Life and leadership coaching. Transforming struggling do-gooders into change-making, profit-taking i
Missing my big boy a little extra. He’s away at college, and that’s all great. But he’s been sick! Just a cold. A crummy cold. And it feels weird to not be able to support him.
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This is one of my favorite pictures of him. We were having one of our front porch talks.
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Summer is supposed to be the most fun and exciting season. All adventures and activities.
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Sure, summer’s nice. I had a very good summer. AND, like the trees outside my window, I’m ready to release the leaves of summer of summer now. Let them glow a bit now, then let them go.
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I’m ready for autumn and all the ways it moves us to slow down, feel the wisdom of the natural world, and look inward.
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I hope yours was a joyful summer. What autumn joys are you looking forward to? I share a few of mine in the comments.
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I CHEATED. YOU’RE WELCOME.
Day 4
Class of 2024 Senior Photo Challenge:
Everyday I will select a photo of my senior, post the image without explanation, and then nominate someone else to take the challenge. I will nominate someone new for the challenge each day. That's 5 days, 5 photos, 5 nominations, 0 explanations. Today I nominate Pinar Aksoy. ❤️❤️
I CHEATED. YOU’RE WELCOME.
Day 4
Class of 2024 Senior Photo Challenge:
Everyday I will select a photo of my senior, post the image without explanation, and then nominate someone else to take the challenge. I will nominate someone new for the challenge each day. That's 5 days, 5 photos, 5 nominations, 0 explanations. Today I nominate Pinar Aksoy ❤️❤️
There you are. I see you, old friend.
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Last first day of high school. 😢🥰😁
How did my baby grow up so quickly? Tage is kind, funny, always a good friend, and a great student. Love him so very much. ❤️
P.S. Yep! The lawn looks sad. Home and yard renovations underway. I will share improvements as they come.
Working through The Rise Way you’ll find you’re developing a sort of upward spiral of questions and insights. If you’re repeatedly asking yourself the kinds of questions that lead to more questions, that’s a good thing.
Longest day of the year. Same stars, different point of view. Different day, same daily habit- get outside, pay attention, be aware of the amazing world alive all around me.
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One example of a presence practice I use to stay emotionally centered and aligned in my core values… like reverence for our natural world.
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As I’ve refined my process, I’ve been really emphasizing that it* begins by getting present (“presence”) to who you are and what you believe in. (“IT” = living and leading “the rise way”.)
Some fun new graphics for the Rise brand. New look, same awesome system: 3 pillars and 7 habits, so you can achieve your ideal, aligned life and leadership.
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Stay tuned for some fun announcements.
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It’s Spring and remarkable changes are sprouting all around. No better time to bloom into something new again. 🌼 Coming soon- The Rise Way platform re-launch INCLUDING an awesome re-blooming of the podcast. 🎤
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Hooray, Mountain View Thunder Boys Basketball! 💙🏀💚 They just wrapped up a great season with a District Championship and a run at the WIAA State tournament.
It’s been fun watching them play this season, and it’s a pleasure to cheer for such fine young men. We’re grateful for this program’s emphasis on character and sportsmanship.
Big thanks to all the fun MVHS fans who make the games more exciting with their positive cheers and theme attire! Kudos to MVHS’s Leadership program, ASB, Cheer Team, Pep Band, and Dance Team.
And our coaching staff has formed into a great team, too! Head Coach JC Alexander is developing a coaching culture with a great mix of leaders invested in knowing and challenging and supporting our kids. It’s been fun to watch how each of these men reach out to the boys with a mix of toughness and kindness, honesty and praise. ⚡️
Finally… parents! We know, right? The time and money invested in years of athletics is one thing. But- ugh- the having to step waaaay back now that they’re young men and REALLY don’t need us to triple check that they’ve packed their water bottle or whatever 😂, that letting go is a different kind of hard. Now we take our place in the stands, and we let the kids and their coaches do their thing. ⚡️🏀
It takes a village, and the MV Village is a great one. Well done, EVERYONE!
