This newsletter is embarrassing.

Estimated read/view time: 2.5 minutes. (There are videos in this newsletter. You need to watch, like, 4 seconds of each video to get the point.)

This is what TRYING to do the right thing looks like. Horrible!

As most of you know, I hosted an interview series this summer. In fact, those of you who have followed me for a while know that the interview series dominated my life for months.

I learned a number of valuable lessons, and today I want to peel back the curtain to share the most valuable lesson with you.

Which brings us to show and tell. Some embarrassing show and tell.

The hardest, most vulnerable, most painful part of producing this series was the #$!#!& opt-in video. That’s the little video that appears on the sign-up page.

This was the first time I had created a video, let alone one that was going to be public! I had all kinds of advice from my coach. I had prepped like crazy – wrote a script, set up a “studio,” practiced, planned my outfit, did my hair, and did around 50 takes.

You know the drill. You probably do some version of this ritual every day for meetings, presentations, and clients.

Within minutes of the video going live, I got feedback from my friend Anne that my video sucked. (Love ya, Anne!)

After a momentary freak out, Anne came over to help me reshoot the video. I threw on my favorite dress, ran my fingers through my hair (that I hadn't washed), and stood against a wall in our bedroom with no script. Anne and I danced around like crazy people for a moment, then we shot the video which is the one most of you saw. We did 3 takes.

The point is this. You are compelling as you. Being you doesn't take effort or stress or trying. Of course you need to prep and maybe do a little planning. Then you simply need to show up with your wonderful self, quirks and all.

Here's a challenge: Stop TRYING to DO the corporate thing right this week. Stop listening to the stories that say you have to be a certain way in order to be successful at work. Instead, BE yourself.

I hope this helps.

Christina

P.S. If you know someone who would like to receive this newsletter, they can sign-up for The Corporate Rebel Video Podcast and Newsletter HERE.

Who you are being matters!

Estimated read time: 4 seconds less than one minute.

Pets and kids get this concept without trying.

Like you, I have a lot to do this week - a long list of tasks, mundane and challenging. A few minutes ago, I was walking out the door laden with my laptop, anxious to start knocking items off my to-do list at the local coffee shop.

Right as I was about to leave, I stopped and remembered the words of my mentor. She said, "Trust that who you are is enough. Do your prep work and trust who you are being in the world." I put down my laptop and spent the next 20 minutes meditating.

The point here is simple. What you do is only part of the story. Who you are is just as important.

Here's an example:

One of my clients leads a large team. She is responsible for day-to-day management activities and projects that affect thousands of end-users. At her core, she is deeply empathetic. When she gets anxious about the things that need to be done, she has a harder time moving forward. When she taps into her deep well of compassion for herself and her team, the work gets done smoothly.

See how that works?

In the midst of all of your doing, remember who you are being is important, too. Have you heard the phrase, "you are a human being, not a human doing?"

Spend some time this week paying attention to who you are being. And my calm and centered self just easily completed one thing on my to-do list - this newsletter!

In love,

Christina

P.S. If you know someone who would like to receive this newsletter, they can sign-up for The Corporate Rebel Video Podcast and Newsletter HERE.

What's your excuse?

It's a scorcher! Spend one minute or less reading this in your air conditioning!

From my 12-year-old to you.

My 12-year-old daughter is the keeper of my screen savers. She surprises me regularly with inspirational quotes interspersed with photos of Taylor Swift. (Equally inspirational, I assure you.)

The quote above is what I found on my screen last week, and it got me thinking about you.

The world has been intense lately. If you live in Minnesota, you have a front row seat on the protests and the conversation about racial justice. If you watch the news, you've heard about what's happening in Turkey, Baton Rogue, Dallas, and the conventions. At our house, we have no shower, no kitchen, and all our belongings are in boxes. We are covered in dust and living in 100-degree weather.

This is what my office looks like today. The state of my office (no files, no desk, no chair) present me with the perfect excuse to not take calls, not write newsletters, not show up.

All of these things make great excuses to stop. And yet, you still have to go to work, move forward on the things you care about, feed your family, and show up every day.

What's the excuse that is currently holding you back? Here are some popular options:

• my voice doesn't matter
• my house is a wreck
• too busy
• too tired
• out of town
• it's all too complicated; I don't know what to do

Per my daughter's quote, you only have to be a bit stronger than your strongest excuse. Take a good look at the excuses you're telling yourself and find the way to be stronger.

I've said this before. No matter what the context, whether you are the leader of a corporate team, your family or a social movement, YOU are needed.

No excuses.

In love,

Christina

P.S. If you know someone who would like to receive this newsletter, they can sign-up for The Corporate Rebel Video Podcast and Newsletter HERE.

What's the right response to everything that's happening?

Estimated read time: Les than one minute.

It's been avoiding sitting down to write this newsletter. What does someone who writes about work have to say about the tragic events of the past week?

Do you ever feel like things are so big and complex and wonder where to find your contribution? I do, and it exhausts me sometimes. Like today.

I'm going straight to the point.

The human world is driven by two forces, love and fear. Love can feel like the harder option because it requires vulnerability, openness, risk, and courage.

Love is the only option, and love belongs at work.

Here's your challenge. You are a leader. Leaders take responsibility for their worlds. Leaders take care of their people. Go find some people and take care of them. This week put love into your world every day, especially at work.

Here are some suggestions to get you started:

• Bring coffee to your officemates, especially the ones you don't like.
• Let the person in front of you merge into traffic.
• Leave an extra tip for your server.
• Pay for someone's meal at the cafeteria. Even better if it's a stranger.
• Call a colleague you'd honestly rather just email.
• Tell your boss what you appreciate about him/her. Even better, do it in writing.

