Gentleness as power and medicine, in business and life
Something I noticed recently in our clients is how used up people are feeling, how difficult it is to feel clear, especially given the political environment, especially here in the U.S. I had another message about marketing that I was going to send out, and I will, in due course, but this week it feels […]
Removing stripped screws from your business
As you may or may not know, one of my passionate hobbies is woodworking. I love the combination of functionality and beauty, and my latest project is building a new countertop for our kitchen island, which is actually an antique cabinet. The new countertop will overhang on two sides, so we can sit around it, […]
Anxiety about the future, prepping, and… business?
Watching the horrific fires in Los Angeles highlights the conversations that have come up recently… A number of clients have been talking about anxiety they have about the uncertainty of the future, and some of the scary stuff potentially: politically, financially, climate, etc… So the conversation turned to prepping. Yes, prepping, meaning preparing yourself for […]
How to get going with your business after a break
One of the members of our Learning Community was expressing how it can be surprisingly hard to get back to work after being away. And early January is one of those times that so many people feel disconnected and out of step with their business after much-needed down time. How do you get back into […]
Sufi blessing for 2025
2025 just began, and I hear many saying “good riddance!” to 2024. It’s also the 1st of the month of Rajab, 1446 in the Islamic calendar, and the 1st of Tevet, 5785 in the Jewish calendar. It is remarkable to me that all three calendars have the 1st of their respect months on the same […]
From us to you
As we enter into holidays that touch many people’s lives, Hanukah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, Yule, among others, we at Heart of Business wanted to take time to just wish you deep care and nourishment. And that’s it. If you’re needing business support/advice, our blog has twenty-four years of support available. Even when you don’t share in the […]
Healing versus getting things done
Here we are, the end of December, and as we are on the verge of the new year, after I wrote about fix-it energy last week, there’s another dynamic that I thought it would be super helpful to be aware of in your business development. That dynamic is the tension between healing versus “getting things […]
About “fix it” energy in your business
When clients come to Heart of Business, it’s really common for folks to have a “it’s broken, I need to fix it!” sense of their own business. At the same time, there’s a lot of pushback against a “fix it” approach. “Something is terrible wrong, and I need to fix it,” when unconsciously expressed, is […]
Using hope as a business medicine in 2025
My Sufi sheikh, Sidi al Jamal ash-Shadhuli, taught that “hope is a medicine.” What he meant, is too much hope isn’t good for us. It can lead to toxic positivity, what he called “being heedless.” There are genuine reasons to be cautious and alert in this world. However, too little hope leads to paralysis and […]
Difficult traditions
Tomorrow is the United States holiday of Thanksgiving, one that is, to say the least, deeply problematic. Because it is, for many in my country, a time for family, and where many businesses explicitly are closed, we are giving that time to our team, and my own little family, my wife Holly and our two […]