05 Apr An Office at the Ocean
Please read the full article at Community Magazine – “Living Well – An Office at the Ocean”
Travel
17 Mar Living Well Column by DL as seen in Community Magazine
Living Well Lifelong Learning
“Education is a lifelong journey whose destination expands as you travel.”
I had lunch last week with one of my favorite travel pals. Elaine had just returned from a cross country RV tour and had lots of interesting experiences to share with a fellow travel junkie. I love Elaine for a lot of reasons but I was especially grateful for her enlarging conversation this month at Seed to Sprout because dreary February was starting to sabotage my sunny psyche. Elaine was the perfect elixir on that dim day. Here are three things that brightened my day:
1. Creative minds energize one another. The day may have been dark, but she was bright with ideas for 2018. Hibernating this winter? Consider connecting with an interesting friend that you haven’t seen in awhile. I guarantee you’ll learn something new as you share your travel adventures.
2. Elaine conquered the Bisbee1000 Stair Climb in Arizona this past October during her cross country RV adventure. This 4.5 mile course includes nine staircases connected by winding roads and an interesting history in Tombstone Canyon, Arizona. Reserve your spot in 2018 on Oct 2 if you dare at www.Bisbee1000.org.
3. To balance our busy work lives, Elaine and I always compare notes on our yoga and wellness modalities. I shared some highlights from my recent yoga teaching assignment in Cabo San Lucas and invited her to my next yoga gig in Dominican Republic in March. She brought me up to speed on her long term success with rolfing which I admitted knowing too little about. Rolfing is a bit like having someone do yoga for you. In short, rolfing is all about structural alignment. Created by Dr Ida Rolf, an American biochemist, this system seeks to deeply manipulate and reorganize the connective tissue(known as the fascia) that permeates the entire body. Rolfing can be thought of as a cross between physical therapy and massage where the practicioner applies slow, deep stretching around the joints to lengthen tissue and free up the fascia so your body motors the way it was meant to move. It’s a great compliment to a yoga or pilates practice to support structural integration and a super movement therapy for pain relief. Learn more locally by asking for Rebekah at www.fromept.com. This husband and wife team have been sharing this healing modality for decades from their locations that include Manhattan, Montclair and now Asbury Park.
Elaine and I agreed to keep moving and grooving this winter and to always support one another’s lifelong learning goals tempered with trending travel tips far and wide. Learn more about Elaine’s adventures at www.NotJustADaydream.com.
15 Feb Stretch Limos and Lifelong Learning
I’m not accustomed to stretch limosines transporting me to and from the airport as a conference keynoter. That said, it was a nice experience and a pleasant surprise upon arrival in Sin City. Vegas is over the top and so should its livery be too, right? Problem is, as a yogi and businessowner, I’m predisposed to practicing “less is more” and “is that overhead cost productive?” Limos are too big, too glammy and too flashy for my practical business bones and purposeful yoga practice. But, I went along for the ride, because traveling BIG for a change might be just the stretch assignment I needed. And, since stretch assignments are meant to be enlarging and often uncomfortable, I was in the perfect seat for some learning. Did I unconsciously manifest this moment? Yes and No.
No, I was not visualizing or vision boarding a stretch limo at this national keynote for insurance premium auditors. A limo was not in my speaking contract or on my business bucket list. When I’m speaker traveling, the usual pick up looks like a croweded shuttle, a taxi or an Uber experience worthy of a blogpost. But, in some ways, yes, I probably did manifest that limo because as a corporate consultant and keynoter, I am:
- Flexible
- Respectful
- Enthusiastic
and genuinely interested in contributing to the success of a conference. I recognize there are a lot of moving parts, things change rapidly and that cultivating lasting relationships with event planners requires that I show up routing for event success as a participating team member. So when I’m coaching with clients that want to get the respect they deserve, the success they’ve earned and the life they want, I suggest they start by hailing a taxi or blogging about tips to travel humbly and helpfully. Their limos will all line up later!
