ON OUR MINDS
Check out our latest blog posts about relationships and leadership. For updates straight to your inbox, subscribe to the newsletter.
DEAR SALLY
Find out how our wisest mare, Sally, responds to your human questions and conundrums. She’s a bay mare with a lot of heart, a wise mind and the courage to keep boundaries clear and her herd stable. She’s got great leadership and generously offers horse solutions to human problems.
ON OUR MINDS
Check out our latest blog posts about relationships and leadership. For updates straight to your inbox, subscribe to the newsletter.
OUR BLOG
Nature Has No Due Dates: Lessons from the Frontline of Foaling Season
As prolifically thinking and talking mammals, human animals often lose sight of ourselves as a part of the natural world. We talk about nature as if it’s a faraway land we visit, when in fact, we’re inextricably woven into [...]
Mindfulness Schmindfulness: Reality Is a Pain
Mindful eating. Mindful drinking. Mindful working. Mindful napping. Mindful this, and mindful that. Mindful purchasing of mindfulness-branded goods and services. If you’ve been to a grocery store, a mall, a school, the internet, anywhere, in the past year or [...]
On Sunbathing and Kindness: One Big Lesson in Presence
I snapped this photo last week and couldn’t help smile at the ease with which these horses chose to pass a lovely afternoon in the sun. There was no angst about what they should be doing instead. No contemplation [...]
The Animals are Honest
I grew up in the Detroit area and you have to look a few generations back to find any rural folks. My uncle Lenny and I are the only members of the extended family with an interest in farm/ranch life [...]
Mindfulness in the Minefield: Reclaiming Calm in the Office
You’re at your desk and the phone rings. The hairs stand up on back of your neck when the number flashes on the phone’s face: it’s your boss’ admin and you do not have anything scheduled with your boss. [...]
When Hope Hurts: Waiting for Truth in the Corporate Parking Lot
I remember lots of things about my first corporate job. But the thing that stands out the most, the memory I’ll never forget, is pulling into the parking lot in the morning and feeling physically unable to leave my [...]
Corporate Grief: When the Workplace Breaks Your Heart
When I transitioned from my private practice as a therapist to leadership consulting in the corporate sector, I figured the psychic heaviness of my role would lift some. I knew that people’s work lives were ridden with relationship conflicts, [...]
The Problem With Problems
Many of us (myself included) believe that we’re pretty good problem-solvers. I love tinkering with a problem. I love brainstorming about a problem. I really love giving people advice about a problem (and somehow manage to earn my living [...]
Corporate Corral: Conferencing in Captivity
I just got off a weekly conference call with members of the Circle Up team. The call often runs well over an hour but, today, we wrapped in 45 minutes. And I’m a little sad. I miss my team. [...]
Relational Inflammation: The Value of Rest and Space
Relationships are like high contact sports. We bump into each other and sometimes knock each other down. It’s nearly impossible to have a human relationship with any kind of authenticity and not hit points of conflict and upset. You’ll [...]
Mindful of the Shadow: Do You Fight or Invite Your Dark Side?
Eric Killough shares the down and dirty truth about meditation and how slowing down our thoughts allows us to come face to face with primitive parts of ourselves. Is it our inner sociopath wanting to run our lives or [...]
My Guru is a Bay Mare
I met Sally when she was a youngster, just a slight filly fresh off the trailer. I had recently purchased my lovely horse, Rosie, and was knee deep in our love affair when Sally arrived at the barn where I [...]
How a Retreat Changed My Life
Seven years ago I went on a retreat that changed my world. It was the first time I had ever spent that kind of money on myself. The retreat was all the way across the country in California. I [...]
We’re Just Shy
Our teachers come to us in all forms. Sometimes, the animals in our lives carry the most powerful lessons, insisting that we search for and find a common language of trust, honesty, and love. Tai Little, who helps Circle [...]
I Never Go Camping
A good friend of mine has extended to me an open invitation to go hiking and camping with him in Yosemite basically every weekend over the past month. I said no thanks every weekend. Every weekend, I wanted to [...]
