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“The life you want begins by embracing the life you have”—Rob Bell

This month, I have a special message to share with you.

We all get just one chance on this roller coaster called life.  Some days may be better than others, but it is important that you always be committed to the ride and equip yourself with a positive mindset.

Life is short.  I am only 52 years old, but I ‘ve already lived more than half my life.  However, I try to make the most of every day.  My friend Eric Lofholm says that you should play at an 8, 9 or 10 level of effort every day.

I want to dedicate my blog this month to those who have lost loved ones in the past.  My heart especially goes out to all the families who have lost loved ones over the last 18 months due to COVID-19.  Do you know someone that is no longer with us?

I was inspired to write this piece as a tribute to my mom.  She died one year ago; she took her last breath in her sleep.  If you have to go, I guess there’s no better way.  I try to think about all the good memories, the stories, the gatherings, the meals, the personalized cards and the laughs.  My mom knew how to embrace life, and she had a smile that could light up a room.  It really was contagious.  She taught all of us to live, to laugh and to love.

Recently, I’ve been through a rough patch with personal losses.  In less than three weeks, I lost a 51-year-old classmate, a 62-year-old friend and a 30-year-old cousin.  All three of them died way too early; each was loved by both family and friends.  The fact of those cherished people not being in the world anymore is simply tragic.  It is a horrible pain—one that we all deal with when we lose someone we’re close to and that we care about.

My family and I must remember all the good times that we spent with our loved ones.  I know that with those recent 3 deaths we’ve really lost a lot, but I also know that we now have 3 more Angels in Heaven.  My mother, Camille, has personally greeted each one of them with open arms.

I want to share with you 10 simple things to consider for living a better life:

1. Don’t take life for granted.
2. Enjoy every moment of every day.
3. Stop and smell the flowers.
4. Savor your favorite morning coffee or tea.
5. Enjoy each meal with family members.
6. Call up an old friend just because you can.
7. Visit your parents and spend quality time with them.
8. Always look for the good in others.
9. Always love deeply.  Make sure that you tell people every day that you love them.
10. Embrace Life!  You only live one life.

Those are my ideas, but I would hope that you will reflect a moment and come up with your own list of things that are vital to consider.  You know, I’ve spent a lot of time mulling over these concepts, so I could have listed 100’s of things, but I limited it to just 10 because I believe they are that important.

In summary, I just wanted to share the message of Enjoying Life with you.  Remember that time and positive reflections can help you through the darkest days.

Please let me know if this piece was helpful.  Did you take anything away from this piece?

With gratitude and best wishes!
Lisa Sasso, Executive Coach & Motivational Speaker
www.MedDevCoach.com    (781) 872-1045

As your trusted advisor, Lisa empowers you to use passion to live your best life and achieve your goals with confidence, accountability, gratitude and balance.

“Self care is so important. When you take time to replenish your spirit, it allows you to serve others from the overflow. You cannot serve from an empty vessel.” — Eleanor Brown

I hope you had a happy Independence Day.

July 4^th marked the 243^rd birthday of America.  For our family, it also represented the 91^st birthday of our Aunt Debbie.  Last year, due to COVID-19, we were unable to celebrate her special 90th birthday, but a big gathering was put on hold.  We celebrated for her in Florida.  What a joy!  My family, together with our neighbors, the McCann’s, all gathered to celebrate July 4^th—and the entire week—at Orange Lake Country Club in Kissimmee, Florida.  We went to the Universal Studios and Magic Kingdom theme parks, and we also went to Celebration and Disney Springs for the shops and entertainment.

It was a great week, with great people and reasonable weather.  John Robert had his two best friends along with us and their mom with us for the entire vacation.  We had plenty of time to play mini-golf and to float along the lazy river in our tubes and eat ice cream.  It was so good to get away and be unplugged from work for a week.  We even spent some time with my good friends:  Susan from my SDT Sorority (30 years ago) and Janet from my Radi days (20 years ago).  It was great to reconnect with old friends and create new memories. Thankfully, I did not bring my laptop computer, and just enjoyed spending time with my family, my neighbors, and my friends.

