Category Archives: All blog posts

What are your Big Rocks?

Stephen Covey died today. He was the author of the highly acclaimed “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” as well as “First Things First” and many other motivational books. If you carried around a daily planner before the days of the smartphone, chances are it was a FranklinCovey version, through which he brought his time management system to life.

Perhaps more impressive, he was a father of nine, a grandfather of 52 and a great-grandfather of two! He died from complications of an injury he sustained while riding his bike this spring – at the age of 79. Seventy-nine and out bike riding. Love that.

I had almost forgotten how many of the little mantras I mutter throughout the day to keep myself on track came from him, a man I’ve never met in person, but whose words and ideas were so powerful I’ve carried them with me and made them my own.

“Begin with the end in mind.”

“Is my ladder leaning against the right wall?”

“Seek first to understand, then to be understood.”

“Put first things first”

Covey famously illustrated that last gem with a demo using big rocks, smaller rocks, sand, and two buckets. He’d have a participant in one of his seminars fill up a bucket with sand and then see how many big and small rocks she could fit in. (Hint: Not many!) Then, he’d have her fill a second bucket STARTING with the big rocks, followed by the smaller ones, and ending by pouring in the sand, which sifted easily through the cracks to fill the spaces in between the rocks. Result? Everything fit. His analogy was simple; in your day, put the big rocks in first – your family, your most important projects, your health. Without that level of prioritization and focus, they may be squeezed out by far less important tasks.

I can’t tell you how often this has helped me as I face my own sandpile of to-do items. Making my health, my husband, and my children non-negotiable priorities followed by my most important projects (professional or personal) is a habit that serves me. Without it, I could get sucked into the Facebook/Pinterest/NYTimes.com abyss. I could cross twenty unimportant things off my list, leaving the one or two that would really make a difference undone. I may feel “productive” but would my productivity have an impact?

So today, will you identify your own BIG ROCKS? Will you make a list and take care of those rocks before you do anything else? What a way to honor Stephen Covey’s legacy – and build your own in the process.

 

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Grilled Salmon with Apricot-Orange Glaze

My kids adore salmon. It is their favorite entree, bar none. In fact, I rarely get to eat a full portion of salmon because I’m constantly augmenting the plates of my three hungry munchkins. Now, if a 2, 4, and 7 year old are going to agree on a favorite food, salmon is certainly a fine choice in my book, with the many known health benefits derived from its omega 3 fatty acids. These particular fatty acids are the good, unsaturated kind, unlike those found in red meat and dairy products. Not all fatty acids are created equal, you see. Omega-3 fatty acids specifically are believed to decrease triglycerides, lower blood pressure, reduce blood clotting, boost immunity, improve arthritis symptoms, and improve learning ability in children. (What? Improve LEARNING ability?) Indeed! You know the DHA that is being added to prenatal vitamins and baby formula and toddler foods to boost brain health? Guess what that is. Yup, good old omega 3 fatty acids. Now you know.

So if you’re interested in raising a family of super-smart kiddos with super-human immune systems (wink), you’ll take my lead and introduce them to salmon. This preparation is a great place to start; just watch out –  the sweet glaze will have them stealing bites from your plate, and you want some of those omega-3 health benefits for yourself!

 

Grilled Salmon with Apricot-Orange Glaze

 

serves 4

 

Ingredients:

4 – 6 oz. salmon fillets

canola oil

1/4 cup orange juice (*see note below)

1/4 cup apricot preserves

4 teaspoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon orange zest

 

Directions:

1. Preheat grill to medium heat. Brush salmon fillets lightly with oil and season with salt and pepper to taste.

2. Combine the orange juice, apricot preserves, lemon juice, and orange zest in a medium skillet. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook for about 5 minutes until it has reduced to a thick, syrupy glaze and measures about 1/4 cup.

3. Brush grill grates with a little oil to prevent the salmon from sticking. Place salmon on grill skin side down. For 1″ thick fillets, grill 6-8 minutes for medium.

4. Drizzle glaze over salmon and serve.

 

Note: Zest an orange for the 1 teaspoon of orange zest and then squeeze it for the 1/4 cup of orange juice.

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When Women Stop Hating Their Bodies…

When women stop hating their bodies…

How would you finish that sentence? The vision that stretches forth at the end of that sentence is one of the things that wakes me up in the morning. I can’t quite see all the details but I just know it will be an epic shift. The chained-up potential we’d collectively unlock would be enormous. We’d do BIG THINGS.

Thinking about it reminds me of a Women’s Studies course I took at Cornell one year with my dear friend Joanne. Our professor, Sandra Bem, was asserting that we’d never really know what the world would be like with true gender equality until we experienced it – until fully half of our doctors were women, half of our Senators, half of our professors, half of our CEOs, half of our airplane pilots and so on. Her lesson was a powerful one for an auditorium of 20 year old women, and it gives me pause even today. The notion of true gender equality is one of those things with an impact so far-reaching that it will be difficult to fully grasp until it actually occurs.

Yet while we can’t just flip a switch and make it so, we can do our part to move the world a bit closer to the vision – by taking a job in a field dominated by men, by educating and inspiring our young girls, by cheering one another on instead of competing viciously for some tiny slice of the pie. No, we can’t fully imagine the end state, perhaps, but we can see the path. And we can walk our piece of it.

So too with body hatred. I’m ready for the day when women stop hating their bodies and step into their potential. The question is, are you?

 

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