A New Hope, Breaking 80 and Storms
Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, originally released as Star Wars in 1977, is the first part of the Star Wars original trilogy and the first Star Wars film released. The film is set after the formation of the Galactic Empire and construction has finished on the Death Star, a weapon capable of destroying…
Relationships & Change
“People come in and out of your life for a season, reason or a lifetime.” – Brian A. Chalker. In Grade 10 English, I had to write a speech; it was entitled “Friends.” In it, I described the difference between 3 types of people in your life: friends, buddies, and acquaintances. In short, friends show…
Lizzo, The Crucible and Witch Hunts
Lizzo has been canceled over allegations of sexual harassment, among other wrong-doings. I cannot help but make a connection between her situation and The Crucible. Hear me out. The Crucible takes place in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. The play was originally written as a direct criticism of McCarthyism, the practice of making accusations without proper regard…
tall poppies
This week’s blog is a summary from content by Dr. Rumeet Billan. Link to full articles can be found below; I would encourage you to read them in their entirety. Tall Poppy Syndrome (TPS) is a term referring to poppies that grow higher than others and are cut down to size so that they are…
Trains and herds
Imagine, for a second, you are on a crowded train. The train is headed in a direction you are certain is the wrong one. But you don’t get off. You stay on. Why? Everyone on the train appears so certain THEY are headed in the right direction. You stay with the herd… “Herd behavior” is…
Energy, Entropy & Karma
I’ve been thinking about energy, entropy and karma of late. Let me explain… The 1st Law of Thermodynamics is called the Law of Conservation of Energy. It states that energy can be converted from one form to another, but it cannot be created nor destroyed, under any circumstances. A simple example is dropping a pen…
The Power of Gratitude
Can being grateful make you healthier? Can it improve your mental health? Let’s Google, shall we? I came across an interesting article from 2017 by two professors at Indiana University – Dr. J Brown and Dr. J Wong. Here is a synopsis of an interesting study they completed to answer these very questions: I have…
new beginnings
How do you know you’ve moved on? Not went to a cottage party for a weekend and had some fun. Not went on a few exciting dates with someone new. Not kept yourself busy on your socials creating new content. Those events have kept you distracted. Distracted from grieving. Distracted from healing. I mean TRULY…
belonging
A few years ago, I was at a recruiting event. A younger member of the organization shared the following with a potential incoming class: “There will be speed bumps along the day… You will need to take detours. We talk about opportunities here; you need to seize them. I thought I had everything under control,…
Tori Bowie
At this point, I’m sure you’ve read about the tragic passing of track phenom Tori Bowie. She died in her apartment due to complications in childbirth. The number of women who die during or shortly after childbirth in the United States is higher than in any other developed nation. Women of color face even greater…
Balance & Passion
Had a good chat with a friend a few weeks ago following a mediocre round of golf. In case you were wondering, that’s the norm – the mediocre round of golf, not the chat about balance. I’ve been thinking about balance ever since… I’ve never been one for balance. Have you? I recognize that I…
Macbeth
An old connection recently shared a poetic moment from Shakespeare’s Macbeth: “False face must hide what the false heart doth know.” Macbeth tells the story of a Scottish Army general who receives a prophecy from three witches that tell him he will one day be the king of Scotland. It is tale of the psychological…
stillness
I find myself coming full circle to February 13, 2023. This, readers, was when I posted my first blog called “Time”. Here are a few snippets. For the record, I am still asking myself this question in June. Reminder: I live a life of privilege. What jumps out about my question about stillness is how…
Pods, Orcas and Kidneys
“Find the people who affirm your power. Who tell you to keep going. Who believe in your ability and who don’t enable you to be a lower version of yourself. Find the people who expect greatness and show compassion for your human flaws.” – Dr. Nicole LePera In business and in sport, team members fall…
Authenticity, Gen Z and Tomorrow
“Authenticity is a collection of choices that we make every day. It’s about the choice to show up and be real. The choice to be honest. The choice to let our true self be seen.” – Brené Brown I came across this quote a few days ago and thought to myself: “What a great topic…
pause
A brief note to my readers… I have not been able to put in the time I’d like into writing my blog recently. As a result, I am going to take a 2-week hiatus prior to resuming. Apologies to those who have enjoyed the routine (I have too!). Keep working on yourself.
