Lessons From My Father

My dad supported my mom in many of her exploits. He was the calm, methodical one and she was the force of nature. It probably would have been futile for my dad to try to stop her anyway.

She had some amulets of her bigger-than-life persona: her earrings, her outfits, and her hats.

My dad, in his conservative garb, escorted her and her “costumes.” My mom liked hats in every decade of her life. I made sure one was buried with her. I gave one of her best friends the orange hat I wore to my mom’s funeral, so she would have it as a reminder of my mom.

While in London we were walking on the famous St James Street. Some of the oldest retail establishments in the world are located on this street. One of them was a milliner or hatter, Lock & Co. The store, referred to as The Home of Hats, is 347 years old!

Originally this store made only men’s hats. Sometime in the last century they started making hats for women on their second floor. I had to ascend the century old steps to try on some hats for my amusement and to honor my mom.

While a hat didn’t come home with me, the memories did.

Sometimes I have to give myself and then actually take the same advice I give my clients!

Recently, I found myself 4,000 miles from home, 30 miles from any known civilization, and I had to take my own advice.

I found myself on a horse, in a foreign country, with a non-English speaking guide, and no knowledge of the verbal commands the horse knew to respond. I had to take my own advice.



I share my challenge and my solution in this brief video.

Lessons from London

1. Literally in Your Backyard



On our first day in London we went looking for a statue that Moshe saw from the cab. We walked and walked, asked locals, even a maintenance man in Hyde Park. No one knew or could tell us where we could find the statue that turned out to be “Still Water”, the largest free-standing bronze sculpture in London, located in Hyde Park.

Lesson Learned: Disappointed, we walked back to our hotel. The doorman inquired about our walk. I said that we were disappointed that we couldn’t find the statue of the horse’s head. He smiled and said to turn around.

There, a couple hundred feet ahead of us and across the street, was the statue. What could be in your backyard that you may not know or see?

2. Changing of the Guards

I suppose you can’t go to London without seeing the changing of the guards. You arrive early to get your own “standing” space, and then you wait. One of their “bobbies” comes over and tells the crowd to watch out for pickpockets. Then you wait some more. Eventually a lackluster “event” unfolds in a few minutes time.

Lesson Learned: I don’t know what I was expecting. I was disappointed. I wanted more pageantry, more in the verbal, vocal and visual. I didn’t hear many ooh’s and ahh’s. It just happened and then the crowd disbanded quickly. Are you meeting or exceeding your audience expectations?

3. Shoe Heaven

Harrod’s department store was at the top of my list of “tourist” attractions. Retail therapy is my idea of tourism. Fortunately our hotel was within walking distance, a walk I learned by heart. It is 7 stories, 5 million square feet, and 330 departments all decorated in the same décor since 1905. Princess Di was a customer.

Lesson Learned: Over-all the prices made it more of a museum to walk through than a store in which to purchase. I did enjoy walking the 5^th floor. It is actually named “Shoe Heaven.” I love the name: no fancy words or play on words. Just a direct name for what it is. How direct are you in naming your products and services?

Most everything I have learned in life I learned through one-on-one COACHING. I learned how to do a cartwheel, pass geometry, and the computer all one-on-one. In class or in seminars, I still sit in the front row to make learning as one-on-one as possible.

So it is one-on-one I turned to when I was in danger of failing our novice dog obedience class. I would have been the only one, out of 8 dogs, to fail. To pass we had to pass 10 sections of the test. One section, the easiest section, we failed. I had a week from the run-through to the graduation night, to stop the impending failure.

The section that we failed required another person in order to complete. It was not something we could practice on our own. We needed a “coach” who knew what they were doing in order to help us move from an F to an A. The instructor offered to help.

Every week-day we met at 3pm to practice. On graduation day we passed all 10 sections.

We needed and benefitted from one-on-one coaching . . . even in the canine world. How about you?

Video and Vino

July 31, 5pm - 7pm

We would be excited to have you join us at this unique session. Each participant will be taped, we will play it back, make suggestions, and tape you again. You will see immediate improvement!

You learn by doing and by observing others. Guess what? You have fun throughout the process!

• This session will prepare you to be ready for your time in the spotlight whether it is in person, on TV, a podcast, Tik-Tok, YouTube or Zoom.
• Leave with VINO and a gift bag!

HorseTalk: Lessons in Leadership

First Session of the Summer

June 7, 9am - 4pm

Welcome to the wonderful world of HorseTalk where magnificent 4-legged creatures will teach you more about your communication and leadership skills than you could learn in a decade . . . or even a lifetime.

If you can lead a horse, you can lead anyone.

• Are you ready to learn something new in a new way?
• Are you tired of zoom sessions and getting continuing ed credits through remote learning?  

This hands-on day of educational escapism will help you see yourself through someone else’s eyes. This someone else just happens to be a horse.

Awesome Group of Adventurous People!

You could be one of a carefully chosen group of special people who will share this day together. We keep this a small group so: 

1. You get much individual attention
2. You receive the benefit of observing others and learn through these observations
3. You have the ability to learn at your own pace

When: Friday, June 7 9:00 AM – 4 PM

Come yourself or come with a team.

Where: An Arabian Horse Farm in Richfield, Oh

HorseTalk is offered four times in 2024:

• June 7
• July 12
• August 23
• October 11

Email us at [email protected] for more information or to RSVP to one of our events.

Ask me about my 10 in 10!