Are you being arbitrary?

I recently was doing some business and couldn't understand why all of a sudden there was a line in the sand around one critical item. What I mean by line in the sand is a sort of artificial wall that exists for no reason other than the other party has decided they don't want to negotiate or converse anymore and they will not allow you to move past the line without argument. Have you ever had this happen to you during business or life discussions? In this particular case we had contracts around everything and I knew there was nothing i..
Is it Just Business? Part 1

"It’s not personal, it’s just business." Have you ever used that line or had it used on you? I have used it and been on the receiving end once or twice and I have to say, it is personal. The first time I heard it come out of my own mouth was in the heat of an angry moment with an employee years ago and the look on his face made me realize in that instant that it truly was personal for him. I have thought about that phrase for many years and I still don't understand how it came about. How can anything we do in business not be personal to ..
Big Mo Has a Plan. What’s Yours?

It was 4:15am Pacific Time as I walked out of the hotel to catch my car service to the airport for my flight home. I had only gotten to sleep around midnight so I was still a bit sleepy. Not so my driver Mo. His energy, courtesy and smile welcomed me as he opened the door so I could enter the car. I was curious about this man who demonstrated all the qualities of exceptional customer service. His dress, manner and speech were impeccable as was his car. Of course I had to ask what his story was. That was when I discovered Big Mo had a plan. N..
My Mom’s Birthday

Today, September 14th is the best day ever. It is my incredible Mom's birthday. I have been blessed in my life to have a mom, and dad, who support me, encourage me and love me unconditionally. My mom has been adopted by so many of my friends I have lost count. She is one of those special people who growing up all the kids just wanted to be around. My friends still like hanging out with her today and I am 49! My mom always encouraged me to never accept less than what I wanted and needed in my life even when she would always put her needs last..
33 years and counting she told me

I was flying out to an event in San Jose the other day and had the fortune to be sitting in the First Class cabin (I highly recommend it if you have the opportunity) when I struck up a conversation with the flight attendant. For those of you who know me, you know that is actually a routine occurrence. I strike up conversations with basically anyone willing to converse. What stood out for me this particular flight was that my flight attendant was a 33 year veteran of our air transportation system. It is rare to see someone in the flight cabin..
Are the answers you are getting what you want or what you need?

How do you even know? Do you even know what you need or want? I started seriously thinking about those questions a number of years ago when several areas of my life did not seem to be satisfying me. What I learned was the areas of my life and business that were not satisfying to me were ones I had chosen to not ask very deep questions around. That was when I realized that too often I stopped asking questions when I got the answer I wanted versus the answer I needed to move me forward. I stopped asking questions because it was easier to stay ..
What direction are you going?

Sounds like a simple question with a simple answer doesn’t it? No, it’s not a trick question but one that requires more thought than most of us give to the answer. I’ve learned that there is a bigger, more useful question than just asking what direction I am going. It is actually more important to ask, “Where do I want to be and, will where I am going get me there?” Too often we stay on a course that we set a long time again. We don’t reevaluate the course we are on as we are on it. We figure that any course we set must be a good..
A Ray of Light

A Ray of Light It was a beautiful day on the water as we took a tour of the Indian River on a pontoon boat for my birthday. We hung out with a dolphin pod for a while. Saw unbelievable birds, a shark and a loggerhead turtle. Not Crush but I keep hoping! With our time almost up the Captain headed for home but on the way we spotted a ray of some kind ahead of the boat. We decided to follow it to see if it would surface so we could get a photo. As the ray circled around our boat causing us to head back in the direction we had just left I kep..
Are you interested in information or transformation?

I spend a lot of time reading business and life transformation books and regularly attend seminars with some of the top experts in their fields to increase my knowledge to improve my life and my business. At times, I leave those events on fire to make changes in my life and business but something happens when I get home or back to work. The daily realities seem to push all the insights learned to the background and just never seem to get put into action. Does this sound familiar? How many times have you been to an event and written down a la..
Are you apologizing for joy?

I had to call a government office recently to see if I could reschedule jury duty. When they answered the phone it took them a moment to say hello because they were laughing so hard at something that was going on in the office around them. It truly sounded like a wonderful party was going on. When I asked her why all the laughter, she apologized and said there was a party for someone. For me, there were two things wrong on the start of that call. One, there was laughter at the county clerk’s office and two, she apologized for her joy! I pr..

Laura Atchison Blog

I recently was doing some business and couldn't understand why all of a sudden there was a line in the sand around one critical item. What I mean by line in the sand is a sort of artificial wall tha..

Is it Just Business? Part 1

"It’s not personal, it’s just business." Have you ever used that line or had it used on you? I have used it and been on the receiving end once or twice and I have to say, it is personal. The first..

Big Mo Has a Plan. What’s Yours?

It was 4:15am Pacific Time as I walked out of the hotel to catch my car service to the airport for my flight home. I had only gotten to sleep around midnight so I was still a bit sleepy. Not so my dri..

My Mom’s Birthday

Today, September 14th is the best day ever. It is my incredible Mom's birthday. I have been blessed in my life to have a mom, and dad, who support me, encourage me and love me unconditionally. My mom ..

33 years and counting she told me

I was flying out to an event in San Jose the other day and had the fortune to be sitting in the First Class cabin (I highly recommend it if you have the opportunity) when I struck up a conversation wi..

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