My consulting expanded to include thought leadership after it crystallized for me that individual is vital to progress of whole and a key component to attaining success. An organization led by someone oblivious to how critical thought leadership is to success could be in for an extraordinarily bumpy road.

I have known or worked with so many people who’ve been in therapy for six or seven years with minimal progress because they were not being honest with therapist about what they really wanted.

What I observed, in a general sense, were people going to therapist for validation of their victimization. But what does it mean when it takes seven years to meet that need? Think of all other productive uses of that time that have been missed.

At some point preparation is supposed to end and business of journey undertaken.

I understand that awful things happen sometimes, but it simply does not serve us to define ourselves by worst events in our lives. Validation is only a step in process, it is not destination--- mission is to live from your core. Perhaps, it goes without saying, but I will for sake of clarification…I believe that this translates into highest and best use of our innate gifts and a genuine appreciation of same in others. I guess some would call that unconditional love, but I feel that genuine appreciation summons fewer presumptions.

However, without a genuine sense of self it can seem impossible to practice real self-love because without it I wonder if one can know what love really is. And this is what many of you say you want out of life believing it will magically make you happy.

This misperception is what I believe to be root of what often goes wrong in relationships when burden of making someone happy is dumped into lap of another individual. Each of us must take responsibility for our own experience, happy or otherwise. In best cases, people can enhance your life, but not complete it. (And I tell you this as someone who has been mostly happily married for fourteen years.)

I am not writing this because I have it all figured out. I face same challenges as everyone else, but coming to terms with my “stuff” required that I embrace all of my talents and find ways of applying them that supported my growth and integrity.