Someone I recently worked with — she was someone I had encountered in the past, but didn’t have a chance to get to know until a few weeks ago — was giving me advice on how to handle a situation that was expected to be quite nerve-racking. With a note of warmth in her voice, she gave me some incredibly simple advice.  Turns out, her words made a world of difference in my ability to complete the big project.

Without being too specific to the issue, here’s what she had to say:

• Stay centered and stay grounded.
• Keep it short, pithy and from the heart.
• Essentialize what you’ve learned.
• Highlight what made a certain experience ‘real’ to you.
• Breathe.

Advice for this specific situation…but also, I think, advice for life.

So I say to her:

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Thank you!