Brain… Thriving Creativity 28 Jan 20206 Jul 2020 Our culture promotes a stereotype that creators like writers and entrepreneurs must sacrifice everything—food, sleep, relationships—for the cause. Long hours, sacrifices, and courageous decisions take a toll, and exhausted people…
Business… Communication Suspense 3 Dec 20196 Jul 2020 When the beleaguered Apollo 13 capsule fell through earth’s atmosphere on April 17, 1970, the re-entry communication blackout lasted about six minutes. Because of the life-threatening situation, suspense was more…
Academic Writing… Lies Your English Teacher Taught You 30 Oct 20196 Jul 2020 Some of you blame your teachers (English or otherwise) for writing advice that is not even true for English or doesn’t apply every time. Please stop believing that these are…
Brain… For Engineers and Other Geniuses Who Cannot Spell 26 Oct 20196 Jul 2020 My dad was an industrial engineer and his spellings were creative. His colleagues shared that talent. When I taught college, many of my students were engineering majors, demonstrating that skill…
Change the World… The Official #OneHourBio Challenge 8 Oct 20196 Jul 2020 One of my closest relatives texted, “I have cancer. I need you to help me write something for my girls.” I think I replied, “WHAT?!” A couple years later, she…
Books… Write your nonfiction book before you retire 3 Oct 20196 Jul 2020 Claim it. Are you doubting yourself or your timing? Stop. You showed up here, didn’t you? People don’t do that until they are ready. I get to be the fairy godmother…
Inspiration… Writing with a view 26 Feb 20196 Jul 2020 Elyssa Shalla, National Park Ranger and typewriter enthusiast, placed a vintage typewriter six miles into the Grand Canyon for several days, inviting hikers to record what that moment meant to…
Change the World… Learn a new language, gain a new soul 17 Aug 20166 Jul 2020 Czech proverb, "Learn a new language, gain a new soul," is so beautifully illustrated by Robin Wall Kimmerer's practicing her ancestor's language, Potawatomi. She is even more fluent in botany. I loved…
Change the World… Why we should put the little people first 27 Apr 20162 Sep 2019 It's state budget time! And Arizona is into a budget surplus, and out of excuses. We could fund education. We could even begin to "restore the years the locusts have eaten." Here's the letter I…
Change the World… It’s Harriet Tubman for the 20! 20 Apr 20162 Sep 2019 My childhood hero! Why do I love her so much? In second grade, I was a white Yankee girl in Louisiana, bused to a Black school under Supreme Court order. Desegregation,…
Change the World… Everyone has a reason to live 13 Jun 201513 Jun 2015 Jacques Lusseyran went blind at age 8. When he was twice as old, in 1941, he founded one of the key organizations of the French Resistance. His memoir, And There…
Brain… Don’t think of a purple giraffe (and what else not to say) 31 Jan 20154 Jul 2016 A company I admire allowed an employee to blog, "You probably don't want to come to our conference, but here's why I think you should." Really? I don't want to…