These Next 6 Years
I’m on vacation this week. I’ve been having a lovely time in Maine, with my family. I’ve been working on relaxing a bit, just letting things slow down. It’s hard for me. I notice that my mind is never [...]
Are You a Thought Addict?
A week ago, I hitched my wagon to the Circle Up Wagon Train. Me, a dozen or so strangers, and a months’ long conversation about personal leadership. What could possibly go wrong? Our first assignment, as I understood it, was [...]
Our Relational Blind Spot: Getting to Know Each Other
They shake your hand and say they're so glad you've joined the team. You have an impressive title, a shiny new badge to enter the building, and the passwords you need to start your first tasks. Now what? Well, [...]
Read This Before You Explode Again…
The Exploding Doormat has to be one of my favorite topics. Somehow I feel like everyone in the world must have heard of this syndrome by now, and then I casually drop it into conversation and get a totally [...]
The Grandiosity Trap: Why We Choose the Impossible
We're inspired to choose the road less traveled and we think it's what will make us heroic and extraordinary. But have you ever noticed how much trouble we get into along the way? One of my favorite things to [...]
40 Things I Know For Sure About Leadership
I’m turning 40 in just a few short hours. In honor of the big day, I’d like to share 40 things I’ve learned about leadership over the last...40 years! Leadership is probably one of the most misunderstood capacities. It’s [...]
Human Whispering: The Art of Shutting Up
I spend a lot of time with horses and dogs, and my family will insist I acknowledge here, I’ve also become a crazy cat lady in the last couple years. I love this life with animals because they help [...]
Can I Get This Validated Please?
Validation has a bad rap lately. It’s become a term used to diagnose someone who is needy and seeking assurance. It’s a textbook leadership no-no. If you need validation, the story goes, you better dig deep and find your [...]
A Lone Wolf Answers Back: Healing Ourselves Back into Community
Through the dark valley, the call is heard. Two ears stand up and listen intently as the howl echoes, and the notes bend and change. There is a pause. A choice. A barely noticeable but critically important moment. A dilemma [...]
The Cry of the Lone Wolf…
I’ve been intrigued by lone wolves for as long as I can remember. I used to think it was of value, something to aspire to. Starting my own business many years ago was the answer to that desire. Unable [...]
OUR BLOG
Nature Has No Due Dates: Lessons from the Frontline of Foaling Season
As prolifically thinking and talking mammals, human animals often lose sight of ourselves as a part of the natural world. We talk about nature as if it’s a faraway land we visit, when in fact, we’re inextricably woven into [...]
Mindfulness Schmindfulness: Reality Is a Pain
Mindful eating. Mindful drinking. Mindful working. Mindful napping. Mindful this, and mindful that. Mindful purchasing of mindfulness-branded goods and services. If you’ve been to a grocery store, a mall, a school, the internet, anywhere, in the past year or [...]
On Sunbathing and Kindness: One Big Lesson in Presence
I snapped this photo last week and couldn’t help smile at the ease with which these horses chose to pass a lovely afternoon in the sun. There was no angst about what they should be doing instead. No contemplation [...]
The Animals are Honest
I grew up in the Detroit area and you have to look a few generations back to find any rural folks. My uncle Lenny and I are the only members of the extended family with an interest in farm/ranch life [...]
Mindfulness in the Minefield: Reclaiming Calm in the Office
You’re at your desk and the phone rings. The hairs stand up on back of your neck when the number flashes on the phone’s face: it’s your boss’ admin and you do not have anything scheduled with your boss. [...]
When Hope Hurts: Waiting for Truth in the Corporate Parking Lot
I remember lots of things about my first corporate job. But the thing that stands out the most, the memory I’ll never forget, is pulling into the parking lot in the morning and feeling physically unable to leave my [...]
Corporate Grief: When the Workplace Breaks Your Heart
When I transitioned from my private practice as a therapist to leadership consulting in the corporate sector, I figured the psychic heaviness of my role would lift some. I knew that people’s work lives were ridden with relationship conflicts, [...]
