Friends,

If you haven’t heard, I’m hosting a retreat this fall! It’s all about Connection and brief interventions to help professionals become Connected Champions! Register here now!

There are some books on leadership and business that are so good I read them again and again. Right now, I’m re-reading Simon Sinek’s book, The Infinite Game. It reminds me that threads appear in my work over and over again. For me, it’s the theme of connection. Everywhere I go, every time I present, each piece of curriculum, chapter, or intervention I prepare, the underlying theme of connection is present. I ask myself whether or not the story I’m telling or the intervention I’m sharing will lead to less aloneness, greater connection, and therefore, healthier outcomes. I envision a world where children, their parents, and families thrive not because of some kind of fancy curriculum or book, but because the caregiver in their life paused to prioritize connection over… anything else, really. 

Think about the times we choose otherwise:

Compliance over connection.

Being right over connection.

Control over connection.

Intelligence over connection. 

Competition over connection. 

Where has that led you in the past? If you’re prioritizing these features over relationships and connection, what have you learned?

Now what would happen if you flipped these?

Connection over compliance…with your child.

Connection over being right…with your partner.

Connection over control…with your team.

Connection over intelligence…with a colleague.

Connection over competition…with someone else in your field.

Everything shifts. 

As I re-read Simon’s book, I realize that I’m a Connection Creator. At the foundation of all of my life’s work, I create connection with others, for others, and between myself and others. And when I’m in a zone, I create the ability for others to teach about the importance of connection – and THAT’s where the magic and impact lie. 

Friends, if you work with children or families, please join us in three months in Central Oregon. We’re going to learn all about relational health and connection. It’s going to be transformational.

Until then, happy end of summer – it’s August. Soak it in.