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When we are little, adults love to ask us, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” For a while, the answers are usually a mix of fantasy, imagination, and whatever feels exciting in the moment. Astronaut. Singer. Veterinarian. Teacher. President. Broadway star. Professional athlete. Sometimes all of them in the same week. For me, the answer did not really begin to solidify beyond fantasy until middle school, when I met Mr. Clausen, my 7th grade science teacher. He taught s

Years ago, I was standing in line at the "happiest place on Earth" with my kids. We were away. We were together. We were supposed to be in one of those rare pockets of time where the outside world fades and your full attention belongs to the people right in front of you. My phone rang. It was the middle school principal calling about grant applications. Not a crisis. Not an emergency. Not something that needed to interrupt a family trip. I still do not know why I picked up th

The Blizzard Pause There is something honest about a snow day. No pushing through. No rushing ahead. No pretending we control the weather. A blizzard does not negotiate with our calendars. It does not respond to urgency. It simply arrives, covers everything in white, and insists that we slow down. Maybe that is the lesson. As educators, leaders, parents, and humans who are wired to produce, we are rarely still. We measure ourselves in emails answered, meetings led, lessons de

There’s a powerful difference between leaders who serve and leaders who sacrifice themselves performatively. That difference shapes an organization's health, trust, and sustainability. Servant leadership lifts others. It creates space, builds capacity, and models balance, respect, and shared responsibility. Martyr leadership, on the other hand, disguises poor boundaries as dedication and turns exhaustion into a badge of honor. I worked for more than one leader who proudly rec

Mindful Monday: Permission to Go to the Concert Skipping the concert to “get ahead” at work can feel noble until we notice we’re always...