Believe it or not, we are now officially halfway through the year 2021.  How did that happen?  If you haven’t booked a summer getaway for yourself and your family, I would suggest doing it soon, because we’re also almost halfway through the summer.  You know what they say, (and it’s so true), time flies when you’re having fun.  You owe it to yourself and your family to take some time off— to recharge your batteries and just have some downtime.  I came back from our vacation with extra energy and motivation.  In fact, I have even begun investigating potential destinations for our next family vacation.

Again, I urge you to make time for yourself.  The summer is short, but you can make the most of the next 6 weeks.  I hope you’ll take a few minutes after you read this motivational message to just let my message sink in.  Enjoying some downtime can make you even more productive.

When you go on vacation, you get in touch with your 5 senses and the 5 senses of our souls: remember, our bodies have 5 senses: touch, smell, taste, sight, and hearing.  “But not to be overlooked are the senses of our souls: intuition, peace, foresight, trust, and empathy.”   (C. Joybell.C)    Many people do overlook these senses of our souls, but all 10 of our senses are equal in importance.

Finally, enjoy your life, your family, your friends, your downtime, and your sleep.  Come back from your vacation well rested and ready to take on the 2^nd half of the year.  If you are having difficulty with setting Goals and Objectives for the third quarter of the year, let me know.  We can set up a quick 15-minute Mini-Consult so that I can help you with prioritizing things for Quarter 3.  Just take a minute and book some time for yourself at  https://bookme.name/LisaSasso.

Here’s to having a great 2^nd half of the year.  If you need my help, I am here for you.

With gratitude and best wishes!
Lisa Sasso, Executive Coach & Motivational Speaker
www.MedDevCoach.com    (781) 872-1045

As your trusted advisor, Lisa empowers you to use passion to live your best life and achieve your goals with confidence, accountability, gratitude and balance.

“Faith, Family, Friends and Work are my greatest priorities—and they are always in that order.” —Robert L. Tosi, Sr.

• Fathers have been sharing valuable advice and information for hundreds of years, like this quote above from my very own beloved father.

 
In my past Motivational Messages, I’ve shared golden nuggets, ideas, and stories. This June message is going to share some relatable quotes about dads/fathers everywhere.

But first, I would like to share how very blessed we are to have my dad (85) and my husband John’s dad (81) in our lives.  These two great men have always been hard-working individuals.  In addition to being the breadwinners, they’ve also played a key role in their kids’ activities and successes.

As an adult, I really appreciate both dads and am grateful for all their sage advice. Not a day goes by that I don’t reach out to them by phone.  Honestly, it’s my favorite part of my day.

I have learned so much from these great men. Did you grow up in a household where your mom would always say, “Father knows best”?  That’s how I grew up, and Dad always had the last word.

Here are a few special quotes about fathers that I want to share with you:

• “A girl’s first true love is her father.” —Marisol Santiago
• “A father doesn’t tell you that he loves you. He shows you.” —Dimitri the Stoneheart
• “Behind every great daughter is a truly amazing father.” —Unknown
• “The older I get, the smarter my father seems to get.” —Tim Russert
• “When my father didn’t have my hand, he had my back.” —Linda Poindexter
• “A father is someone you look up to no matter how tall you grow.” —Unknown

I hope you enjoy them.  I could keep going, but these really are some of my favorites.

Please consider taking a minute and reach out to the dads or the fathers in your life and acknowledge them for being there for you. 

This Father’s Day, June 20^th, is extra special for me because it’s John’s and my 29^th wedding anniversary.   Yes, almost 3 decades of being married and close to 4 decades of being together.  I couldn’t imagine traveling on this journey through life with anyone else.  John is also a great dad.  Together, John and I are happily raising our super active and sweet 14-year-old son, John Robert.

John and I actually got married on Father’s Day weekend in 1992, but events like these (an anniversary and a national holiday) do not always align themselves on the same calendar day.  So you can see why Father’s Day this year will certainly be a special day for us, and of course we’ll all celebrate it together:  the Tosi’s and the Sasso’s.

