Posted in Adventures Big & Small, Blogging, Change, Creativity, Culture, Crosscultural, Intercultural & Multicultural, Expat Life, Family & Friends, Life Balance, Travel, Work, Writing, tagged adventures, ATCK, blogging, creativity, cross-cultural, culture, expat, extended holidays, family, formative years, friendship, global, gratitude, high school reunion, international, international high school, Italy, rejuvenation, repatriate, Rome, TCK, travel, wanderlust, writing on July 17, 2014 | 1 Comment »
When summertime beckons, many of us find ourselves pondering the annual question: home or away? Whether it’s a long-planned holiday far afield, camping in a field (aka caravaning), day trips in the general vicinity, a picnic in a bucolic setting, or simply a barbeque in the backyard, it’s the season we want to be doing something different. So […]
Posted in Adventures Big & Small, Blogging, Change, Creativity, Culture, Crosscultural, Intercultural & Multicultural, Expat Authors & Others, Expat Life, Life Balance, Repatriation, Work, tagged advice, aligned values and objectives, blogging, Career Choice and the Accompanying Partner, challenges, Evelyn Simpson, expat business partners, expats, family issues, lessons learned, Louise Wiles, opportunity, Repatriation, starting up a joint business, team, Thriving Abroad on May 21, 2014 | 2 Comments »
Welcome back to what I hope you’ll agree is a fascinating story of professional transition amid cross-cultural life. This is the second part in a three-part series of how two expat business women — Evelyn Simpson (previously The Smart Expat) and Louise Wiles (previously Success Abroad Coaching) — living in different countries met, collaborated on a joint survey project, […]
Posted in Adventures Big & Small, Blogging, Change, Culture, Crosscultural, Intercultural & Multicultural, Expat Authors & Others, Expat Life, Expat Transitions & Change, Work, Writing, tagged accompanying partners, business coach, business partnership, career, career choice, Career Choice and the Accompanying Partner, coaching, employment, Evelyn Simpson, expat business, expat partners, expatriate life, HR professionals, job, Louise Wiles, professional coach, report, Simpson Wiles and Associates Ltd., start a new company, ThrivingAbroad.com, transition, work, work opportunities on April 14, 2014 | 2 Comments »
It’s hard to believe that a little over a year ago I was in the final stages of completing The Emotionally Resilient Expat. This meant writing the last bits and pieces, tidying up the table of contents, drafting the acknowledgements, finalizing the references and resources section, creating an index, and responding to the edits, questions […]
Posted in Adventures Big & Small, Blogging, Change, Creativity, Culture, Crosscultural, Intercultural & Multicultural, Emotional Resilience, Expat Transitions & Change, Identity, Light Bulb Moments, Re-entry Reality, Repatriation, Work, Writing, tagged business plan, business start-up, career change, consultancy, emotional resilience, excitement, expat, fear, global students, job change, repat, Repatriation, what I'm meant to do, work, writing, writing a nonfiction book on March 14, 2014 | 3 Comments »
As mentioned in Under Construction, I hope you’ll join me as I navigate the re-entry stage in our repatriation journey. Every three months I’ll share a series of ‘snapshot’ blog posts about the particulars of building a new life from scratch, filed under the post category Re-entry Reality. I’ll look at everything from making a home, engaging socially, staying healthy, […]
Posted in Adventures Big & Small, Blogging, Change, Expat Transitions & Change, Life Balance, Re-entry Reality, Repatriation, Work, Writing, tagged accountability, blogging, building a life, expat, progress, Re-Entry Reality, repat, repatriate, Repatriation, starting over, work, writing on March 11, 2014 | 6 Comments »
As mentioned in Under Construction, I hope you’ll join me as I navigate the re-entry stage in our repatriation journey. Every three months I’ll share a series of ‘snapshot’ blog posts about the particulars of building a new life from scratch, filed under the post category Re-entry Reality. I’ll look at everything from making a home, engaging socially, staying […]
Posted in Adventures Big & Small, Authors (Other), Change, Creativity, Culture, Crosscultural, Intercultural & Multicultural, Emotional Resilience, Family & Friends, Identity, Life Balance, Light Bulb Moments, Sandwich Generation, Work, Writing, tagged blogging, epiphany, family, Gretchen Rubin, life-changing, profound truth, refrain, The days are long but the years are short, The Happiness Project, writing on June 8, 2013 | 14 Comments »
Lately something’s been stuck in my head, like a snippet of a song’s refrain playing over and over again. It’s as if I have my own chorus – although it’s actually more like a soloist, with a deep, resonant voice – repeating the phrase in an ongoing loop. It’s to the point where it has taken […]
Posted in Adventures Big & Small, Blogging, Change, Culture, Crosscultural, Intercultural & Multicultural, Expat Authors & Others, Expat Life, Expat Transitions & Change, Identity, Repatriation, Riveting Expat Reads, Sandwich Generation, Third Culture Kids (TCKs), Expat Teens, Travel, Work, Writing, tagged Apple Gidley, blogging, continents, culture shock, cultures, expat books, expat life, Expat Life: Slice by Slice, expatriate life, expatriation, global living, globalization, languages, living abroad, living cross-culturally, living overseas, memoir, post-colonization, Repatriation, Riveting Expat Reads, TCKs, technology, Third Culture Kids, transition, travel, writing on November 29, 2012 | 8 Comments »
