We have a lot to learn from research--not only living well, longer -- but happier.  So a group of demographers published papers on those areas in the world where people

  When I start to work with a client, I ask them to define what their values/virtues and strengths are -- taking the VIA strengths survey helps to determine them. 

From Socrates who taught us to “know thyself” and “the unexamined life is not worth living” and to Dale Carnegie, How to Win Friends and Influence People... across the millennia

Particularly as the holidays descend upon us and the seasons change, it is helpful to remind ourselves of the importance of self care.  In our work life, it is challenging

  It's fascinating what causes people to remember certain experiences, activities, and times in their lives.  Yet, most of the time we wonder what we did last week that was

Resilience, defined by most as the ability to recover from setbacks, adapt well to change, and keep going in the face of adversity, is widely considered now an important behavior

We all know negative thinking when we hear it, the challenge is managing our own negative thoughts even in the face of hearing the "half empty glass" dialogue of others. 

The Stoics were those Roman and Greek philosophers who flourished in and around the 3rd Century. The Stoic philosophers promtoed ways to manage one's minds to have a better understanding

By knowing what our strengths are, we can consciously think of using them when confronted with everyday stress.  This simple article offer a free strengths test that was developed by

An important adult skill to develop:  Understanding your own emotions and how they contribute to your thinking.  Our best

This former employee from Microsoft gives some sobering yet essential advice on "when you know  it's time to walk away" from a demanding job.  Read this Huffington Post article on

Taking time in the midst of a busy work day to breath deeply has been shown to increase awareness, decrease stress and anxiety as well as enhance work performance.  To

The world as we know it today is complicated, busy, stimulating and filled with "breaking news."  How to calm the brain and body and get a good nights rest?  After

I published this post several years ago and realized that it is a great one to "remind and review" on how easy it is to improve your life!

Richard Davidson is probably the foremost researcher on the effect of meditation on the brain. He has studied Tibetan monks by using EEG's to watch their brains during meditation. He was

Every wondered "What is the best version of myself?"  The answer to this is embedded in this article which outline recent research on ways to make your life happier -

My colleague and I presented on time management to a group of architects last week. Our take-away was before you can manage your time/projects, you must learn to manage yourself.

It can be as easy as doing a 5 minute counting meditation and focusing on your breath. New research from Carnegie Mellon University gives a biological explanation as to how

Walking has been described as a great way to increase creativity, clear the head, improve your sense of well-being.  Read how workers who participate in lunch time walks increase their productivity .  Makes

101 WAYS TO ENHANCE YOUR LIFE By Lloyd J. Thomas, Ph.D. 1. Get up 15 minutes earlier. 2. Prepare for the morning the night before. 3. Avoid tight fitting clothes..

These habits are founded in age old wisdom and present day research.  Are you nurturing at least 5 close friendships?  Are you aware of a life long dream? Do you

  What can we learn from the artists, inventors and geniuses of the past and present? Find a ritual that feeds your soul...Create and make your ideas real...Don't look back...Create

Situations in our work lives, can evoke strong emotions: a tense meeting, challenging changes in the organization, a co-worker gets let

TAKE TEN MINUTES OUT By Lloyd J. Thomas, Ph.D. Stress plays a major role in our lives. We can become addicted to it. We can become ill with it. Using

Read what current social science research is telling us about the habits of successful people.

   The Four P's of happiness:  Purpose, Perspective, People and Play - Read here as to how you can develop a process to move toward a sense of purpose and

This brief article gives a great review of the research that leads to these findings: 1. Always work hard to improve. 2. When choosing tasks and strategies, consider your natural

Dr. Martin Seligman is known as the "father of Positive Psychology." In this short video he outlines a powerful exercise called the "Three blessings" or "what I am grateful for

This short video shows in magnificent time lapsed photos the dimensions of what we have to be thankful for... [video_lightbox_youtube video_id="nj2ofrX7jAk" width="640" height="355" anchor="https://www.perlacoaching.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/GratitudeHD.jpg"]

Surprising and worth reading to learn before it's too late...

So what do leaders do to manage themselves in the face of uncertainty... to lead with executive maturity? Dr. Chopra uses lessons learned from the financial debacle of 2008 to

This article from Psychology Today gives a concise overview of the "happiness and well-being" research.  As we learn to live and relate in the business world, some of these studies

“What the world needs now is love, sweet love It's the only thing that there's just too little of What the world needs now is love, sweet love, No, not

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." Eleanor Roosevelt We all can understand the concept of personal space, e.g., someone moving too close to us and then

“Let the beauty of what you love, be what you do” Jahad-ad-din Rumi (Persian poet 1207-1273) Remember when you were a little

"The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings." -Eric Hoffer The holiday card that the Perla Group sent out this year states: During this

"You cannot shake hands with a clenched fist." -Indira Gandhi This is the title of a workshop that I frequently give when asked to speak to a group of people

"Let him that would move the world, first move himself" --Socrates Executive coaches work more or less exclusively with senior people from organizations.  They work with clients to achieve speedy,

“Positive emotions are not trivial luxuries, but instead might be critical necessities for optimal functioning.” — Barbara Fredrickson Positive Psychology is the study of what makes us flourish and what

“There are, at least, TWO ways to relate to anything:  a small minded way and a large minded way. Choose large mind." John G. Sullivan Open up the lens of

These blogs will offer three things: an inspirational quote that seeks to inspire you, the reader; second, a teaching or strategy which will intend to broaden and build a set of