A few years ago, on one beautiful, blue sky and hot Sunday morning I was driving to town when one friend called me. He asked me to park my car and call him back. He needed to talk to me urgently.     When I parked my car I called him back. “ What is so important ? I asked, a bit annoyed as I was already late to get to my appointment. “ Janne is dead ”, he said, “ the paramedics tried to revive him but he did not make it ”.     BOOOMMMMMM!!! Life is short. It truly is.  For some, life ends sooner than it should. And on that day, I had a harsh reminder of this when I received that call to let me know that my first husband unexpectedly passed away, way too soon. I could not breathe, so I got out of the car in search of air. I wanted to run but was only able to take 2 steps before my legs gave up on me. So I fell on the floor and just stayed there crying, in complete disbelief.  As it turned out, the world did not collapse even if I did, temporarily. It is hard...

  Have you ever been in a meeting and wanted to speak up but told yourself that you were not ready? That you would wait until next meeting when maybe you would feel more confident?   Have you ever wanted to put yourself forward for a promotion but felt that you needed to have more experience and more knowledge to be able to feel confident enough to take that step?   Have you ever heard someone speaking at a conference and thought „I wish I could speak one day at a conference, if ever I would be confident enough“ ?   Are you waiting until you feel more confident?   I was.  I was waiting to feel more confident before speaking up in meetings. I was waiting to feel more confident before starting my blog. I was waiting to feel more confident before starting to coach. I used to think that, one day, the stars, the moon, and the planets would all align themselves perfectly and from that day onwards I would feel confident and ready to do all the things I wanted to. ...

We have all been there. That moment when you feel those butterflies in your stomach giving you that nausea feeling, when your heart starts beating so fast you are afraid it might explode, when your mouth suddenly goes dry like you would be in the middle of the Sahara desert or when the palms of your hands get so sweaty that looks like you just washed them. And then the voice that tells you « you will screw this up». You know the voice I am talking about, the one that keeps reminding you that « you are not good enough, why you are even trying to do this?». We all feel fear at some point in our lives. Perhaps it’s a presentation you need to give, a meeting you are going to lead or a job interview you are about to go to. The problem is when you let that voice win and you back down. Yes, there is an immediate sense of relief, the sick feeling on your stomach goes away. You can breathe normally again. And the voice tells you that you have avoided what could have been a disaster. Phew ! In r...

How many times did you hesitate doing something you really wanted for fear of failing or fear of making a fool out of yourself in front of others ? How many times did you not raise your hand and kept your mouth shut when there was something you really wanted to say ? How many times did you tell yourself that you are not good enough to take that chance ? Well, you are not alone. None of us is immune to fear – of failing, of rejection, of criticism, of disapproval… In fact, whenever we enter unfamiliar territory or we put ourselves out there into the world, we experience fear. I know fear well. What you need to know about me is that I have lived my life with many fears. In fact, the seeds of fear have been planted in me in my childhood by my well intentioned and over protective mother. “That is dangerous, you are going to hurt yourself, don’t do it.” She still tells me to this day. So I have been constantly second guessing my decisions, doubting my skills, and playing ...