Time again for another Riveting Expat Read in which I shine the spotlight on a new (or new to me) book in this varied and rapidly growing niche. There has been a slow but steadily expanding upsurge in books written by and for expats/global nomads/TCKs which examine life lived cross-culturally, and we are all the richer […]
Posted in Adventures Big & Small, Change, Creativity, Culture, Crosscultural, Intercultural & Multicultural, Doing What I Can to Help, Expat Authors & Others, Expat Life, Expat Transitions & Change, Identity, Life Balance, Riveting Expat Reads, Work, Writing, tagged accompanying partner, accompanying spouse, AccompanyingPartner.com, career choices, creativity, cross-cultural coaching, culture, EMMA 2012 award, EMMA 2012 Shortlisted Nominee, Evelyn Simpson, expat, expat coaching, expat transitions, expatriate community, Forum for Expatriate Management, global nomad, global relocation specialist, international, Louise Wiles, mobility specialist, organizations, overseas assignment, relocation, report, survey, trailing spouse, transnational employee, work opportunities, working abroad on September 27, 2012 | 4 Comments »
You know the old adage ‘two heads are better than one’? Well, during the summer when I learned that Evelyn Simpson (aka The Smart Expat) and Louise Wiles (aka Success Abroad Coaching) were joining forces to conduct the Career Choice & Accompanying Partner Survey, I knew this dynamic duo would be a formidable combination. I’m a fan of […]
Posted in Creativity, Family & Friends, Light Bulb Moments, September 11th, Work, Writing, tagged 9/11, artistry, beauty, birthday, creativity, endure, grief, joy, loss, pain, reflection, remembrance, September 11, sorrow, soul, tears, vulnerable, writing on September 11, 2012 | 14 Comments »
I had not planned to write today. As the day approached, I felt a gentle shroud of melancholy descend and wrap around my shoulders like a soft caress. I had a productive day yesterday, one in which I not only made good progress on a project, but also laid the groundwork for two new ones. One […]
Posted in Adventures Big & Small, Blogging, Change, Creativity, Culture, Crosscultural, Intercultural & Multicultural, Expat Life, Family & Friends, Food and Drink, Global Issues, Light Bulb Moments, Netherlands, Travel, United States, Work, tagged art, artistic, blogging, connectivity, creative spark, creativity, cultural, culture, design, dreaming, entrepreneur, entrepreneurial, Facebook, family, friends, Google it, Google+, imagination, innovation, innovative, inspiration, internet, internet connectivity, jewelrymaking, LinkedIn, music, Netherlands Radio Choir, painting, search engines, social media, social media venures, Twitter, Vizify, writing on September 6, 2012 | 10 Comments »
I must confess that it still astounds me how, in this day and age and in the comfort of my own home here in the Netherlands, internet connectivity and the various social media venues it has spawned allow me to maintain contact with friends and family and build associations with others. Like the old Bell […]
Posted in Blogging, Creativity, Culture, Crosscultural, Intercultural & Multicultural, Dutch Life, Expat Life, Food and Drink, Holidays, Life Balance, Netherlands, United States, Work, Writing, tagged Americans, article, barbeque, blogging, book, business, businesses, commerce, corporations, creativity, culture, deadlines, don't wear white after Labor Day, economy, employees, employment, fashion, government, holiday, industry, jobs, labor, Labor Day, meetings, Netherlands, picnic, sales, The Hague, United States, work, work projects, workers, working, writing on September 3, 2012 | 8 Comments »
Today is the first Monday in September. For many, it’s merely the start of yet another work week. Whatever ‘work’ means for you. Getting the children off to school before running a long list of errands and volunteering in the classroom. Pulling into the factory parking lot with a double shift ahead. Trading stories at […]
Posted in Blogging, Creativity, Work, Writing, tagged blogging, books, brainstorm, brainstorming, Cloud storage, collaborative work, creativity, fiction, ideas, mind-map, mind-mapping, MindMeister, Non-fiction, note-taking, project planning, short stories, thoughts, writing, writing projects on August 25, 2012 | 10 Comments »
The other day while working on my book, it dawned on me that I ought to write a post on mind-mapping. Have you ever done mind-mapping? In simple terms, it’s the creation of a diagram to visually display information. You start in the middle of a page with whatever you wish to map: a topic, issue, problem, question, […]
Posted in Blogging, Change, Culture, Crosscultural, Intercultural & Multicultural, Doing What I Can to Help, Global Issues, United States, Work, Writing, tagged Beyonce Knowles, Department of Defense, drought, Ethiopia, famine, global issues, human trafficking, humanitarian assistance, humanitarian organizations, I Was Here, Iraq, peacekeeping, refugees, Sergio Vieira De Mello, Susan Rice, terrorism, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, UN Mission to the UN, United Nations, United States, violence, war, World Humanitarian Day 2012 on August 18, 2012 | 2 Comments »