P.S. Check out Howard Hawk’s photo site to purchase pics. He does a great job covering Thunder sports.
No rush! Ease into 2023. We’re in the deep dark of winter. We’re emerging from the holiday haze. Here’s my challenge to you. Create some time and space. Settle in with a warm drink, and let yourself reflect. What were some joys of 2022? What lit you up? What are you grateful for? WHO are you grateful for? Pay attention to how you felt, how you feel, how you want to feel.
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Happy 17th birthday, Tage. ❤️
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This sweet, smart, sooo super funny boy is nearly a man. Truly, I marvel at his joy. His capacity for kindness. How he thinks critically about issues, but is NEVER critical of people.
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Tage, you inspire me to be better. You make me proud. And you make me laugh ‘til I’m a weazing, crying mess. 😂
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I’m the lucky one! Love you to the moon 🌙 and back 🌎.
“When despair for the world grows in me •
and I wake in the night at the least sound •
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be, •
I go and lie down where the wood drake •
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.•
I come into the peace of wild things•
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. •
I come into the presence of still water. •
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time •
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free”
-The Peace of Wild Things, Wendell Berry
Finding comfort in these familiar words as I process the state of the world. Some part of me chants them to myself as I walk. Like a funeral dirge as I step, thinking of the 19 children and 2 teachers.
“For a time I rest in the grace of the world…” I needed that rest and reflection. And now, time to get back up and get to work.
We’ve got a world to change.
This old lesson is new again for me.
Productivity is not always about output. It can be about producing a result, achieving a goal.
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If the goal is a sustainable business over the long run, and if the result is a positive impact, a pause can be productive.
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I’ve had a pause the past several weeks. Seems I needed to take my own advice. Watch for some changes in the focus of the “Rise and Shine” podcast, more tangible and actionable content and coaching from me, and more.
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I’ve joined the ranks of those who got you-know-what without realizing it… I think, my Dr. thinks… and I’m doing extra diligent work to get back into the swing of things.
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How are you, friends? What style of productive will you be this week?
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The power of re-framing. I use this reframe a lot. When I want to DO something. I see the chaos, pain, and problems in the world, and I feel inspired to take action. Know the feeling? Then…
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Then you realize the immensity of it all, and you wonder, “What difference can I possibly make? I’m just a drop in the ocean.”
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“A drop in the ocean” implies insignificance. Rumi reframes this. “You are the entire ocean.” You possess the essence and energy of all that is. “In a single drop.” In one individual. In one life.
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We’re not isolated, separate. We’re powerful potential. We can tap into the essence of all that is. We can claim the power to do something, to create change. We are kindness, we are love, and we can offer healing.
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I felt this today. My son had surgery at a children’s hospital. He’s all good. No worries. But I see parents tense with worry, on the edge of despair. Then how it seems to melt away when a nurse or doctor gives them her energy, lends comfort. The entire ocean of love in a single drop of human compassion.
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Who’s Hannah Gadsby?!? Oh, please. If you missed the comedy special “Nanette”, put it on your Spring Break watch list. PLEASE.
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Because then you’ll be ready to read her new book, “Ten Steps to Nanette”. And then I’ll have friends with whom to chat about it (“with whom to chat about it” sounds like something she’d say”!
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But, seriously. Just watch Nanette. And then, after you’ve watched it, if you also want to chat about why legislation like the “Don’t say gay” ridiculousness actually IS very, very harmful, I’d be happy to have that chat.
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And, why can’t we all just love each as we are? Just wondering.
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Follow her
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MYTH! Vision boards don’t work like magic. And if you just use them to imagine the outcomes you desire, studies suggest they don’t work at all.
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The value of vision boards is not in savoring the DREAM. It is in savoring the PROCESS.
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Creating a vision board requires a process. Want to learn more? See comments in post.
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It’s tempting… to cope with all these many challenges of our world by adjusting- adjusting our standards, adjusting our expectations, adjusting ourselves.
