Welcome to Improvleadership

  Little moments in time 10/22/25  – Our lives are made up of thousands and thousands of little moments – why do some stand out, remain close to us while the rest fade away? Here are a few moments that will always be with me. Pulling up to my home just as they were putting my father’s body into the ambulance, biking on a summer night in 6th or 7th grade listening to Three Dog Night’s Joy to the World on my transiter radio, jumping off the roof (for a picture) and not landing as planned, being stopped by the police while delivering Christmas cookies with my mom (for allegedly going through a red light) and she told the police “I told him to go through,” the first time I drove a car by myself, performing at the Workshops of Second City graduation show and making people laugh, running on stage for my part in a play at UIC (and I had a line), kissing a girl for the first time in grammar school (her grandfather was driving us home from a party), my mom waiting in the living room when I walked in from that party (it was later than the agreed upon time to be home), our family doctor making a house call (I recall his big black bag), making homemade fireworks and testing them in my basement (in grammar school), driving in my 1967 Mustang convertible on a summer night going down East River Road and how cool the temperature was going through the forested area, running down the beach in Malibu and stopping to splash water on my face (forgetting it was salt water), smashing the tips of two of my fingers at a friend’s house (in grammar school) when some heavy pipes landed on them, in the emergency room (for the two fingers) when the doctor drilled a hole in each nail to relieve the pressure, my mom coming home from work and seeing my two fingers bandaged (I wasn’t supposed to leave the house that day), leaving school early when my grandfather died in 1967, a girl in grammar school whispering “I love you” as she passed out her Valentine cards, being involved in a car accident and being asked to leave the scene before I had any of the other driver’s information (a Lincoln Town Car hit me and my family while I was driving my 1986 Civic – I was pretty upset to put it mildly). Throughout our lives there are many moments we can recall that had some impact on us – they were important to us in some way or stood out in some way. They were exciting, sad, happy, scary, bewildering, confusing or simply out of the ordinary. Perhaps we learned a life lesson, or we experienced something new, or it was emotionally charged. These little moments are why we are the way we are, and they shaped our lives in some way. The moments that have faded away are either because they weren’t significant or perhaps, we wanted to try to forget them. 

10 fun facts about colonoscopies 10/4/25 – I just had my fifth colonoscopy, and it made me think of some fun facts associated with them. 1) It is an instant weight loss diet (if you struggle to lose weight this is for you), 2) You find commercials about food much more interesting than ever before, 3) You appreciate Dude Wipes more than you ever did before, 4) Your steps back and forth to the bathroom greatly complement your steps goal for the day, 5) You realize that talking about having a colonoscopy is not the big deal it used to be when you were younger, 6) You find that after drinking the solution you tend to stay awake for fear you might be sleeping when the next wave hits, 7) You look forward to the Propofol induced nap and wish this stuff was available over the counter, 8) You are no longer embarrassed when you have to wear a hospital gown after having several people view you naked from behind, 9) You feel very special when they wheel you to your ride in a wheelchair and 10) You appreciate solid food again (and realize you only fasted for a 1.5 days – you really are spoiled)! Bonus fact – you find out that getting a colonoscopy is just as controversial as other hot topics since there are people your age that swear they don’t need them and there are those that swear by them! 

2,114,380,800 seconds 9/27/25 – The number of seconds in 67 years – so the question is, “What have I done with all this time?” 8 hours a night for sleep = 704,304,000 seconds. Average person spends 30 minutes in the bathroom (I think I am above average here but that’s for another time) = 44,019.000 seconds. I have worked approximately 311,040,000 seconds (doesn’t count longer than 8-hour days). An hour a day eating = 88,038,000 seconds. So, taking out work, eating, sleeping and TT (toilet time) that still leaves me 966,979,800 seconds. What did I do with all this time? OK, there is much more time I need to account for such as, time spent in school, time spent driving, time talking (OK this is a major block of time), time spent on dates, time exercising etc. In order to get a handle on time spent during my lifetime, I hired an accounting firm to do an audit and there still is a big chunk of time they cannot account for – the only thing we could think of that would account for this lost time – alien abduction (this explains a lot)! 

10 reasons to celebrate the day you were born 9/20/25, 1) You are the center of attention (1 day out of 365 = that’s only .27% of the year – must try to squeeze in more days), 2) You can say you are an astronaut because you completely circled the sun once again, 3) You get to participate in group karaoke (you can easily blend in with the crowd), 4) Great reason to get a cake and put candles on it (use a fan to blow out the candles – post COVID no one is eating it if you blow them out with your mouth), 5) Presents/gifts/money etc. (need I say more?), 6) You are a year closer to retirement, Social Security, Medicare and death (aren’t you lucky), 7) You can reminisce about the things you used to be able to do, 8) You can announce at restaurants it’s you birthday and sometimes get free stuff, 9) You get to see who remembers your birthday especially if you aren’t friends on Facebook, and 10) You are still alive – perhaps you celebrate “I am still alive” every day that you are!  