Okay, today’s post is both global and deeply personal in nature. August 19th is officially designated World Humanitarian Day 2012, marking the 9th anniversary of the bombing in Baghdad that took the life of Sergio Vieira De Mello, then serving as both the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the UN Secretary General’s Special […]
Posted in Authors (Other), Change, Culture, Crosscultural, Intercultural & Multicultural, Life Balance, United States, Work, Writing, tagged begin with the end in mind, blueprint for life, business, culture, first things first, leadership, life lessons, management, proactive, seek first to understand, selfhelp, sharpen the saw, Stephen Covey, success, synergize, team-building, team-leading, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, win-win, writing on July 18, 2012 | 16 Comments »
I was saddened to hear the news that Stephen Covey, author of the groundbreaking bestseller of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, had passed away. Covey, a university business/leadership professor and founder of an entire empire of subsequent books, high profile speaking engagements, widely acclaimed seminars and associated business tools (Franklin-Covey), was 79 when he died of […]
Posted in Adventures Big & Small, Blogging, Change, Culture, Crosscultural, Intercultural & Multicultural, Expat Life, Expat Transitions & Change, Family & Friends, Work, Writing, tagged blogging, culture, expat, Expat Focus, expatriate, family, foreign countries, foreign service, friends, In Search of a Life Less Ordinary, international organization, job opportunities, job transfer, jobs, military, non-profit organization, private sector, reassignment, Repatriation, Staying Put for Now, weak economy, writing on June 15, 2012 | 12 Comments »
Here in the northern hemisphere, when it gets to be February, March and April, the season begins. You would be forgiven for thinking that I’m referring to the blossoming springtime. Emerging from winter is certainly important, but there is another season beginning to bud: it’s what I referred to last year as a matter of The Clash […]
Posted in Adventures Big & Small, Expat Authors & Others, Light Bulb Moments, Riveting Expat Reads, Turning Points Book, Work, Writing, tagged book launch, change, inspiring women, pivotal moment, reinvention, renewal, Turning Points book, women entrepreneurs, writing on October 30, 2011 | 16 Comments »
Ever have one of those days, weeks or even months where you are so busy you can barely see straight? Where you absolutely, positively must keep a note pad near you at all times to capture the overflow of thoughts and reminders sloshing around in your brain? Well, I’ve been having an entire season like that. […]
Posted in Authors (Other), Guest Posts, Work, Writers on Writing, Writing, Writing Business Bits at Jo Parfitt's, tagged authors, book marketing, Book Marketing Conference Online, D'vorah Lansky, Jo Parfitt, Joanna Penn, writing and social media, Writing Business Bits on August 11, 2011 | 5 Comments »
Hey there. Today I’m over at expat publisher Jo Parfitt’s site in a new feature we’re calling Writing Business Bits. Based on the positive response to my recent three-part guest post about Jack Canfield’s insights on book marketing and promotion, Jo has asked me to contribute a series of monthly posts. Topics will focus on how […]
Posted in Adventures Big & Small, Change, Expat Life, Expat Transitions & Change, Light Bulb Moments, Work, tagged change, Department of Defense, embrace change, expat transition on July 29, 2011 | 10 Comments »
Once again, Maria over at I Was an Expat Wife has hit the proverbial nail on the head. She wrote a great piece recently Can Previous Expat Experience Help With Adjustment? that I hope you’ll take the chance to read. In it, she examines whether having prior expat experience can affect one’s ability to adjust […]
Posted in Authors (Other), Guest Posts, Work, Writers on Writing, Writing, Writing Business Bits at Jo Parfitt's, tagged author, Benjamin Franklin, bypass marketing, Chicken Soup for the Soul, continual learning, giving, Jack Canfield, Jo Parfitt, Mark Victor Hansen, RTIR, Scott Peck, social media, speaker, Steve Harrison, The Road Less Traveled, writing, Writing Business Bits at Jo Parfitt's on July 5, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Recently I was guest posting over at Jo Parfitt’s website again, finishing the last in a three-part series on Steve Harrison’s (of Radio/Television Interview Report) interview with mega-selling author and co-founder of the Chicken Soup for the Soul franchise, Jack Canfield. I enjoy listening to such ‘webinars’ (web seminars) to glean the nuggets of wisdom, experience, […]
Posted in Authors (Other), Guest Posts, Work, Writers on Writing, Writing, Writing Business Bits at Jo Parfitt's, tagged author, Bob Burg, Chicken Soup for the Soul, giving, Jack Canfield, Jo Parfitt, John David Mann, Malcolm Gladwell, Mark Victor Hansen, network, RTIR, speaker, Steve Harrison, The Go Giver, The Tipping Point, writing on June 14, 2011 | 2 Comments »
The other day Jo Parfitt ran the second of my guest posts in a three-part series about ‘Chicken Soup for the Soul’ co-founder/business mogul Jack Canfield. The series is based on a recent webinar interview of Canfield by Steve Harrison of the Radio & TV Interview Report. In addition to co-authoring more than 200 titles […]
my read shelf:
