a second job, have a side hustle, etc.) and b) also find ways to reduce your expenses. For example, during my 25 years at Caterpillar, I made my lunch in the morning and took it to work most days that I was in the office. Let’s assume that I saved $7/lunch during the 25 years, working in the office those days that I brought my lunch of 180 days equates to a $31,500 savings just by bringing my own lunch. Another cost saver that we still implement is that we go only out to eat one evening a week. And, since I’ve been 21 years old, I have contributed to my company’s 401K and all the companies have matched my contribution partially or fully. Experts call this, “pay yourself first” by having savings automatically deducted from your paycheck. When it’s auto-deducted, you tend not to notice it since it never becomes a part of your discretionary budget. Know how to answer these six questions on your budget.

May 29th Coaching Tip: Get Yourself A Mentor.

Yes, I’m 60 and I found my mentor for my next couple decades. We met back in 2012 when he hired me to be the VP of Marketing for a tech startup. Fast forward to 2025, he has been working with a number of tech startup companies, helping 20-30 year old entrepreneurs build up their company and grow it, to ultimately sell. He’s 10 years older than me and I look forward to learning what he did from 60 to 70 years old, and then implementing many of his tips and tactics. He’s family oriented, enjoys makes memories, very healthy and sports focused, lives in the same areas (Naples, FL and Carmel, IN) as me, etc. I look forward to learning from my mentor, as we both agree, our best chapters in our life’s book are ahead of us. Get yourself a mentor.

May 30th Coaching Tip: Celebrate Your Wins.

After selling two homes recently, it was time to celebrate. One of the homes in Westfield, IN, was sold to a couple who was well prepared, and we closed on a price $6,000 over list price (we had 4 offers in 48 hours of the listing) in just two weeks. The other home in Delray Beach, FL, also sold to a young couple at list price; although they were not as prepared, my realtor helped them actually get their financing completed to finalize the closing before the end of May.

Why celebrate? Because I challenged myself to buy both of these homes during COVID when times were a bit weird and unknown. Fast forward to 5 years later, by selling these two homes is allowing me to do another project closer to my college home of Indiana University. We are in the midst of remodeling a 95-year-old farmhouse with a green metal roof; the nearly 10 acres has a couple barns, a “she-shed”, and a chicken coup. We will celebrate there soon with a house and barn warming party, complete with a DJ playing music, and having fun with the indoor pickleball and basketball courts. Celebrate Your Wins!