Fear doesn’t need to be an enemy; it can be your friend. Fear informs you. Fear is telling you that you need to pay attention to something. Fear may be telling you to gather more information or perhaps to ask for help. It may be telling you to act such as staying up later to study or to get up a little earlier. It informs you but shouldn’t stop you from taking action. Fear is just another emotion like compassion or gratitude. Fear does not have to paralyze us.

Is the magic really within us?

Every time that we are faced with a challenge in our lives (personal, family, professional), we only have two choices:

✅ To feel overwhelmed and paralyzed or

✅To feel that there is always an opportunity to overcome the challenge

When you experience VUCA, you face the unknown, and therefore you are NOT in control of the circumstances. This triggers a decision to move forward (or not) and you will likely feel some level of fear. Fear is created in our minds and causes us to either freeze, take flight or fight. This decision is where the magic happens. We just need to understand that fear is our friend, not our enemy. It is all in our mind.

When people experience VUCA, they typically feel a great deal of stress. Resilience helps people manage their stress. Here's a tip for helping another person (or yourself) build resilience.

Reframe the perception of stress - how we think about stress influences how we manage it.

Extreme change often creates fear and this awakens your inner terrorist. According to the Triune or 3 Brains theory conceived by neuroscientist, Paul MacLean, we all have 3 brains – Reptilian, Monkey, Rational Human and they control our thinking and actions at different times, and this is really noticeable when you are dealing with fear. Read more to learn how to tame your inner terrorist.

When we are in our comfort zones, we think our normal thoughts, we execute our daily routines and don't take risks. We are as comfortable as a cat napping on a pillow. We are satisfied, we are complacent, we are on auto-pilot. However, when we stay in our comfort zones, we don't learn, we don't grow and we don't really live our lives to the fullest.

If change makes you nervous, know that you are not alone. Fear is a common reaction to change. We often fear change because we cannot anticipate the outcome. We want to stay in our comfort zone and don’t want to upset our equilibrium. Change can be uncomfortable. Many people also perceive that change will cause them to lose something. Click to learn more about some helpful tips for conquering your fears about change.

National Authenticity Day is celebrated on August 16 every year. This day recognizes the power of authenticity, a term that goes beyond just “being yourself.” It is dedicated to people who decide to do things their way rather than following the crowd.

Changing your thinking patterns can and often will change the outcome. You hear this with elite athletes all the time.

On Saturday, I reconnected with a friend that I haven't been in contact with for several years. It was GREAT to catch up with her and it was as if no time had passed. There's nothing better than reconnecting with old friends.

Change is accelerating and will continue to do so. No one wants to be left behind. I was thinking about technology changes the other day. I remember getting my first cell phone in the 1990’s. It was big and clunky. You had to raise an antenna in order to use it. If I wanted to take it with me, I needed a large purse.

How do you like to learn? Read a book/article, listen to a podcast, watch You Tube, or do you prefer to tinker with something until you figure it out? When you are facing extreme change, does your preferred learning style adapt?

In section 5 of our book, Mindset Wizardry - the Magic Behind Thriving in a Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous (VUCA) World, one of the leadership topics we talk about is the importance of authenticity.

In section 4 of our book, Mindset Wizardry - the Magic Behind Thriving in a Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous (VUCA) World, we get into the mindsets and behaviors required to thrive during VUCA.

You’ve probably heard that laughter is the best medicine. Read more to learn a few reasons that a little laughter every day is good for you.

Would you rather change on your own terms or change because you are forced to do it?

We have all failed at something in our lives. When this happens, some people want to wallow in it and beat themselves up. People with high learning agility figure out how to learn from the failure.

When Javier and I were writing our book, we interviewed many executives and owners of successful businesses. The information and insights they shared helped us craft our assessments, our framework and many examples that we used in our book.

"It takes courage to say 'yes' to rest and play in a culture where exhaustion is seen as a status symbol." - Dr. Brene Brown

When Javier and I were writing our book, we interviewed many executives and owners of successful businesses. The information and insights they shared helped us craft our assessments, our framework and many examples that we used in our book.

Last week, I was visiting Utah for the first time with my family. We took a day trip to Bryce Canyon National Park where we did a trail ride with horses and mules down and up the canyon. The experience inspired me to share these thoughts based on what I was thinking about while riding my mule, Disco.