9 Lives
Let’s keep it brief, shall we? Did you elevate anyone this week? We can learn from crisis. And if we work hard on our levels of awareness, we can avoid some crises all together. From self-awareness comes critical self-reflection. Then growth will follow. Let’s do the work.
crisis management
“Never let a good crisis go to waste.” Churchill is credited with saying this in the mid-1940s as the world approached the end of WWII. Fitting. Crisis tends to bring up negative feelings in many, but crisis also means change is afoot. And change can be very positive. Crisis is: I’ve been part of a…
shine theory
“I don’t shine if you don’t shine.” – Aminatou Sow & Ann Friedman In a past blog, I shared about a book called Big Friendship – How We Keep Each Other Close by Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman. In their book, Sow and Friedman write a chapter called Shine Theory. I wanted to share key…
Lucky #7
I’ve been thinking about regret this week and why it may (or may not) be the worst feeling in the world. People will feel regret over personal decisions as well as non-decisions. And living with the aftermath can be difficult. What I have found is, at times, regret can manifest at different times in one’s…
Lemonade to Lemons
“When life gives you lemons, make lemonade” is a proverbial phrase used to encourage optimism and a positive can-do attitude in the face of adversity or misfortune. Lemons suggest sourness or difficulty in life; making lemonade is turning them into something positive or desirable. (Wikipedia) Life is not easy. Life will throw things at you, often,…
Regret. And living with it.
I watched a TedTalk a few years ago and for the life of me I cannot recall the name of it. It started with the following question: What’s the worse feeling in the world? The answer? Regret Research will confirm that most people feel regret for not doing something. I fell upon Daniel Pink’s TedTalk…
Six Degrees of Separation
Acceptance v Understanding Acceptance is about moving forward. And learning valuable lessons along the way. It is always during our darkest times that any light will shine brightest. “Happiness can exist only in acceptance.” – George Orwell I keep reminding myself that I need to work on skipping the understanding part. People and circumstances are…
My People
Growing up I never fit in. Being from a small town certainly didn’t help. I felt different than everyone around me. So much so, that as a grade 10 student, at the ripe age of 15, I switched from the French school system to the local English high school. It was a bold move to…
Acceptance v Understanding
Acceptance – the action of consenting to receive or undertake something offered. Understanding – comprehension. I’ve always struggled with “accepting” things. More importantly, I really struggle moving forward from things I don’t accept. Or is it can’t accept? Or won’t accept? I feel compelled to understand the why. I get stuck. And I want to be unstuck. But how?…
Gimme 5
For many, this was a short work week which can make for more work. I’m checking in – how are we doing? I’m asking because I have work for you, too! From The Punisher: Showing up matters. From Lessons from COVID: “Relationships are the artifacts of our culture.” How can you create casual collisions? It…
Lessons from COVID
Like many of you, I tried to stay busy during our first Covid lockdown in March 2020. I signed up for daily webinars, ordered books (and beer) and watched lots of documentaries. I learned a lot but, admittedly, probably forgot more than I learned. I was recently reviewing my “Professional Development” folder and came across…
The Punisher
The Punisher is a character from Marvel Comics. He is depicted as a vigilante who employs murder, kidnapping, extortion, coercion, threats of violence, and torture in his campaign against crime. Driven by the deaths of his wife and children, the Punisher wages a one-man war on crime. The Punisher has always been blurred between the distinction of “good” and “evil”.…
Four’s company
This is already our fourth Friday recap, friends. They say fourth times a charm. Time flies, doesn’t it? For many of us, this is the start of a long weekend. Take some time to think about any unlearning you can muster. “On a long weekend, Boydy? Come on!” Yes, on a long weekend… This week,…
Which came first: the conflict or the confrontation?
In his book Dream Teams, Shane Snow shares about The Dream Teams Framework. The framework came about from the study of game-changing teams in history and the psychology and neuroscience underlying their behavior. A team that makes breakthroughs has as one of its components cognitive friction. He makes the following points: One of the elements…
Limitations, Limits and Ceilings
Limitation: a limiting rule or circumstance; a restriction. Limit: a point or level beyond which something does not or may not extend or pass; a restriction on the size or amount of something permissible or possible. Ceiling: the upper interior surface of a room or other similar compartment. Metaphorical ceiling: the invisible barrier that prevents certain individuals…
Oh, the Places You’ll Go.
Before continuing, I want to acknowledge the harm in several of Dr. Seuss’ books. Opportunities to learn/unlearn are critical in anyone’s anti-racism journey. Rather than ignore Dr. Seuss’ hurtful past, I share this article for background and as an opportunity for my readers to grow: https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/dr-seuss-books-publication-racist-images-1.5933033 So here we are, my friends – another Friday, another…
Speaking of Rabbit Holes
After reading about Alice in Wonderland last week, I legit fell into a rabbit hole myself. Some things I never knew: Huh. In Through the Looking-Glass Alice enters another fantastical world where, just like a reflection, everything is reversed, including logic. This feels like my life sometimes – you? Some Google searches include the following…
“Do or do not. There is no try.”