Each action you take this week, at work and at home, ask yourself if you are coming from love or fear. Then choose love. The impact on the greater world will be tremendous.

In love,

Christina

P.S. If you know someone who would like to receive this newsletter, they can sign-up for The Corporate Rebel Video Podcast and Newsletter HERE.

3 Ways to Open Your Vision

Estimated read time: 2 minutes.

Outside existing structures in Casper, WY

My family and I are on the proverbial American road trip out West – Mt. Rushmore, ranches, vast open spaces of deer, wind and sage brush.

Believe it or not, even out here, I'm thinking of you.

Two things this family likes when traveling are good meals and lots of homemade treats. Thanks to Yelp and Trip Advisor, we have sampled every cupcake, kolache, and ice-cream flavor in the west.

The 4th of July (independence day in the USA) found us in Casper, WY and none of our Yelped options were open. We called place after place, and all were closed (insert frowny face).

We took matters into our own old-fashioned hands by driving into downtown Casper to seek our culinary fortune. We stumbled into Ming House Chinese restaurant which did not appear in any of our internet searches. Inside, we were greeted by the sweetest old man on the planet who spent two hours personally cooking our food while we played Uno. It was a magical evening.

This experience got me thinking about vision and the way the structures around you (and me) conspire to limit the possibilities you think you have.

Internet searches have you believe that the options listed are the only or the best choices. Structures at the office lead you to believe that solutions must fit into a limited range of possibilities. Perceived circumstances in your life and career can keep you in a holding pattern of sameness.

So what do you do about it?

1. Be aware. Start to notice when your possibilities are being determined for you by the limitations of technology, someone else's perspective, or perceived constraints.
2. Open your vision. Look for the options that are outside those structures. You might need to develop new ways of seeing what's possible to even start to see expanded possibilities.
3. Head off the beaten path. Metaphorically drive into downtown to find the restaurants that aren't on Yelp. Try the thing that no one is seeing. Test new options and see what happens.

And you know that I love to hear from you so when you find that expanded possibility, I'd love to hear about it.

Warmly,

Christina

P.S. If you know someone who would like to receive this newsletter, they can sign-up for The Corporate Rebel Video Podcast and Newsletter HERE.

Who are your people?

Estimated read time: 1 min, 15 seconds

The movers put my sense of humor in here somewhere. Do you see it?

I've been thinking of you all week.

My family and I moved on Monday into our "being renovated" 100-year-old house. There are boundless lessons in the dust, the pile of furniture, and the fact that we have no working toilet. Don't ask.

Gratitude got me through a complete panic on Monday night. Letting go will help me live in the chaos that will be our lives for a few months. Then there's the no toilet thing. Oh, the lessons that are here for you.

There's one lesson, though, that kept coming back all week.

Throughout this entire transition, our people have shown up to bring food, help with cleaning, take our children, and offer moral support. When one of the movers handed me a sandwich, I almost cried. When our painters said they could come on Tuesday, I did cry. I've gotten some great ideas for kindness and generosity from our people.

Who are your people? The ones who will drop everything to clean walls. The ones who will give you late-night feedback on an important presentation. The ones who will walk around the block with you when you are angry or disappointed or sad. The ones who will offer you a sandwich in the moment you share together.

Your world is full, and it can be easy to head straight for your computer in the morning. Instead, find a moment or two each day to nurture your people, to show them some love, even the people you will only know for a few days or a few minutes.

We are not meant to do this life thing alone. And you never know when you might need to use their toilet.

With so much gratitude and love this week.

Christina

P.S. If you know someone who would like to receive this newsletter, they can sign-up for The Corporate Rebel Video Podcast and Newsletter HERE.

You are not fooling anyone!

Estimated read time: 1:16.27 minutes

No cubes, real or imagined, were harmed for the creation of this newsletter.

Meet Carole.*

*Carole's story is told with permission. In Carole's words, "Sure! I’m flattered."

When Carole walked into the conference room for the women's leadership program I was facilitating, she wore a tight bun, a polo shirt and what can only be described in 1950s terms as "slacks."

She was buttoned up.

As we spent time talking about the program topics like navigating politics and developing a business persona, I started to notice subtle things about Carole, like a pair of Saturn earrings or the cape she quickly removed when she walked in from the cold.

In our third session, we did a feedback exercise where the group shared what they wanted to see more of in each other. The other women wrote things on Carole's board like, "I wonder what it would be like if you wore your hair down and let your creativity fly?" After reading the feedback, Carole told the group in a stricken voice, "It's clear that I'm not fooling anyone."

In our next session, Carole said she realized how much she had sacrificed to fit some made-up image of a successful corporate professional. She decided to embrace her creative, rebelicious self, and let her masses of curly hair down, literally and figuratively. She started wearing the loose, creative clothes she loves and donned her giant jewelry, too. And she was right, her gorgeous hair looks just like Hermione from Harry Potter.

Carole liberated herself from the sense that she had to be a certain way to be successful in corporate environment.

Here's what she wrote in an email a few weeks later:

"I also decorated my cube with some colored fabric and art to express my personality, and have gotten a lot of positive feedback on being more authentic in both my décor and my appearance. I’m definitely getting a more positive vibe from people, and I’m more relaxed and open myself, too."

You are not fooling anyone, either.

Here's a challenge for you: Where will you let your hair down, literally or metaphorically, to be who you truly are - at the office and at home?

I hope Carole's story inspires you as much as it did me.

Love to all of you!

Christina

P.S. If you know someone who would like to receive this newsletter, they can sign-up for The Corporate Rebel Video Podcast and Newsletter HERE.