Finally, I also want to note that the following day, June 21^st, marks not only the first day of summer but also the longest day of the year.  There certainly will be a lot going on!  Please enjoy your day and whatever you are celebrating.

Just like I’m always there for the dads in my life, I’m also there for you if you need my help and support.  Please feel free to reach out to me if I can assist you in any way, or if you’d like to share what you’re celebrating this weekend.

With gratitude and best wishes!
Lisa Sasso, Executive Coach & Motivational Speaker
www.MedDevCoach.com    (781) 872-1045

As your trusted advisor, Lisa empowers you to use passion to live your best life and achieve your goals with confidence, accountability, gratitude and balance.

“To the world you may be just one person, but to one person you may be the world.”
– H. Jackson Brown

May is the Month for Mothers! Everybody has—or has had—a beautiful mother in their life.  Being a mom is the most important role that a woman can ever fulfill.  Whether it be a mother to your own kids, your friends’ or neighbors’ kids, or the many dogs, cats and other fur-babies that exist in our life.  We women are all mothers in some way. On Sunday, May 9^th, everyone around the world will celebrate our mothers and/or our motherhood.  It’s an important day, so please do not let this day go by without reaching out to your mom.

Here’s one of my favorite Mother’s Day photos, showing Virginia, John Robert, my mom, and me.  You can see how happy we all are.  Everyone was smiling and that day was a special memory. It’s a photo from an actual Mother’s Day in 2012.  Yes, it was taken 9 years ago when John Robert was just 5 years old.  After posing for this photo at the Picture People Studio, we enjoyed a delicious lunch together at The Cheesecake Factory.  That was one of our favorite things to do together on weekends, holidays and other special occasions.

I know that this Mother’s Day is going to be a difficult day for our family; it will be the first Mother’s Day without my mom (in pink).  But her presence will be with us, I know.  Sweet Camille would have been 85 years old.  We will miss her, but we will celebrate the holiday with my mother-in-law, Virginia, who is 87, her husband, my dad, my brother, my husband, and John Robert.  It is always nice to be all together.

I hope that you have the chance to celebrate with your mom, your mother-in-law, and your kids.

For 14 years, John Robert has always made me a proud mom.  His birth is my most important achievement in life.  Just coming into this world safely was an absolute miracle.  I still remember celebrating my first Mother’s Day with him being in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU) of Children’s Hospital.  Within his first 2 weeks of being hooked up to machines, he learned how to smile.  Then within the first month he went from needing a feeding tube to breast feeding.  I felt so important—he really needed me! Both mothers were my rock.  Their advice then and throughout the years has been so important to me. They helped me to get through 2 Open Heart Surgeries and an Ablation Surgery. I am so grateful for both moms.

Their loving and caring nature influenced me and made me into the mom that I am today.

Over the years, I’ve been delighted to watch John Robert perform.  He is an actor, a dancer and a singer.  He really is a born entertainer and lights up the stage when he’s on it.  In fact, this Saturday he will be performing Luminaire in the Musical “Beauty and the Beast.”  I am looking forward to seeing it.  Watching John Robert perform is a perfect Mother’s Day Gift to me.

Throughout the past 14 years, my mom & Virginia have shared with me important and sage advice.

Here are the top 10 lessons that I have learned from my moms: (in no particular order)

1. Have Faith.
2. Respect Yourself.
3. Don’t Gossip.
4. Never Go to Bed Mad.
5. Never go Anywhere Empty Handed.
6. Love Your Siblings
7. Know Who Your True Friends Are.
8. Be Yourself.  (Everybody Else Is Taken.)
9. Try New Things (Food, Drinks or Activities, etc.)
10. Love & Respect Your Parents

Enjoy the advice. To tell you the truth, I could’ve written about 100-to-1,000 lessons on what I’ve learned from these very special women.  But, as you can see, I tried to narrow the list down to just the top 10 that resonate most with me.

If you can, enjoy your moms on this special day.  If you are a mom, enjoy your special day.  If you are a spouse, kid or sibling, make sure that you acknowledge the moms in your life.

