Liz Trocchio Smith
Certified Executive Business Coach
and Trusted Advisor
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American workers are notorious for being workaholics. Since March of 2020, an overwhelming majority of U.S. employees have shortened, postponed or canceled their vacation time. Another recent study found that 26% of respondents had never taken two weeks of vacation at one time. And The Center for Economic and Policy Research has gone so far as to call the U.S. the “No Vacation Nation.” But leaving vacation time on the table…
I spotted these last week and knew they were worthy of sharing. The Four Agreements, by Don Miguel Ruiz Be Impeccable With Your Word Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the Word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your Word in the direction of truth and love. Don’t Take Anything Personally Nothing others do is because of you. What others say…
And you thought Halloween was all about Trick or Treat? Read on for some fun facts about Halloween you may not know, and then pass them on! People Used to Trick-or-Treat for Food and Drinks – Forget collecting candy, the earliest traces of trick-or-treating were of people dressing up as evil creatures or ghosts and asking for food and drinks. Cheerful, happy costumes were not a thing! Trick-or-Treating Became an…
Not everyone looks forward to Monday’s. Some of us can just get up and go, and others, well, can’t. If you are one of the latter and you get a case of the Monday blues, there are a few rituals you can do to help you get your week started right. They take a little extra effort at first, but once you form these great habits, you will find they…
The influence of those around us is so powerful. Many times we don’t even realize we’re being strongly affected because influences generally develop over an extended period of time. Peer pressure is an especially powerful force because it is so subtle. If you’re around people who spend all they make, chances are excellent that you’ll spend all you make. If you are around people who don’t read, chances are excellent…
Today we celebrate Columbus Day. The first recorded ceremony commemorating Columbus in America occurred in 1792, 300 years after his famous first voyage in 1492. To honor Columbus, a ceremony was held in New York, and a monument was dedicated to him in Baltimore, Maryland. In 1892, a statue of Columbus was raised at Columbus Avenue in New York City. Further, at the Columbian Exposition held in Chicago…
This past week my mom had a birthday. I won’t tell you her age, but it was a significant number. She works out 5 days a week and has quite a large group of friends that work out with her. We had a birthday party, which consisted of High Afternoon Tea, for her and 20 of her friends at a little Tea Cafe in Dallas. As I watched the group…
If you are looking for a good read, pick up Jon Gordon’s book, The Carpenter. It is truly a must-read. The Carpenter is an engaging parable of a high-powered entrepreneur who recaptures his sense of purpose through working with (and learning from) a blue-collar artisan. The highlight of the book is the following promise: I vow to stay positive in the face of negativity; When I am surrounded by pessimism, I will choose…
Thanks to my good friend Kathy for sharing this with me. I now share it with you. Remember, if a dog was the teacher you would learn things like: When your loved ones come home, always run to greet them. Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride. Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure Ecstasy. Take naps. Stretch before…
As we wrap up the 42 Rules To Lead by Jonathan Rosenberg, SVP of Products for Google, the last lesson on Rules focuses on Humility. Never Stop Learning – School is never out. Your education is never over. Part of being humble is realizing how much you don’t know. “Learn something new so you can remember how hard it is to learn. Corollary: teach something so you can learn.” Grow…
We are close to wrapping up our 42 Rules to Lead by Google’s SVP of Product Strategy, Jonathan Rosenberg. Our next Rule is Innovation. Creativity can’t be managed – Too many companies micro-manage the creative process. That doesn’t work. “Creativity can’t be allocated, it can be budgeted, it can be measured, it can be tracked and encouraged, but it can’t be dictated.” “In a Darwinian process for weeding out…