Perfect storm anniversary 9/13/25 - September 2025 is the 11th anniversary of the most perfect storm I ever encountered. In September of 2014 I blew the disc at L4/L5 (pretty painful), was going through a divorce, had to find a new job (the company I worked for was being sold), I needed a new car (I was driving 110 miles a day to work with a car that had over 200,000 miles on it but couldn’t buy a new one until I was officially divorced) and I had to find a place to live (that’s all). At the time I had many questions and very few answers. The winds, rain, lightening, hail, and damage are long gone and now a distance memory. I was able to rebuild, clean things up and I learned some lessons. I learned that I could be independent and could navigate life on my own (although I do have to secure a ride home from my colonoscopies)! Most importantly I learned more about myself than I ever would have if I had stayed married. It’s been an interesting time to be alive because I enjoy life more now than ever. I enjoy the work I do (don’t know when I will retire), I have a good relationship with my children, I am in a good relationship, I still have my mother, I have my health, true friends and overall, I am happy. While the storm did disrupt my life, and it tossed me about and at one point, I wasn’t sure life was still worth living, I didn’t give up because the sky eventually cleared, the sun came out and slowly I figured out my new normal. I enjoy the freedom I have and appreciate what I have, and I know who I am (the good, the bad and the ugly) and I like who I am. It took a storm to wake me up; to open my eyes and it made me pay attention to what’s important in life.

  Decline 9/6/25 – a gradual and continuous loss of strength or quality, deteriorate. As my mom ages I can see a steady decline (I see changes, and it seems like they just happened overnight except it has been over a period of time). As I go through my day, I am realistic that I am changing as I age as well (changing not declining to be clear). For example, the morning after playing pickleball I am a little slower getting out of bed and moving around for the first few minutes. I am in no way complaining because it can always be worse. I was also talking with a friend of mine who is close to my age and he also admitted he can see changes in his abilities. It is important to recognize that decline isn’t just something that happens to other people and you need to realize you will experience some changes and hopefully you can adjust accordingly. A quote by Carl Sagan is most fitting, “We are like butterflies who flutter for a day and think it is forever” - flutter for as long as you can realizing you are more than just a butterfly.

10 rules for Aging 8/30/25 – 1) Always carry a Swifter with you so when you walk into a room and forget what you were going to do you can at least dust and it won’t be a wasted trip, 2) Buy a Dremel tool set and safety glasses (to protect your eyes from the pieces flying everywhere) to trim your toe nails, 3) Don’t clean your mirrors – the more cloudy and dirty the better you will look (hides wrinkles better than Botox)! 4) Realize some of your abilities will start to go (whatever you can no longer do either outsource or stop doing – it can’t be that important), 5) If anyone accuses you of moving slower simply tell them, you are conserving energy because groceries are so expensive you are trying to burn less calories and in turn will need to eat less, 6) Act like you can’t hear and ask people to repeat themselves (even if you can hear OK, it’s fun to watch people say it again, louder and slower), 7) Say pretty much what you want and do pretty much what you want to do – you have earned the right based on the membership dues you have paid to the human race, 8) Even if you are not leaving the house, trim the hair in your ears and in your nose (no one should have to see this), 9) Play music on speaker on your phone to hide the noises your joints and bones make when you walk and lastly 10) Stop coloring your hair and tell people you are now an environmentalist because you don’t want to put any ammonia, hydrogen peroxide, PPD (p-phenylenediamine), resorcinol or phthalates down the drain (or for that matter on your head). 

Why I write 8/23/25 -  A friend of mine recently told me, “Writers write not to express as much as to discover themselves” which I find has some truth to it. I asked myself “Why do I write?” -  Here are some reasons, 1) I enjoy expressing myself through the written word which I find I can do better (at times) than through the spoken word, 2) I hope to solicit a response from others that will spark a dialogue, 3) I find it challenging to come up with a “Thought of the Week” every week especially going on my 21st year of doing this, 4) I like to make others smile, laugh and think for a moment since we can all relate to the shared human experience, 5) I enjoy writing and I find it to be relaxing and a form of meditation, 6) I find it to be a creative outlet, 7) I enjoy storytelling and life to me is a series of stories that are waiting to be told, 8) Lastly, it is about discovery, discovering a little more about myself, others and the world around me. As the Airbnb commercial states, “The world is still full of wonder” and it is a writer’s responsibility to seek out that wonder, write about it and continue to travel on the road to discovery.