With gratitude and best wishes!
Lisa Sasso, Executive Coach & Motivational Speaker
www.MedDevCoach.com    (781) 872-1045

As your trusted advisor, Lisa empowers you to use passion to live your best life and achieve your goals with confidence, accountability, gratitude and balance.

“Beauty attracts the eye, but personality captures the heart.” – Ayushi Rathore

This month, I want to share with you a very efficient and easy way to use birds to emulate the DISC method for personality styles training.

We know a lot about personality styles training, which provides an easy way to help us understand different personality and behavioral styles. Today, the personality assessment market not only represents a $500 million-a-year business, but is growing at the remarkable rate of about 10-15% a year, according to Human Capital Media.

Merrick Rosenberg is the CEO of Take Flight Learning, and his famous book Taking Flight! came out in 2012.  Now there are 3 published books:

1. Taking Flight!: Master the DISC Styles to Transform Your Career, Your Relationships…Your Life
2. The Chameleon: Life-Changing Wisdom for Anyone Who Has a Personality or Knows Someone Who Does
3. Personality Wins: Who Will Take the White House and How We Know

I’m focusing today on Taking Flight with DISC Profile, which is about the four different types of personality styles training, and features the DISC assessment tool.  I learned from my own recent training experience that nobody owns DISC, and that using its “bird assignments” system is the easiest way to remember the personality types.  The book also follows the KISS method (Keep it Simple Sweetheart).  Anyone can remember the personalities of the four birds, and it makes it quite simple to know and own your style.

In the years before the idea of using birds was introduced, certain letters of the alphabet (acronyms) were used in personality styles training sessions—but afterward, people often forgot what the different letters stood for.  Many even forgot their own personality style.  In fact, it was rare that people would actually apply the new skills they had learned, as you can’t apply what you do not remember.  People do not forget their bird.

Here’s a brief look at how the DISC tool using bird assignments works:

The Four Birds in Taking Flight with DISC

What is your style?

• Eagle:      dominant, confident, in-control, authority.
• Parrot:     social, friendly, fun, outgoing.
• Dove:       peaceful, loving, humble, caring, listeners.
• Owl:         wise, thinker, logical, analytical.

Relating to the different styles of the birds (mnemonic).  The birds embody the meaning of each style.  The model takes little time to teach.  People can learn through visual imagery, and finally people proudly display their “bird” style.

How do you communicate?  How do you listen?

• Eagle:     be brief, be brilliant and be gone.
• Parrot:    talking – in their minds they are thinking of a related story, we have this in common.
• Dove:      emotions, feelings – people come to people with their feelings.
• Owl:        facts, data, analytical.

Here’s what I learned about my own style:  I am a Parrot first and foremost.  Then I am an Eagle and a Dove; next and lastly, I am an Owl.

The book is a very easy read; it takes just a few hours.  I think you’ll be interested in not only the particular type of bird that you identify with, but also how the other birds relate and co-exist with your bird type.

Most DISC training is on the style.  Here are some examples of how the birds relate to each other:

• If a Parrot gives feedback to Owl, the might say “You were incredible and you knocked it out of the park.”
• If the Owl gives feedback to a Parrot: It is analytical feedback.  The Parrot can’t always tell if he liked it.
• If the Dove gives feedback to an Eagle:  It is loving and caring.  But the Eagle just wants to know the bottom line.

This is the easiest assessment tool to learn.  It is intuitive and it is a lot of fun.

I hope you do pick up the book Taking Flight with DISC Profile and determine your style, and also the styles of the people that you work and live with.  I highly recommend this book, and all ages can enjoy and learn from it. Personality styles training is great for not only understanding your own traits, and those of your colleagues, but also, for understanding how you personally get along with— and work with— the other birds.

If you are interested in learning more about my coaching, please visit my website (www.MedDevCoach.com) or book a FREE mini-consult by clicking here.

Resources:
The Chameleon (Book) https://store.takeflightlearning.com/books/the-chameleon.html
Taking Flight! (Book) https://store.takeflightlearning.com/books/taking-flight.html
Taking Flight with DISC Profile (Book) https://store.takeflightlearning.com/assessments/taking-flight-with-disc-profile-online-profile.html

With gratitude and best wishes!
Lisa Sasso, Executive Coach & Motivational Speaker
www.MedDevCoach.com    (781) 872-1045

As your trusted advisor, Lisa empowers you to use passion to live your best life and achieve your goals with confidence, accountability, gratitude and balance.