22 Aug Leadership Lessons in the Great Outdoors
As Malcolm Forbes once said. “Education’s purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one.” As many of us prepare for back to school adventures, I’m reminded of an outdoor classroom experience shared with friends this summer. Here are a few things we learned in the wild west wilderness this year:
We hiked the Crown Jewel of the Continent, Glacier National Park. Established in 1910, this iconic beauty is our country’s 10th named national park rich with glacier carved perfect peaks, turquoise and emerald lakes and rich wildlife. The park is comprised of 1600 square miles and showcases much of its beauty by traveling the Going-To-The-Sun-Road. This twisting and sometimes terrorizing ride hugs deep gorges and hair pin turns. Students of all ages enjoy(or not!) 50 miles of winding wonder over the Continental divide with breathtaking views and vertical vistas. Lifelong learners climb 6,640 feet to the top of Logan’s Pass to trek alongside long bearded mountain goats grazing on snowy patches of ice in July. When’s the last time you caught sight of a pair of big horned rams? Every step in this classroom was a new experience.
We learned that Glacier National Park is linked with Canada’s Waterton Lakes National Park which created the world’s first International Peace Park. In 1995, this Peace Park became recognized as a World Heritage Site that showcases grizzly bears, wolves, lynx, bull trout and bison. The park maintains 71 species of mammals, 24 species of fish and symbolizes hope and a vision of unity for all. Visitors from around the globe converge with nature to celebrate the wonder of creation. We shared a shuttle with nature enthusiasts from Germany, Australia, Canada and the Canary Islands as we learned about more than 730 miles of hiking trails and climb options of over 10,000 feet skyward.
We rode horses most days to frame our western adventure. Taking a class in the great outdoors Montana style included bison burgers, big sky BBQs, chuck wagons and swooning cowboys telling tales of living on the range. Our fourth generation rancher and his team of wranglers made sure we agreed with Franklin Delano Roosevelt who once said, “There’s nothing more American than visiting our parks.” We couln’t agree more. Keep your return to school learning adventurous and live well!
DonnaLyn Giegerich MBA CIC RYT is the CEO/President of DLG Consulting, an integrated leadership training company that supports talent agility and skills development for professionals. Conference keynoter and executive coach, she delights in helping others develop resiliency and reinvention at www.DonnaLynSpeaks.com. Connect Facebook@DonnaLynSpeaks, Twitter@DonnaLynSpeaks, Instagram@DonnaLynConsults
06 Aug Victory in Vegas!
My last leadership conference keynote in Vegas for the National Association of Insurance Premium Auditors confirmed a number of positive trends:
1. All generations of “smart” auditors are busy at work listening, collaborating and relating with one another to showcase a higher level of innovative thinking in the insurance industry.
2. All the leaders I met agreed that emotional engagement and caring about colleagues while delivering excellent work product will continue to be the imperative for work well done in the future.
3. Embracing humility, curiosity and bias awareness will continue to be key leadership qualities as humans add value to work in a world of smart technology.
Would you agree? A great summer read for you might be Humility is the New Smart: Rethinking Human Excellence in the Smart Machine Age by Ed Hess. I’d love to hear your reviews!
If you’d like to build some humility this summer, join us for an hour of outdoor yoga. We’re here every Saturday until Labor Day 8:30am $10 pp suggested.
A portion of proceeds goes to send more “to sea for free” at our award winning non-profit, KickCancerOverboard.
Humility was at the center of our summit of Mount Washington this summer! Learn more about our teamwork and tenacity at www.DonnaLynSpeaks.com for the blogpost entitled “Rocky Resilience” or read my “Living Well” August column at www.communitymagazinenj.com
Presented recently on Reinvention and Resiliency at Monmouth County Workforce Development for executives in transition. If you or someone you know is interested in refining their engagement skills, feel free to drop me a line at DonnaLynSpeaks@gmail.com. Local workshops in motion.
Thanks for being part of our humble community,
DonnaLyn Giegerich MBA, CIC, RYT
President, DLG Consulting Red Bank NJ
Keynotes, Consulting & Success Coaching..
www.DonnaLynSpeaks.com
@DonnaLynSpeaks on FB/ Twitter
IG/DonnaLynConsults
DonnaLyn has been helping executives and leadership talent succeed with the intersection of her business building, conference speaking and wellness life. Catch her between keynotes and client care at 732-547-0894 for a conversation about your goals.