1: Author Joseph Grenny had been married for just a few years when his travel schedule became hectic.
He and his wife, Celia, had two young toddlers, and she served as the sole parent when Joseph was on the road.
One evening, he arrived home from a long trip, Joseph and his co-authors write in their classic book Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High.
“Celia was … continue reading
1: When Diane Button was new to end-of-life care, so many questions flooded her mind.
“I wondered if I would ever get to a place where I would feel comfortable stepping into the home of a dying person with ease and grace,” she writes in her wonderful book What Matters Most: Lessons the Dying Teach Us About Living.
Fortunately, she had a mentor. “Hospice chaplain Clarence Liu was was … continue reading
“One of my clients had candles spread all over her house, in every room,” Diane Button, an end-of-life doula, writes in her book What Matters Most: Lessons the Dying Teach Us About Living.
“They were on nightstands and dressers, surrounding her bathtub, and even along the walkway of the woodsy entrance into her house,” Diane notes.
“There were dozens of them, and they were beautiful, but not one … continue reading
1: Looking for lighthearted conversation?
You’re unlikely to find it if you visit the Button family on New Year’s Eve.
“Our oldest daughter, Carly, is getting her doctorate in counseling psychology and is a fan of stoicism and existential psychology,” Diane Button writes in her book What Matters Most: Lessons the Dying Teach Us About Living.
“Her passion inevitably leads us to deep conversations about the meaning and purpose … continue reading
1: Imagine a beautiful summer morning on Lake Erie.
“The sun’s out, but there’s just enough breeze to keep you comfortable. It’s not too hot and not too cold,” Erik Peterson and Tim Riesterer write in their powerful book Conversations That Win the Complex Sale.
Erik is lying in a hammock right by the beach. He’s reading a good book. On the table next to him is a cold … continue reading
1: “Our conversations started out funny and just got funnier,” Diane Button writes in her wonderful book What Matters Most: Lessons the Dying Teach Us About Living.
Diane and Franck Battelli, both end-of-life doulas, were meeting with Greg, 53, who was dying from ALS.
Before proceeding, Greg wanted to make sure it would be a good fit.
“He let us know in a very serious tone of voice that … continue reading
1: “We live as if we can control the hands of time,” Diane Button writes in her wonderful book What Matters Most: Lessons the Dying Teach Us About Living.
“We spend time, waste time, lose time, save time, kill time, and buy time,” Diane notes. “We live as if the clock ticks based on our own needs and desires.”
And yet, time is finite. And we never know how … continue reading
1: Bo had Parkinson’s disease. He was sixty-one years old.
“He lived alone for two decades until he needed extra care, and moved back to the town where his kids and ex-wife still lived,” Diane Button writes in her wonderful book What Matters Most: Lessons the Dying Teach Us About Living.
Bo went to live with Joon, his youngest daughter, whose husband was in the army and was deployed … continue reading
1: “Shutdown complete.”
Those are the two words we should say at the end of our workday.
Why? Because we are trying to create a “bright line” between our professional and personal lives.
When we are working, we are working. All-in. 100%.
And when our workday is over, we set a boundary so we can be 100% present with our families, friends, hobbies, or whatever we do to relax and … continue reading
1: The summer of 1995 was a dizzying time for the people working at Netscape.
In August of that year, the company went public.
“The Netscape initial public offering (IPO) was both spectacular and historic,” Ben Horowitz writes in The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers.
“The stock initially priced at $14 per share, but a last-minute decision doubled the … continue reading