The Problem With Problems
Many of us (myself included) believe that we’re pretty good problem-solvers. I love tinkering with a problem. I love brainstorming about a problem. I really love giving people advice about a problem (and somehow manage to earn my living [...]
Corporate Corral: Conferencing in Captivity
I just got off a weekly conference call with members of the Circle Up team. The call often runs well over an hour but, today, we wrapped in 45 minutes. And I’m a little sad. I miss my team. [...]
Relational Inflammation: The Value of Rest and Space
Relationships are like high contact sports. We bump into each other and sometimes knock each other down. It’s nearly impossible to have a human relationship with any kind of authenticity and not hit points of conflict and upset. You’ll [...]
Mindful of the Shadow: Do You Fight or Invite Your Dark Side?
Eric Killough shares the down and dirty truth about meditation and how slowing down our thoughts allows us to come face to face with primitive parts of ourselves. Is it our inner sociopath wanting to run our lives or [...]
My Guru is a Bay Mare
I met Sally when she was a youngster, just a slight filly fresh off the trailer. I had recently purchased my lovely horse, Rosie, and was knee deep in our love affair when Sally arrived at the barn where I [...]
How a Retreat Changed My Life
Seven years ago I went on a retreat that changed my world. It was the first time I had ever spent that kind of money on myself. The retreat was all the way across the country in California. I [...]
We’re Just Shy
Our teachers come to us in all forms. Sometimes, the animals in our lives carry the most powerful lessons, insisting that we search for and find a common language of trust, honesty, and love. Tai Little, who helps Circle [...]
I Never Go Camping
A good friend of mine has extended to me an open invitation to go hiking and camping with him in Yosemite basically every weekend over the past month. I said no thanks every weekend. Every weekend, I wanted to [...]
These Next 6 Years
I’m on vacation this week. I’ve been having a lovely time in Maine, with my family. I’ve been working on relaxing a bit, just letting things slow down. It’s hard for me. I notice that my mind is never [...]
Are You a Thought Addict?
A week ago, I hitched my wagon to the Circle Up Wagon Train. Me, a dozen or so strangers, and a months’ long conversation about personal leadership. What could possibly go wrong? Our first assignment, as I understood it, was [...]
Our Relational Blind Spot: Getting to Know Each Other
They shake your hand and say they're so glad you've joined the team. You have an impressive title, a shiny new badge to enter the building, and the passwords you need to start your first tasks. Now what? Well, [...]
Read This Before You Explode Again…
The Exploding Doormat has to be one of my favorite topics. Somehow I feel like everyone in the world must have heard of this syndrome by now, and then I casually drop it into conversation and get a totally [...]
The Grandiosity Trap: Why We Choose the Impossible
We're inspired to choose the road less traveled and we think it's what will make us heroic and extraordinary. But have you ever noticed how much trouble we get into along the way? One of my favorite things to [...]
40 Things I Know For Sure About Leadership
I’m turning 40 in just a few short hours. In honor of the big day, I’d like to share 40 things I’ve learned about leadership over the last...40 years! Leadership is probably one of the most misunderstood capacities. It’s [...]
Human Whispering: The Art of Shutting Up
I spend a lot of time with horses and dogs, and my family will insist I acknowledge here, I’ve also become a crazy cat lady in the last couple years. I love this life with animals because they help [...]
Can I Get This Validated Please?
Validation has a bad rap lately. It’s become a term used to diagnose someone who is needy and seeking assurance. It’s a textbook leadership no-no. If you need validation, the story goes, you better dig deep and find your [...]
A Lone Wolf Answers Back: Healing Ourselves Back into Community
Through the dark valley, the call is heard. Two ears stand up and listen intently as the howl echoes, and the notes bend and change. There is a pause. A choice. A barely noticeable but critically important moment. A dilemma [...]
The Cry of the Lone Wolf…
I’ve been intrigued by lone wolves for as long as I can remember. I used to think it was of value, something to aspire to. Starting my own business many years ago was the answer to that desire. Unable [...]