“That’s a great golden nugget that’s going in my tactical toolbox.”  —  Joe Tati

Happy March!  It’s been a year since the very first Covid lockdown in the US, which makes this March very special.  It’s the first month that we’re really beginning to see the light at the end of the Covid tunnel.

This month I want to share three Golden Nuggets of Wisdom

Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash

My first Nugget:  The Platinum Rule.  Do you know the difference between the Golden Rule and the Platinum Rule?

We all know the Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”  This implies the basic assumption that other people would like to be treated the same way you‘d like to be treated. But did you know there is also an alternative, which is known as the Platinum Rule?  It says: “Treat others the way they want to be treated.”

Everybody is different, and so we all have different needs and values.  Doesn’t it make sense to forgo the Golden Rule and instead, simply treat others the way they want to be treated?  I want you to think about this for a minute.  It’s an approach and a philosophy that can affect how you do many things.  Which rule do you typically follow?

The next Golden Nugget is about Women’ s History Month, and especially March 8^th.  It was International Women’s Day on Monday.  This was the day to celebrate the women in your life, to honor their achievements, both personally and professionally.  In 1987, Congress passed legislation to formalize the first Women’s History Month—giving us an opportunity each year to not only celebrate determined women in the past who fought for equity, but also the hardworking women of today who continuously battle for equal pay.

The final Golden Nugget I’d like to share is: Invest in Yourself. Let me give you an example of how I apply this Nugget in my own life:  I recently completed a 3-month Intensive Coaching program that met for close to 20 hours every week.  Yes, each week.  I am already a certified coach, so I was not doing this to gain any credentials,  but simply for self-improvement.

I believe in being the best that you can be, and this has paid off in spades for me.  Now, Medical Device Professionals who want to On-board, Transition, or Climb the Corporate Ladder are finding me via social media and on www.MedDevCoach.com.  If you haven’t visited my website lately, there are some new additions that I think will interest you: a PDF containing Interviews with Leaders on Climbing the Corporate Ladder, and also a Goal Setting Podcast from February.

When was the last time you invested in yourself?  Make it a priority this spring to do something for you.  Start your new season out right!  If you need my help, I am here to support you.

With gratitude and best wishes!
Lisa Sasso, Executive Coach & Motivational Speaker
www.MedDevCoach.com    (781) 872-1045

As your trusted advisor, Lisa empowers you to use passion to live your best life and achieve your goals with confidence, accountability, gratitude and balance.

“Where there is love there is life.” —Mahatma Gandhi

February is Love Month— a time to show the people you care about just how much you love and appreciate them.  We all need love, affection, and appreciation in our lives—whether that be love of a partner, a child, a parent, a sibling, a friend or even a pet.  Love can be shared in many ways.

Photo by Jude Beck on Unsplash

Being in love puts a smile on your face.  It is a feeling that is indescribable.  As I said, Love takes many forms.  In addition to our love for the people in our lives, there’s also Love for organizations, jobs, clubs and even places of worship.

We all were made from love and are byproducts of love.

In honor of Love, I wanted to offer you (my faithful list) two FREE things:

First: A FREE Goal Setting Webinar, today, Wed., Feb 10th at 4:00 pm EST

Join the more than 50 people already registered for today’s event and be prepared to Set and Achieve Your Personal and Professional Goals.  The Webinar is called:

“Goal Setting for Success:  With Accountability, Balance and Gratitude”

For more information and to register use this link:  http://bit.ly/GoalSet2021

Do you know what percentage of people actually achieve their goals?
According to Inc Magazine, science says only 8 percent of people achieve their goals. Yes, that means that 92% of people who set New Year’s goals never actually achieve them.

Good Goals are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant & Time-Bound.  Even if you have done this exercise before, it is a good refresher to do it again.  Things certainly change from year to year.  Almost everybody’s goals have changed from those we set at the beginning of 2020!

