You Wouldn’t Let Them Play With Matches – Would You?

Note: This was the first blog I wrote in 2007, written in honor of my mother, Mary Kay Flannery. As the mother of ten children, she saw it all, achieved so much, and was a great role model for me. The lessons here can apply to any relationship where you can play a leadership role.

Twenty-something years ago when my two older children were just 3 and 4 years old, I was complaining to my mother about discipline issues. The kids weren’t behaving and I was sounding rather exasperated about what I wanted them to do or didn’t want them to do.

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Sunday Night Planning

It's Sunday night and I am using my "tree top planner" strategy. What that means is I imagine being up in the top of a tree looking down on my week ahead. I can spend a few minutes dreaming about what I want to accomplish, how I will feel at the end of the week when I've accomplished these things, how will I be closer to my master plan goals, who do I need or want to connect to this week, what have I made commitments to do?

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Prune To Your Heart’s Content

Note: This is one of my old favorite blogs from 2010. Enjoy!

I live in an old farmhouse in a suburb of CT. There are many mature trees including fruit trees in our yard.  Some of the fruit trees have very low branches that need pruning. Most of them are dead anyway. They don’t look good, they detract from the beauty of our yard and they get in the way when my husband mows the lawn!   

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Whose Job Is It?

What happens when 3 different people all think that one of the other two is taking care of something? The "something" doesn't get done! That's called "a poorly occupied role." When a role is not occupied, the job doesn't get done and the blaming, regrets, or frustration and stress begins. "No one paid the mortgage, contacted the client, or booked the hotel rooms for the guests ." 

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