Mildred Lynn McDonald - UCSC Extension in Silicon Valley

Over the last year, I’ve learned a lot about communicating with the human voice. How did I do this? By hosting an Internet Radio Show on BlogTalkRadio. Prior to the Internet radio experience, I was asleep at the vocal chord wheel, so to speak.  I used my voice each day, took it for granted, and didn’t [...]

The best advice I’ve received about dealing with criticism was delivered by my mother. I was about twelve-years-old and my feelings were hurt. After listening to my story of woe, she said three words that caught my attention, spun me around, and changed my life. Her words were: “Consider the source.” Since then, this simple phrase, [...]

I’ve never had a problem accepting a compliment, so it came as a surprise to discover that many people find this basic interpersonal skill challenging and uncomfortable. After a bit of reflection, I decided that cultural orientation aside, accepting compliments is second nature to me. Why? Because I don’t try to figure out the reason [...]

  In my previous blog Are You Masking Your Heart’s Passion?,  I talked about how people sometimes wear a mask to hide their “true self” at home or at work. Today, I’ll share some observations about what happens when a person decides to take off their mask, follow their heart’s passion, and take a giant [...]

In the realm of following your heart’s passion, I’ve noticed that when people do not feel safe to be themselves, they start to wear a mask. This mask can be worn at home or at work, and may even morph into many “masks” for those who tend to compartmentalize their lives.  Wearing a mask is tiring; and [...]

About a year ago, I posted a project management blog called Do Affirmations and Quotes Work for You?.  It was based on my first-hand observations and shared how quotes and affirmations could be a useful and self-reflective tool in the work place. In the 5 Easy Tips for Using Quotes and Affirmations section, I encouraged [...]

Your online reputation score is your new credit score …  Today, I’d like to share with you what I’ve learned about the care and maintenance of your on-line reputation; in essence, how the on-line “virtual you” can greatly impact the living, breathing you – now and in the future. How great an impact? Look at [...]

Earlier this week, I posted a blog called Are You Keeping Track of Being Tracked (Part 1). It is basically a beginner’s guide to exploring how more than 200 data collection companies and ad networks are using about 600 different tracking technologies to gather, analyze, store, and sell information on people’s web habits … and [...]

  Last week, I decided to review my professional social networks to figure out which ones to keep and which ones to release. This once-a-year task was straightforward and at the end of the process, I luxuriated in the satisfying “everything is up-to-date” feeling that many results-oriented people savour. Just before moving onto my next [...]

In my last blog, we looked at the research-based link between happiness and the ability to focus the mind. Simply put, people who are able to focus their minds a greater percentage of the time (most people’s minds wander about 50%) appear to be happier and more productive at home and at work. Now, I’d [...]

I really didn’t give much thought to the concept of happiness in the workplace until I was walking through the Phoenix airport and spotted The Harvard Business Review (HBR) out of the corner of my eye. Why did it catch my attention? Because here was a big yellow Smiley Face on the front cover (gasp!). [...]

Beliefs, and by extension, belief systems, are powerful energy magnets that shape our inner and outer worlds … and they can be innocently (or not so innocently) misleading. For example, in the 1500′s, authority figures believed that the world was flat as a pancake; in the 1940’s doctors appeared in ads advocating the health benefits [...]

In the first and second blog posts of this series we talked about heavy stuff. I shared some thoughts about disappointment and forgiveness, two key human conditions that I’ve observed in my practice that consistently drain and distract people from reaching their full potential (and enjoyment) in the workplace. Now I’d like to shift gears and to [...]

In my first blog post, I shared some thoughts about disappointment, one of two key human conditions that I’ve observed in my Healing Conversations practice that consistently drain and distract people from reaching their full potential (and enjoyment) in the workplace. The second condition that I’ve noticed revolves is around the concept of forgiveness.  You may be [...]

Happy to be here … let me introduce myself: My name is Mildred Lynn McDonald. I hail from the bonnie shores of Nova Scotia, Canada and this is my first post as part of the UCSC blog community. Last month I moved to Los Altos, so as you can imagine, skipping The Great Canadian Winter [...]