I want you to be in the 8%!  I want to ensure that you make your 2021 goals, and I’m here to support you.  If you want to achieve your goals, you can do either of the following:

Come to my FREE Goal Setting Webinar Feb 10^th, – today: http://bit.ly/GoalSet2021

Second: my second act of LOVE is to invite you to sign up for a FREE 15-minute Mini-Consult, where we can privately discuss your goals and objectives for 2021: Please use this link to book time on my calendar: https://bookme.name/lisasasso

In case you’re wondering how much we can cover in 15 minutes, sign up; you’ll be amazed.  My secret?  Whatever I do, I always use the KISS Method:

Keep   It   Simple   Sweetheart

Remember that I Love You and I Love this Motivational List.  I am delighted to share daily motivational quotes and my Monthly Motivational Messages to you each month.

Have a great February and make this Feb 14^th a day you’ll always remember.  I am excited to share that I was just featured as a Goal Setting expert on Erik K. Johnson’s Podcast “Talent Coach”.  It is so appropriate that the podcast will air on Sun., Feb. 14^th www.PodcastTalentCoach.com/podcasts. It is going to be a great day.

Try to do something nice for someone you love.  Just wait and see the ripple effects of your good deed.

Happy Valentine’s Day to you!

With gratitude and best wishes!
Lisa Sasso, Executive Coach & Motivational Speaker
www.MedDevCoach.com    (781) 872-1045

As your trusted advisor, Lisa empowers you to use passion to live your best life and achieve your goals with confidence, accountability, gratitude and balance.

“A goal is a dream with a deadline.” —Napoleon Hill

I am thinking of you and your family, and sending love and best wishes as we begin the new year.

Despite the challenges in the US and the world right now, I am feeling a lot of hope and optimism as we begin this brand-new year! There truly is light at the end of the tunnel, so it’s got to be a better year than 2020.

Our New Year’s Eve was celebrated with dinner and desserts together with our neighbors, the McCanns. Their two sons, Ryan and David, are John Robert’s best friends.  John (my husband) and I are also good friends with the boys’ parents.  It was nice to celebrate the new year with them.  We all stayed up until midnight, although the ball-dropping in Times Square was anticlimactic: it was different, and with the streets in NYC so bare it just didn’t feel like New Year’s.

I hope that you were able to celebrate New Year’s with your family and maybe some close friends.  It was truly a goodbye to 2020 and a warm welcome to 2021.

So, did you set your goals for 2021?  If not, it’s still not too late. Every January, I offer to help with this.  First, I help you to take a closer look at yourself and your values.  Then, I help you to write your personal, professional and gratitude goals.  Together, we can achieve all that in just one hour.

This year is no different:  I will be running a Free Webinar, “SMART Start for Goal Setting,” for Westford Job Seekers (WJS) on Jan 20^th at 3:00 pm. 

If you’d like me to send you the link for the Zoom call for this webinar, just reply to this email.  In the subject line of the email, write  “Goals,” and in the body of the email just provide me with your name and phone number.   You will then receive the meeting link either from me or the organizers directly.

January is my birthday month.  It feels good to share my gifts and talent with you.  My present to you each year is for you to have clear goals for the new year.  Statistics show that 80% of the people who make New Year’s Resolutions forget them by February—and by year-end, only 9% have actually achieved their goals.

This year, I want you to be in the 9%!  By attending this webinar, you set yourself up for success.  You’ll learn how to set goals, and will leave with them being firmly in place.

I’m looking forward to seeing you on the webinar on Jan. 20^th.

NOTE:  If you can’t make it to this event, I will be running another Goal Setting Seminar on Feb. 10^th.  To register for the Feb 10th seminar, visit the registration page at http://bit.ly/GoalSet2021. It is important to set your goals early in the year so that you have plenty of time to execute them.

Here’s wishing you happiness, success and prosperity in 2021.

With gratitude and best wishes!
Lisa Sasso, Executive Coach & Motivational Speaker
www.MedDevCoach.com    (781) 872-1045

As your trusted advisor, Lisa empowers you to use passion to live your best life and achieve your goals with confidence, accountability, gratitude and balance.