This is real life.
So there is no cause to get panicked that because of recent economic shakeups, tariffs, threats of a recession, and wild market fluctuations, you will end up in financial ruin.
Your life will not mimic that of the fictional Victory Ratliff (so perfectly played by Parker Posey) in the recent finale episode of “The White Lotus,” when her husband, Timothy, says their lives are about to change because they have lost all semblance of wealth and prosperity.
“Nooooo.”
Read MoreThe delicately sweet aroma of citrus blossoms brought back a powerful sensation as I stepped outside of my Arizona home this April Fools’ Day.
It was the scent I’d first experienced on this exact date: April 1, 1978.
I had taken a late evening flight from my Odessa, Texas home to Phoenix the night before, following a quick trip to a department store to buy a proper suit for an interview that had come a year sooner than my intentions.
On the morning of April 1, I stepped out into the bright Arizona sun.
The unfamiliar scent permeated the air. It wasn’t harsh or cloying, more like a softly perfumed pillow around me. I thought I had landed in some sort of paradise.
Little did I know my life would take a pivotal turn, which I have ever since associated with the aroma of citrus blossoms.
Read MoreThis is not an April Fool’s joke: Women are more stressed than men at work now. Maybe that is not even a surprise.
Yes, the stress you feel is real and most everybody in America right now is feeling it at work and home—it is just apparently affecting women more. Denying the stress is counterproductive; how you handle it is key to reducing its impact on you and the entire workplace culture.
Read MoreAnxiety is in the air. You can feel it everywhere — layoffs, political uncertainty, the gnawing fear that the earth is shifting beneath our feet.
In times like these, leadership can feel impossible. How can you lead when you don’t even know what the next week will bring?
The truth is courage to lead isn’t knowing all the answers. It’s stepping forward even when you don’t.
Read MoreWhat an amazing International Women’s Day 2025 I was privileged to experience! It was equal measure inspiring celebrations of women’s progress and passionate calls to action to change the state of the world for women, where rights won are being lost and many protections of equal treatment are being erased a warp speed.
The two events I attended both received well deserved standing ovations.
That’s because of the way each exemplified progress is possible through struggle and movement building. And each illustrated a poignant reminder that no step forward is forever unless there is constant activism.
Read MoreOn the third day of #womenshistorymonth, I’m reflecting on promises fulfilled and unfulfilled of the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women. I attended it in Beijing in 1995.
I was in the room where it happened 30 years ago. Two rooms where it happened, actually.
The experience was life changing. World changing. But that was then.
Read MoreAt the close of Black History Month, which began in 1915 in this country, and was made into law in 1986, Take The Lead salutes 10 Black women leaders across industries and influence. Diving into their contributions and keen advice for leaders today, there is so much wisdom to glean that moves far past one month of the year. And into forever.
In spite of Google eliminating its visual salute to the month and the Department of Defense declaring it erased—as well as Women’s History Month and National Disability Employment Month—Take The Lead acknowledges the depth and breadth of Black women in business, entrepreneurship, education, media and all of American culture far past the calendar mont of the year.
Read MoreMadeleine moved to a new state with her husband who got a great job there, but she felt the loss of grounding without family and friends and the stimulation of a large city. She approached me to volunteer for Take The Lead and we began to work on a plan.
“I’m feeling alive again,” she said.
In our fast-paced, often overwhelming world, anxiety, fear, and depression can creep in like shadows at dusk — persistent, heavy, and seemingly insurmountable. Yet, hidden in the very act of taking a step forward is a powerful remedy. Action, even in its smallest form, can serve as the antidote to these pervasive feelings.
Read MoreAs the global digital communications director for Ford Motor Company, Gwen Jimmere had a company car that was a baby blue Mustang convertible, passes to the Super Bowl and paid travel around the world. But it was not what she wanted ultimately wanted to do.
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