So here we are, my friends. Another Friday, another check-in. And another Yoda quote. Earlier this week, we shared in the following: Change & Fear – The challenge with change comes from our tendency to see it as a problem rather than an opportunity for growth. There is no growth if there is no change. Let’s…
Colours, Wonderland and Friendship
“You take the blue pill… the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill… you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.” – Morpheus, The Matrix A pivotal scene in The Matrix is when Morpheus (Laurence Fishburn) presents Neo…
Change & Fear
I took a change management course last week. It was intense. I learned some things I never knew but, more than anything, the program confirmed what I already knew. Change. Is. Hard. Apparently, we typically react to change in four stages: I Shock II Disorientation III Anger IV Other emotional responses REALLY?!!? According to an…
Recap. Take 7.
I completed a change practitioner program last week. (Be excited as I will share about it on Monday’s blog.) During the session, we were reminded that clear communication is a key contributor to effective change management. Our instructor mentioned repeating things 7x and trying to use 7 different communication techniques to ensure messages get through.…
Jedis, Darkness and Unlearning
This is going to be quite the journey. Stay with me. Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools by Dr. Monique Morris has been one of the most important books I’ve read. Like many non-racialized people, I did a lot of reading during the summer of 2020. The reason Pushout resonated with me is…
You dirty rat.
“I can sniff out a rat from a mile away.” I said this to a friend of mine a few weeks ago. We laughed because I may have said it with an Italian accent. Like I was part of the mafia. But I digress. With rats on my mind, I share today’s blog. Curt Richter,…
Lionesses
“A lioness doesn’t wake up and care that it’s Saturday. She wakes up doing scary-ass shit, because she’s a lioness.” – unknown Her roar Her pride Lionesses in the pride Her hunting tactics What’s with the lionesses, Boydy? Well, earlier this week Suzanne Wrack from The Guardian wrote an article about the impact England’s Women’s…
That’s a good question.
I’d like to firstly thank my Facebook Friends (you are a small but mighty number) for being super active on my site this week after sharing about this endeavour. WOW – I got tons of visits! This one is for you. In January 2021, in the middle of COVID (btw in one week-ish, it’ll be…
Glass Ceilings & Glass Cliffs
I was so pleased about the recent appointment of Charmaine Crooks as Canada Soccer’s interim president. Crooks is the first woman and the first person of colour to lead the organization. YES!!! GO WoC!!! BOOM. Things are changing. Why was I so mad the other day?!?! Then I hit Twitter and started reading about glass…
Cheetahs and Change.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you have some knowledge of the battle Canada Soccer’s NSWT is facing. Earlier this week, Soccer Canada president Nick Bontis resigned, stating: “I acknowledge that this moment requires change.” Bontis, btw, was also named CONCACAF Council vice-president (North America) earlier this week. He resigned to start a better…
Teachable Moments.
After some feedback from my last blog post, I decided to share some of the original transcript, with edits of course. In case you missed it, I did an interview in 2020 with a Master’s student. Their study was meant to explore how coaches understand and use teachable moments in their approaches to coaching. As…
Train Stations.
Funny the things you can find when cleaning out your closet. Well, in this case, my Mac… I came across transcript notes from an interview I did on January 10th, 2020. It was with a university student completing their Masters. The study was meant to explore how coaches understand and use teachable moments in their…
Don’t tell my grandparents but is Gen Z the new “Greatest Generation”?
I read this article last week: In defense of Gen Z by Stephanie Bai (February 16, 2023) https://www.macleans.ca/longforms/gen-z-hustle-burnout-work-life-balance/amp/ The first words in the article intrigued me: “You’re wrong about Gen Z.” “Am I?” I asked myself… Generation Z are those born between 1997 and 2012. They have grown up in a world with smart phones,…
Casual Connections
“Millennials… report having zero friends (22%), zero close friends (27%) and zero acquaintances (25%).” This data comes from Minda Zetlin’s September 2019 article entitled “Millennials Are the Loneliest Generation, a Survey Shows”. You can read it here: https://www.inc.com/minda-zetlin/millennials-loneliness-no-friends-friendships-baby-boomers-yougov.html One key talking point on any of my teams is relationships; this is one of the pillars…
Women’s Sport
Reading the nightmare reality that is our Canadian National Women’s Soccer team at the moment, I found some notes that might be of interest…. A USC/Purdue study published on March 24, 2021 found that women’s sports was severely underrepresented in television news and online media coverage. The study found that 95% of TV coverage focused on men’s…
Habits
I recently read Atomic Habits by James Clear. It was a good read, with some key take-aways, for me anyway, listed here. These are direct quotes from the first two chapters of the book: “Breakthrough moments are often the result of many previous actions, which build up the potential required to unleash major change.” “A…
Time.
“I don’t have enough time.” “I am running out of time.” “It feels like time is standing still.” “I am wasting my time.” “Time flies.” Over the last few months, I have found myself having more time; this has been both by choice and by circumstances outside of my control. And the more time I…
The Boyd Effect 