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In the short term you might save yourself some disappointment, but in the long run? We forfeit our true selves. And we forfeit our world.
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To avoid the whole “go along to get along” syndrome, takes effort. Not a lot of effort. Little, daily, consistent consciousness.
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First step? Pay attention. You can tune in to your instincts. But first you have to learn to pay attention.
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In the new episode of my podcast “Rise and Shine with Kerri Altom” I’m offering some insights, ideas, and actionable steps you can take to STAY TRUE TO YOU.
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Because we need you. The world needs you. So we can rise into that brighter future.
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Ready to RISE?
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Headed toward the weekend! How will you rest and restore yourself?
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The new season of my podcast is out now. Look for episode #23. (“The Michael Jordan Episode”! J.K.) The entire season is all about getting a reset.
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We give a lot of ourselves. And when the whole world feels out of control it can be a struggle to keep believing our hard work makes any difference at all.
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We need to rest, to restore our energy. We need to reflect, to renew our commitments. So we can emerge into spring refreshed.
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We need a RESET. Listen to “Rise and Shine with Kerri Altom”, all of Season 3, start with episode 23.
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Let’s get the reset go’en!
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Happy birthday, Mom! Born Sharon Thora Mattson on 3/19/1939.
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She would be 83 years old. Think raising a child is the hardest job of all? Imagine raising 7. Seven kids! Pretty much solo. Harder than solo. And pretty much always broke. But also full of love. And laughs. So many good laughs.
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Mom considered herself rich in friends, in family, and her kids.
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Sure wish I could go back in time and make her life a less difficult. Give he a reliable car to drive. A home of her own, with a squeaky screen door and a good clothes line… That’s what she wanted.
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With 15 grandchildren, 3 great grandchildren, 1 babe on the way, and more to come… we’re shining “Grandma Sharon’s” light into the infinite, always.
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P.S. We used to tease her about her middle name. “Thora”. Now I love it! Goddess of Thunder. A nod to her Norwegian heritage. If I’d had a girl….?
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Sunrise? Sunset? You decide.
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Same with our current reality. We’re moving into post-pandemic life now. Two years later.
•What will we decide these two years have meant for us?
•What we will decide for our future?
•Are we going to keep on enduring, stay is our reactive fight-flight-freeze-fawn modes?
•We can choose to reset. Yep, you get a reset. And I’m happy to help you with that.
• The rest of the month of March we are putting two years of pandemic behind us, and we are doing a post pandemic reset.
• we’re hosting a Burn Party tonight… To participate just list out all your grievances from the last two years. All your toxic thoughts. All your negative associations. We’re going to tear it up, burn it up, and let it go.
Join us tonight! https://facebook.com/events/s/flicker-fire-flash-burn-party/385133233442790/
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FOR INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY I’m moderating a panel for the “WOMEN WHO MEAN BUSINESS” symposium hosted by the Greater Vanvouver Chamber of Commerce. | My guest on this week’s podcast is symposium speaker, author, and etiquette expert Jacqueline Whitmore. She was a good sport as I pushed back a little bit about the notion of etiquette. | It seems to me etiquette has been used throughout history as a way to define women’s roles, control our expression, and impose behavior standards. But, Jacqueline explains that modern etiquette is something quite different. | As leaders, activists, and change makers we have to find a way to strike a balance between passive courtesy and pushing for meaningful change. But rejecting formalities of the past doesn’t mean we reject etiquette altogether. | Jacqueline shares the new etiquette and the single, simple guiding rule that will help you release your worries so you can enjoy engaging with others. Modern etiquette can boost confidence, inspire compassion, and create better relationships as we do our work in the world. | Big thanks to Jacqueline Whitmore for her kind and patient conversation. I’m eager to hear what you think! | #internationalwomensday #vanchamberusa #modernmanners #womeninbusiness #whenwomenlead #togetherrising
Autumn joy. Listen for the sound of a neighbor raking her leaves. ✌🏽🧡☺️ #autumnjoy #forestbathing
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