Wednesday Wisdoms

Please enjoy! You will find Jennifer’s blogs below the Wednesday Wisdoms, which were the predecessor to WW’s.

Thank you for reading! 

Remember to Put First Things First

Years ago, my closest friend, Patricia, ended up with stage four cancer and I knew I needed to go see her. We had become close friends when we both lived in Manhattan, and now I was more than a thousand miles away and so busy with work, that even though I called her...

Consider the Source

Consider the source, was something I grew up hearing. I can’t exactly remember the context now, but those words came barreling back to me recently when I was teaching a class for the University of Florida’s workforce development. I had 45 women in a class on...

Which Reality Suits You?

Did you see the original Matrix movie, which came out in March 1999? It was about being unknowingly trapped inside a simulated reality, which wasn’t reality at all, just an illusion. I remember when I first saw it thinking, well yes, that’s kind of what we are all...

What’s Your Weather Forecast for the Week?

I just finished teaching a two-day leadership class for women this week, and the topic of weather came up. Weather, in the sense that we carry our weather around with us, it’s a manufactured emotion that either buoys us up or keeps us in a state of...

If or When?

Actress Hillary Swank was interviewed recently, and when asked if she had ever had doubts about her career taking off, she commented there was never an “if,” only a “when.” I’ve heard similar comments from others in different walks of life; regardless...

Preaching to the Choir

I feel certain anyone reading this already knows, and could probably teach a master’s class on what I’m writing about, but every once in a while it’s worth mentioning the obvious: How we treat people has an enormous impact on whether they buy from us, recommend us to...

How Should We Look at Disaster?

What’s the secret some people possess and others don’t? A catastrophe happens and some seem to weather the disaster and keep on going. And at the same time others have the identical thing happen and fall totally to pieces. It seems one answer is how we define the...

Changing Our Internal Dialogue

Have you noticed if people lack confidence, they’re apt to start a conversation with a qualifier: “I’m not sure this is the right time to bring this up...” Or, “I don’t know if this is what you meant...” What does it say loudly and clearly? That the person talking has...

When We Nudge People Forward

Years ago, when I attended a Toastmaster’s class because I was terribly frightened to get up in front of people and speak, someone came up to me and suggested I had talent as a speaker. And this small comment gave me a nudge that enabled me to feel confident...

No Lights on this Plane!

There were buttons to turn on the overhead lights, but when I pushed them, nothing happened. I turned on my phone flashlight and felt around for hidden buttons. Finally, I gave up, called the flight attendant and asked how to turn on the lights. She pushed the...

The Power of Empathy

I teach empathy and empathetic language, and I’ve taught it for a very long time. And I realized recently that when it came to using empathy, I was a dismal failure. Let me explain. I have a relative I don’t know very well. We’ve been thrown together recently due...

How to Ensure We’re Visionaries and Possibility Thinkers

Way back in high school one of my best friends and I entered a state-wide writing contest. I won, andshe went on to become a very successful TV writer. She imagined writing sitcoms, left her teaching job to move to LA and pursue her dream, and made itbig. Among other...

A Real Gift for the Holidays!

Have you ever noticed how many people seem to unpack memories of past mistakes and missed opportunities this time of year? In a recent issue of Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper there was an article on biggest regrets. “One of the hardest lessons I've ever had to...

The Power of Play!

I was really excited at the possibility of teaching presentational skills to every employee at a prestigious Manhattan bank. At the time Dun & Bradstreet had a training division and I had worked with them creating a similar program on how to be a persuasive...

People Skills in Puppy School?

Merlin, my six-month-old cocker spaniel, graduated from puppy school recently. He didn’t learn much, but every puppy got a diploma. Since he’s apparently a slow learner, I was contemplating what I learned and what I still needed to do, and I started thinking...

Their Worst, Against Our Best?

Have you ever thought about the fact that often we judge someone’s worst behavior against our best behavior?  The other day I was with someone who was very annoyed about something and lashed out at me in the process. I took it personally (I shouldn’t have) and...

A Partial View

In his Educare Unlearning blog, Sandy Wilder talked about partialness, and said: “Pretty much every time we look at and identify someone, we are choosing a partial view.” He went on to say that we then believe in this partial perspective and judge accordingly. And it...

A Life without Free Will?

Robert Sapolsky says we have no free will. Sapolsky, a Stanford University neurobiologist, explains in his book, Determined: A Science of Life Without Free Will, that neurochemical influences that occurred milliseconds ago to centuries in the past are...

The Power of Stories

While spending time with my brother, a retired Methodist minister, we started swapping examples of “do’s and don’ts” when trying to make a point. We talked about some that worked, and some that just made you wonder, what on earth were they thinking!...

Choices 101

Psychologist Dr. Martin Seligman, known as the father of Positive Psychology, tells the story of being with his daughter one day when she turned to him and told him he was grouchy. He had never considered that label for himself, but reluctantly admitted that...

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